Why I Have Sent Tudor Equity A Cheque For £2.5k With A Smile On My Face by Clare Hanbury
by Judith Morgan on November 20, 2009
in Money Gym | Diaries
Money Gym Subscriber Clare Hanbury-Leu says: The relationship with Passive Investments was built on trust. I have trusted them to find the right properties – to renovate them to a high standard – to rent them out as quick as they can – to advise on the best mortgage deal – to re-mortgage and turn things around as soon as they can etc.
Most of us must be happy to accept risk to put so much trust into the hands of people we don’t know well. My friends, my financial adviser, my partner all felt nervous of the arrangement and advised against it but I pursued it – uncharacteristically ignoring their advice. My instinct felt strong on this one.
I have been involved with Passive Investments for 3 years and have two properties. The rental on one of these was a little slow in coming and the turnaround on the first mortgage again a little slow. I had one property fall through and lost a bit of money on legal costs and survey etc. All this said, I have been delighted with the results of the investments to date and delighted with every contact I have had with the company. I have felt totally supported by them. I like having them in my life. Every glitch, every query has been dealt with quickly, politely, humorously. I have been happy to talk to two potential clients and chat through my experiences with them.
I have had some contact with Greg in the last few months and found him open and straightforward. He is an ideal business partner. Even prior to my contact with him there was no doubt in my mind that these are very tough times for the company with its peculiar business model that clients pay when we have done well and not until then! I am staggered that he has stuck at it as long as he has with no salary. I know he has worked for the future of his own properties (which is good thing) but he has also worked free for me too!
When the letter came though last week, the trust I had placed in them suddenly felt foolish. However after a few minutes indulging in panic…most of what I felt was what a WASTE of the talent and expertise that is this team. I felt upset that I would not complete the portfolio. I felt nervous about having to deal with the properties on my own and I felt frustrated to have to do so when they have a good system in place. I have a property in London too which I manage myself and would much rather it was in Passive’s care! Then I read that Steve wanted to keep things going with the team there and I was keen to know how I could help.
So…..there is this 2.5k (which is a LOAN) to help Tudor Equity capitalise – this is money that the very same advisers, partners friends etc will describe as throwing good money after bad – but I don’t think so. From a numbers point of view…Because the 15K back payment /property has been reduced to 10K this means that by the end of completing the portfolio of 5 properties, there will be a SAVING to me of 25K from the original agreement AND I’ll get the 2.5 loan back.
Hmnnn why is this a difficult one to agree to? I guess that it’s difficult because of trust. Do I trust them again? The way I see it is that they have ALREADY done so much for me re: my properties that they have ‘earned’ this AND if the team don’t think they can make a go of it because there are not enough of us signed up – we’ll get the money back anyway…and if they DO think they can make a go of it – well I am willing to give them an opportunity to do so.
My cheque is on its way to them with a smile on my face. I really want to help keep this business going and I am grateful to them for giving us a chance. I have not yet spoken to anyone outside of Passive and I have not looked on the internet to read what is being said so my words are unaffected by others’ opinions.
I don’t see any point in NOT supporting the team now. I feel the market is not only stabilising but strengthening – I think we all know this and what we also know is that we have a dedicated team and they will be even more so if this can go ahead. I really hope there are enough of us to give them a chance to navigate a path to creating a robust business again. I’m sure they can do it. The banks won’t help but I will.
Clare Hanbury B.Ed (Cambridge) MSc (London) MA (London)
International Development Consultant ClareHanbury.com
Passive Investments In Liquidation | The Money Gym
by NicolaCairncross on November 19, 2009
in Money Gym | Diaries
Read The Latest Money Gym Statement Here>>>>
Nicola says: Following the shocking news that Passive Investments have gone into liquidation, and that Andy Shaw and Greg Ballard are being made bankrupt by one of their larger creditors, many people are asking us to comment, both on the blog and in our private google group.
When I first met Greg and Andy, back in 2004 I think it was, they struck me as two highly intelligent, funny, energetic, successful guys, who had been in traditional business before, who thought very differently to many people and who had created a FANTASTIC model for investing in property. They were also helping their friends and family invest in the same way, on a fairly small scale, as well as building their own portfolios which numbered about 150 properties in those days.
I immediately knew that our Money Gym clients would love to meet them and hear about this method of investing in property, getting your money back out and going again, as the need to leave money in a property was frustrating many of our clients. We organised an Open Day at my hotel, The Acacia, and many of the clients who were there wanted Greg & Andy to do it for them, like they were doing for their nearest and dearest. Greg and Andy put together an offering, and I spread the word into the Money Gym group of clients and subscribers.
