by Lee Davy on May 9, 2012
My mind has been swept away so often in the past few years that I really do need to start being careful. I can get carried away with the words of an author to such a degree that I become an instant believer. I then have a tendency to believe I have then been chosen to pass the information onto as many people as I can. I try to become a master of knowledge that I haven’t even comprehended myself. Then sometimes I come across differing opinions and I get confused. Who is right and who is wrong? Of course, often, there is no right or wrong – simply opinion. The beauty of which is summed up marvelously in memories of two very different books sparked by the death of my Nan.
When my Nan was recently admitted to hospital after suffering a heart attack I assumed that her sand was slowly disappearing down the glass. I was morbidly curious about how she was feeling. I really wanted to know if she feared death, welcomed it or didn’t even think about it? Did she think she was going to meet up with her late husband of 58-years or did she think she was going to close her eyes and that would be that?
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by Lee Davy on April 23, 2012
I used to wake up suddenly, in the middle of the night, believing that I had forgotten to do something important in work. It would seem so realistic that on times I couldn’t separate the actual things that I had forgotten to do and the imaginary ones. The only time that I would get any form of continuous sleep would be when I was drunk. If I were sober then I would wake up almost every hour. My alarm clock would blink at me with its beady red eyes. I would be at my most tired, minutes before the machine would scream. Lucky I always seemed to wake up just seconds before that wretched sound. There is nothing more sinister than that sound. Starting your day to the sound of an alarm clock is a horrible way to live.
I would lie in bed, underneath my three quilts, dreading the cold. My mind would race forward to the day ahead and it would upset me. I reach over and kiss my wife on the back of her head and summon up the courage to leave. Almost in unison, the first sounds of the creaking pipes bellow from under the floorboards as the central heating kicks in. The cat, that I hate, brushes itself against me and walks in front of me trying to deliberately trip me up as I walk. Every few seconds it cries this horrible little cry.
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by Lee Davy on April 22, 2012
I am starting to become convinced that taxi driving is an occupation that people undertake when they are moving from one life to another. It’s almost like a serene pasture for them. Somewhere to earn a bit of money whilst their mind is free to discover what it is that they want to do next. I don’t own a car and I travel a lot, so I meet a lot of taxi drivers, and a lot of them have a great understanding of what life is all about. But as is the case with a lot of people in life, they still haven’t managed to move on from thinking to acting.
This morning I left my home in South Wales, UK, to travel to Monte Carlo, France, I rang a driver called Jeff to come and pick me up because I really enjoy talking to him. We are strangers, after meeting once before, but the intimacy that a cab journey offers you accentuates your relationship and I feel like I have known him for years. The first time I took a cab with him the journey flew by and when we had reached the airport we were still deep in discussion. This morning we continued from where we had left of previously.
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by Lee Davy on April 20, 2012
I turn my attention away from my iphone and give my eyes a much-needed rest. The cards are crashing into the £1 chip that stands alone, just inches from my ever-dwindling stack. There are six in all and I gather them together and flick with my right thumb. The cards snap open and closed, setting in motion a story, like the flick books you used to make when you were younger. Only this time the crudely drawn pictures of thornicating men and women have been replaced by hearts, kings, queens and spades.
There is a raise, everyone else calls, I fold and return to my iphone. The guys around the table are saying that I am being ignorant. This is said in part jest and part annoyance. They are taking the piss, but a part of the act of reading and essentially ignoring them, is winding them up. The situation is an interesting one though. I know if I stop reading and pay attention to the game, my ever-dwindling stack will be reduced to dust in the time it takes to say f…o…l…d. I don’t like folding, I like action and playing in this way kills me hence the book. It takes me away from the pain.
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by Lee Davy on March 9, 2012
In my previous incarnation as a manager of people, I had to learn to deal with death. I was even trained to deliver the news that a loved one had died in service. Although I avoided this dreaded deed, I did have to visit widows of my recently deceased employees to ensure their welfare was looked after. Dealing with the aftermath of death is a very difficult time, but one that can be made a lot easier with some forward planning.
For death begins with life’s first breath, and life begins at the touch of death – John Oxenham
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by Lee Davy on March 8, 2012
A few days ago my Mum was visiting my Nan when she suffered a heart attack. She was immediately rushed into hospital where she underwent keyhole surgery. My Nan lost her husband over a year ago and so she lives alone, and I am pretty sure if my Mum had not been visiting her she would have died. Think about the simplicity of that sentence for a second. Here one minute and gone the next, how fleeting life can be?
No one can confidently say that they will still be living tomorrow – Euripides
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by Lee Davy on February 26, 2012
I opened the door to the hall and it felt as cavernous as the Mines of Moria in the Lord of the Rings. Paul was a huge man, but he looked tiny from the far corner of the room, where he was perched behind a great oak desk. The door creaked shut behind me and I started to make my way across the room – the silence was unnerving. I knew that the situation was unusual and unique. Why wasn’t he talking? He wasn’t working or reading; instead he was just staring at me as I moved towards his direction. After what seemed like an eternity I reached the oak desk and waited to be asked to take a seat. Still Paul said nothing, but his eyes told me to park my arse, which I did.
Then I waited…and waited…and waited. Minutes passed like hours and still Paul did not say anything except stare right into me. Finally, he broke the silence, “I bet that was difficult for you Davy. I bet you were dying to speak weren’t you?” I knew instinctively that I needed to shut up and let him speak – something that did not come naturally to me. Paul told me that the purpose of the meeting was to inform me that the company was changing it’s hiring and firing policy. Only applicants, whose name was on a special list, would be considered for senior positions within the company. He wanted me to be on that list, because the people who created it believed I had the ability and potential to be a Director of the company. I even had a specific job that I was being groomed to one-day take over. But there was one condition. [click to continue…]
by Lee Davy on February 23, 2012
We are born alcoholics, and when you have a physical need for beer, the only solution is to feed that need.
Those are the words of The Sun newspaper columnist Jeremy Clarkson. I am not a reader of The Sun and I know nothing of Clarkson, in fact I only noticed his column because he had a photograph of Caprice showing off her fishnet stockings…well I am a bloke.
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by Lee Davy on February 17, 2012
(Photo: Michelle and Mark Williams)
I was running around my local football field when I bumped into an old friend, Mark “Mags” Williams. I had my earphones on and although I could see his lips move, all I could hear were the dulcet tones of Damien Rice. I took of my cans and told him to start again. He looked fit, healthy and full of fizz but Mags always had more spring in his step that a kangaroo.
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by Lee Davy on February 10, 2012
I have been traveling the world working on the live poker tournament scene for over a year now, and in that time I have only had one travel mishap. But I run very lucky in life, so I do not expect anything less! Yesterday, as I planned for my trip to Venice I felt like I was going to be in a spot of bother. I couldn’t seem to find any trains going East from my local town of Bridgend and the only train out of Cardiff got me into Gatwick airport with only one hour to spare before take off. My father kindly offered to drive me to Cardiff and so last night as I wrote out my intentions for the following day I planned a safe and timely trip to Gatwick, and that is exactly what happened. Despite all of the snow and the incredibly tight timing I got here on time.
Gate opens at 13.20
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