York Mornington Crescent Server Players' Profiles

The players:

• PaulWay

  Hailing from the small hamlet of Brisbane in sunny Australia, I now currently live in Melbourne, which is colder, damper, and infested with trams. The reasons for this move are a subject of contention at the time of writing (July 2001) - best not to ask. I am six-foot tall, brown of hair and blue of eye, with a beard which I might remove some day.

  I have now been playing MC competitively since 1995. Before that, I had scoffed - partly at the seeming simplicity of the ruleset and partly because of the absence of any people I knew who could actually play it. I had been introduced to it by friends, but they had retired from play and I could not draw them even on a game of Baker Street.

  Then, I found Delphi and, within a year, had migrated from that paradise turned chaos to the pleasant forum of York. From then on, I never looked back - I have been a gold-card IMCS referee for five years running and am now able to adjudicate grandmaster matches as part of a panel of three. The highlights of my MC playing so far has been the instigation of the International Mornington Crescent Internet Tournament (IMCIT), in which a team of Rob, Kevan, Jonathan and Kathryn compete, and playing Alison 'Crusher' Hall in the finals of the World Mornington Crescent Championships (which can be seen here, too.)

  I can be reached by the following means: Home Page : http://www.geocities.com/Athens/9791 - woefully out of date. Mail can be directed to mailto:paulway@earthling.net.

  I am a firm believer in the advantages of a flowing, progressive and elegant style - the tendency for current players to use slap-dash and haphazard manoeuvring is, I feel, only a drag on the game. On the Arnos Grove / Cockfosters debate, I continue to keep my negative stance, especially since the IMCS 1996 Rules Committee ratified the use of non-aligned junction shunting across both stations. This, to my mind, only confirms their Odd status.

• Phil

  I was born a Geordie, but this didn't prevent me listening to ISIHAC in my mum's kitchen while she was preparing my supper, way back in the mid-seventies I believe. I was immediately drawn to the intricacies and subtleties of MC, and started organising a small league at school.

  Unfortunately, I was forced to move around England a few times (for reasons I do not wish to mention) and was unable to dedicate sufficient time to playing in organised competition.

  I learnt most of my skills at Christmas, weddings and other family get-togethers when we would all sit round the table after a meal and show-off our new variations. My father was the first in our family to own a full set of MC rules, which is now out-dated by several modifications and amendments but still keeps pride of place in the glass-fronted cabinet over the sitting-room fireplace.

  My current style is usually defensive, with occasional bursts of strong aggressive play (usually when the weather is surprisingly good). I love the "charm" option introduced by Berners-Lee in '88, and often favour a "craw" of any nature.

  On the Arnos Grove/Cockfosters debate, I am strongly in favour of returning to the basic rule that crossing of water may only be permitted in relation to an increase of Beck's with left-handed piffling.

  You may contact me at phjones@hpslz16.cern.ch or find out more about me at http://nicewww.cern.ch/~phjones. The above addresses will change in October '96 when I return to De Montfort University, Leicester.

  Since the above was written I have (in no particular order)

  • fathered two children
  • got married
  • moved back to Leicester, thence to Dublin and finally to Drogheda (also in Ireland)
  • graduated from DMU
  • learnt TPF assembly language for IBM s/390 mainframes and how to
  • keep my programs below 1055 bytes
  • got a job at Lotus, doing Lotus Notes development and learnt how to keep my programs above 35Mb
  • bought a house
  • bought a car
  • shaved
  • learnt how to straddle more effectively (particularly at high LVs)
  • changed my email address to jones@ireland.com and my web site to http://www.philipmjones.com (the more perceptive might guess my real name)

• Sandy

  Right. I am Alexander 'Sandy' Robin Tulloch. I play from Huddersfield, the smaller dirtier bit just near Leeds. I've been playing as an amateur for years but took it up seriously about a year and a half ago. I'm a great fan of Wilbershaw's sweeping style. On the Arnos Grove/Cockfoster's debate I remain firmly neutral. I drink spirits rather than beer. My email address is a9450052@hud.ac.uk and I have a rather new, rather small and rather crappy web page lurking around somewhere. And though I missed out this year I'm working to get in the UK Mornington Crescent team in the 2000 Olympics. Aside from Murray in 1964 Scotland (My birthplace was Stirling) has been tragically under-represented in British Olympic MC teams...

• Jonathan

  Well, profile-wise, I started at the age of four, getting into the Kent MCC under 7's National 4-player Team League winning side as early as 1982. After a brief stint in Camden MCC's individuals under 12 'B' Team, I returned to Kent as a full-time youth player, playing in my much preferred 4-player team competition. This team speciality got me in to one England 'b' youth team as a substitute. However, as the England team quickly went from strength to strength, it became clear that I would have to look elsewhere to ever get a place. Luckily, my dual-nationality allowed me to play for Australia, being a regular in their team between 1990 and 1995 (the year in which we finished second to England in the World Cup). However, other pressures, and a particularly nasty elbow injury, forced me to give up International MC for the time being. Currently, I am still a signed Kent MCC 4's player, but play on loan for the 2nd Division Earl's Court Village MCC in London. However, I have always felt that fun, free and open tournaments such as those on Rob's excellent site are what Mornington Crescent is all about.

  I am fervently against any regulation of the Dollis Hill self-reverse situation, as I feel that all the complaints are unwarranted. In fact, in my humble opinion, Dollis Hill looping is a valuable part of the game, which players should learn to use to their advantage. It is hardly difficult, is it? As for the inevitable Arnos Grove/Cockfosters debate, I certainly felt that Kreuskov's comments at the Hong Kong Open were bang out of order. To be honest, the only really sensible answer in my opinion is to remove Arnos Grove's wild token and sort out the interchanges.

  I suppose having just read Sandy's profile, I ought to comment on my playing style, especially for the beginners out there. I am not an overly attacking player, preferring the patient build up, attractively flowing style of the great Hugo (sort of a cross between Kasparov and West Ham United, I suppose). I am also happy to advise on playing style, and can be mailed at j.w.hall@ic.ac.uk or hom@icradio.su.ic.ac.uk.

• Stuart

  Ah a profile, well My name is Stuart Clary (no relation to Julian, before you ask)I play from Falmouth in Cornwall where inbetween games of MC, I study broadcasting for a degree, I usually live in Chessington, Surrey. Email me at stuart.clary@falmouth.ac.uk and I have a new Home page. Thats it basically.

• Tim

  Hi fellow Crescenteers...well, lets start at the beginning, my name is Tim, and I have been playing since about 1995. Of course, at the outset, I didn't know my knid from my inversed strile, but now, after five years of play at both a professional (I was sponsored by Amoco, Bridgestone and CokeCola, which kept me in oil, tyres and tooth-rotting drinks for a few years -- until I realised that MC is not about the money, it is more the experience, and passing skills onto the younger generation), and amateur level, and I now supervise a weekly night-class in Didsbury Manchester, where pupils try to gain their City and Guilds Level 2 Mornington Crescent Certificates.

  At present, my time is mostly taken up by being a high class software engineer, and of course private MC tutoring, but if you need a hand, you might be able to catch me on tim@teamnetsol.com...

  Anyway, one of my students is having difficulty getting out of quite a tricky South Thames Bock, so I will be off...

• Yer Mom

  My name's John, and I have long hair. Very long hair. See the pilgrimage photos if you don't believe me. Anyway, I'm between jobs right now, but I'll probably be sysadminning or programming or similar. Or driving a train, with any luck. Still.

  I'm 27, or at least I was when I wrote this. I was born on August 27, 1970, should you want to calculate an up-to-date age. I've been playing MC for probably rather longer than I care to remember.

  Preferred colours: black, purple. Preferred team: puce. Preferred MC move: quarter-twist clockwise with reverse pike on the Jubilee. Gets 'em every time. (Well, except that time when my opponent had a couple of beige tokens stashed at Arnos Grove, but that's another matter)

  Donations of beer, cake, beer, money, beer, chocolate and beer are always welcomed: anybody particularly keen on helping the cause can let me know at lardboy@slack.org.uk. This announcement has been brought to you courtesy of Cheese-U-Like[tm].

• Kevan

  All-new overdue profile for the 21st century. Hello. I played at York since the very, very early days, but switched tracks to MCiOS when whatever happened happened, and have tried to restrict myself to just the one, since. If that. I've slouched around England quite a lot in that time, but seem to be quite solidly anchored in Lewes, East Sussex, at the moment.