I introduced them to Gill Fielding, my first wealth mentor, who immediately invested with them, ditto Maria Davies. Gill then started presenting this opportunity for them. When Gill could no longer present, Maria Davies took over for a while.
Everyone loved the concept, especially busy professionals and people who wanted to invest in property but didn’t have the first clue about how to go about it. Most people really took to Greg and Andy too, as they shared their knowledge freely, helping many, many people make money along the way. I particularly remember one lunch where they helped a Money Gym client to negotiate a purchase, making him an extra £80,000 along the way. They then took him under their wing and mentored him for a while in his own property deals.
Pretty soon, they were so swamped with people wanting them to invest for them, that they had to create a company to handle the demand. Passive Investments was born.
We are also aware that they then developed a “private investor” scheme whereby people with money sitting idle in a low interest bank account lent the money to Greg and Andy personally for bigger property projects, and because I was not one of those people, I didn’t find out any further details and they never sought a public platform for that opportunity though the Money Gym.
My sister Sarah and brother-in-law Nick invested, my sister Heather invested, Steve Watson and I both bought a “place” each too. I would have happily bought more “places” if I could. The company still owe us for some of the second “place” so my family and I are all out of pocket as well as those of our clients who chose to invest alongside us.
One ray of hope is that those of our clients and family who have properties may make up the monies they have lost (by having paid a fee for a service that now won’t be delivered) AND may ultimately end up better off, due to now not having to pay Passive the agreed “back end” fee on the eventual refinancing of their properties.
Judith Morgan, ex-accountant, Money Gym client and now our business partner, invested the entirety of her inheritance from her Mother into her two “places”. This should have meant ten properties in the fullness of time but she only has three. Her portfolio could not be grown once it became impossible to achieve mortgages or re-finance.
I have heard some horrible stories going around about things that Greg and Andy are supposed to have said and done and while I have no personal knowledge of those things, I’m working on the “innocent ‘till proven guilty” theory. I have always liked and respected Andy and Greg, and I feel sure that most of the rumours are unfounded.
Only yesterday Andy’s website was apparently hacked into, allegedly by someone known to the company, and a personal message to members and investors was changed beyond all recognition to cast the worst possible light on Andy. Here is a link to Andy’s correct personal statement. Remember to click on the Free User button and then the blue Download button.
We have also been re-educating our clients during the credit crunch to take a more active role in managing ALL their investments, including this one which was originally intended to be passive. You might want to read about one of our clients (who is not alone by any means) who feels that she will go forward with Tudor Equity, the company that some of the management team is putting together to take the portfolios forward.
Feel free to comment on the blog here but be aware that we reserve the right not to publish any comments that are potentially libellous or are simple repeating content from other people’s blogs or emails.
Later Note: James Tickell, director of Portland Business & Financial Solutions, the insolvency practice chosen to disband the Passive Investments empire, says the matrix of firms will formally enter liquidation on 11 December.
Contact: London Office, 43 Pall Mall, London, SW1Y 5JG, Tel: 020 7925 2651 / Fax: 020 7925 2652 / Office email: post@portbfs.co.uk
£1k For A Piece Of Caribbean Paradise?
by NicolaCairncross on August 6, 2008
in Money Gym | Diaries, Money Gym | Network Marketing, Money Gym | Property
Judith Morgan says: “Only £1,000 down for your own freehold little bit of Paradise in the Caribbean? Can this really be true? Or is it simply “Too Good To Be True”?
I have always wanted a life in the sun, so when one of our own ex-clients on the 2007 Money Gym Gold Express programme contacted me earlier in the year, I couldn’t wait to hear about the opportunity she presented.
At the time, I had challenges of my own – I was right in the middle of moving house in the same week as Janet Swift took me to a 3-day Alan Forrest Smith event and then I hurtled up to Manchester to find out all about Cartel, about which more later.
And to be honest with you, and I don’t think Victoria would mind my sharing this with you, when she brought it around to me, she hadn’t got her own head round the offering yet and so I simply didn’t understand it either and with all that busyness on my hands, I just parked it – a bit further down the To Do List! But I do remember calling Nicola and saying we must tell our clients about this. Nicola said “no, not now, let’s wait until someone we know and trust has invested their own money in it first” or word to that effect.
