Pokernight

Well, last night turned out better than expected!

I managed to get my multifuel stove working (after a bit of effort, which you might expect after 8 years of lying dormant) and cooked up a tasty mushroom and broccoli risotto, making use of my newly bought utensils.

After popping out to the pub for a pint, I was beginning to rue leaving my windstopper hoody back at home. The 'breeze' really got up last night and it could even be said to be cold! I'd left my jacket to make space in my bag, thinking I'd never need it with the weather forecast as it had been...but next time I'll know better! Added to this was the fact that the one-woman band at the pub wasn't really floating my boat...I mean she had a beautiful voice and everything...and was a very talented musician...but it just wasn't trance!;-D

So I headed back to the cafe at my resort, which I noticed was screening the cricket when I'd walked past before. I figured I'd stay in there, nice and cosy, until it was late enough to go to bed without waking up at sparrow's fart again. I thought it would be rude not to buy something...so I had cheescake with two scoops of chocolate and one scoop of raspberry ripple ice-cream. The cricket was quite entertaining...Bell and Bairstow were making a good go of staging an England batting recovery and every shot I saw seemed to be a four, with flailing Australians generally eating boundary rope or suffering some other ignominy in a vain attempt to get to the ball. I say 'every shot I saw'...because I was actually nodding off every couple of minutes and being woken by the ripples of excitement / disappointment as the batsmen played their shots. The place was pretty busy with people waiting for takeaway pizza and, in my prime location in front of the 50inch TV, I think I was providing added entertainment as my head lolled and snapped back repeatedly over about half an hour. A couple of times I caught one or two fellas nudging their mates with big grins on their faces. But I didn't want to go to bed too early and it was only half-nine.

To be honest, I was quite happy - warm, comfortable with some entertainment available when I was awake...but my ears pricked up when I heard someone mention poker. :-) Soon a trestle table had been dragged up and a guy with a goatee was chipping up at the far end of the table. I politely asked if they would mind me joining in...and, although a little wary at first, the guys all agreed to let me. I was wide awake now and got introduced to: Matty (goatee beard guy), Johnno (surfer dude with big dreads), Luke (another surfy looking guy with a little goatee), Bruce (a Scot/Englishman); Daniel (classic Aussie athlete-type) and Rocky (Clarke Kent specs and good poker face). We were soon trash-talking each other, chatting shit, bluffing, raising, getting-fingers-caught-in-the-cookie-jar, folding, gambling, getting lucky, gambling, going down! Texas Hold 'em is such an international game and with that one thing in common, we were soon relaxed and enjoying the banter. The guys all worked (or had previously worked) at the resort I was staying in and, as the cafe shut down, customers and staff left and we remained - poker to the left of me, cricket on the right, happy man!

The evening started off well for England, with Bell and Bairstow in fine fettle. I hit pocket rockets (a pair of Aces for those who don't know) and cleaned up a 20 dollar pot (we all paid in 20 dollars to start with and played a cash game, blinds 10/20, no limit) - at the same moment, Bairstow was clean bowled. On the next hand, I lost a few dollars with a pair of Kings (busted by a set of 4's!)...and Bairstow was re-instated when the review showed that the bowler's foot was over the crease, making it a no-ball. For the rest of the evening, my fortunes were the mirror opposite of England's cricket fortunes. For a couple of hours Bairstow and Bell knocked the Aussie bowling attack all round the park...and I got dealt utter shite: 26, 74, T2, K3 etc. But the minute England started losing wickets, I started picking up pots. By the end of the night, I cashed in 83 dollars - a profit of 63 on my initial outlay! :-)

Much more importantly, I'd got to know some good guys - guys who were into their dance music and having a good time; guys who'd been travelling to countries I'd been to, lived in Blighty for a couple of years...and who were planning on visiting Turkey. I promised to return the next evening with my DJ kit for more poker and entertainment and to swap e-mails.

I jogged back to my tent, teeth chattering the whole way, dived in and zipped up. For the first time this trip, it was teethbrushing and swallow (shouldn't do this too often, due to the high sodium content of toothpaste, but there was no way I was leaving my tent again!). Another first was that I actually used my Snugpak 4-season sleeping bag...and, warm and toastie in that fella, I soon drifted off.

Must admit, when I woke up this morning, I really regretted not having had a shower after yesterday's snorkelling...the dried salt crystals rubbing against my shirt had left a sore patch on the shoulder and side that I'd slept on...but the bright sunshine and blue skies this morning soon put a smile on my face. Chicken noodles for brekkie again and a bit of laundry.

Just been planning the 1000km roadtrip from here to Port Hedland over the next few days...the plan is to set off on Saturday afternoon after my snorkelling and get to Nanutarra before nightfall, so as to avoid the pitfalls of cattle and kangaroos in the road. On Sunday I would then have a mammoth 7 hour drive to Karijini National Park, Dales Gorge...and then about 48 hours to explore the area before a final 4 hour drive to Port Hedland airport on Tuesday. Busy-busy! Probably won't be back to update this until I've arrived in Darwin...but we'll see...:-)