  Personal Web pages are piled up at kevan.org (including a blog) - I'm also heavily entwined with Mornington Nomic, however alive it might be, have coughed out a couple of MC card games, and am unlikely to update the six-year-old league table ever again.

  Is that Arnos Grove/Cockfosters debate still going?

• The Cheesecake Man

  I've been a regular player since I discovered this marvellous site [Too kind. Ed.] earlier this year. I've no internet access at home in hilly Sheffield. I'm at Trinity College, Cambridge where I'm screwing up my maths degree rather effectively. As you may have noticed, I'm a fan of the Green Line Bus Interchange Check and believe this is a sadly underused feature of the modern game. I'm very intrigued by the incredible similarities between Tim (in Geneva) and a very silly Tim here without who I wouln't have acquired my nickname. In case you were wondering, it refers to an incident around 3am on 13th June 1995 in which me and another Tim hung bags of cheesecake on people's doors. I consider this event to be my greatest (oh alright, only) achievement. I don't have a home page but I do have an email address. It's this one (this would be a link if I knew how to do it (and suddenly it is))

• Yaowser

  "Hello? Anybody There? Hello? Hiya?" said the brown envelope. Thats a memory which triggers of my earliest memory of MC. I've been playing seriously and memorably for about two years now, but apparantly my parents indulged me in games when i was mere young 'un. I obviously picked up a great deal as when I left home and learnt of this server, I instantly got stuck in. I'm currently playing for the Leicester team with Kevan leading it and regularly give lessons to the misfortunate and uninformed players in Leicester/Birmingham. I've played for the England team a year ago but was removed instantly due to a unfortunate incident with an ear. I'm seeded 50th in Britain and 69th world wide.

  Like Kevan, i'm studying Computer Science at De Montfort University in Leicester. Many thanks to Rob for the server and Kevan for the shove in the right direction.

  My playing style. Well, i've been called unorthodox by a CAMREC official at the Newtown Tournament earlier this year. i choose to play defensively, but am partial to the Beck Sty Gamble. I've never actually won from a defensive tactic but my strategies of recent have been subtletly offensive. As ever i need to fortify my base manouvres.

  For a totally different view on drop in on Yaowser's Screaming Vibes or email me at c2ysn@dmu.ac.uk for any discussion or tips on defeating Kevan.

• Flibbertijibbert

  Okay, right, mmm, hi, Flibbertijibbert's profile then. I play in Manchester, where I've successfully managed to forget all the German I once knew since beginning to study German here. Libra. I haven't a great MC'ing history, but since discovering this site I've devoured every book I can find on the subject voraciously. 15th October. My personal favourite's Hugo H. H. Flywheel's "Unpleasant Crescent, or Destroy All Comers With The Weisswein Fricative Combo", though I'm usually a naturally defensive player, as can be seen in the way I've only won one game so far. Murphy's. I'm originally from a beautiful flowery fishport called Hull, which a lot more people should go and see. Email - mfzx5cjl@stud.man.ac.uk. As for Arnos Grove/Cockfosters, they should close them both down right now, they'r e a major danger to society and the game. Will that do? [Ed. Very nicely thankyou, but what'sthat about Murphy's and the 15th of October?.]

• Smile

  Real name Chris Lawton. 23 and studying for a Ph.D in gamma ray astronomy at Southampton University. Do lots of things in my spare time including athletics and playing MC. Have only been playing for three months but have been a long time fan of the game. This is due entirely to the listening of the popular program ISIHAC. I am still learning the fundamentals of the game but scored a confidence boosting early win in Pyhton Crescent. Have tried to convert people to crescent but they refuse because they say it is silly! Whatever gave them that idea? Email me on cdl@astro.soton.ac.uk 'cos I don't have a Web Page.

• Gavin

  Ocasionally known as Gui for reasons which would be otiose to rehearse at this time, I am studying Computer Science at the University of Sydney, Australia. In addition, I am also employed as a Network Administrator for an Internet Publishing company, which is how I eke out a fruitful, if meagre, existence.

  Despite my increasing familiarity with the London underground system, you may find that I prefer the more abstract games, that rely more upon the wings of imagination, than the more down-to-earth frame that is the world's rail systems.

  I am proud to count James and Kathryn (née KT) among the friends that I have met outside the MC sphere.

  I should be delighted if anyone would mail me at gavin@netclass.com.au
  At the moment my university account has been purged (or is that perjured) until semester re-starts, which means that my web page is currently off-line.

• Kathryn

  I was introduced to the quirks of Crescent during my impressionable younger years. Unfortunately I showed little early promise, and succeeded only in playing in local tournaments. A particular fault was a tendency to hang on to tokens for too long. However, I worked hard at my technique over several seasons while at the University of Sydney, and have been credited with the development of the now dated and largely useless Spiked Opening and associated Spiked Manoeuvre.

  I have recently transferred my headquarters to Bonn, in order to gain some much needed European experience. When I'm not brushing up on the latest entries in the Encyclopaedia, I'm doing my PhD in a vague mixture of DNA computing, molecular evolution and surface chemistry. I also have a whack at climbing every now and then, and I have been known to play the violin. I hope that in time I will be able to use DNA computing to solve some of the more intractable problems set by Mrs. Trellis in the late 70s as paradigms of the game.

  A sort of webpage exists here, or you can email me here: topp@who.net

• Andrew

  Like tcm (but not his cheesecake), I come from Sheffield in sunny old England. It's not really that hilly or dull once you get used to it. Right now I'm recovering from a year of Computer Science at the University of Durham, which is a fab and groovy place. I have one of these home page things, and even an email address of my very own, a.t.chadwick@dur.ac.uk. I realise that this makes me 'cyber', and quite possibly interactive as well, and I humbly apologise.

  Occasionally I will play from Sheffield, but that is because I know how to talk my way into getting the Uni there to let me in.

  In MC I like to make use of the Ongar Denial and occasionally the South Kensington Throcket, preferring to play down the District line.

• Rebecca

  My real name is, oddly enough, Rebecca. I play from 8 time zones away in rainy Oregon, United States, which could lead to some interesting delayed Ongar maneuvers. My playing style can range from solidly conservative to subtly subversive. In my opinion the Arnos Grove/Cockfosters debate can unquestionably be resolved either way, as the newly-revised rules at the time clearly allowed for such an ambiguous loophole. But then I have been told that my interpretation of recent rulings is entirely too liberal and I have been asked more than once to refrain from speaking at all about the Tottenham variations...so I shall not.

  Should you wish to visit my very boring, but extremely genuine web presence, well, I won't stand in your way.

• The Marquis

  Also known as Leon Boardman, I am 'studying' towards a PhD in an arcane literary topic at the University of Kent, as well as continuing more fruitful investigations into the effects of the Aldwych/Amersham Loop and the Hainault Rebound.

  The ultimate style guide, as far as I am concerned, has always been ISIHAC although Waldron's 1983 Ruling for the IMCS runs it a pretty close second. On the whole I'm in favour of retaining the more historic, pre-Chalk Farm forms of MC, and try and work them into my technique as much as possible. I'm also interested in the current rationalisation of the Cress ruleset.

  You can find out more at my spectacularly poor webpage or I can be e-mailed should anyone want to drop by for a pint of mild.

• Pablo

  The Hispanic nom-de-guerre hides Paul Sarcich from Melbourne, Australia. I lecture in music at the Victorian College of the Arts, but don't let that put you off. I can actually understand bits of what you scientists are saying because eons ago I took a degree in biochemistry (but had to give it back again when they discovered it was missing).

  I spent the last 2 years in the UK, where I discovered the joys of ISIHAC and of course MC. Being a newcomer to the game I am of course still learning the techniques and am intently watching the styles of the experts among you. You computer whizzes will have to be patient with me - like Mrs. Trellis, it took me a while to figure out which way the keyboard went.

  It was a joy to find the York Server, which has the limerick game too - what a bonus! Perhaps Rob might like to think about adding the Songbook game one day too...

  One fascinating aspect of MC so far is the concentration of debate on the AG/C, Dollis Hill and Hainault areas. I may be naive, but it has always struck me that the western areas are ripe for exploitation and imaginative play - one only has to think of the trifurcation of the District Line past Earl's Court and South Ken, coupled with the Picadilly and Circle, the possibilities seem endless, particularly for some spectacular Bloques Manques and right-tending blagging.

