Anyone play? The weather is starting to cool down so it's almost the time of year to break out the croquet set.

First polo and now croquet? I think the Nickster has suddenly developed delusions of grandeur.:rolleyes:

Toodle pip and all that......................... :rolleyes:

Croquet's a great game...haven't played since my teens though, but would love to again.

 

All you need is the set (which isn't that expensive at all) and an average-sized lawn.

 

Shame it's coming into autumn here now, it's such a perfect summer game :)

It's John Prescott's favourite game, apparently.......................... :dozey:

DP

First polo and now croquet? I think the Nickster has suddenly developed delusions of grandeur.:rolleyes:

Toodle pip and all that......................... :rolleyes:

 

I've liked both since I was young, some people leave their houses Mark and do things in the real world...I know it's big and scary but you should check it out sometime.

 

Croquet's a great game...haven't played since my teens though, but would love to again.

 

All you need is the set (which isn't that expensive at all) and an average-sized lawn.

 

Shame it's coming into autumn here now, it's such a perfect summer game

 

It's a good cheap game.(still too expensive for Mark apparently).

I've liked both since I was young, some people leave their houses Mark and do things in the real world...I know it's big and scary but you should check it out sometime.

 

I bet I do more than you. I just got back from four hours of tennis a little while ago.:smug:

I bet I do more than you. I just got back from four hours of tennis a little while ago.:smug:

 

Wii Tennis games do not count.

Wii Tennis games do not count.

 

Which is why none of the "sport" you do counts!!:lol:

Really? That's the best you could do? I expected more from you Marcus.

Oh, have I stumbled in to yet another thread that was interesting until Mark started/continued one of his personal vendettas?

 

[/nevermind]

You should check out certain threads "Nick" has been creating about me before you come out with such biased garbage.;)

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62826

Really? That's the best you could do? I expected more from you Marcus.

 

Well I don't expect anything at all from you!!:lol:

You should check out certain threads "Nick" has been creating about me before you come out with such biased garbage.;)

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62826

 

That's the thank you I get for trying to help you out? Jerk.

You should check out certain threads "Nick" has been creating about me before you come out with such biased garbage.;)

http://www.coldplaying.com/forum/showthread.php?t=62826

 

I don't obsessively check every single thread on this entire forum to see what's going on (unlike you)...i just click on certain threads every day, whatever takes my fancy.

 

Yesterday I saw you trash Nick's polo thread, and here today I see the same thing. I haven't ever seen anything similar from him against you, so it's quite a simple conclusion to come to that you are doing your age-old thing of stalking people round the forum and ruining threads just because you had a disagreement with them elsewhere.

 

Pathetic.

I don't obsessively check every single thread on this entire forum to see what's going on (unlike you)...i just click on certain threads every day, whatever takes my fancy.

 

Well I would suggest you selectively click on threads which pander to your biased viewpoint.;)

 

Yesterday I saw you trash Nick's polo thread, and here today I see the same thing. I haven't ever seen anything similar from him against you, so it's quite a simple conclusion to come to that you are doing your age-old thing of stalking people round the forum and ruining threads just because you had a disagreement with them elsewhere.

 

Pathetic.

 

As I said, you obviously choose to see what you see, much like Mr. Wenger.

I think you'll find it's Nick (along with a few others) who's been doing the stalking, and there are several people who are aware of this.

;)

 

Plus I think you'll find that Kite (David) and I were merely having a bit of fun in that polo thread. There was certainly nothing "personal" going on, which is more than can be said for Nick's repeated behaviour.

I don't obsessively check every single thread on this entire forum to see what's going on (unlike you)...i just click on certain threads every day, whatever takes my fancy.

 

Yesterday I saw you trash Nick's polo thread, and here today I see the same thing. I haven't ever seen anything similar from him against you, so it's quite a simple conclusion to come to that you are doing your age-old thing of stalking people round the forum and ruining threads just because you had a disagreement with them elsewhere.

