Will the new Lockdown/Tier 4/Xmas relaxations cancelled affect business much?
For us it was relatively quiet but this was after a week of staff double discount which was mad. Our store took £1.7m last week against a normal week of £1.1m. The rush will start Tuesday with booze taking an unprecedented hammering at the moment. The worry for us is if we go back into non essential retail having to close, as all this does is drive footfall into the remaining retail stores. All we, the staff, want is to have a couple of relatively calm and normal weeks just to catch our breath. It really is starting to take its toll having to be working at full pace and then some, day after day. Having said that the majority of us know we are the lucky ones having a relatively safe job and having as normal a life as possible at the moment. It’s just thoroughly depressing at the moment isn’t it and I think the worse thing about it all is that there is no end date. It’s a bit like how I feel playing cash compared to tournaments. I like to be able to see the end and have something to aim for.
Happy New Year to @Tikay10 and anyone else who is reading.
I am glad to say The Golden Quarter is now over and retail returns to some sort of normality. Not enough wages and too much to do. Think it could be a very interesting year at Asda with the new owners, a recession on the way, continuing lockdowns and the increasing use of 'retail partners'. Already seeing B&Q taking space and next month my store sees the start of The Entertainer taking control of the toy aisles. Along with continuing rumours of the sale of George being a possible revenue raiser for the new owners to clear some of their debt and the rumblings of them not being advocates of BWS sales I will not be surprised with some kind of management reduction and restructuring. Last year was a strange one for everyone and every highlight has to be celebrated. The main ones for me were my sister coming through an awful accident and eventually getting home after a 10 month stay in hospital. Although her life will never be the same she has been an inspiration to many in the way she has tackled becoming disabled from the chest down and adapting to her new world. My son moving back home after his long term relationship went sour and he went on a downward spiral but now seems to be getting back to his normal self. The selling of our house and the impending move to a new one. A day out at Wembley, Premier League survival and the way 'Our Jack' and Deano are proving all the doubters wrong. A wonderful couple of weeks in the Lake District in summer, seems a long time ago now.
On the poker front it wasn't the best year. Losing £3,132 on SkyPoker, Winning £337 on Pokerstars and losing £525 on Party. That's a total loss of £3,320 or £277 a month. Quite an expensive hobby really.
So as is normal at this time of year here are my aspirations for 2021.
1. Successfully complete our house move and get settled in. 2. Go on the cruise we have booked for August (carried over from last year). 3. Lose some weight, currently at 14stone 9lbs and really want to get to 13 stone. Starting tomorrow we are back on calorie counting. 4. Don't lose money at poker. I have withdrawn £575 from Stars today and topped it up to £600 which I have deposited on SkyPoker. Plan is to play cash and stick to pretty strict BRM. This is something I have always been **** at and want this year to be the year I really adhere to it. Plan will be to move up at 30 buy ins and move back down at 20 buy ins. With this in mind I will be starting at 20nl, with the aim to get to £900 and if we go the other way I will move down at £400.
Also in the market for a new car. My current Audi A5 now has 71k miles on and it has got to the stage where I trade it in now whilst there is still some value in it or stick with it for the long haul. As I have a bit of excess money at the moment I made the decision about a month ago to get a new one. This has been the kiss of death as since then a wheel bearing went, £420, and now the brake pad warning light has come on. My local garage is going to fix this and then I will trade it in for probably a BMW 320d XDrive MSport on a 17 or 18 plate.
For those with long memories here is a clip from 23 years ago today.
What a ghastly year your family has had. So sorry to hear it.
The Lake District photo is gorgeous, though Willow seems unimpressed.
Quite surprised that Asda might consider dropping the sale of BWS. When I'm in my local Tesco the BWS seems to take up a lot of selling space without much evidence of volume sales, but I always assumed it was a high margin line, or at least the WS part of BWS.
I've been keeping a close eye on Grealish, goodness me he's impressive.
A very nice start to the New Year, playing two sessions, losing a bit in first and winning a decent chunk in second. Have to say I ran very well and was also surprised how many new faces were at the 20nl tables compared to last time I visited them. Had a big Roast Beef dinner and Cherry Pie with Custard for dessert. From tomorrow I am back on the calorie count, with a daily allowance of 1,530 calories. Going to also get the old exercise bike out and aim to complete at least 4 rides of 20kms a week. On lates next two days so will be playing limited, if any, poker.
