20 Weeks Free!

Hi Bornagain - Welcome back. 'Nuff said.

Joanna

Hey Phil

Hows things with you? I have missed this site over the last couple of weeks and was gonna have a read through some diaries tomorrow but I just wanted to say that I think you are a credit to this site and never ever let anyone tell you otherwise. Sometimes people just want to be negative and bring you down but you cannot let them- no matter who it is. Always believe in yourself and stay positive and things will get better and better x

If I was you I would delete this diary and start another. This diary should be yours and about your recovery and shouldnt harbour so many pages dedicated to something that only one person cant seem to let go!

Well done on your recovery you really are an inspiration x

Thanks Joanna and Linda, definitely my two favourite girls on here! Made up to see you back on here Linda.I was thinking about a new diary, but I will stick with this one. Its early hours of day 164 and I feel good!

Day 165 and my last one in work before a well earned two days off. Feeling more and more myself which is good. The past few weeks have been pretty bad and I have been really low. Workwise I have just plodded on and found it all very boring and tedious. However yesterday we had an irate supplier to deal with and my boss went to pieces and I had to step in and sort it out. Had a director working with us and he pulled me to one side and told me it should be me managing the department, which made me feel good. I probably wouldn't have stepped in the way I have been the last few weeks so its a good sign. I also feel generally a lot happier.

I grew up a huge Star Wars fan, still love the original three films. I have a lot of original toys from the early 80's in the loft and on my two days off I'm going to list them on ******* and put it towards my debts. I don't really want to sell them, but they have been hidden away for years so I may as well let them go. I am determined to be debt free for 2015!

Hi Bornagain - Massive congrats on your 165 tally, and it heartening to read of your moment of glory at work - long may it continue!

Some Star Wars trivia: Chewbacca lived just down the road from me at one time, and Darth Vader still lives in the area.... and at times I think I live on the Planet Zog..

May the force be with you!

Joanna

Day 166 and I feel good. Last nights fight was amazing, and I was roaring Froch on and so excited when he knocked George Groves out. All the boxing fans in work have been saying Groves would win, but I have told them all week that Froch would knock him out in round 8 or 9. Theres talk of his next fight being in Vegas and I would give anything to get out there for it. My debts are coming down so who knows if its early next year I may be able to scrape the money together! I have found some pretty amazing Star War toys in good condition, a mate reckons they are worth thousands, I'm not so sure, but its all a help towards my debts.

Enjoying my day off, just put some beers in the fridge and the sooner they are ice cold the better! No bets for me today!

Brilliant work Bornagain, 165 days is a great achievement mate. Just a quickie, and I mean this with every respect matey, instead of fighting fire with fire and ignoring posts which try and diffiuse the situation, why don't you try and break bread with them old pal? JamesP is the leading light on this website and the nicest of nice blokes, plus Graham C (whilst he can be blunt and to the point) isn't a bad chap either. I just think you could of handled it better - it wasn't great what you said to JamesP (like we all do from time to time, no offence meant). Sorry if you do not feel the same way - I just hate to see confrontation here; this is tough enough to deal with without anything else. All of this is meant in a respectful, positive way mate - I hope you see it that way chief - peace and love to you

there are terrible injustices going on all around the world as I type yet some people keep dragging up a post from the start of April. Terry you need to move on this is just getting boring now. You also need to realise that there is no leading light here, we are all equal. I am sure James has given some great advice, but that doesn't make him any better than a new poster who has his point to make.

Day 167 for me and has been really good, I will not let here drag me down. Phil is picking his life up and won't be beat.

No bets for me today!

Mate, I couldn't have been nicer or more objective in my post to you...

Day 168. Terry it doesn't matter how many posts we make, we are all equal on here. There is not a class system on Gamcare, no one member is more important than another! If you channelled your energy into something more important I think you could get a lot done. Instead of worrying about a post from over two months ago.

I may also add that yesterday morning a fellow member of here called me because he had nobody to talk to about his gambling problem. He has since text saying thanks for the chat and its helped him deal with his problem.