 

Pathetic.

 

I hardly think this is trashing a thread! It's already trashy as hell.

I hardly think this is trashing a thread! It's already trashy as hell.

 

And about an extremely boring topic to boot!!:laugh3:

Yes a thread about Croquet is trashy.

 

Maybe I should be a carbon copy of you and like everything you do? DAMN people with their different life styles!

And about an extremely boring topic to boot!!:laugh3:

 

Than if you're as innocent as you think, you have no place being in here and talking about it. If you truly aren't following people around to annoy them and don't like Croquet, you have no business in here.....

Prescott working hard - at playing croquet

 

By SIMON WALTERS & JONATHAN OLIVER, Mail On Sunday

Last updated at 21:31 31 May 2006

 

 

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'Good shot!' Prescott's party enjoy their game.

 

John Prescott's credibility as Deputy Prime Minister has suffered another huge blow with the disclosure that he was playing croquet at his official country mansion as Tony Blair jetted to America, leaving him in charge of the Government.

See more pictures of Prezza at play by clicking here

Astonishing photographs show how Mr Prescott - shamed after a steamy affair with his Whitehall diary secretary - relaxed with aides on the manicured lawns of Dorneywood while officials claimed he was running the country from his Whitehall office.

The pictures were taken on Thursday afternoon, shortly after Mr Blair left Downing Street to fly to the US for a summit with George Bush - leaving the Premiership in the hands of his deputy.

But instead of concentrating on matters of state, Mr Prescott drove straight to his grace-and-favour residence in Buckinghamshire to stroll the 200-acre grounds, take refreshments and enjoy a game of croquet with political aides and civil servants.

The disclosure is certain to add to the pressure on Mr Blair to dismiss Mr Prescott, now seen as a laughing stock and a political liability to an already beleaguered Prime Minister. Labour backbenchers will be horrified that Mr Prescott chose to flaunt his stately home by playing croquet - a game they associate with effete toffs.

Mr Blair returned from Washington early yesterday, only to fly off for an eight-day Italian holiday - once again leaving his deputy in charge.

Mr Blair has already come under intense criticism for refusing to dismiss Mr Prescott after details of his scandalous affair with diary secretary Tracey Temple were revealed by The Mail on Sunday last month.

It led Mr Prescott to lose his sprawling Whitehall department in a Cabinet reshuffle. But the Prime Minister's decision to allow him to retain the Deputy Premiership along with his two grace-and-favour houses - he conducted his affair with Miss Temple at his Admiralty House apartment - caused uproar and led to Whitehall rumours that his deputy 'had something' on Mr Blair.

This was further fuelled when it emerged that Mr Blair tried to force Mr Prescott to give up Dorneywood, but Mr Prescott had adamantly refused.

His decision to go there the moment the Prime Minister left the country was seen in Whitehall as a deliberate act of defiance.

Mr Blair's plane left for Washington at 2pm on Thursday. Yet by 3.45pm, by which time Mr Blair had not long left British airspace, Mr Prescott was seen leading his guests on a tour of Dorneywood's pristine gardens, in full view of passing cars and ramblers in the roads bordering the grounds.

At 4pm he strolled alone among cattle on the estate, looking more like a feudal lord of the 21-room manor house than a 21st Century Deputy Prime Minister of Britain.

Having inspected the livestock, he returned to the house, re-emerging on the lawn at 4.15pm with members of his Whitehall office team for the croquet game.

Taking part were Mr Prescott's £100,000-a-year Principal Private Secretary Philip Cox and long-standing special adviser Joan Hammell. The players also included Ms Hammell's £35,000-a-year assistant Jackie Geeves, who is in her 30s and married.

Against a lush backdrop of lilac wisteria cascading down the red brickwork of the mansion, Mr Prescott led the way, wielding a mallet high in the air, smashing his yellow ball towards the first hoop.

However, the shot went wide of the mark and ended up in the deep undergrowth, forcing Mr Prescott to go off in search of his ball.

