ROLL CALL

depends what kinda nightlife your into too mate, im kinda easy and happy with anything really so i just go with the flow.

heres an experts guide to the Sheffeld nightlife

Monday night - not the best to be fair, a lot of bars shut early-ish, best to get up West Street and hit some of the studenty bits, somewhere like the Leadmills prob best club destination though a young kinda studenty crowd

Tuesday night - very lively up West Street and the alleyway just down from the Walkabout is a hive of activity, theres the club Krystal and another one over the road which are good

Wednesday - not so good to be honest, a night for hanging around the snooker / bar / bookies and getting snake hissed then hitting Graduate for some snooker crack with Front Row Brian and all the legendary fans, then maybe a trip to the casino or a late night Indian with Thorne haha.

Thursday - now were talking, if the suns shining sod the snooker,beer garden and perving time in Tudor Sqaure watching the big screen and drinking cider, then hit the square bit where the fountains are and the likes of Yates, Wotherspoons etc before a first weekend visit to the good ole Reflex where the drink is cheap and the women are even cheaper

Friday / Saturday - no chance i watch snooker in evening those nights, all about getting the troops rounded up and heading up town by around 5pm latest and causing a wave of carnage and destruction up West Street before ultimately ending up in the Reflex.

Hair of the dogs every day in the Crucible bar at 10am after having had about 3 hours sleep and having to face the music with people youve been cheeky to etc the day before is always comedy gold.

I'm heading up for the first Saturday to the Tuesday, there is plenty of buzz on the first weekend + the nightlife is pretty good

Sunday to Wednesday for me this time.

No visit for me this time, first year since 2003 ive not been

Witz78 wrote:No visit for me this time, first year since 2003 ive not been

Ya bottler haha

What's the pluses of going on the first weekend Casey, I imagine it's probably gona be teaming with other people and prices are gona be more expensive but i'm kinda guessing

Be impossible to replicate the buzz for this one

Bourne wrote:

Witz78 wrote:No visit for me this time, first year since 2003 ive not been

Ya bottler haha

What's the pluses of going on the first weekend Casey, I imagine it's probably gona be teaming with other people and prices are gona be more expensive but i'm kinda guessing

pros of 1st week

(a) matches are shorter so get to see more drama as closer matches plus every session theres a match reaching its climax too

(b) get to see more of the players too obviously as first round

(c) greater buzz and sense of anticipation as tournaments in early stages

(d) cheaper ticket prices

(e) Angus Loughran, CJ and Front Row Brian are all about

(f) best to try and get there for at least one of the nights being a Fri or Sat tho as there the best nights out

haha bottler, id love to go, all the talk is getting me in the mood but last year i went for a week over 2 visits when id just got back from America but going to the States for 2 weeks in early April again in 2012 so ill make do with the Shootout as my snooker fix for the first half of next year.

Hows the nightlife in York by the way Sonny? Or you been too busy in the "media centre"?

Witz78 wrote:haha bottler, id love to go, all the talk is getting me in the mood but last year i went for a week over 2 visits when id just got back from America but going to the States for 2 weeks in early April again in 2012 so ill make do with the Shootout as my snooker fix for the first half of next year.

Hows the nightlife in York by the way Sonny? Or you been too busy in the "media centre"?

Is the Shootout in Blackpool again this year mate ?

Witz pretty much hit the nail on why its good to go the first weekend, I'm thinking the whole thing gets more serious as the two weeks go on so maybe it depends on what you are looking for.

Will you not make it down at all this year Witz?

Casey wrote:Witz pretty much hit the nail on why its good to go the first weekend, I'm thinking the whole thing gets more serious as the two weeks go on so maybe it depends on what you are looking for.

Will you not make it down at all this year Witz?