But Money Gym clients are not fools and so Victoria hedged her bets and she also showed it to Marcus de Maria AND Maria Davies. These days, Maria writes a regular column for “A Place in the Sun” magazine and so if Victoria could get past Maria’s defences, that would be a great result.
As Maria tells the story, Victoria badgered and badgered and badgered until Maria caved in and looked at the details and followed up on the opportunity in a way which I simply had not had time for.
And what did she discover? Maria discovered something so good she invested herself and she has now given up most, if not all, of her other speaking engagements just to present for this company. She is concentrating on them pretty much full-time and for the same reasons, it doesn’t just look too good to be true – it is true! And we want our clients to get a piece of that action!
With Maria’s “heads up” we have now all discovered something which, as I say, many will think too good to be true and indeed that may prove to be thei greatest marketing challenge!
So, what do they offer then, and how can you get your own freehold bit of Paradise in the Caribbean for only £1,000 down?
This company is a UK based developer, owned and run by one family, most of whom work in the business. Their Head Office is in Essex and I have been down there twice, once on my own to learn from a BBC geologist and oceanographer all about why their developments are no more likely to be hit by a hurricane than the south coast of England (!) and once with a carload of lovely Money Gym ladies.
We went to find out more, we went to grill the sales guy whose name, appropriately, is Sunny. We grilled the poor boy (and ticked him off about the state of the Ladies Loo to boot) for way more than two hours and he had the answers to all of our questions, literally at his fingertips. Sunny, rather worryingly (but affectionately I feel) now calls me “Trouble”.
Since then I have been once more to hang out in Essex. I have been to their Directors’ Box at the glamorous all-new Wembley Stadium where I met Katharine. Katharine is a Cambridge graduate who has worked for this company since she was 23; she’s now 26 and she is, quite frankly, the most brilliant presenter I have ever heard in all my years in the Money Gym.
There’s no fluff, she embodies the word succinct, thank heavens and she’s intelligent, intelligent, intelligent and posh (her hobby, nay passion, is Polo). And Katharine has created a lot of the business excellence which this company now display. Again, when answering questions, she quite easily and quickly put her hands on the answer to everything. Katharine is my new best friend in the Wonderful World of Wealth Creation.
God knows how or where the CEO recruited Katharine (she was head-hunted apparently) but he’s no fool. Together they are a brilliant business combination to my mind.
Sunny’s Mum works for the company. Katharine’s brother is her PA. It truly is a family business. Does that make it a better business? Not necessarily, but apart from Cartel, I haven’t found a business with greater or more infectious energy for a very long time. Victoria even took her singing sister into this company to work too.
So, let’s cut to the chase. Who are they and what’s in it for you?
A little piece of Paradise as I already said on terms which are literally too good to be true…..
Read more..
Wealth Coach Diaries: Nicola’s Week
by Nicola Cairncross on June 30, 2008
in Money Gym | Diaries
This has been an AMAZING couple of weeks for lots of different reasons. It’s been so busy that, not only have I not had time to play with my new sewing machine, but, for only the second time this last year, I was unable to write the ezine!!
My twitterings kept the blog updated and my Twits also fed out to my Facebook and MySpace profile. The blog being updated by Twitter also fed out to my Hubpages and Ecademy, so all major social networking went on as normal.
The weekend before last saw the “Money Gym Presents…Property” with the ever popular property multi-squillionaire and all round good bloke, Greg Ballard, holding forth about property investment and the property market in general – dynamite stuff as ever. Judith and I updated everyone on our Rent2Own exploits and the band of merry Money Gym rent2own devotees grows and grows – David Lee, what have you started?

Later in the day, my old matie from Las Vegas and Sussex, Maria Davies, came to show us how we could buy a luxury villa in the Caribbean for just £1000, and invited us to one of her open evenings. I’ve never been very keen on overseas investing, but the combination of luxury, Caribbean, and Maria buying TWO herself (she ain’t no property fool!) has got me very very interested. It’s an income strategy after the first four years too, with demand for Caribbean holidays growing and growing all time. Maria has another fr*ee Open Evening coming up in London and you can book your place and find out more here at
http://www.caribbean5starinvestments.co.uk
Talking of Caribbean holidays, I’m hoping that our Money Gym Wealth Creation & Internet Marketers Cruise (with Mike Filsaime) in January will take us to a couple of the islands that Maria’s lot are building on, so I can have a look while I’m out there! Just £500 per person for eight nights, the return flights to Miami are £400, so it’s a dirt cheap holiday in the sun. There are six Money Gym allocated cabins left (and there are some that hold three so bring the kids even if you are a single parent – they will be well looked after in the kid’s club) so secure your cabin (and all the extra Money Gym goodies) here at http://www.TheMoneyGym.com/holidays
Then……….felt really sick with a 24 hour bug on Thursday but recovered in time for Tim Brocklehurst’s Freedom Class weekend on Saturday/Sunday/Monday. This was an intensive three day workshop where he taught us how to use the amazing Viral Spiral system to grow our lists virally. We were amazed by the incredible and inspirational Ange Wayne, and some of the othere excellent speakers included ever exuberant marketing maverick Alan Forrest-Smith and Martin Avis, who gave a great presentation on how to build excellent relationship with your subscribers.