The officials were joined by three other men, believed to be Mr Prescott's two Police Special Branch guards and another man in a black shirt with a white jumper tied round his waist. At one stage, an attractive blonde woman was seen walking across the terrace holding a bottle of wine.

They played croquet for nearly an hour and later gathered at the gazebo to the side of the house for a picnic.

Mr Prescott, wearing cream slacks and an open-necked shirt, relaxed with friends including his Parliamentary Private Secretary, Labour MP Paul Clark - his Commons 'bag carrier' - who was seen enjoying a drink. There was no sign of Mr Prescott's wife Pauline, who is understood to have been inside the house while the game was taking place.

Meanwhile Mr Prescott's Whitehall office went to great lengths to conceal his croquet expedition.

A spokeswoman said: 'We will not go into what he has been doing. He was in Cabinet on Thursday morning and then had loads of meetings with officials. He was at his normal office in Whitehall in the Cabinet Office.' Asked if she was sure, she said: 'I will check but we don't give out details of his movements for security reasons.' She made no mention of Dorneywood.

However, when The Mail on Sunday later approached Mr Clark he confirmed he had enjoyed a round of croquet with the Deputy Prime Minister during a departmental 'away day'.

He said: 'We are just restructuring the Deputy Prime Minister's office, taking on new responsibilities and, as many departments do, we have away days to be able to concentrate on the issues.'

Asked to justify the croquet match, he exclaimed: 'We are allowed to have a lunch break.' He did not explain why their lunch break appeared to last all afternoon.

Joan Hammell added: 'We have no reason to hide anything. If he had been away at a theme park that might be different. But we were at Dorneywood. No10 knew where we were. We were able to take all the usual phone calls that we could have taken in Whitehall.

'A lot has changed since the reshuffle. So we were there building our team. Despite the fact we were out of London, John was still acting as Deputy Prime Minister.

'John being there on Thursday was no different to Tony Blair being at Chequers.

'Dorneywood has been in the hands of the state for 50 years. There have been more Tory Ministers who have used it than Labour Ministers. There was a whole day's worth of meetings. We had a short break out in the garden.

'I don't know there's anything wrong with that. In fact, the croquet set was given to the house by Kenneth Clarke when he was the resident there.

'Work continued all the way through, even the croquet game.

'When I was playing, I had three faxes brought out. I then went back inside to make phone calls. We are working seven days a week, we can promise you.'

Last night Opposition MPs reacted with fury at the croquet revelations. Tory Shadow Cabinet member Chris Grayling said: 'Most MPs and Ministers were at Westminster doing their jobs on Thursday. If

John Prescott hasn't got anything better to do than playing croquet at Dorneywood when the Commons was sitting, then he really has got a non-job.

'This is obviously running the country the John Prescott way. Even when he is supposed to be in charge he is not doing any work, all of which proves he is a monumental waste of money.'

A Downing Street spokesman said: 'Mr Blair attended Cabinet and a meeting regarding the new pensions policy and then left No10 at around lunchtime.

'He arrived in Washington at around teatime.'

The Prime Minister has only limited power to discipline his deputy. To sack him as Deputy Prime Minister would throw the party further into crisis and would jeopar-dise Mr Blair's Premiership.

Mr Prescott is also Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, a job that, if it became vacant, would result in a full-scale ballot of MPs, trade unionists and party members. The vote would inevitably destabilise an already weakened Prime Minister who many think should hand over to Gordon Brown.

An estimated £2.3million has been spent on running Dorneywood since Mr Prescott became Deputy Prime Minister in 1997.

The accounts of the trust which runs the estate show that a total of £409,000 has been spent on gardeners employed by the National Trust, which maintains the grounds.

More than £28,000 has been spent on garden equipment and an estimated further £1,000 a year is spent on stocking the wine cellar.

The estate combines woods, parks and fields and the grounds include a kitchen garden, magnificent herbaceous borders, rose displays, a massive Victorian-style greenhouse overlooking a lily pond and fountain, as well as several conservatories.