Day 168 today and I feel good.

No bets for Phil today

Sorry Bornagain, Terry has a point - in his opening post, he said how “brilliant” your recovery was, he said how your 165 days was a “great achievement”, and then, in a very polite, and very respectful way, recommended “breaking bread” with others here who you have had niggles with - that was a very kind gesture from Terry to recommend that, and he was just trying to help (as he kindly said). He then wished you peace and love, which was again, a nice way to sign off...x

Hi Lesleymaerae - Bornagain is perfectly able to defend himself but I do feel I have to put in my twopennyworth: This all refers to a contretemps between Bornagain and JamesP which was amicably resolved ages ago.

For some reason GrahamC decided to resurrect it and now Terry is on the bandwagon. Why? I can only think that it bolsters their own self-confidence by a pseudo defence of James P. I have the utmost respect for James P and he has shown his worth, as has Bornagain, by drawing a line under their misunderstanding.

The fact that he is not wasting any more time on this dead and buried subject shows that.

Why cannot other people accept this??

Your reference to Bornagain 'stoking the fire' again is quite frankly laughable as all this was brought about by an unprovoked attack on him which I think he has dealt with by showing remarkable patience and fortitude.

You criticise Bornagain, but Terry's post is derogatory and offensive - I am surprised that the powers that be in Gamcare have allowed it to be posted.

So come on peeps - let sleeping dogs lie, concentrate on your own struggles with gambling without venting your spleen on Bornagain, who is a worthy member of this site and deserves bouquets, not brickbats.

Joanna

Once again I will say nobody on here is worth anymore than anyone else. We are all here trying to make positive changes to our lives and there is no pecking order on Gamcare. If JamesP has made the difference to someone then that is good to hear I have found some useful and very helpful information from brand new posters on here, as well as some gems from longer standing members.

No bets for Phil today!

Blimey Phil, this is getting spooky. All these alter-egos.... I keep getting visions of Conchita Wurst!!

Joanna aka Derek

Hi Bornagain, I really didn't want to get involved in this, but I was sent a private e-mail drawing my attention to this thread.

I really wouldn't want someone to speak up for me on my behalf; the way I do things is very positive, constructive and always in the best interests of the person I am addressing.

It is for this reason that I am asking Terry, Graham C and anyone else, not to involve me in any kind of discussion please, and I would ask you all to step back, take a deep breath and appreciate that people come here from all different backgrounds and have many different perspectives.

I have nothing but respect for Bornagain. He didn't find my initial comments helpful, but that is absolutely no problem - I have never proclaimed to be an expert on anything, I just try and help as best I can; the main thing is that he is doing well and god bless him for it.

There are quite a lot of late night visitors here Bornagain; I am here pretty much all the time so, if you could search by time of posting, you would see a lot near my time. I can assure you that I have nothing to gain by creating another personality, and the responses you have received are a world away from the kind of response I would give. I have been here for almost eight years now; if I did anything remotely like that, then it would devalue the significance of what I am writing greatly - as in life, once you are found out for telling a lie, then no-one will ever truly believe you again.

If you had to tie me down to an opinion Bornagain, I would say that you have handled this very well and have made a lot of fair points and I would side with you. I also believe and agree that I am no better than anyone else here - there is a phrase in GA that says "The person who has given up the longest, is the first person who got out of bed this morning"; I completely agree with that -no-one is better than anyone else; we are all equals, fighting a common enemy.

Can we all just draw a line under this please? I really don't think it is fair to judge Bornagain - none of us know him in real-life terms, so who is anyone to say what he is like and how he feels? As I said, I am very pleased for him and that he has made friends and contacts here - that is all I would want; his progress is all I care about and nothing else.

It is difficult at times, because this is an enormously sensitive subject and people are at different stages of recovery; when I first joined eight years ago, there was all kinds of confrontation on here - thankfully, it has changed into a safe, happy refuge for those in recovery. I would hate to see a return to those times.

I hope today is a good day for you Bornagain, and I am pleased to see you keep posting and contributing here.

JamesP