  No doubt I will learn better, very quickly. I don't have a zappy home page thingy, but can be emailed at pauls@wizard.teksupport.net.au or p.sarcich@vca.unimelb.edu.au.

• Anthony

  Me? You want to know about me? I'm flattered, really. The academic biography can't possibly interest you, but MC-related biography I wrote for Delphi may be relevant. I Thring, I run the Echo Cafe, get my kicks below Space and may eventually make everything in the Capsule go swish.

  There is no Arnos Grove / Cockfosters debate. Kreuskov is just totally wrong, plain and simple.

  I hope to have the pleasure of MCing with you soon, dear reader.

• James

  I hail from the great downunder,and came across MC quite by accident while Browsing one day. I recognised the game as the weird thing my friend Gavin played with the train station map, and decided to give it a quick try before moving on. Whoops. I'm stuck.

  Yes, I know Gavin (who showed me this server) and imagine my delight when KT turned out to be Kathryn Topp! I know them both, and fine upstanding citizens they are too (well, KT is).

  Info about me: I am enrolled in Biotechnology at Maquarie University, and am at present taking only one subject,Philosophy of Biology. Then I plan to put off any further study for a few years, during which time I might visit Europe. I deliver pizzas for a living (and what a fine job that is), and my hobbies include the SCA and long winded debates about, well, about anything at all, really. Anything I'm interested in can generally be found on My homepage, and anything you wish to say can be posted to me.

  The Arnos Grove/Cockfosters debate is possibly the only thing in the world I don't have an opinion on.

• miKi

  Unlike most players here, I came to MC late in life. It is not as though I didn't know what it was - I have listened to ISIHAC as long as I can remember, but it took a while for me to appreciate the intricacies of the game. I am a great believer in subtlety, no horrid unsupported straddles can be found in my play. Slides and strides are far more in keeping with the style I advocate.

  As to the Arnos Grove/Cockfosters debate - it misses the point completely. There will always be a safe escape. If you don't believe me, I suggest that you think about Beckwith. If you are still unsure then email me. Perhaps a more relevent question would be why are there so many antipodean players of MC on this server?

  Revealing my identity here is too easy for those people intrigued by my alias - you will have to do a tiny amount of digging to find out about me. Why not apply your trowel to my webpage or my email address?

• Jon

  *click* Aha, profile thing. Errm ok, I've just passed my IMCS referee exam (Earl of Derby/Queen Edith division membership 3) and I've been playing for longer than I care to remember. I have a cardboard-and-string webpage at http://dspace.dial.pipex.com/jonp/ and an e-mail address jonp@dial.pipex.com

  Oh yeah, I'm a sixth form student going (hopefully) to Sussex of [Or? Ed.] Bath in Sept. 97

  is it off now.... no, damn
  *click*

  Jon

• Silk

  Silk - My real name shall remain a mystery unless you look at my homepage. I arrived at York a rarity indeed, I had never played MC and was keen to learn the rules. Having lived in Essex for most of my life, with all the arguments and judgements that implies, I was unable to join any official MC club. Competitions were of course completely out of the question. Escaping the sanctions of living in a vilified region I moved to Oxford, studied Chemistry and got a copy of A Beginners Guide to MC, published by Osbourne. Childish this may seem but I've come on leaps and bounds. Studying at the Bodliean Library and watching the likes of PaulWay, James, Dunx, Kathryn and more has forced my game up to scratch. I'm pleased to say I'm a substitute for Andy Boal in the IMCC. I remain confused by the whole Arnos Grove/Cockfosters thing. Seems they have made a mountain out of a molehill if you ask me.

  Recently moved, my new address is J.B.Davey@exeter.ac.uk.

• Jenny

  Although a newcomer to the wonderful world of the Internet, I have been a keen player of MC for yonks (note to non-UK players: yonks = peanuts, or occasionally cashews). Since first playing MC at my grandmother's knee and my sister and her imaginary friend, I have learnt the strategy of Mornington Crescent the hard way - in latin. My earliest triumph was winning through to the quarter-finals of the Wilmington And District Under-16s championships, only narrowly missing out on a place in the semis. Sadly I turned 16 later that year and so never got a second chance at the title. However, the photographs of that quarter-final remain among my most treasured possessions.

  In all my years of playing MC, probably my most embarrassing mistake was attempting a reverse-shunt out of Clapham South, a move of dubious legality at the best of times and positively foolhardy in the light of three consecutive calls (one with diagonal counterspin) in quadrant 3. Well, I'm sure you can imagine the result. Luckily my opponents saw the funny side and I soon learnt from my mistake - although observant opponents will no doubt notice that I am still somewhat wary of flanking south of the river. I like to think that my flair in inverse knip situations more than makes up for this, however.

  My favourite variants are: 1. Latimer's Vertical (believe me, the introduction of omni-directional buntling adds a whole new dimension to the game); 2. Non-spoon Malham Advanced (with bridges wild); and 3. Tricolour 88 (a criminally under-rated variant with ample opportunity for bluffing.)

  I am also a great supporter of Convex Hilliard (the simplified limited-token version of Standard Malham), which I introduced to the regulars of Hillcrest Bingo Club, Wilmington, shortly before its untimely closure last year. I hope to someday purchase the premises with a view to opening the first dedicated Mornington Crescent centre outside London. Any cash donations would be gratefully recieved.

  When not organising MC games for the benefit of the community, I spend much of my time sleeping. I also try to fit in plenty of walking, sitting, standing and leaning. I like marshmallows.

  I am currently doing research for a major project, the results of which are due to be published in 2001. As a leading expert in my field, I find that I am often being asked questions at the very cutting edge of modern enquiry. These questions will form the backbone (or "spine") of the major project for which I am currently doing research.

  I live in Wilmington and have a cat, five goldfish, two unicorns, four luminous dormice and an overactive imagination.

• The Unknown Anorak

  In 1983 a sideburned fool was sent to Chalk Farm for a crime he did not commit. He promptly escaped into the London Underground where he survives as a mercenary, fixer and advocate of Liemann methods for spin calculations. If you have a problem with Murmauer variables, if no-one at IMCS can help, and if you can find him under his 16' square zones 1-6+D map, maybe you can hire The Unknown Anorak! (Or you could just Email him.)

• King Arthur

  Not, you will be astonished to learn, a genuine monarch, nor indeed someone named Arthur, the name is merely a combination of having once lived in an Australian town named Avalon, and incurable delusions of grandeur.

  Grew up in Reading, Berkshire, a feat of endurance often overlooked, and Poole, Dorset. Became inveigled into the mystic world of the Crescent after wandering into the famed Windsor grudge match between Berkley and Ledbetter-Thomas Vs. Czally and O'Toole. Self-taught from a handful of crumbly regional text-books in his great-uncle's attic, including Lord Roughborough's 'Mornington Crescent - a Diversionary Sport for Gentlemen' This explains his fascination for pre-twentieth century play. Currently absent from this server on a doomed mission to introduce the English language and the delights of a Bakerloo redouble to the unsuspecting Polish nation. Expect him back in October, when he will take delight in compromising his English degree at Peterhouse, Cambridge, in favour of clawing his way up the league table.

  His favourite station is Charing Cross (Nelson's column, unlimited bookshops, and a stranglehold on Jubilee Spoon attempts - what a combination!), and his stance on AC/C a closely guarded secret, as is his name. Well, not that closely guarded, obviously. E-mailers to Wilkyn@Aol.ac.uk, for instance, would probably find it with little dificulty. It's not Wilkyn, though. That would be too simple, Mr.Bond.

  He is unsure why he has lapsed into third person. Would He be kind enough to tell Him who He thinks He is?

• Felix

  I am Felix [aka. Rob Bayliss], a first year maths student at the University of Warwick. I am not really a cat, although I have suffered an identity crisis along those lines for quite some time. I dedicate what progress I make in Mornington Crescent to the greater glory of the feline race.

  I'm still somewhat new to the great game, having discovered it when I came to University in autumn '96, but I like to think that I have been accepted and that I embrace the spirit of ISIHAC.

  My playing style is erratic, varying from opportunistic mayhem to the carefully planned coup, but I appear to be cursed with miserable luck, which other players [notably the great PaulWay] may occasionally exploit. Still, we learn a little every day...

  Email on: mauln@csv.warwick.ac.uk

• comocomo

  As yet I regard myself as the most inexperienced of novice players, though I hope to improve my playing style drastically once I find my map of the Underground which is buried somewhere in my bedroom.

