Right,

I have decided, after a fair bit of thinking last night when I was on, that I no longer feel I want to post on this board. This is a purely personal choice, made largely because I have begun to tire of the board and no longer see the point in living a 'Virtual reality life' alongside my increasingly busy real life!

Last night was the turning point, when I logged in and saw there was nobody here, yet still I waited. All this time I started to think: "Why are you doing this?". And to be honest, I couldn't answer that question in my own head!

Realistically, the next year or two is going to be extremely eventful for me, I have a harder second year at uni to do, plus the fact that I have recently been put into an elite squad for my county which means I will have a hell of a lot of tennis during the winter nights! And of course, i have a lovely girlfriend to share my time with and a new job at nights behind our local bar!

All this means that I could do with as few 'distractions' as possible, and, for want of a better word, both the BBC and latterly CC have proved a big 'distraction' to me.


Also, thinking about all this last night, I realised how things have gone full circle since I first joined the BBC tennis board more than a year ago.

My original motivation for looking at the BBC board was to look at the reaction after Maria Sharapova lost her Wimbledon title in the semifinals to Venus Williams. Before looking at the board the overwhelming view I had of Maria was of a generally immensely popular tennis player with a huge future who would do wonders for the sport. I was literally planning to look at the tennis board for a few minutes, have a quick say and be done with it.

However the frankly disgusting reaction to Maria losing her title on there (a minefield of vitriolic threads) prompted a reaction from me. I couldn't believe how narrow-minded people could be! I wasn't obsessed with Maria, but the reaction on the board made me feel I had to defend her!

As a result I ended up arguing the toss for a few days about Maria (school was over by then) and I started to make friends on the board. In the early days there was Styeffo, Pebs, SG, Biscuit, Amy, Andy, Dav, Dl, SB, Mkk, Nick and Tim from memory (sorry if i've left anyone out!). After a couple of weeks Heyupp had been formed and I was honoured to have been the subject of the first remark on there (the 'Melon Fella' :D)!

Anyway, over the next year, I was posting on the board a heck of a lot, too much looking back, and I ended up in a fair few wars of words with all sorts of people while at the same time having a good laugh! And the mods decided to target me and I ended up with 7 accounts premodded by the end I reckon!

Anyway, i then joined Centre Court after the BBC board went down, and it has also proved addictive! Some of the games and jokes going round are really great!


You guys will all remember that Sharapova won her second slam, the US Open, last week. Me backing her up since her Wimbledon defeat in 05 was justified, and that is also why i think the time is right for me to go now!


I would like to give huge thank yous to so many people on this board, here goes:

SB - For sharing the same sense of devil as me and always making me laugh! :D

Mo - For being such a lovely prescence every weekday morning, as well as a brilliant Poscar co-host! Would you care to host it? :D

Dl - For the brilliant Maria-Venus banter we've had, plus your instrument jokes!

Dav - For being Dav! roflmao

LDF, SG, WB, Amy and all the other young guns - For coping with all my smutty remarks, as well as being good conversation! :D

Pebs - For being like an 'Auntie' to me on these boards! :D

Styeffo - For being the father of Heyupp, as well as a right old laugh with it! :D

Andy - For always making me laugh and for the good chat about football, tennis, any sport going really! :D

Scolios - For being so lovely every time i've spoken to you - GO FED!

Our lovely mods - For allowing common sense to prevail and for creating such a great board!

Everybody else i've not mentioned - Thanks to all of you at various times for chatting to me!


Right, that's enough of me now - If you want to say goodbye just PM me and i'll respond, I don't know if you'll miss me or not, hopefully i've left some sort of legacy here!

Thanks guys :hug:

Sam :)

I understand the feeling matchstick.. but I guess you can still pop in now and then..... :) if I may say so , you amongst the others LDF, PEBS, GS2, NICK, dlo4 et al, being one of the few reasons I joined...

It is generally, the time when most people are most busy and the educational systems also get into swing so the very chirpy :) ones have taken a bit of a back seat.... and some are off to seek new adventures

You're leaving Sam, well who's going to wind me up now :rolleyes: ;)

I understand that you're very busy, but do you really need to completely leave? Surely you can come and visit when you have some downtime? :shrug:

Anyway, you've definitely contributed, to the post count if anything roflmao Try and drop by again :)

:( Sam

What ar we going to do without our resident Maria fan now? :shrug:

I guess we'll just have to wait til SG comes back ;)

Im sure you'll be missed but there really is no need to be so absolute and say im leaving forever and ever amen lol. You can always pop back on when you're not so busy like Dav said or just for the slams perhaps. A tennis fanatic like you surly wouldn't have a full life without posting on these tennis boards :lol:

See you around anyway :)

What uni do you go to out of interest?

I understand why you don't think I should be so definite in my decision - the problem is that once you pop back and say hello again, you can't stop (certainly in my case). It's like a drug!

No-one has upset me, and I understand about people going back to school/uni/college, but I just came to the decision that maybe I should cut loose! :D

University of Leicester - Maths with Astronomy :D

btw Maria looks gorgeous in my avatar :D - like a fairytale again :D

I was at University Of Leicester graduated in 2005!!