By the end of the three days, we walked out with a turnkey online business, although some of us were not sure how we did it! Brillaint “over shoulder” back up from Matt Garrett and Rob O’Callaghan
We stayed at the TOTALLY FABULOUS Hoxton Hotel in Great Eastern Road I think it was, and while it only cost about £97 per room per night, I was blown away by the rooms, the bathrooms, the funky lounge, bar and restaurant, the hot and trendy guests/locals, the live dj’s on Friday and Saturday, but the best thing by far was the staff. They were not just helpful, can-do and smiling, they positively beamed fun and job satisfaction. You just can’t bottle that – if you could, service in this country would be an amazing thing. See http://www.TheMoneyGym.tv over the coming week for some videos….very funny when I caught Marcus De Maria at 8am, who was hosting a workshop at the same venue.
I talked to the Bar/Restaurant Manager – Richard Moul who was frighteningly young and energetic (and a real whisky expert!) to find out what his recruitment policy was, only to find that he recruits for attitude and personality and then whips them into shape after. It only bloomin’ works. We had some fantastic customer service experiences there and I will be staying there as much as possible in future even if I have to get taxis about to my workshops and meetings.
The Freedom Class was amazing – what can I say? Many many thanks to Tim Brocklehurst for his patience, his organisation, laying on of three great speakers – one of whom Ange Wayne, Change Strategist, flew over from Australia especially. She was amazing, Alan Forrest Smith was on fire! Martin Avis was wonderful on how to build a great relationship with your virally fuelled list (it was great to meet him properly at last) and one other who has asked not to be mentioned for her own reasons.
Genius move, putting Ange on, on the first day, as we were struggling a bit and she talked in a compelling, almost hypnotic way, about success, choice and responsibility. Tragic that Steve missed that bit as he was carted off to A&E when his heart went into Atrial Fibrillation – they kept him in overnight at the Royal London, but he still managed to win the challenge on the Monday, having done so much homework beforehand.
Luckily Tim had a camera crew on hand, so Steve can catch Ange on the DVD’s. You can find out more about her at http://www.AngelChange.com – a play on her name (it’s not all about angels, phew!) and her home AND office is based in Angel Place Building too! Amazing speaker, awesome.
From Tim’s mailing for Steve (his prize) Steve has gained over 250 new signups and his blog and first email has attracted a new client already – someone who owns a Champagne business – NICE!
I’m so thrilled because I managed to come home, take one of my articles and turn it into a rebrandable free report, working through the process. From putting up my free report in three places so far, I’ve picked up 10 new double opted in subscribers today already and it’s only lunchtime. That’s amazing.
I’m also thrilled because I have created my first ever Facebook application. I was making a Blidget (widget for folks to feature the Money Gym blog on their websites) and it offered me the option to make a Facebook application out of my Blidget. Of course I clicked yes, and was walked through several stages to create my app. Now, if you don’t realise how exciting this is, just think about how viral this could go. If even half my 447 (as of today) friends feature the Money Gym app on their profiles, and half of their say….50 friends like what they see and feature it….that’s our blog on 5587 profiles….man, that’s powerful.
My brain was FRIED after all that techie, detail stuff, but I still managed to make it to my Monday Night Poker Game at the Crown & Anchor in Shoreham. On Tuesday I took it easy and fixed Head Chef, Andy Quinn’s laptop for him (well, Steve did) and set up a Facebook group for the Crown & Anchor, whose new website is taking ages!
Had coffee with one of my poker buddies, Paul Stanford from 4Momentum on Tuesday, he’s a business consultant and we talked about how to take The Money Gym to seven figures from six, and how to get him blogging and how to wrest control of his website and hosting from the current designers who want to charge him for every little thing and won’t give him access to his own CPanel.