  I am a first-year Politics student at the University of Western Australia, so although I have plenty of company as far as Australian players goes, I believe that I'm the only sandgroper on the York server. I am, believe it or not, the first-born son of Pablo, my real name being Raif Sarcich. I first became aware of MC through some tapes he sent me which contained episodes of ISIHAC recorded of the radio. Last year I occasionally read printed-out copies of MC games and when this year I got net access through University, I rejoiced in the opportunity to actually play MC in the relaxed, friendly atmosphere of the York server (though my enjoyment has been frustrated by the horrendous text-only browser I have to use).

  My playing name refers to the appalling suburb I live in in my home city, Perth. If anyone would like to email me my address is nihilist@tartarus.uwa.edu.au.

  My playing style is fairly conservative, concentrating mainly on the central loop line and nearby stations, though I hope to start including the DLR in my play as I become more experienced. Some may have noticed my strange compulsion to use the Heathrow stations whenever possible, despite the obvious dangers. I can only put this down to a supressed wish to be a penguin, exacerbated by living under high-voltage power lines as an infant. As for the Arnos Grove/Cockfosters debate, as a gut feeling, I'm in favour... though I can't really say why.

• Monkian

  Behold, this is Monkian (a.k.a. Jon Good). I currently reside in the exotic climes of St. Andrews Uni in Scotland where a I am continuing my three year background in Mornington Crescent. I prefer to use the vastly under rated variations of Heinsman and Flutterman (and occassionally, Weismuller), being fond of watery entries and viscious straddling. I am currently ranked number two in the Celtic national league, and dabble in the lesser played Scottish version of Morningside Crescent. Remember people: when you see the name of Monkian on the player's list, it's time to don the bicycle clips and pray that there's enough slack in your trousers to cope!

• Dunx

  I'm Duncan Ellis, and have been all my life despite being given the first name of James. My profession of programming has recently led me to leave Britain's fair shores and move to Portland, Oregon, the Mornington Crescent capital of America. Well, anything to get away from Surrey.

  Despite occasional sideways comments from my grandfather which make me suspect he was partial to a game of Arterial Crescent as a medical student (he would have been a fearsome player if he had taken it seriously), there is no established family tradition of Crescent play. My introduction to the game was through the medium of an ISIHAC compilation volume that I bought with a book token won in a Sunday School bible knowledge competition. MC was immediately fascinating, and I spent many hours trying to divine some structure from the three slight examples in that volume.

  School and University were devoid of Crescent play for me, Ilkley Grammar School having no public team (a very strange situation which I do not fully understand even now) and Liverpool University being expelled from the College Leagues after the Talacker Trials (indeed, the suppression of this embarrassment was so complete within the University that I only found out about it after being warned not to revisit that city by the Camberley MCC captain).

  Indeed, I did not play MC at all until noticing a tiny card stapled to a telegraph pole on the A30 outside Camberley. Camberley MCC was (and still is for I care) a weak and parochial team, but they do have a fantastic archive which I was given the opportunity to peruse at some length. I was however dissatisfied with the limited opportunities for play (there are only so many times you can enjoy trouncing another intake of callow Sandhurst recruits), attempts to found a Frimley sub-club foundered, and I left without achieving ranking.

  My game did not truly begin to grow until my discovery of the late lamented Delphi site; since that fateful day, the resulting wide opportunities for challenging play with fascinating players from around the world has led me to a much finer appreciation for the form and subtleties of the Game. I have played on every major MC server, and have my own (admittedly minor) outpost also.

  Other related interests include the fascinating Mornington Nomic, for which I currently Speak, and a continuing correspondence with that great theorist Grossman (his collaboration with Mrs Trellis on Quantum Token Dynamics has opened as many new lines of enquiry as it has settled old arguments; Arnos Grove/Cockfosters is simply irrelevant now, and Fosdyke Coefficients really come into their own when you can fully model tertiary zonon exchanges).

  I may be contacted by the wonder of email, or you might like to visit my web site.

  May your tokens never evaporate.

• Hugo Rune

  Also known as 'guru'. In actuality, I've only been applying myself to the Zen-like art of Crescent for a very short time, at least here at York. Those who have come to know my playing style will probably describe it as surreal-defensive. Or, as the case may be, not.

  I am contactable, at least for now, at morbidharvester@hotmail.com, although response times may be a little slow. I am also currently writing a fairly simple Cresc sim (RMC) which works by weighting available stations and picking the most advantageous. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't.

  Finally, I enjoy a game of straight Crescent, although I have been known to divulge in some of the more outre forms occasionally. I also enjoy derivatives such as limerick games.

• Gil (Gil Williamson)

  Too long in the tooth for these undergraduate-style larks, Gil, at 57, is also too old for competitive Kart Racing, which he still does to a terrible extent.

  On the other hand, having written his first program in 1964, you'd have thought he could have done better than the MC game he's now encouraging people to play at his web site.

  He does, however, have the honour of having listened to the very first MC game on the wireless. He thinks it was on the Home Service of the BBC, but isn't sure, because the halfpenny in his gas meter ran out (it was actually a shilling meter, specially trained with a mallet to accept halfpennies), and the radio lost its head of steam and stopped before the end of the program.

  Further evidence of having two feet in the past is that he still thinks text adventures are a pretty cool idea, and he has even written a book about creating them!

  Born in Scotland, and having spent his formative years there, and in Malaya, Sweden and Finland, he has given up extremes of weather, and has not lived further than 40 minutes from the Met. Office since 1975, taking the view that if anyone knows where to build their HQ for optimum climate, it's them, and so it has proved, two hurricanes, several droughts and alternate heat-death and ice-age notwithstanding.

  He is also capable of writing a 70+-word sentence as a single paragraph, and ending it with a 15-letter word he doesn't know the meaning of (see above). He can also end a sentence with a preposition.

  All the above qualifies him as an Elder Statesman Mornington Crescent player. Mail him at gil@cix.co.uk.

• Daz

  Daz Ultra is a pseudonym for the ever inimitable Andrew Ormerod (who sometimes uses his middle inital, W, just to confuse people). He hails from Zone 3 in the West where he spends his time being a student in the upper echelons of secondary-school - which must surely make him one of the youngest players on the server. He enjoys himself far too much when playing MC, and doesn't mind sacrificing a victory in order to perform a Goden Move or a Complex Shift - or, naturally, Knightsbridge to Ongar/Ongar to Knightsbridge, but, hey, who wouldn't. He doesn't believe in playing Dollis Hill, unless it would put him in a strategically advantageous position, to sweep the game deftly into his pocket with a Lateral-Lateral-Diagonal-Game-Shift manouvre. His small but satisfying pleasures in life are MC, Frasier, Haagen-Dazs and Modern Classical music. E-mail him at pamandand@mail.bogo.co.uk

• Dan

  Hailing from scenic GMT-0700, where MC enjoys the same exalted status as Cricket and jellied eels, I became acquainted with ISIHAC whilst working for a lot of shifty types in London. The subtleties of the game eluded me for a time and I confess I still struggle with defensive byshunts in token-biased game states.

  I've played on York since late '96, keeping to a fairly conservative style, biding my time until the right opening occurs, then whammo! A aggressive play possessing such refinement and subtle misdirection as to have no measurable effect on the game whatsoever.

  For a living I develop clinical laboratory software of some kind, do a bit of freelance writing and organize buffalo stampedes. My home page, thrown together on a whim a year or so ago, is the usual indifferently-maintained handcrafted mess but it does have the rare (and in a home page, pointless) quality of mostly avoiding the use of the personal pronoun. I can be E-mailed here, though the heaping of abuse is encouraged only on alternate Wednesdays.

• Suzy Creamcheese

  Hello, I'm Suzy Creamcheese. As those in the know will no doubt be aware, I'm Suzy Creamcheese because I didn't make the surfing set, I couldn't cut the beatnik set, I couldn't work the groupie set, and, basically, I really f(ar)k(l)ed up in Europe too.

  I came in to the world of MC mainly because of the fair Catherine, and have since then become enamoured of the post-patriarchal playing style pioneered by Imelda Rotherington in the late sixties. Although occasionally archaic and contrived, Rotherington at her best was more than a match for any player, and her invention of the Gospel Oak Shuttle revolutionised competetive MC in '72.

