Vale of tears

I took a few days off last weekend to enjoy the delights of the North Yorkshire coast. As a result, I haven’t been near Betfair. I would probably be quite a lot better off financially, had I not succumbed to the temptations of the penny fall machines, to which I have been addicted for about 30 years.

To my embarrassment, I spent about 12 hours over the course of three days feeding 2p pieces into these machines. The result was a crippling backache, 12 replica mobile phones, four soft toys, various packets of sweets, a pocket book about Thunderbird 4 – and a £40 hole in my wallet.

My absence from the computer necessitated a rare visit to a bookmaker. A different medium, but the same result. I got six out of seven correct on my football bet. The match that cost me almost £400 in lost winnings was Shrewsbury v Port Vale. Shrewsbury had won their four home games this season 4-0, 1-0, 7-0 and 2-0 respectively. Port Vale had lost five consecutive games. A home banker, you would have thought. But Port Vale scored a last-minute winner to secure a 2-1 win.

Running total: I'm hanging on in there