Kids off school today (yet another Insect Day!) and off to play poker live again tonight, private game, first invite so honoured and a fixed buy in, for those of you who are worried about a wealth coach apparently gambling. My Monday nights cost me £12 and inclued dinner, for heaven’s sake. It’s cheaper than the pictures.
When this ezine is written, I’m off to check my property messages and see if the deal that fell out of bed due to a solicitor offering business and not legal advice, has come back on. The vendor turned out to be someone who used to work for me at The Acacia, as a maid! How small is this world really?
Have fun, I will be when I slow down!
Nicola
Is A Property Boom The Death Of Entrepreneurialism?
by Nicola Cairncross on June 13, 2008
in Money Gym | Success
This week I posted a blog posting picked up from another site, about whether the property boom had meant the death of entrepreneurialis
The author seemed to be putting forward the view that entrepreneurs had been getting lazy and flocking to the property market – they put their premise forward thusly…
“The net effect of this (property) boom has been one where the incentive to become truly entrepreneurial was significantly reduced – why try and create a new product or service if there was a guaranteed high return from property development? Similarly, from an investment point of view, why consider any other investment opportunity if there was a perceived guaranteed high return from property development?”
Interesting how they slipped that “perceived” in the second sentance eh? Do they mean that the return being gurarnetted
Let me give you a bit of context for my fascination for this….
In 2003 I bought my hotel The Acacia. Property investment and business in one I thought. A big TICK x 2 on the Lanes of The Wealth Highway.
I created an E-Myth’d business, one which would run without me, whereas I could market the place from anywhere in the world. Which was based in a building that would appreciate in value.
Then I met Andy Shaw and Greg Ballard, no strangers to business or property themselves. They started to come to a lot of our Money Gym events at The Acacia and we used to spend time in the breaks in the back garden, because some of their team smoked in those days, and we could talk to Steve (the Manager / Chef at the time) through the kitchen window while he prepared his latest sumptuious feast for the clients.
I’ll never forget the day, when one of them uttered the following immortal words ….
“Of course, this place will never make you a good enough return in terms of profit, to make up for how much effort, worry and risk you have put into this place”.
They were not being unkind, just honest, and they knew what they were talking about, because they had had a big business; two factories, over 100 staff who got up in the morning to cause them grief, over 100 pieces of equipment and a fleet of vans that did likewise. They realised that, in their first property deal, they had made more profit than they had made in half a year in their business.
So they sold the business and went into property.
They suggested I sell the hotel business and concentrated on the virtually virtual coaching company The Money Gym, my internet marketing activities and property investing – but focusing on simple little one bedroom flats.
I was in a hurry to get out now, becuase the scales had fallen from my eyes in terms of the best use of my time and efforts.
Then I discovered the other problem – that Andy and Greg had also experienced – nobody wanted to buy my business when I wanted to sell it. Or perhaps I didn’t know how to go about selling a hotel business properly.
And there were other people’s jobs depending on me – you can’t just walk away from a business if there are othere people working in it – your employees. You have a responsibility.
Grim.
Anyway, with time it all resolved itself – not easy but we got there.
Because at the end of the day, as I never tire of saying, wealth creation is a simple matter of deciding where your best return on investment is, and putting your money, time (which is money) and efforts there. If you don’t know how to work out your return on investment (ROI) here’s one of my previous articles on the subject, which tells you how to work it out, and how to compare different opportunities, and make chalk like cheese for the purpose of comparing different opportunities.
Aye, but, here’s the rub.
We all have our personalities and emotions to deal with and that can muddy the waters.
We find that our Money Gym Gold clients
have distinct preferences about which one or two Lanes of the Wealth Highway they want to work with first.
Analytical people like the idea of the Stockmarket, women are always keen on property and often have a business idea (or existing business / self employed venture going already) while techie and marketing types are drawn towards the internet Lane.
The skill in the early days, as their coach, is in finding out if that is, indeed, their fastest route to the money, as Judith would say.
Because our main goal in The Money Gym is that we want them to recoup their investment as quickly as possible, then go on to create oodles of cash so that they can re-invest it and create more cash, and re-invest it………..you get the idea.
And here is where I get back to the point – hurrah!
We want them to do it as quickly and easily, and effortlessly as possible.
Because why would you want to flog your guts out creating something new, and trying to bring it to market, when you can make pots of cash from following a tried and tested system, a step by step process, one that is proven to work, with colleagues alongside you, and mentors who have gone before, to hold your hand and stop you making painful and costly mistakes?