Meanwhile, Labour backbenchers are plotting moves to unseat Prescott, according to fresh reports.

The Sunday Times said that documents were being circulated by MPs who want senior Labour figures to approach Tony Blair and tell him that Mr Prescott has lost their support and should consider stepping down.

Prescott has come under fire for holding onto his £133,000 ministerial salary and grace-and-favour homes despite being stripped of his department in the recent reshuffle. And some female MPs are said to be furious over his affair with Tracey Temple, a civil servant in his department.

The issue could be raised at the next meeting of the parliamentary committee of half a dozen senior backbenchers who meet the Prime Minister weekly to keep him in touch with the thinking of the Westminster rank-and-file.

One of the committee's members, Reading West MP Martin Salter, said: "There's absolutely no doubt that John Prescott's situation has become a significant political issue for us."

The Sunday Times named Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain, Education Secretary Alan Johnson and constitutional affairs minister Harriet Harman as potential successors to Mr Prescott.

In an interview with GMTV, Ms Harman made what some Westminster insiders viewed as a veiled pitch for the job, saying it was a "necessity" for Labour's next Deputy Prime Minister to be a woman.

But she said she would prefer to see a team of three - a leader and two deputies - including at least one woman.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-388046/Prescott-working-hard--playing-croquet.html#ixzz0Szz6wg4I

Than if you're as innocent as you think, you have no place being in here and talking about it. If you truly aren't following people around to annoy them and don't like Croquet, you have no business in here.....

 

I'm perfectly entitled to have an opinion about croquet or anything else for that matter. It's my democratic right.;)

However, you have no business creating threads about me.:smug:

Prescott honoured by croquet club

 

 

John Prescott was revealed as an unlikely croquet fan

 

John Prescott has been awarded a mallet by the British Croquet Association for boosting interest in the game.

The former deputy prime minister was ridiculed by the press when he was pictured playing croquet with staff at former country residence Dorneywood.

But he claims to have had the last laugh after being presented with a new mallet at a ceremony in Yorkshire.

"Apparently sales have gone up 40%," said Mr Prescott at the Edinburgh international book festival.

A spokeswoman for the British Croquet Association said interest in the game rocketed after pictures of Mr Prescott wielding a mallet were splashed across the newspapers two years ago.

"Croquet gained a lot of publicity thanks to Mr Prescott. There was a big increase in the number of inquiries to our online shop. Our membership also increased."

Mr Prescott's working class image may even have helped broaden the appeal of the game, which is traditionally associated with the upper classes.

"We are a pretty egalitarian bunch," the spokeswoman added.

She said the Hull East MP had been presented with a mallet at croquet club in Beverley, Yorkshire, in a private ceremony.

At the same book event in Edinburgh, Mr Prescott also revealed he now owned two Jaguar cars, living up to his "two Jags" nickname, according to the London Evening Standard.

"My wife didn't like stooping down low to get into the XJS so we bought another Jaguar, a second-hand Sovereign, for £4,000," said Mr Prescott.

I'm perfectly entitled to have an opinion about croquet or anything else for that matter. It's my democratic right.;)

However, you have no business creating threads about me.:smug:

 

But you said you're not following people around, yet every thing I post you don't like and you have to attack. I have a right to make threads about you, it's my democratic right.

 

You just claimed not to be doing something, and then claimed you are. You can't say your not following my posts, yet say you have a right to and do.

But you said you're not following people around, yet every thing I post you don't like and you have to attack. I have a right to make threads about you, it's my democratic right.

 

Well in that case you are in no position to complain when something like this happens.

If you can't take the heat and all that................................

 

You just claimed not to be doing something, and then claimed you are. You can't say your not following my posts, yet say you have a right to and do.

 

I post in many threads. Some of them just happen to be yours, which is inevitable.:rolleyes:

Anything else on your part is just paranoia.;)