I'm coming out of my cage.......

Lol Mr B that was funny, with all that coffee hope it stays just a f**t....

Have a super soccer Saturday.

Derek 🙂

Morning Mr B thanks for the post much appreciated and I agree with your sentiments 100 per cent.

I have never written a post on here with intention to cause any harm or angst. Had the posts from yesterday been written by anyone other than me they would have been received and replied to in an entirely different, amicable fashion.

Unfortunately there are other users on here who every now and again decide to turn my posts into something sinister and in doing so try to get support from other users against me. This is purely because they do not agree with my unusual recovery route. I have come to accept this behaviour but it's not helpful for users to have to read unpleasant replies, the Forum can do without it. Users should guard against posts which indicate alarm and angst when they are really just disguised ways to try and turn people against me.

I am a normal honest genuine guy who is a compulsive gambler, just like other problem and compulsive gamblers on here. My recovery route is different, that's all. There are a few others who don't do complete abstinence, eg Castle and Nipped.

Best wishes on your own continued abstinence you have my genuine and honest support, as does anyone prepared to receive it and not be influenced negatively by others.

Mr brightside.

Fella thanks for popping by my thread.

Your 450 mile round trip raised the biggest smile of all.

Being a long suffering Pompey fan I have endured a few myself, and looks like we are going to be in fight to remain in the football league.

My youngest has a season ticket this year, it fills me with pride as he wears the same 'blue and white' glasses I do.

Keep making your own journey one to be proud of.

Duncs stepping forward never back.

Alright Mr B

Cheers as always for popping onto my diary. Always appreciated mate.

Your last post made me laugh, haha.. funny how most of us on here when we have stopped gambling for a decent length of time start really appreciating the simple things in life.. It is wonderful..

Your team are still well in the hunt for promotion. Would love to see your boys go up. Its a tough league the Championship though.. super tough. What's happened to Redknapp and QPR.. something wrong must be going on behind the scenes.. Mclaren doing some job at Derby also.. I love my football also. I'm a Ross County fan (was my hometown team where i grew up).. struggling a bit this year but had a good result yesterday over St Mirren.. still really tight at the bottom though and we don't want to end up in the relegation play-offs..

Well, just wanted to pop in mate and say a few words on your diary. I'm off out for a walk. Hell, i need to get myself a wee dog or something haha.. actually a girlfriend might be a better start 🙂 the dog can come later..

* Glasgow to London *

Cheers

Craig

Hey Mr B

I hope your week going well and well done on 80 days!!!! or it 81 today? either way congrats and not long now till the big 100! xx Linda

I'm a day late but well done on 80 days, If I'm correct March the 18th is the big 100. It only seems like yesterday that we were in single figures. The days mount up and our lives get better.

Big game for Forest on Saturday, Wigan are picking up fast since Uwe Rosler took charge, are you going? Tranmere have a big one too against Oldham, its a must win in order to pull away from the relegation zone.

Keep up the good work and get the Champagne on ice for the 18th!

Mr B

fella thanks so much for the humbling kind words upon my thread, I wont write about my health upon your thread but I will continue upon mine, just to say the damage cant be repaired to my liver but I can prevent further damage.

A choice that will come with ease through my passion for life.

Folk like yourself make it all the more worthwhile, each time I read a post from your good self, i have a vision of us sat around that camp fire!!!

keep up the great work

Duncs stepping forward never back.

We haven't communicated much but I appreciated your posts last weekend and you certainly do a fine job around this Forum and have a high level of popularity with other users.

Keep up the good work.

Well good afternoon diary!!

It's a blessed man that has people writing on his diary - words of encouragement, words of cheek(!), words of thanks........but all words that have a fantastic impact........and makes this man realize that he really is blessed......thanks everyone for the posts, as always they are truly appreciated.

Today is the 83rd consecutive day without gambling for me - I do still think about it, Saturday afternoons especially, but I also understand that my life is so much fuller and better without it. I don't want it and I don't need it. I can't win with it, only without it.