Why would you go it alone?
I suspect the article was written by a “Creator” in Roger Hamilton’s “Wealth Dynamics” and as one myself (Creator / Star profile moi!) I can almost sympathise.
Almost, because I wasted 38 painful, poor years, trying to create a new business, and bring it to market.
I now harness my creativity into making money out of thin air, created great win/win deals, helping others to create wealth, and finding new ways to make our marketing better.
Who said wealth creation had to be hard work?
And unless your business can create a better return than the property market, why would you go there? Current blips notwithstanding, the property market appreciates at an average of 10% per annum and the more sophisticated investors create an infinity return on their investment.
Most businesses don’t even break even.
Now, I can hear howls of protest from Judith in the distance (takes a while for sound to travel from Streatham to Shoreham) so I will finish up by saying that we are not anti-business in The Money Gym.
But we are anti-hard work.
So bring us your business idea and we will help you shape it into something that will run happily alongside your property empire building. We will help you harness the power of the internet to market your business automatically, and then, only when you have nothing to do, will we let you look at the stockmarket.
Unless you want to start there, of course!
Client led coaching, with laser like focus, with a right old boot up the bum, that’s The Money Gym.
Come join us!
http://www.TheMoneyGym.com/Gold
PROMOTION:
Talking of whom, one of the supermodels of the property investing world, Greg Ballard, will be joining us tomorrow to tell us how to get an infinity return on your investment.
Then I will be sharing how to make money from property without buying any.
Then Maria Davies, another star of the property world, will be showing us what she’s buying, and sharing how to buy a luxury holiday home in the Caribbean AND create a monthly income, for just £1000.



http://www.TheMoneyGym.com/MGPresents/property2.htm
Wealth Coach Diaries: Nicola’s Week
by Nicola Cairncross on June 13, 2008
in Money Gym | Diaries
My new sewing machine has arrived today (£32 from eBay – why pay more?) and it’s beautiful!
Well, it’s a bit old and cream coloured, but it’s in really good nick and it’s got everything I need (forward, back, ziz zag) to make lovely linen garments and it’s even got a “quick unpick” which you slide along seams to unpick them quickly.
Also arrived today was the www.WrapOnline.co.uk catalogue and my word, they have a vast quantity of beautiful clothes, but luckily I was saved from spending a fortune by the fact they don’t do black, white or navy. Lots of lovely sludgy colours that I probably should be wearing but just can’t bring myself to buy.

Indigo, prune and kingfisher, I ask you. Bitter Chocolate, Poppy, Aubergine…..What kind of colours are they?
I have emailed them with my suggestions on how to triple their profits – stock black, white and navy in addition to those sludgy colours.
Don’t make the same mistake as Marks & Spencers for heaven’s sake.
OK, retail rant over.
Why am I sewing? Can I be that much of a skinflint you may ask yourself?
Because I’m looking for a hobby, used to be designer and can pattern-cut and sew standing on my head, and I have a much loved long linen shirt that I want to copy in many colours. Starting with black, white, navy and pink (the new black don’tcha know?). Also I want to teach Phoebe – it’s something we can do together and it’s a useful and fun skill, a bit like good cooking.
Talking of hobbies, the gardening has taken a bit of a back seat but the live Monday night Apple League poker games are coming along nicely and are great fun. I came 2nd out of 27 the other night, in the first game, and just missed being on the final table in the second game. I am getting to know the other players a bit now, still very friendly, and the landlord from the Thursday night game in The Montague pub, Worthing, came over to the Crown & Anchor pub to play this week, so I now feel that I could go there on my own if I wanted to.
Sean, a young salesman who seems to have taken a shine to me, says I’m getting a bit of a reputation for being an aggressive player who can bluff well. Bit scary apparently! I did learn from the knee of the master, Mr Watson, so that’s no surprise.
I gave Giles, the new owner of the Crown & Anchor, the book “How To Make Your First Million” by Martin Webb which I read last week and thought brilliant. I know Martin (presenter of “Risking It All” on Channel 4), from my clubbing days in Brighton. My penchant for drinking in loud nightclubs helped him make his first millions LOLOLOL and it was a fascinating read to find out what went on behind the scenes while Martin and Simon – now an aspiring counsellor for Kemptown – built their chain of pubs, clubs and restaurants. Watch a video of Martin talking about the book here
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