As others have said before, this place has been a constant in our lives for a very long time, and I'm pretty sure it'd leave a pretty big hole for most of us if it wasn't here.
I joined in the early days shortly after the C4 demise, and over the years I've been fortunate to meet with many members on here past and present. Cheltenham Car Park at the November Meeting many moons ago is a particular fond memory, but it's also good to have met many other members at race meetings over the years. It feels like a bit of a family to be honest. Does any family have this many dysfunctional cousins though!
A busy life at times means I don't post as much as I'd like to these days, but I can't imagine not having the chat and banter on here, and I'll never understand how social media platforms can be better than what we have on the forum. They're just not the same, and impossibly useless for any kind of meaningful discussion.
Thanks Col for everything you've done for us over the years. Challenges have been plenty with things like software blips and upgrades, and 'challenging characters', but you've kept things moving forward with a balanced approach, and no little amount of personal time invested for the benefit of us all. And we've survived when many other similar websites have fallen by the wayside. It's no mean feat what you've continued to do for us.
There are plenty more that have contributed over the years and made this place what it is. Either through entertaining contributions, deep racing knowledge, involvement in the industry, keeping us abreast of your horses, betting knowledge, form reading, etc. Even those who have dropped the hand grenades. Let's face it, some of 'those' threads have been very entertaining to read, before the inevitable demise of the member who can't help going that one step too far. We don't like to admit it but there is some kind of strange voyeuristic entertainment in some of the arguments and more volatile threads. Clearly that is unless you are on the receiving end of something that is unwarranted. We've had the downsides, and the one that really sticks out in my mind is the one that caused Bar The Bull to leave us. Anyway, thanks you lot for brightening up so many of my days over the best part of two decades now.
One person stands out above all others though. Roger (Diamond Geezer) is the heartbeat of this place, and I'd say his contribution over the last few years is possibly what has kept us going when other websites have stopped and fallen over. Most of us take part in and enjoy the competitions he runs. But they take a hige amount of personal time and effort to set up, and score. And then there's all the admin and organising of people and prizes too. Summer months preparing shortlists of horses, etc. And also us lot are like herding cats at times, so it's a thankless task, and one that I'm sure can be very frustrating at times. He is also a minefield of useful information. Stable stuff, stats, weather updates, what Twiston-Davies is having for tea, etc, So thanks Roger. You're an absolute bloody star.
Here's looking forward to another 21 years of banter, chat, and you lot passing on all your opinions and knowledge. Thanks for every single part of it.