I used to describe gambling as being by nemesis - but the tide has turned.......I am the nemesis for gambling and after the week I've had with some of my adversaries trying to tempt me back, I will go on a mini mission to cause them some discomfort - I am clear that it will make the square root of zero of a difference, but will make me feel as if I've tried.

So I've had quite a bit of communication from two if the companies that I've self excluded from online and in shop. The first was from the "boy who lost all of his money" - the big red sign. They sent me promotional material informing me of changes to my account which meant I could no longer use my "favorite football bets" due to changes they are making......thanks Kammy - I really needed to know that. So I mailed them back and asked them why I received this after excluding. Got a lovely email back saying that my account had been checked and I was down was as "uncontactable" - ehhh, well obviously I'm not!! It apologized for the inconvenience, but then at the bottom of the email it had all this blurb about the brand new casino feature available on my iphone and iPad with all these stunning new exciting features - is it just me, or is there an element there of breaking their own responsible gambling code? To top it all off, I then got another email inviting me to take a customer survey........which I did. Needless to say, the average feedback stats for them from yesterday won't be too great. Questions like - how likely am I to gamble with them again? Score levels of - excitement, playability etc. would I recommend them to a friend? Give me a break!!

Then the other one contacted yesterday - the Hilly Billy - it was so kind of them - they were only letting me know about how brilliant they are for putting time limits on their FOBTs so that I can make sure I get all the other things done that I needed to. I was just blown away with how considerate they are!! You hear all this stuff in the news in the last couple of days....and then you hear the "representative" of the industry describing the massive step this is and the huge difference this will make in the fight for "very small minority" of gamblers who cannot control their play. Just strengthens the resolve that the morality of the industry is just no existant.

Anyway........going to go and enjoy the sunshine with the wee one. Stay strong everyone, come on you reds and catch up with most of you on the challenge thread tomorrow!!

I'm still out of the cage, I'm doing better than fine.....

I am Mr Brightside

Hi Mr B,

a belated congratulations on passing day 80.

I had to delete my old email account, those free spins or money was tempting to say the least, they know what they are doing trying to lure people back and I'm a sure for a lot of people they succumb, no wonder only "3%" of gamblers maintain their abstinence!!

Anyway the real reason I'm here is just to rub it in that am now on L517 :P

Hey Mate

Its good this no gambling malarkey eh! haha.. life is good. Who'd have thought we'd both be around the 80 plus 100 day mark no gambling. Amazing and doing wonders for the old black dog aswell!

Oh if you are in Glasgow on the 14th March and are still going out for beers, count me in. That would be good. Nice to meet up with some fellow soldiers in the flesh. Keep me posted but i'll be there.

Glasgow to London 🙂

Cheers

Craig

Evening mucker,

I may be able to jiggle a few things about for the 14th, what sort of time you thinking? I may have to work til 8ish.

Cheers

Del 🙂

Hey diary - feels like it's been a while!!

It's been a long and demanding week - work tough, finances tight but getting there etc. etc.

As the clock ticked around to midnight nearly an hour ago, my day counter clicked over to 90. I'll hit the 13 weeks on Sunday, 3 months clean. I read a couple of posts this week about "why count days".......for me it's about creating distance between my old life and my new one......I like celebrating the victories......giving thanks for the milestones and for the distance I've come.

So this time next week I'm hoping to be arriving back the house having been on the last train from Glasgow.........having shared a few beers with at least 3 new good friends......Phil, Craig and Derek. We'll raise a few to the other new friends who won't be able to make it but will no doubt look forward to the time when we all eventually meet up.

So it's the weekend.........thank goodness!!

I am Mr Brightside.........for today I will not gamble.

Hi Mr B

Congrats on 90 days! I agree we should celebrate the milestones and distance ourselves from the bad times. It really is amazing that in 10 days you will hit the big 100!

I hope you have a great time next weekend and dont forget to have a drink for me lol!

Clean for 14

Linda

Congratulations on 90 days mate, good to read such a positive entry today. I think its important to keep track of days as it shows us how far we have come and it also helps us to focus.

You have had a tough week in work so enjoy your weekend and I hope Forest get back on track today.

Looking forward to my trip up north!