reborn on the 4th July

Castle,

You are one amazing bloke (old fashioned saying!) Your diary is full of inspiration.

About your wee un at school........She will be soooo proud of you.

Little story from my past.......

Me...to...Dad

Why can I never get a part in the school play?

Dad......I don't know Sue.....have You asked teachers?

Next day.....asked teachers...

They replied....bear in mind this was 40 years ago...

Well if your dad wants to write a play...You can star and pick all the cast!

Know what....thats what he did!!!

Dad...in heaven...I love ya....xxx

I always remember this castle....just as your wee un will remember too.

Thank you for making me remember this!

Sue xx

Hey Buddy,

Keeping the word count low today for a change! Just wanted to say your last post is pretty priceless. A content dad with his happy little girl I can say with 100% certainty that only a gamble free life can make this happen. Best part of all if you remain gamble free it doesn't have to be a one off either.

Puts a smile on my face reading about it, you my friend get to live it!

Flagg

School fair went well didn't make that much money was only selling drinks crisps buns and biscuits all for 20p each so at least the kids were gettin good value and for me that's what is was all about with also putting works name about in the community

Still feeling good , the mind is ok a few niggling bits at the back of it that can stay there for now , they will get dealt with when the time is right but not giving me any concerns in regards to gambling , no thoughts for a while now which is good

Understanding why I gamble holds the key to everything , I now know what makes me want to a combination of not dealing with the big problems in my life and hiding from them then add boredom into the equation for me it's a recipe for disaster , strength and determination is the only way for me and if I feel I'm not strong enough to fight it that's where this truly inspirational motivational site helps so much

Over the last 7 months when supporting others the best advice I can ever give is to stay close to this site esp when the urges come , read and post fight the urges and see how much stronger it will make u

So fortunately I took my own advice recently and it worked but in my 3 weeks of disarray the strength was wiped from me allowing that demon inside me to rise , how I found the strength to follow my own advice was really tough

So on this learning journey I def won't be leaving it longer than 3 weeks to face up to my problems in life and I will be staying very close to this site

But as we all know when the problems come it isn't goin to be as easy as that but fight I will with everything I av

Today like the last 180ish days I will choose not to gamble , actually could be very close to 200 but it don't really matter to me it's a nice thought but for me ur only as good as ur last gamble free day

Good Morning Castle!

Great post there and can relate to the combination , soooo true , i too struggle when they come together but as you say with sheer determination never to go back there it can be overcome!

Razors............. cheeky, cheeky sod!

For your info , i do not shave i wax so your cheap bloody razors are no good to me!

Plus my legs are not just less hairy than Steve's they have no horsefly bites and are slimmer (i'm not saying Steves were huge lol lol )

So Castle on that note , i hope your selling techniques are better than how you tried with me lol lol , otherwise well maybe your in the wrong profession lol lol lol

Women do not like being referred to looking like men!

Only joking, have a great bet free day!

Keep Strong

Smiling waxed Lucy 😉

great last post castle.

I think once we have some understanding of why we gamble we can make the right choices to distract ourselves or fill the gap with something positive. My reasons where the same as yours, hyding from things, not dealing with things, boredom its also a dangerous combination for me. I find now as i have clearer vision i can see these things coming, and rather than let the problems pile up im dealing with them as best i can.

This site keeps me focused it inspires me to keep going and keep making that choice everyday.

Well done castle and thanks for all the thought provoking posts.

Blondie 🙂

Yo,

Once again you wrote a corker of a post.

We can all try our best to get through a day with a bet.

But if we do not address the issues that we were hiding from, then we will not to this form of self harming escapism .

As you know this is what happened to me . 5 years without a bet , good for me , but never dealt with the root cause , or causes. so the inevitable happened .

There are soooooo many good , funny , interesting , determined people on this site at present . That the moment you log on you can almost feel a transfer of positive engery come out from the screen. Boosting the moral and strength of the reader .

To me you are one of those . And for that I thank you.