  When I'm not playing at York I study for a degree in English and Performing Arts at De Montfort University, Leicester. I have a website that I update occasionally, and an email address that I check regularly.

  Two more things: I AM really a girl, and I am NOT really dead.

• Fat German

  I discovered MC at a very early age and have never lost that sense of bewilderment and confusion that I encountered that first time I heard my grandmother arguing about reverse shunts with my father. Since then I have played MC on an occasional basis whenever I could find someone who knew the rules. My favourite move is a Blaby Half Axel, especially to Goodge Street.

  I hail from north London, but the taxis usually ignore me. In my spare time I make unusual noises and train dust to settle in other people's houses. I work in the computer industry, but not through any fault of my own.

  I have a website and an email address. Oh, and I'm not fat. Or German.

• Catherine

  Like many children of my time I was brought up with Radio Four talking calmy in the background for most of the time I was in the house. Aside from the obvious joys of the shipping forecast and the serialisation of "The Lord of the Rings" on Sundays I was also drawn to ISIHAC. Since then I have been an avid MC spectator and began to play regularly myself in spring 1997.

  My preferred playing style is influenced by feminist MC players such as Rotherington although more recently I have been drawn to a more contemplative style, having been much impressed by Merlington's essay "Godot to Goodge Street: Samuel Beckett and the game of Mornington Crescent". Although Beckett did not speak publicly of his passion for MC he was a regular player on the French amatuer circuit.

  I travel the internet under the name of Catherine or occasionally my real name of 'frin. I have two main sets of web pages. One on FURY (a youth organisation) and the other has lots of sheep on it: The meadow. My e-mail is collected here. * f r u m e *

• Mrs Wild Pants

  Hello, this is the profile of Mrs Wild Pants (internet wife of Mr Wild Pants). My real name is Ann Squires and I am a Theatre Studies student at Scarborough University. I got into the realms of MC by accident through the recently deceased Delphi Server which I used to float around looking as if knew what was going on, but failing miserably.

  When I am not playing MC I am either eating, sleeping or on the phone to Mr Wild Pants, or if not that, in Mr Wild Pants' pants. I do have a home page but can't think what the hell its address is but I can be reached via two email addresses firstly Uni address and a web address which I check through the holidays:ags@PO3.uscarb.ac.uk and squiresag@usa.net.

• The Wandering Lion

  From deep in the heart of Central Florida comes the Wandering Lion. I grew up playing the US version of MC that was briefly marketed by Hasbro. This game, however, suffered in the same way that 'Til Death Us Do Part did - It lost a lot in the translation.

  Taking their cue from Monopoly, that exchanged Vermont Ave for some lane called Picadilly, Hasbro used the old New York El as a model. Of course, something as fabricated as this could never capture the true meaning of MC, and despite initial flurries of interest, 14th Street (as it was known) never really took off.

  My playing style is strictly looped around High Barnet gambits and slightly risqué attacks down the East London line to New Cross Gate when others least expect such a move. My forte (Charles, not Rocco) is extricating myself from the wilds of Middlesex and placing myself in a strong position viz. a viz. the District Line.

  Local opposition is tough to find here in Florida. With very possibly the poorest BBC World Service reception this side of Ulan Bator ISIHAC listnership was close to zero - well, one actually, me.

• Quantum

  Hi, I'm Quantum, and I'm a Ph.D. student, researching astrophysics at Leicester. Although a newcomer to York, I have been playing Mornington Crescent since my undergraduate days at Durham. While there, I mainly played under the Rules for Play on Licenced Premises, and of course in Durham the Palatine Ecclesiastical Modifiers are always used, with Amplifications. This accounts for my rather complex playing style, which I often use deliberately to confuse opponents. However, it also leads to my greatest weakness, which is of course, formulating intricate plans and then leaving one minor detail unattended to, which other players often use against me. However, I'm not really the sort of hyper-competitive player who has to try to win at all costs- I play Mornington Crescent simply for the fun of it, my intricate schemes are built up simply for the thrill of doing so, and when they go wrong, I enjoy the challenge of getting out of the trap I've landed myself in.

• The Fantastic Mr Aristotle

  
  Full Title: His Imperial Majesty, The Lord High Fantastic Mr Aristotle
  Real Name: Arthur Rameses Jodrell Constantine Louise Protocol
  Date of Birth: 12 November 647BC
  Home Town: London
  Profession: Bricklayer
  Preferred MC Playing Style: Left Arm Fast-Medium
  Favourite Ever MC Move: The Triple-spliced Pilkington Straddle from Heathrow Terminal 4 to Mornington Crescent I performed to beat defending champion Mr Vrylletary in the semi-finals of the 1986 Bridlington Open.
  Other Information: Currently saving up to buy out Mornington Crescent Station and have it relocated, brick-by-brick, to my back garden.

• Scoty

  First of all my name stems from a review written about me and published in the February 1995 issue of "Carp Talk" magazine. Yes I confess, I was nominated their "Sex Cod of the Year". At the time I considered accepting the record deal (it was offered to me by the same guys who managed Eddie the Eagle Edwards' post-ski-jumping career) but fortunately I was saved by MC. Not in any concrete way, of course: I was merely distracted by the possibility of raising Beck's coefficient on the Long Game (which, at the time, was in its infancy). This led, as you can imagine, to a long period of withdrawal from the "real world".

  Like most people, I remember well my first time. It was a tentative "Cockfosters" at the age of 15, played in slightly dubious circumstances and in a manner of which I nowadays would not dream. In common with most veteran MC players, I went through a short phase of complete devotion (some might say addiction) to the sport. Thus it came to pass that last year, my Doctor ordered a sabbatical. But now, I'm pleased to report, I can play the odd move of MC without any noticable detriment to my health or humour.

  These days, I tend to involve myself with the fringe activities, believing they deserve more publicity. Thus a lot of my time has been spent disagreeing about the rules of Word Disassociation. The results of the arguments are chronicled at a website in Edinburgh (recently moved from Bristol). I also enjoy a good bout of Cheddar Gorge, and hope to get to grips with Cress shortly.

  However when I do return to pure and simple MC, I like best to remove an Elevator Card from the pack before invoking a Finnish-Double-Parallel-Shunt and watching the chaos that inevitably results. If I'm in a more benign mood, I can often be spotted trying to steer the game away from a Morden Spiral.

  Err, that's it.

• Nat

  My standards of MC playing have dropped so low that I have felt compelled to move to Poland, a country whose own version of the game is in its infancy, as it only has one underground line which did not open until 1995, such were the quarrels about potential ruleset ramifications and whether the proposed lines would allow for a viable game. As a result any star players have moved abroad leaving me in a position to be able to actually win more than once every blue moon. At least that's the idea.

  As they say (whoever they are); those who can't, teach, and anyone who has heard me speak will instantly understand that I am therefore perfectly qualified to be an English teacher. When I'm not doing that then I haunt various cellars drinking Zubrowka and apple juice, two substances that seem to have been created purely to be mixed together in a glass and consumed in vast quantities. I'm also trying to fathom the mysteries of Polish spelling. I have an exciting-looking email address at gnatfly@poczta.onet.pl and a less exciting-looking website at http://members.tripod.co.uk/gnatfly.

• Eristophanes

  The name is Tophanes. Eris Tophanes. I have spent many years playing MC having learned the game from my father. Many weekends were spent in the garden shed which was entirely wallpapered with tube maps, isometric projections of the more obscure shunting and straddling scenarios and listings of all the useful contradictiory rulings made by the MC international committee of that time. The police later removed the isometric projections, although my Dad was let off with a caution.

  My father learned to play MC in the tube stations themselves when he was sheltering in them during the blitzes of the Second World War. He had the fortune to spend the long nights on the platforms with the Trellis clan, and they whiled away the hours playing Mornington Crescent while all the other shelterees sang songs to keep spirits up. Dad fondly reminisces about these times, in particular one night, when the bombers kept at it for over 12 hours and Dad was trapped in Mornington Crescent with the nubile Miss Trellis and only a packet on fruit flavoured penny tube gums (the ones with the names of the stations on) to survive on.

  I have never played MC professionally or indeed for any team, prefering instead to drop in one games or going to the open tournaments which are sadly diminishing in numbers these days. However, the Internet has opened up an entirely new realm in which to play.