:o

I just missed you ark!

what did you graduate in? :D

I know what you mean. :) I have found boards too addicitve, and you waste a lot of time as a result. And it is interesting that you mentioned above that you logged on and noone was here and it made you think. I have done that before and it is especially annoying if you have balanced your time that day and decided you fancy coming on say mid evening as a wind down and it's empty! Cos then you realise that on less busy boards, you can't always fit them into your routine where you want them, and they are not working to suit what you want. Oddly I did nto post at all yesterday as I was quite busy. I had the chance but decided not to turn on my computer to have a break.

Anyway I don't want you to leave, you are one of the best posters on here to chat with becasue you can talk about a variety of subjects OTHER than tennis and you will entertain differing opinions and can have a proper conversation. Also you are honest, good natured and good humoured and we have had a right laugh on here. :D I respect your decision and your reasons if that is what you want to do, but PLEASE dont; leave! :pray: It won't be the same :cry: If you do leave I will send you loads of threatening e-mails and you will wish you had never left then! ;) roflmao

Anyway I hope I will see you again, you can still drop by :)

Politics!

Thanks SB :) And I bet you would send those emails too! roflmao

I've promised to come back at Xmas to help with the Poscars - it does break my heart in a way to make this decision, but I just feel I ought to do it otherwise I could be in danger of gettng myself stuck in a real rut! I am also going to be extremely busy I am sure when Uni starts up again and I have regular shifts behind the bar in the village! :D

You have made me laugh so much SB - I am sure that I will miss our drummer-bashing if nothing else! roflmao

Me too! :o With Modern History BSc.

I certainly know what you mean about tennis boards being a drug. The problem is there is always tennis going on and you know everyone so there will always be something draggin you here so I see why you need to 'cut loose.' :D

I start my first year of uni in a few weeks and suspect I will have to cut back on my time here and limit posting to certain days. :(

So do you play in your tennis squad in uni then sam or for the county of Leicester or what? Im intriuged :)

At Leicester!!! :o

Shows what a fantastic place it is eh? roflmao

Awww sam :o :(

I understand your decision that you want to be sane when you're a bit older( its too late for me roflmao ), but hopefully you'll drop in from time to time with your daily 600 posts :lol:

Yes i expect you to be at the poscars where i pip LDF for best tennis knowledge ;) roflmao

Bye Sam :ok:

Yes the drummer bashing was funny roflmao Working inthe local pub eh? Hope you are not going to spend all your hard earned cash on beer after your shift! roflmao Glad you enjoyed it and that I made you laugh. I never knew I was so funny, I should start charging for my entertainment services :D I do like a laugh, it is good for you. In real life though there are a lot of people who I certainly do NOT make laugh, in fact I make them :angry: and :cry: - well they ask fo rit! roflmao

Anyway good luck with everything and I hope things go weel at Uni and with your lovely GF. Laters :hug:

Best of luck when you start at uni James :)

A fortnight ago I got called by the Leicestershire LTA asking if I could join up with their squad for training over the winter - whether that means i'll be playing inter-county tennis next for them depends on how well I stand up I suppose!
I've been playing in a hell of a lot of summer tournaments in the last couple of years, doing pretty well. I won two last year, and this year I have won 3 so far, although I took a bit of a bashing in the County championships a couple of weeks back in the QF!

I did sign up to the Uni of Leicester tennis club - mind I couldn't be bothered to be honest in my first year! roflmao

This year i'm gonna take it a bit more seriously, the standard isn't exactly electrifying mind roflmao

thanks for asking :)

cheers dl, i'll miss you mate if only for the Venus/Maria bashing! roflmao

I still don't know how you won funniest poster last time though roflmao

cya ;)

cheers SB :hug:

Thanks Sam :)

I hope the standard isn't veryhigh at Warwick either; i might win sometimes then roflmao

Hope to see you around, you're a very interesting 3D poster :D

Best of luck :hug:

You're off to Warwick eh? :D

Well you never know our paths might well cross - I have a couple of friends at Warwick! :D

O well you never know we'll have to see :D

We can catch up at Christmas when I come back and see I've met any of your friends ;)

Right guys, this is it - i'm off for good now!

PM me if you want to say goodbye/good riddance, or when you're thinking about the Poscars!

bye everyone :hug:

bye Sam

*wonders who will tell smutty jokes*

Sorry to hear you're leaving Sam, but I completely understand - I'll try and chat to you on MSN sometime soon :)

:( awwwww Sam, dont leave us!

I can understand your reason, and I apologise for being one of those who havent been on of late, but I will miss you when I do stop by hun.

I hope it all goes well for you at uni, and if you are about on msn - give me a ping - will be nice to catch up.

Take care lovey :hug:

The place will be that much duller without Sam :(

Who's gonna sing instead? Me? roflmao

I know. :( We need characters like Sam. I'll mis shim.

I've just come back on this morning to thank you all for being so nice to me over all of this :)

This isn't me coming back, I literally came on to answer a couple of the many PM's i've had and to put a funny line in about Arsenal beating Man U yesterday! roflmao

see you at Xmas :) B)

Lowry!!!!!!

:blink: :blink:

I REALLY understand how addictive this place and other boards can be, you'll be missed a lot for sure.

A real character, that as long as i can remember(not long given my age mind) had never REALLY upset anyone and always had a comment to laugh at.

To everyone here, my apologies for not being around much either, work and stuff...i will make a concerted effort to pop on soon.

*looks for melon fella*