And just for you , dusty may well make the odd appearance when the time is right , just to give you her views on the XFactor , or BGT . Cause dusty and FP are the experts you know . Lol

Shiny xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Start of the 6 weeks hols today so lots of changes comin up its a job and half organisingj my daughter for been looked after whilst not at school

2 weeks today daughter and ex of to teneriffe for a week so that's gonna throw up a whole load of emotions , never spent more than a couple of days apart since she was born so to say I will miss her is an understatement so I am gonna av to plan that week well

Also got an opportunity to end the relationship I'm in as the 6 weeks hols will limit us seeing each other , if I'm honest it's what I want I know it's the right thing to do but again like gambling was a part of my life like she is now and then u take it away it leaves a big hole just like a found out not long back , it needs to be done and again I'm goin to av to plan that well but not goin to put pressure on myself this time

Then in just over 4 weeks off to Portugal for a week the thought of mobile phone switched off and miles away from everything and everyone just me and my girl , so yes maybe a few worries ahead but a real positive at the end of it

So staying focussed and planning is the agenda and staying very close to this site will help me through

Castle.

Fella always a pleasure to have you pop by my diary and thanks for your support it does mean alot. Ultimatly my friend life is about choices and we know gamble free they are made those decisions all the better.

Keep doing what you do it is working fantasticly for you and portugal to look forward to at it that may not have happened. Well done from me to you.

duncs stepping forward never back.

Hi Castle, thank u 4 ur support on my diary. It means alot 🙂

U r doing brilliant. It made me smile when I read how much u r looking 4ward to ur hol with ur little girl. I'm sure u will have a gr8 time 🙂

Everytime I read ur diary I can tell that ur little girl keeps u strong thru out all this, it really makes me smile 🙂

Have a gr8 wknd 🙂

Thanks 4 your post castle it meant a lot. Portugal will be a brillant experience 4 you and your daughter and the money it will lost we could lose in an afternoons gambling or even an hour.

So saviour every moment mate of the holiday because you deserve it you have worked so hard on your recovery this last 6 months and supported so many and its great to see your name popping up on the forum again.

Take care

Portugal for you and your girl WILL be brilliant.

Just remember how much better the experience will be when you choose not to gamble until your holiday.

Don't let yourself and your daughter down, eh?

Have a great gamble-free weekend.

NT

A long working weekend , 11 hours yesterday 10 today but the time flies so much to do gives no time to think bout anything else so from a gambling perspective that's good

Not on top of the world been carrying a bug nearly all week and can't shake it just ache all over , still a few problems running bout in my head the main one ending my relationship which I'm not seeing other than work just the mind games I need to control in my head , moving on from this is my main concern and whilst ever working with her it makes is so much harder but like I av said b4 not goin to stress bout it the problem will be sorted just when and how

For now still one day at a time and that's what's really important

Good morning Castle,

Sorry you been bit poorly, hopefully on the mend soon.

Know you will miss your little girl when she goes away with mum but least you have Portugal to look forward to.

I think you are an amazing dad.

As for the other problem with co-worker....must be really hard for you......but Castle you still are gamble free despite all of what life throws at you!

Sue xx

Yo,

Hope you are feeling better, I too got some bug which I am stilllllllll trying to pass on to some other unsuspecting individual.

That's all I wanted to say really , hugs to FP .

Shiny xxxxxxxxx

Still fighting the bug !

Had a great day out with daughter and niece yesterday the weather was so hot and then had one too many beers last nite and feeling even worse now than already did

Had a massive row with my friend from work and now not talkin which is not good as we av to work together today , I know if I didn't see her ever again I would be fine and that has to be the way , somehow I av to break this vicious cycle and not fall back into this same trap of giving in so this time there's no goin back , after next week she is off for two weeks then I'm off for the following two so a perfect opportunity to stick to my guns

Also took the plunge and set myself us on some dating site , well even after only two days it's opened my eyes it's like a minefield ! Not sure whether I'm ready and not takin it too seriously and believe me u can't but it takes my mind of other things and shows me there are others out there in my position

3 hard days comin up at work lots to do so need to focus and get it right