Played tonight and started reasonably well and had a bit of chat with the legend Smartgoat who gave me a bit of feedback on my play and commented he had seen an improvement in my game. After that it all went to pot, lost a couple of all ins KK V AA standard, villain hitting his Ace on the river, started to get tilted and then continued to spew for a good 15 mins before seeing the light and standing up. I am now off to continue 'The Eighth Sister' written by Robert Dugoni. The story of a former CIA agent who comes out of retirement, for the money, and ends up back in Russia. A real good read if you enjoy spy fiction. In other news we have had a bit of a hiccup with the house move as everything is sooo slow due to this blasted COVID. Could be a real struggle to get done by end of March to avoid stamp duty as we wait for searches, valuations, surveys, mortgage approvals etc, etc. Really hoping Mr Sunak comes to our rescue by extending deadline but get that there are more important issues to solve. Will be back on tables tomorrow!
Sales continue to beat plan but nowhere to the extent that they were in the previous lockdown. The real concern will be the long term when the recession hits and when everybody hits the beaches, goes to the pub and eats out like never before. I do think it is going to be a real rollercoaster couple of years for the retail sector and business in general. Look at the housing market for example which has had an unbelievable 6 months but is soon to die a death as anyone who was going to move in the next couple of years has now done it. The car industry will inevitably suffer long term as more and more businesses and people question why they haven't always worked from home. The small high street businesses will suffer as people who would never thought of using online are now wondering how they ever survived without it. I could go on and on. So to answer your question @Tikay10 things look good now but I believe this is the peak before the trough.
I really don't think I will ever have the patience for cash. Lost a couple of hundred quid on the 20nl tables the other night and found yet again I just started mashing buttons. So with work returning to something like normal and hence a bit more time on my hands its back to the MTT tables I have headed, playing up to the £11 mark at the moment. At long last received Homebuyer's Report back on the new house and all seems fine so hopefully its full steam ahead now and the chance to beat the Stamp Duty deadline. Villa's kids did really well the other night and made every Villa fan very proud. It certainly looks like the future of the club is in safe hands and that finish was sublime. Bought a car on my phone today. As previously mentioned I have been on the lookout and after replacing a wheel bearing last week the brake pad warning light came on the other day. My mate at the local garage had a look today and disabled the warning light whilst advising me the pads probably only have another couple of weeks on them. Had already got my eye on a 2017 BMW 320d X-Drive M-Sport Plus in white with under 20k on the clock. It was with CAZOO who are basically an online car showroom. From start to parting with my money took about 20 minutes and I collect it next Wednesday with a 14 day no quibble return policy. Really excited as it is pretty loaded with kit and from previous 3 series experience will be a joy to drive.
Very nice. The whole idea of buying a car online & "unseen" seems very odd to me. Guess it's the way forward though.
I've got a 3 Series Diesel on a 12 plate, had it since new, over 100,000 miles on the clock now & never had a spot of bother. Various warning lights come & go, & bings & bongs sound sometimes, but it's usually just sensors playing up.
Very nice. The whole idea of buying a car online & "unseen" seems very odd to me. Guess it's the way forward though.
I've got a 3 Series Diesel on a 12 plate, had it since new, over 100,000 miles on the clock now & never had a spot of bother. Various warning lights come & go, & bings & bongs sound sometimes, but it's usually just sensors playing up.
Have to admit it did seem a little disconcerting which is why I decided to collect it rather than have it delivered. In this current world and having owned a 3 series before, so I know how they drive, and with Cazoo having thousands of positive reviews I decided to give it a try. Not sure I would of done it on a car I didn't have experience of before.
Just finished probably the hardest final table I have encountered on SkyPoker. Managed to guide my short stack through the bubble to join these five on the final table of tonight's MegaStack - chicknMelt, ozzieowen, THETANK, goldnballz, LmfaoAllin. As you can imagine for a pure rec like myself this is quite a daunting prospect especially as the short stack. Managed to nurse my short stack for quite a while, playing pretty tight, and then got the crucial double up. From there it was a matter of playing tight and conservative until I managed to get heads up with Melty. Even if I say so myself I thought I played really well heads up, made only one mistake (I think) and managed to pick my moments well and eventually got to take it down.