Yeh I do just think it would be a better fun experience in the first week, I think witz is spot on seeing more players and getting more results early on, well as it being cheaper. I know a lot of the casual fans will rather go to the semis and finals and pay a loada money just to do that but I ain't really up for that, I still think snooker's a much better TV sport than going live so if you're going up you gota implement some of the craziness in there like the piss-ups

They run some good betting specials in house as well, like a special on a 147 that day or say 3+ 100's in a particular match. Last year I won a T Shirt but it was XXL so went in the bin

It's a great experience man, you will love it. The whole buzz outside the theater as well with great weather, then there is the winter gardens as well were the BBC film.

Casey wrote:They run some good betting specials in house as well, like a special on a 147 that day or say 3+ 100's in a particular match. Last year I won a T Shirt but it was XXL so went in the bin

It's a great experience man, you will love it. The whole buzz outside the theater as well with great weather, then there is the winter gardens as well were the BBC film.

Yeh sounds too good an experience to turn down, just wana try and plan it early rather than any last-minute rush jobs. Must cost you a whack to get down, stay and everything from where you are mate ?

Bourne wrote:

Casey wrote:They run some good betting specials in house as well, like a special on a 147 that day or say 3+ 100's in a particular match. Last year I won a T Shirt but it was XXL so went in the bin

It's a great experience man, you will love it. The whole buzz outside the theater as well with great weather, then there is the winter gardens as well were the BBC film.

Yeh sounds too good an experience to turn down, just wana try and plan it early rather than any last-minute rush jobs. Must cost you a whack to get down, stay and everything from where you are mate ?

Yea, I fly into Liverpool and then get the train down to Sheffield so I'm usually down £150 before I pay for a hotel or anything. I stayed in the Novotel my first year there, its a great hotel but I went for a cheaper option in the travel lodge this year, meaning more money for cider and gambling. All that being said, I was very lucky at the bookies last year winning a good bit to help pay for the trip. Then there is the cost of eating out so take that into account, but all being said it's money well spent.
Hendry's final frame win over Perry with me sat in the front row is something I will never forget! The nightlife is also good, went to reflex with Witz on the Saturday night, ending up in some random Indian at 3am with a promise from Witz we would bump into Willie thorne

Then the Sunday it was out with Sonny and Smart, went to a bar called the graduate, Williams, Gould and Harold were there along with 3 or 4 refs. Also some of the well known faces that you see every year in the audience. Awesome craic!
I would recommendd getting ticketss as soon as you can, however when the final draw and order of play is known there will be more tickets availablee as some will send there's back.

Casey wrote:Witz pretty much hit the nail on why its good to go the first weekend, I'm thinking the whole thing gets more serious as the two weeks go on so maybe it depends on what you are looking for.

Will you not make it down at all this year Witz?

yeh totally, as i always say i only start to get properly INTO the tournament once im home from the trip and actually start watching the snooker properly some years ive got back home not even knowing whos won certain round 1 game s

yeh why pay over the odds to then have to sit like a choirboy getting a sore ass (Snookerfan ) watching the quarters, semis, final etc . For guys like us who are there for a mini holiday and some wine, women and song as well as the snooker, the first week is the best time to go.

Id like to go obviously but i really better not, what with my 6 months holiday this year i really need to start replenishing the bank balance again. That was my logic before i got my arm twisted into hitting the Shootout in Blackpool in Jan and a 2 week roadtrip and Wrestlemania trip in early April though so wouldnt rule out a Crucible appearance if for no other reason than to hit the Reflex again

Might sound like a stupid question witz but when you stick down a big bet do you tend to stay in the bookies and follow it or watch the match live in the arena, or just hide away in a darkened room for a few hours haha

Bourne wrote:Might sound like a stupid question witz but when you stick down a big bet do you tend to stay in the bookies and follow it or watch the match live in the arena, or just hide away in a darkened room for a few hours haha

for the Crucible i usually do my main round 1 accumulator before i go down so thats maybe a £300 line foir a return of £2000-3000 (one of these years itll come up )

i usually just let it take care of itself, usually its bust pretty soon anyway

my normal bets i do down there are usually spur of the moment, to be honest im permanetly on the drink when im down there so the factor of whether ive got a bet on or not doesnt really influence whether i go into the arena or not.