  One black spot in my playing history was the creation of MC1001 which I have never recovered from. I still have the burns and receive anonymous death threats two or three times a year. Be warned, this bastard of a program still lurks somewhere on the net waiting for its time. My hope is that I managed to shut off the power supply before it downloaded itself in its entirely to a server I have never managed to locate. If you ever see or hear MC1001 playing a game anywhere, please do not appraoch it or attempt to engage it in a game. Report the sighting to the authorities.

  My game style is relaxed and in many ways rather traditional although I am fond ghost stations, and other mooted tube stations that never saw the light of day (well electic lighting) and also I have a soft spot for Craws around Hendon Central and North Ealing (of course). My pet hates are poor reverse games and anyone who ever plays Wapping with no tongue in their cheek.

  If you wish to contact me, well you could try by visiting my sadly un-updated (is that the same thing as dated?) website which is at Waldegrave Road. You visit but you will no understand.

• JRS

  O.K., my full name is John Sowerby, with the r in my playing name coming from Richard. I'm English, but currently living and working in Germany, in the small boring town of Bayreuth.

  Having been born and brought up in the heart of Mornington Crescent territory in Bridlington, the site of many a conference and World Championship, my interest in this game is long standing. However, it is only in the last 18 months that I've started to play regularly, having discovered the York server. My own style of play is taken from the late lamented Willie Rushton, who's use of BR stations often opened up remarkable avenues of attack.

  Suprisingly, I've discovered, whilst in Bayreuth, that Hitler was an ardent fan, and no mean game player, having been introduced to the game by Richard Wagner's daughter in law, and that there are a number of little used moves recorded in print, and stored in the basement of Wagner's villa. However, when Hitler's champion was defeated by a little known Czech player in 1938, Hitler himself stopped playing, and annexed the Sudetenland.

  If anyone fancies e - mailing me, I can be reached here.

• MrBlack

  Since I was as young as I can rememeber, I listened with awe to the graceful, superlative play of the ISIHAC team on Radio 4's somewhat minimal coverage of MC.

  I never considered becoming a player myself until a freak accident with a custard tanker and 3 portugese cardinals left my local pub team a man short. As a last resort they picked me and headed to the Leicester South district quarter-final, fearing an embarrasing defeat.

  Three hours and many surprises later, we came away the overwhelming victors. I had done well, but didn't really see any future in MC until a phone call the following day from the Leicestershire county selectors comittee. One of their members had been much impressed by my Overt Capping of the opposition lead man via a well-brewed knid.

  The trial was a complete disaster, however and I was summarily dropped from the squad. Despondent I decided to master the finer arts of MC and prove that I could be a contender in first-class MC.

  My style can be somewhat aggressive and blunt at times, but I still put an interesting and challenging game before of a victory on my priority list. As for the Arnos Grove / Cockfosters issue. The issues is not the pedestal-like positioning of South Kensington, but the fact that its surrounding stations have streaming inversions which clog up the outer stations' escalators and cause no-end of problems.

  My other hobbies include sport, television, popular music, seal-clubbing, and masochistic japanese bondage.

  You find me at:
  My Home Page
  My Email
  Albion and Tron (Two MUDs) or.. Kama Sutra and Tombstone (Two Talkers)

• gusset

  my MC career was short-lived. it started in 1986, with an early knid (around Baker Street, i believe) and although i was told that it was only beginners' luck, i knew that there was a natural-born MC player inside, waiting to break out. with malevolent fortuity, however, i suffered a bad shunt with too much LV and found myself in Knip. i have remained there ever since, unable to find a way out. now, i am reduced to the pitiful state of observer, knowing that it could so easily have been i out there.

  seeing no way out, i turned my attention to the periphery. i realised that if the world lacked anything it was a doyen to write a comprehensive guide to word disassociation. a self-proclaimed wordsmith by profession, i teamed up with Scoty to produce the rules and since then i have been attempting to tighten up the scansion in limericks around the country under my pseudonym "g" (which i decided to adopt after prematurely clicking the mouse on my first attempt).

  i am one of these annoying people whom one meets at parties and can be found talking to myself about how Latin should be put back on the primary school curriculum.

• Little Jim

  Introduced to this marvellous server by an old and trusted friend a month ago, I am able to continue with the game. Having been brought up on mother's knee listening to ISIHAC and the fiendish Dr. Graeme Garden, on who I attempt feebly to project my ego, I found myself one day huffing and nargling without any great result due to a lack of support at my local and our disastrous exit from the league when my partner unknowingly kneeped when he should have knided. From this emotional setback I began to return to society and can now string common vowels together.

  As a first year chemistry student at warwick university known as Allen I can be found doing absolutely nothing at times and can only be roused by an e-mail at mailto:a.b.cook@warwick.ac.uk.

• Rich

  The reason I've not submitted a profile before is because I look dreadful in profile. So there. But I can be contacted at richard.lockwood@tpd.co.uk.

• Projoy

  In a hole in the ground there lived a Projoy. Not a nasty, dirty, wet slapdash hole (most of the time, anyway), nor yet a dry, bare, academic kind of hole with nothing to sit down on and nothing to eat. It was a Projoy hole, and that means comfort.

  If you want more info on Projoy, why not try projoy.info?

• Gui

  Ocasionally known as Gui for reasons which would be otiose to rehearse at this time, I am gradually studying Computer Science at the University of Sydney, Australia. In addition, I am also employed as Helpdesk at the IT division of said University, which is how I eke out a fruitful, if meagre, existence.

  Despite my increasing familiarity with the London underground system, you may find that I prefer the more abstract games, that rely more upon the wings of imagination, than the more down-to-earth frame that is the world's rail systems.

  I am proud to count James and Kathryn (née KT) among the friends that I have met outside the MC sphere.

  I should be delighted if anyone would mail me at GavinT@DeathsDoor.com
  Alternatively, this link will redirect you to wherever my page is at the time.

• Merlyn

  The time has come, The Merlyn said,
  To talk of many things,
  Of Wembley and my Home Page,
  And whether cheese has wings.
  

  I am a graduate in Psychology, from Bangor. Now I work like Truffeldino, for the National Autistic Society and Equal People (Kensington and Chelsea) as a support worker with people with Autism and Learning disabilities. I was born in 1979, New Mexico and immediatly teleported to Emsworth. After a brief spell as a brick layer (they came, they sawed, they're bonkers) I moved to Havant, in Hampshire (UK) and grew up, out and inward (but with great difficulty). In 1997, after a summer of wild orgies (not mine) I arrived in Bangor, to study said discipline. But I made a webpage and played MC instead. (I will pass away soon (it has to be said (but not by me (I hasten to add (sespisquidlianly (look it up (in a dictionary (might help))))))))

  My real name is a secret, but if you can solve the Mystery of the Undulating Webpage, I'm sure you'll find it.

  If you have been, I'd love to...

  um, and my email address: aataussik@yahoo.com

• EL EMISARIO...

  I am an inexperienced Mornington Crescent player from London itself. Some years ago now, I moved out of London, to come to Bristol. Under the pretence of studying Mathematics (of which I am currently in my final year) I used this opportunity to observe the comings and goings of London from the point of view of an outsider, intent on formulating a cool and collected playing style.

  Regrettably, competitive opponents in the Bristol area are few and far between, and all in Bristol, save a few like-minded oddballs sneered at the game, and settled for playing such trivial games as chess.

  I became deeply distressed at the state of the nation, and (I say this to my shame) resorted to drinking; it got to the point where as soon as the mug was empty, I would go and pour another coffee, purely out of habit. As my caffeine levels rose, so did my recklessness in the few games I was able to play. I was, in short, a wreck. Then, by chance, I stumbled on this website, and realised the folly of my ways.

  I cannot say that I have my coffee-drinking problem under control, but I now know, with Morningtonian hope on the horizon, that there is a way forward for this nation, and that a kernel of all that used to be honourable and good, in the days of the wondrous Mrs. Trellis and her contemporeries, lives on.

  I can be contacted on 3...@bits.bris.ac.uk

  Loadsa love, Paul
  - L'emmissaire du 3...

  "And in the distance, the sound of 3 dots laughing..." - Tom Holt

• Néa

  I'm Néa. That's short for Linnéa, and it's pronounced [neigher].

  My life so far:

  In 1973, I was born.

  In 1991, a person named Johan taught me the game called Stora Mossen.

  In 1999, I found a web site dedicated to the game called Mornington Crescent. I quickly divined that this was the original (possibly even primordial) version of Stora Mossen, played in its proper element. By then, however, I had already married Johan, and decided not to change this state of things.