I am off this weekend so will no doubt be visiting the tables again soon. Tomorrow I have ordered a take away tapas meal for tea from a small restaurant in the village for me and the good lady. Daughter back at Uni now and son at his girlfriends all weekend so it seemed like a nice thing to do. I have never been before and is one of those places that you always say 'it looks really nice' but never get round to visiting. It has really good reviews and when we're not in lockdown only opens a few nights a week so must be nice food to survive. I really like Tapas but have only had it in Barcelona and Andorra so just hope it doesn't disappoint. I will let you know.
This is why poker can be soooooooo frustrating. Win this and I become leader of tonight’s main with approx 30 left, take another bounty and life is wonderful.
Also came 2nd out of 10 in Summit sat with 1 seat up for grabs and holding a 4 to 1 chip lead heads up.
On plus side I have increased the old bankroll but what could have been!
Watched Leicester game in background and what a performance. Are they the ‘best team’ in Premier League rather than the best collection of individuals. Would love to see Madison and Grealish both start for England. They are great mates off the field and just think how creative England would be and neither of them is afraid to put the yards in.
Was supposed to be collecting new car tomorrow but this is on hold as it is in BMW garage on Thursday for a valve replacing under a BMW recall. Although frustrating at least they haven’t just let me have the car without it being sorted and have to say their customer service has been excellent with them ringing me daily with an update. Hopefully will have it delivered on Sunday now.
It is such a joy being a Villa fan at the moment. It really reminds me of the Big Fat Ron era, exciting going forward and defensively sound. For the first time in a long while I actually am starting to believe we will win games before they even kick off. Can only be a matter of time before Southgate starts adding a few more to the England squad. Wonder when was the last time the England back four were the same as a club's back four. Can't see many reasons why Targett (most improved player over last 12 months), Mings, Konsa and Cash (possibly bargain of the last transfer window) can't be the England back four. Watkins up top is such a team player and offers soooo much more than many strikers. Barkley slowly getting back to his best. Take note Mr Southgate. Where will we finish this season? Carry on as we are and top 6 is definitely in grasp and Top 4, who knows in this topsy, turvey season. Small shout out to Connor Hourihane who has joined The Swans on loan until the end of the season. Says a lot about the man that he would rather go out and play football than sit on the Villa bench. One of the true professional bunch and will do a really great job for Swansea, good luck Sir. No more news on house and should hopefully get new car delivered later this week. On the poker front it has been win a bit, lose a bit and tonight I will be trying to qualify for the £6k BH and Sunday Major.
Comments
@68Trebor
How was Silly Saturday?
Will the new Lockdown/Tier 4/Xmas relaxations cancelled affect business much?
Happy New Year to @Tikay10 and anyone else who is reading.
I am glad to say The Golden Quarter is now over and retail returns to some sort of normality. Not enough wages and too much to do. Think it could be a very interesting year at Asda with the new owners, a recession on the way, continuing lockdowns and the increasing use of 'retail partners'. Already seeing B&Q taking space and next month my store sees the start of The Entertainer taking control of the toy aisles. Along with continuing rumours of the sale of George being a possible revenue raiser for the new owners to clear some of their debt and the rumblings of them not being advocates of BWS sales I will not be surprised with some kind of management reduction and restructuring.
Last year was a strange one for everyone and every highlight has to be celebrated. The main ones for me were my sister coming through an awful accident and eventually getting home after a 10 month stay in hospital. Although her life will never be the same she has been an inspiration to many in the way she has tackled becoming disabled from the chest down and adapting to her new world. My son moving back home after his long term relationship went sour and he went on a downward spiral but now seems to be getting back to his normal self. The selling of our house and the impending move to a new one. A day out at Wembley, Premier League survival and the way 'Our Jack' and Deano are proving all the doubters wrong. A wonderful couple of weeks in the Lake District in summer, seems a long time ago now.
On the poker front it wasn't the best year. Losing £3,132 on SkyPoker, Winning £337 on Pokerstars and losing £525 on Party. That's a total loss of £3,320 or £277 a month. Quite an expensive hobby really.
So as is normal at this time of year here are my aspirations for 2021.
1. Successfully complete our house move and get settled in.
2. Go on the cruise we have booked for August (carried over from last year).
3. Lose some weight, currently at 14stone 9lbs and really want to get to 13 stone.
Starting tomorrow we are back on calorie counting.