Last year with 6 days of tickets 60t £250 cost roughly i think i saw something like 18 frames in the arena out of a potential 160. Did see the conclusion to Judd whipping Jono ass

Having a look at Novotel now online and they don't seem to have rooms for the days i'd wana go Gona browse the others now.

Ibis £100 for a standard 3 nights, £125 with two 'free' breakfasts ( ) or £140 with 'free' movies, music 'n broadband

£100 option go for

sod brekkie, the Indian will still be in you from a few hours earlier haha

if your fit for eating fair enough and just pay for it then or just grab a good ole cheap and nasty bacon roll inside the Crucible first thing.

nowt better than rolling out of bed feeling like crap and staggering towards Tudor Square and almost beinbg blinded by the daylight then realising despite a shower you still feel dead to the world. Nevermind, a good few swigs of cider in the Square with the resident tramp soon sorts you out.

and sod the movies, music and downloads, if your hangin about the hotel doing that your worse than Snookerfan haha

Witz78 wrote:£100 option go for

sod brekkie, the Indian will still be in you from a few hours earlier haha

if your fit for eating fair enough and just pay for it then or just grab a good ole cheap and nasty bacon roll inside the Crucible first thing.

nowt better than rolling out of bed feeling like crap and staggering towards Tudor Square and almost beinbg blinded by the daylight then realising despite a shower you still feel dead to the world. Nevermind, a good few swigs of cider in the Square with the resident tramp soon sorts you out.

and sod the movies, music and downloads, if your hangin about the hotel doing that your worse than Snookerfan haha

Yeh sod that rubbish haha
Just browsing for tickets now, £20 for first day sessions seems reasonable specially considering some of the available seats, if i'm lookin' at this right then there seems to be the three Front Row Brian seats available on table one for the day 1 evening session

they werent available when the tickets first went on sale the first 5 rows were held back

they musta released them now, depends whether you wanna be on tv and able to touch the players. personally i prefer being up the back as easier to sneak in and out, plus can sly drink in too. Also nowt worse than being in the glare of the cameras and lights when your hungover to hell. Plus to be honest the view say, halfway up around row F-H is prob as good as anywhere, ideally you wanna be near the middle too so you can see both tables, though perhaps after the UK they woint bother with a curtain at Crucible either.

£1 return on megabus

Bourne wrote:£1 return on megabus

The Ibis is close to the Crucible, well there are lots of hotels close by meaning good value for money.

Being close to the table when watching is something not to be underestimated, makes you appreciate just how good these guys are, and you also pick up on any swearing or niggle between players, or perhaps if you have a bet on and you laugh at a fluke (like I did when Pagett got a massive fluke vs Cope).

Casey wrote:

Bourne wrote:£1 return on megabus

The Ibis is close to the Crucible, well there are lots of hotels close by meaning good value for money.

Yeh Ibis is my heavy odds-on choice at the minute considering the price. Just deciding whether to make it 3 or 4 days Saturday is about £20 more expensive too Is it worth comin' in on the Sunday and staying till Weds/Thurs ?

Bourne wrote:

Casey wrote:

Bourne wrote:£1 return on megabus

The Ibis is close to the Crucible, well there are lots of hotels close by meaning good value for money.

Yeh Ibis is my heavy odds-on choice at the minute considering the price. Just deciding whether to make it 3 or 4 days Saturday is about £20 more expensive too Is it worth comin' in on the Sunday and staying till Weds/Thurs ?

Those days will be good craic, Smart and I will be there and prob Sonny as well. You will also get to see the conclusion of plenty of matches on those days.

Thats the great thing about week 1 - seeing matches conclude, seeing so many players and the place is totally buzzing for snooker.

get down for the Sat too mate if you can make it

if your just there Sunday to Tuesday youll not get a really mega night out

Bad news .......Novotel is fully booked on the days I required.

Good news........Mercure St Pauls just booked