  Other irrelevant facts: I'm Swedish by birth and force of habit, and a librarian by disposition. Apart from MC, my drugs of choice are tea and text.

  I have a web site and an e-mail address.

• Herr Bratsche

  Born	1961, Huddersfield, West Riding
  Lives	Birmingham (UK)
  Profession	IT Consultant
  Would rather be	Musician (consult a German dictionary for the secret of the alias)
  Married	Yes
  Children	2 (1 of each)
  MC experience	Club and county level over many years, but recently out of regular off-line competition (see Married/Children above). First heard ISIHAC longer ago than he cares to remember, founder member of the QCMCC at Queen's College, Oxford, then short spells at a number of clubs, usually leaving as a result of a dispute over Ghost stations and their impact on LV and Beck's ratings.
  Favourite MC gambit	The triple-strile from Hainault to Rotherhithe, which rarely fails to leave at least three other players in Strick.
  Favourite other player	The late Willie Rushton, of course.
  Supports	Sunderland AFC, Yorkshire CCC
  Favourite composers	Vaughan Williams, Nielsen, Bartók
  Contact me	Here or Here

• JLE

  Real name	Jonathan Ellis. (The "L" stands for Lee, by the way.) No relation to Dunx (also an Ellis), despite the coincidence of his working for the same firm as my dad (Oracle UK). It's a small world...
  Also known as	"JLE", "The Knightsbridge Knerdler", "Have You Seen This Man? Wanted - Dead Or Alive" or, to certain of the piano teachers at music college, "Oh no, not *him* again".
  email address	jonathan@franz-liszt.freeserve.co.uk
  Born	Yes.
  Place of residence	The World (or at least that part of it that resides in Manchester.)
  Age at time of writing	23.
  Appearance	A little on the tall side, and overweight in a way that is more theoretical than apparent. Have been described as "larger than life, and louder" :-) Have a tendency to sing when walking around: usually bits of symphonies, concertos, sonatas, and things that were not actually written for the voice. Generally believed to be barmy.
  First heard about the existence of MC	1983, turned on radio, hit wrong button and found myself listening to Trellis/Baryshnikov world championship final. Was hooked immediately.
  First found out about MC on the net	January 1997, during third year of four-year music degree studying jointly at Manchester University and Royal Northern College of Music. Not originally the York server, but the Delphi/Camden Lock MC server: even now I consider myself a Delphi loyalist though the server passed away over two years ago.
  Playing style	Originally cool and calculating, like Baryshnikov (who was of course also a master of chess, another game I enjoy playing) or Trellis, but soon developed a fondness for the more devil-may-care nature of Eamon Ruttsborough - as much for his innovative play as for his more vicious streak. The result is entirely unpredictable, as nobody (sometimes including myself) is ever quite sure whether I have one or several long-term cunning plans or am just out to cause what mayhem I can in the short term. I have been known to explode a Suspect Package deliberately while standing right next to it, taking the full blast, (and thus a massive amount of kinetic energy which is converted to LV, as well as heat energy melting all my non-metallic podumes), and actually gain from making this highly unusual play, and Dollis Hill holds few fears for me, but I sometimes forget that my opponents also have plans of their own which can throw mine out of joint. I also enjoy playing one-on-one matches.
  Real-life business	Playing the piano. Am only starting a music career at the moment, but have been seen in various international competitions and am hoping to reach the Albert Hall one day. Four different musical diplomas suggest that there is at least some chance of this... Meanwhile, I will be teaching music in order to raise enough money to live on.
  Favourite music	The heart-on-sleeve romantics - Liszt, Brahms, Schumann, etc.
  Other hobbies	Chess, reading, cooking, eating.
  Supports	Manchester City, on principle, despite being one of the few people who are actually qualified to support Manchester United by reason of residence (living as I do in what is technically Trafford Borough), but *any* English club against any damned foreigners (including Chelsea) :-) Anybody against France or Germany. Anybody *apart* from France or Germany against Scotland, Wales or Ireland, until I meet at least one Scots, Welsh or Irish person who would be prepared to support England in a match against some other country (e.g. Norway.) Also have a soft spot for Wimbledon ("The Premier League on a shoestring") and, in Scottish football, for some unknown reason, Partick Thistle Nil.
  Drinks	Cider, wine, tea, coca cola. Never beer or coffee.

• EOL

  Careful. Considerate. Tactically astute. None of these words could be used to describe me, EOL. Well, they could, but you'd be wrong. A determined, uncompromising player of the great game, my tactics regularly involve radical shifts in the balance of play, often frustrating the more conservative players whilst freeing up others to make moves more adventurous than they might have done previously. It might often cost me victory, but at least I have the satisfaction of having injected a little excitement into the game. My knowledge of diagonals and linear/angular momenta theory gives at least some tactical basis to my moves, but at the end of the day, there's always at least a little bit of 'gut feeling' behind every move I make.

  I naturally discovered the game on Radio 4's 'I'm Sorry I Haven't A Clue'. I remain a regular listener to the station today, having long since abandoned the 'music stations', none of them playing even nearly enough industrial-goth-EBM-synth-metal-noise-prog-wave to satisy my admittedly picky music tastes. In addition, I watch a fair bit of motor racing, though despite being 22 years of age, I can't actually drive yet. I also dabble in web-design. The fruits of my labours, including an analysis of the many and varied meanings of 'EOL', can be found here:
  http://www.eraseronline.com

  And I can be contacted here:
  jonny@eraseronline.com

• Crazy Ivan

  Ya Crazy Ivan. Ne-studyent u'russkiy y'zik. Na St Andrewsye stud'yu v'International Relations iy'Linguisticiyy. U mne bornu v'New York v'1981 ot sminki-pinki eff-eth-efefethetheth Chris Waddle. Scorchio! U tebye emailit' va john@walton.to.

  Da, da, da, Poliyyarniy, Krasny Oktyabr, Maskva, Novorossiysk. Yob tvoyu mat'.

• Blob

  Real name	Rob Farrow
  Born	Tamworth, Staffs, 1960
  Lives	Tring, Herts.
  Married, 2 children, one of each.
  Works	For building company Matthew Homes Ltd. as IT Manager (Computer Dogsbody) for 15 years !
  Hobbies	Amateur playwright (would like to be professional !), Amateur Actor (would never be professional !), Drinking, Eating, Table Tennis, Driving (used to be a Rally Navigator many moons ago).
  MC Education	Blythes MC Academy Diploma : Honorary Doctorate in MC Theory from Ouagadougou University (cost me £5 + p&p)
  Regularly plays on	MCiOS, Orange and of course, !York at Madeira
  First played on-line	Early Summer 2000
  Favourite move	Double recursive spike when threatened.
  Achilles Heel	Boardmans
  Favourite game other than MC itself	Any poetry game such as Limericks
  Alias (on one occasion)	Cibber
  Favourite drink	Real Ale, Wine
  Favourite food	Um, the sort of thing that upsets Vegetarians.

  Reckon that's enough about me really.

• acb

  acb resides in Melbourne, Australia. He has been involved in Mornington Crescent for the best part of a decade, representing Australia at two international amateur league games. These days he plays mainly for pleasure. When he isn't playing MC or promoting this unique game to interested novices, he works at a university, reads, makes music and maintains a moderately well-known weblog. He is known to be partial to chai tea and Chartreuse, though not together.

• Graham III

  I am Graham III. You will bow to our royal presence. Or, you can just visit my webpage and find out that I am a fraud, and in fact just a toffy-nosed, ex-public school bloke, with not a lot to do in life other than music, and playing MC when I should be writing essays for my lovely supervisors. I mostly only frequent this server, but I can occasionally be seen at Parslow, and even more occasionally at the home of Mr. Wild Pants.
  • Occupation: Music Student
  • Real Occupation: Bed, singing, MC
  • Favorite music: Don't care, anything from Josquin to Messiaen.
  • First exposure to MC: in a car travelling to choir school in 1991.
  • Style of play: Spanner (as in throwing in works)

  I can be contacted at This address

• Si

  Si (real name Simon Giles) has been playing MC competitively since his 16th birthday, and soon after his 17th dicovered Pants MC, then, in time MCiOS, then Not York, and finally, palyed at Orange on it's first day of operation. A member of Dudley and District MCC, Si has recently joined (and since resigned) the commitee of CresFED Birmingham, who were involved in creating Lea Hall 2000 (Crescent for the Midlands). Although the variant has not been as successful as London and foreign variations, it is hoped it will grow in popularity.