4. Don't lose money at poker. I have withdrawn £575 from Stars today and topped it up
to £600 which I have deposited on SkyPoker. Plan is to play cash and stick to pretty
strict BRM. This is something I have always been **** at and want this year to be the
year I really adhere to it. Plan will be to move up at 30 buy ins and move back down
at 20 buy ins. With this in mind I will be starting at 20nl, with the aim to get to £900
and if we go the other way I will move down at £400.
Also in the market for a new car. My current Audi A5 now has 71k miles on and it has got to the stage where I trade it in now whilst there is still some value in it or stick with it for the long haul. As I have a bit of excess money at the moment I made the decision about a month ago to get a new one. This has been the kiss of death as since then a wheel bearing went, £420, and now the brake pad warning light has come on. My local garage is going to fix this and then I will trade it in for probably a BMW 320d XDrive MSport on a 17 or 18 plate.
For those with long memories here is a clip from 23 years ago today.
People still talk about this day and how the entire village made its way down the M1 that day.
Bankroll £600
What a ghastly year your family has had. So sorry to hear it.
The Lake District photo is gorgeous, though Willow seems unimpressed.
Quite surprised that Asda might consider dropping the sale of BWS. When I'm in my local Tesco the BWS seems to take up a lot of selling space without much evidence of volume sales, but I always assumed it was a high margin line, or at least the WS part of BWS.
I've been keeping a close eye on Grealish, goodness me he's impressive.
All the best in 2021 my friend.
A very nice start to the New Year, playing two sessions, losing a bit in first and winning a decent chunk in second.
Have to say I ran very well and was also surprised how many new faces were at the 20nl tables compared to last time I visited them.
Had a big Roast Beef dinner and Cherry Pie with Custard for dessert. From tomorrow I am back on the calorie count, with a daily allowance of 1,530 calories. Going to also get the old exercise bike out and aim to complete at least 4 rides of 20kms a week.
On lates next two days so will be playing limited, if any, poker.
Bamkroll £669.27
Played tonight and started reasonably well and had a bit of chat with the legend Smartgoat who gave me a bit of feedback on my play and commented he had seen an improvement in my game. After that it all went to pot, lost a couple of all ins KK V AA standard, villain hitting his Ace on the river, started to get tilted and then continued to spew for a good 15 mins before seeing the light and standing up. I am now off to continue 'The Eighth Sister' written by Robert Dugoni. The story of a former CIA agent who comes out of retirement, for the money, and ends up back in Russia. A real good read if you enjoy spy fiction. In other news we have had a bit of a hiccup with the house move as everything is sooo slow due to this blasted COVID. Could be a real struggle to get done by end of March to avoid stamp duty as we wait for searches, valuations, surveys, mortgage approvals etc, etc. Really hoping Mr Sunak comes to our rescue by extending deadline but get that there are more important issues to solve. Will be back on tables tomorrow!
Bankroll £544
How has Lockdown affected business?
Sales continue to beat plan but nowhere to the extent that they were in the previous lockdown. The real concern will be the long term when the recession hits and when everybody hits the beaches, goes to the pub and eats out like never before. I do think it is going to be a real rollercoaster couple of years for the retail sector and business in general. Look at the housing market for example which has had an unbelievable 6 months but is soon to die a death as anyone who was going to move in the next couple of years has now done it. The car industry will inevitably suffer long term as more and more businesses and people question why they haven't always worked from home. The small high street businesses will suffer as people who would never thought of using online are now wondering how they ever survived without it. I could go on and on. So to answer your question @Tikay10 things look good now but I believe this is the peak before the trough.
Multi tabled 6 x 20nl tables and was far more strategic with table selection.
Seemed to work +£70!
Off to find out how my CIA Agent is getting on.
Bankroll £614
I really don't think I will ever have the patience for cash. Lost a couple of hundred quid on the 20nl tables the other night and found yet again I just started mashing buttons. So with work returning to something like normal and hence a bit more time on my hands its back to the MTT tables I have headed, playing up to the £11 mark at the moment.
At long last received Homebuyer's Report back on the new house and all seems fine so hopefully its full steam ahead now and the chance to beat the Stamp Duty deadline.
Villa's kids did really well the other night and made every Villa fan very proud. It certainly looks like the future of the club is in safe hands and that finish was sublime.
