Saturday 2 December 2023 - "Nice Glasses"

Photo by David Travis on Unsplash

Last weekend’s selections scored eight goals between them and my double still lost.  But more of that later.

Last Thursday I went to watch a podcast being recorded at the Nottingham Playhouse.  It was Richard Herring’s Leicester Square Theatre Podcast, or RHLSTP (“RHLSTP!”) as the cool kids apparently call it, which is nearing the end of a national tour.  RHLSTP (“RHLSTP!”) is substantially a chat show and the first guest on was the actor and comedian Lloyd Griffith, who has a recurring role in Ted Lasso. Griffith revealed that he had once been paid £40,000 to appear in an advert for Ladbrokes, which is easily found on YouTube (his character is the “Gut Truster”).  That job must have been money for old rope.  He followed this revelation, in a demonstration of having your cake and eating it, with a mini-tirade about the evils of gambling which was the usual well meant but ill-informed view that no good can come of it.

There are a lot of things you can be addicted to.  Tobacco, drugs, alcohol, food, mobile phones, shopping, sex, the internet…internet sex…

I would argue that some good can come from at least one of those addictions.  It’s all about perspective.  At the time of writing I have not had a sip of alcohol for 1412 days, but I do not blame the drinks industry for my reaching a point where this felt prudent.  The difficulty with gambling, especially if you have no plan or knowledge of what you are betting on, is that you can potentially lose quite a lot of money in a short space of time, which can have devastating consequences for the “addict” and those they are responsible for.  The other addictions I listed, like shopping, can be equally as costly, but for some reason you’ve brought it on yourself if you’ve gambled it away.  Maybe if Griffith’s character had been called “The Sensible Gambler Who Only Bets What He Can Comfortably Afford To Lose But Actually Gets Back More Than He Puts On Through Research And Due Diligence” rather than the “Gut Truster” he would have a more balanced opinion.  My argument is we’re all adults.  At some point most of us are going to struggle with something, to a lesser or larger extent, but at that same point the vast majority of society will be doing fine.  Addiction ultimately arises from an individual’s loss of perspective, not the thing the individual is addicted to which can be legion.  Unless it’s Maoam, that stuff is deadly.     

  After the show, I walked back to the car park with my companion for the evening and on arrival we were greeted by an attractive, dark haired woman who spoke with an alluring foreign accent.  “Nice glasses,” she ventured, either to me or my companion, we are both bespectacled gentlemen.  At first I thought she said “Nice asses,” which would have been equally understandable.  Once upon a time this sort of late night encounter would have been enticing, but I am now of an age where flattery of any kind, whether genuine or spurious, is simply wasted on me.  But the next morning I did spare a thought for the next dodderer along who fell for her charms and was now lying in a gutter with their throat slit.

I was being a tad disingenuous at the start of this blog by saying last weekend’s selections had scored eight goals between them, when Bolton Wanderers were responsible for seven of the said eight goals.  Unfortunately Stockport’s one goal was not as good as Newport’s two goals and November ended on a note of anticlimax. That said it was another winning month, albeit to peanuts, with £80 on and £86.50 back for a profit of £6.50.  Merry Christmas, have some mince pies on I, Punter.

Last Saturday Brentford (4/9) held Arsenal for eighty-nine minutes, a side desperate for victory in the knowledge that this would propel them back to the top of the Premier League.  This weekend Brentford welcome Luton Town, who will be buzzing after picking up only their second win of the season against Crystal Palace.  Luton are not Arsenal however, and Brentford are a better side than Palace notwithstanding their current league placings.  That game kicks off at three pm and, assuming the result goes my way, Everton (6/4) will hopefully make it a winning double when they take on Nottingham Forest at the City Ground at five thirty pm.  Everton are currently in the bottom three of the Premier League thanks to a ten point deduction that has torpedoed their season.  Forest can’t keep a clean sheet, conceding at least two goals in four of their last five games,  and Everton have been very good on the road compared to recent seasons.  Away win.

My “hypothetical” £20 win double on Brentford and Everton currently returns £72.22 with Sky Bet at combined odds of 2.61/1 for a profit of £52.22 after deduction of stake.  You never know.

I hope to see you next week.