Bought a car on my phone today. As previously mentioned I have been on the lookout and after replacing a wheel bearing last week the brake pad warning light came on the other day. My mate at the local garage had a look today and disabled the warning light whilst advising me the pads probably only have another couple of weeks on them. Had already got my eye on a 2017 BMW 320d X-Drive M-Sport Plus in white with under 20k on the clock. It was with CAZOO who are basically an online car showroom. From start to parting with my money took about 20 minutes and I collect it next Wednesday with a 14 day no quibble return policy. Really excited as it is pretty loaded with kit and from previous 3 series experience will be a joy to drive.
Bankroll £371.
Very nice. The whole idea of buying a car online & "unseen" seems very odd to me. Guess it's the way forward though.
I've got a 3 Series Diesel on a 12 plate, had it since new, over 100,000 miles on the clock now & never had a spot of bother. Various warning lights come & go, & bings & bongs sound sometimes, but it's usually just sensors playing up.
Have to admit it did seem a little disconcerting which is why I decided to collect it rather than have it delivered. In this current world and having owned a 3 series before, so I know how they drive, and with Cazoo having thousands of positive reviews I decided to give it a try. Not sure I would of done it on a car I didn't have experience of before.
Cheers, always been a bit of a sucker for a nice looking car
Just finished probably the hardest final table I have encountered on SkyPoker. Managed to guide my short stack through the bubble to join these five on the final table of tonight's MegaStack - chicknMelt, ozzieowen, THETANK, goldnballz, LmfaoAllin. As you can imagine for a pure rec like myself this is quite a daunting prospect especially as the short stack. Managed to nurse my short stack for quite a while, playing pretty tight, and then got the crucial double up. From there it was a matter of playing tight and conservative until I managed to get heads up with Melty. Even if I say so myself I thought I played really well heads up, made only one mistake (I think) and managed to pick my moments well and eventually got to take it down.
I am off this weekend so will no doubt be visiting the tables again soon.
Tomorrow I have ordered a take away tapas meal for tea from a small restaurant in the village for me and the good lady. Daughter back at Uni now and son at his girlfriends all weekend so it seemed like a nice thing to do. I have never been before and is one of those places that you always say 'it looks really nice' but never get round to visiting. It has really good reviews and when we're not in lockdown only opens a few nights a week so must be nice food to survive. I really like Tapas but have only had it in Barcelona and Andorra so just hope it doesn't disappoint. I will let you know.
Bankroll £652.
Cheers Maxally. Possibly the most satisfying win I have had, just for the sheer calibre of the FT and the way I played on the FT.
Terrific result, VWP.
This is why poker can be soooooooo frustrating.
Win this and I become leader of tonight’s main with approx 30 left, take another bounty and life is wonderful.
Also came 2nd out of 10 in Summit sat with 1 seat up for grabs and holding a 4 to 1 chip lead heads up.
On plus side I have increased the old bankroll but what could have been!
Watched Leicester game in background and what a performance. Are they the ‘best team’ in Premier League rather than the best collection of individuals. Would love to see Madison and Grealish both start for England. They are great mates off the field and just think how creative England would be and neither of them is afraid to put the yards in.
Was supposed to be collecting new car tomorrow but this is on hold as it is in BMW garage on Thursday for a valve replacing under a BMW recall. Although frustrating at least they haven’t just let me have the car without it being sorted and have to say their customer service has been excellent with them ringing me daily with an update. Hopefully will have it delivered on Sunday now.
Bankroll £712.
It is such a joy being a Villa fan at the moment. It really reminds me of the Big Fat Ron era, exciting going forward and defensively sound. For the first time in a long while I actually am starting to believe we will win games before they even kick off. Can only be a matter of time before Southgate starts adding a few more to the England squad. Wonder when was the last time the England back four were the same as a club's back four. Can't see many reasons why Targett (most improved player over last 12 months), Mings, Konsa and Cash (possibly bargain of the last transfer window) can't be the England back four. Watkins up top is such a team player and offers soooo much more than many strikers. Barkley slowly getting back to his best. Take note Mr Southgate. Where will we finish this season? Carry on as we are and top 6 is definitely in grasp and Top 4, who knows in this topsy, turvey season. Small shout out to Connor Hourihane who has joined The Swans on loan until the end of the season. Says a lot about the man that he would rather go out and play football than sit on the Villa bench. One of the true professional bunch and will do a really great job for Swansea, good luck Sir.
No more news on house and should hopefully get new car delivered later this week.
On the poker front it has been win a bit, lose a bit and tonight I will be trying to qualify for the £6k BH and Sunday Major.
Bankroll £688.