  Aside from MC, Si is currently studying for a Law degree at the Unibversity of Southampton, is a keen Cricketer and enjoys watching football, especially his team of choice, Oxford United. He also enjoys racquet sport, and is known occasionally to have a few drinks while watching a particularly engrossing match of Rugby Union. He enjoys this better when England absolutely thrash the Welsh. Si is 19 years old in April.

• Epaphroditus

  I'm a relative newcomer to the whole internet world of MC but a long time player, winning the Birmingham Inter Schools cup in 1982 at the temder age of 8 with a stunning transverse-parallel move. Needless to say, I never scaled the dizzy heights of Cresentdom again & was shunted the following year in my opening game, trying to defend the title & retired a bitter & broken 7 year old. The move itself was too painful even now for me to recount, suffice to say I still can't walk past Cockfosters without a tear coming to my eye. These days I am an occasional player.

  As for who I am...
  Real Name : Neil Kearsley
  Location : Great Barr, Birmingham
  Occupation : Forensic Scientist (Trainer)
  Hobbies : Church, Music, Guitar playing/writing, Reading, Films, supporting Aston Villa.
  Musical Faves : Loads! (esp. Beatles, McCartney, Elvis Costello, Squeeze, Martyn Joseph
  Film Faves : The Shawshank Redemption, Alien, Empire Strikes Back.
  Favourite Question : Who really reads this stuff?
  Other Info : Believe it or not - I am currently writing a musical. Yes - a musical!

  Contact me here : Epaphroditus0507@aol.com

• H

  (The Player Formerly Known As T.Herman Zweibel)

  Alright, alright! Curse you all! I am H, a 17 stone dribbling fool from Dahn Saff (Ramsgate) who has too much spare time. Full name is Howard Parker, I was born in 1974 and was introduced to MC at the tender age of about 13 when my dad was given an ISIHAC book for Christmas.

  When not playing MC I work as a research scientist in cardiovascular pharmacology, which sounds terribly impressive but can also be terribly tedious. When not working, I play Championship Manager (and try desperately to get Notts Forest to win every trophy under the sun). I also play cricket, guitar, piano, bass and rugby, but all very badly.

  It has to be said, I have delusions of adequacy (in all things) which is why I came swanning along to this server one day, thinking I could hone my technique and share my knowledge of the game with you all. However, I've yet to win a single game.

• Zoe

  My full name is Zoe-Dawn Briggs, and I live in South East London, above a pub with, among others, the first MC player I ever met outside my family, a lovely slob called Dallandra, who some of you may have encountered.

  I'm 24 and work as a barmaid. In 2000 I entered the South London Open and finished a respectable 5th, losing out after a despicable shunt.

  My most impressive move so far was a fine Wembley Park retraction, which shunted four players and left me as the only red token holding player on the board.

  My favourite MC rules are McConaghie's Modified Variations.

  Other hobby wise, I enjoy Role-Playing games, bouncer baiting and mooching.

  There's a piccy of me at http://members.tripod.com/~Dallandra/zoemetal.gif but I don't have a website, yet.

• Demigod Fantastic

  Although i don't have the high opinion of myself that my pseudonym would suggest, i have become quite a confident player of Mornington Crescent in the short time i have been playing on the Madeira server.

  My favoured playing styles are best suited to technical games where the emphasis is on technique rather than actual result. I have always loved trying to pull of a complex series of moves, especially within the odd loop or two.

  I'm looking forward to the delayed publishing of the 2001 Arball Ruleset, which should provide a superb forum for the technical styled players.

  I'm an enthusiast of the Underground and of public transport in general. To this, i have devoted my "Tubular Portal" website, with an overview to Mornington Crescent, Tube Games and other Tube enthusiasts.

  Email: demigodfantastic@usa.net
  Web: http://www.virtue.nu/demifanta

• Gramit

  Real Name	Graham Mitchell
  Born	Chelmsford Essex UK 1962 (5 Sept, if you want to send prezzies :o)
  Now Living	Near Philadelphia PA USA
  Occupation	Accounting/Systems Liaison for one of America's largest collection agencies *duck*
  Married	No, but live with Majik (who has 4 children from previouses)
  General Appearance	5' 10", thin, blond, clean-shaven since 1996, friendly appearance; always wears black jeans except at work
  Hobbies	Stamp collecting (enough in itself, after 30 years)
  Introduction to MC	I left the UK before ISAHAC came on so have not heard the masters play on the radio, but have read some transcripts. I first heard of MC as a story subject on the 'Professor X' parody site at Exeter a few years back (write me at gra1mit@prodigy.net and I'll send the synopsis), and found York and then MCiOS shortly thereafter.
  Greatest Moment	Holding up the long game at MCiOS for 11 days after playing Elephant and Castle while the rest of the players were nonplussed. I can't remember exactly what I did, now :o(
  Least Favourite Game	Anything that involves so much typing I am in danger of being simulposted
  Favourite MC player	Tim Brooke-Taylor
  Favourite Music	Vaughan Williams, Beatles, Kate Bush, Shonen Knife
  Favourite Drink	Tea, ale, water
  Usual MC Move Posting Time	4am GMT at home, noon GMT if playing at work
  Any Questions?	gra1mit@prodigy.net

• Barry the Time Sprout

  Real Name: Brendan Hogg
  What an absurd monicker. Hogg's a perfectly fine Viking name, I'll have you know (or so I'm told).
  I meant the Sprout thing. Oh that. There was a lot of Rankin activity on York when I first started playing and I was fresh from massively enjoying the Armageddon trilogy, in which he first appeared, and so I adopted him for an alias. For the uninitiated, Barry the Time Sprout has lived variously in Elvis Presley's head and a frozen bucket and is on a mission to ... actually, it's far too complicated to go into.
  Mornington Crescent career: As a fan of ISIHAC I was aware of MC through listening the sublime striles and cunning knips of Messrs Rushton, Cryer, et al. Unfortunately, I could not find any active clubs near me and thought that I would never be able to play Crescent myself. Then, in 1997, I discovered York and launched myself enthusiastically into Internet MC. Unfortunately, I then went through three years in which tedious day-to-day concerns stopped me playing, and at some point York disappeared. However, I eventually found Not York and, having enough time to devote once more to a proper study of the works of Mrs. Trellis, I'm back!
  Preferred playing style: I go in for subtle plans; so subtle that often I don't know what they are myself. This means that I rarely win since someone has successfully reached MC while I'm still arranging my LV and token stacks just so.
  Outside MC: I am currently (Apr '01) finishing up a MSci Physics & Astronomy degree at Durham University, and next year am going to do a PhD at Nottingham. I'm a big SF fan and dabble in Perl. If you're spectacularly bored, go and have a look at my shockingly poor website.

• Porkpie

  Paul "Porkpie" Parkinson is a veteran MC player of many months now and has a rich and varied playing style. Typical playing strategy includes hanging around The City drinking G and T or sulking on the DLR near Lewisham.

  Sales Manager for Orbian (http://www.orbian.com) and a City man for the last 17 years. Dealer by background and inclination.

  Married with two boys. Hobbies include hi-fi, home cinema, driving, good wine (but not all at the same time), chopping down trees with a chainsaw (ditto) and bating fundamentalists of any persuasion.

  I can be abused at parky@yahoo.com.

• The other jim

  Discovered MC in the year 2001. Though I was born at an early age, I really believe I have the chutzpah to catch up with the historic players. Born during WW II - in fact bombed out, mother having the incredible foresight to move from the Derbyshire countryside to London in the midst of the Blitz, have never recovered. Be that as it may, I'm willing to be bowled over to the tune of "Mind the Gap" till the sheep come home - that is, if there are any left! I live in Northern Arizona, U.S.A. where the ocassional Brit passes through - rapidly - and wonder why?

• Tuj

  Tuj (t^d3) (noun) pl. tujo A player of the game of Mornington Crescent. (etym. u nknown).

• Uncle Korky

  True identity is Nick Kirby - By day, mild-mannered local authority housing official, but, by night, writer, drinker and Mornington Crescent fiend.

  Trained from an early age by my mother, I have been honing my skills before unleashing them upon the unsuspecting world this year (why? Couldn't find anyone to play against before...).

  Other interests - real ale, science fiction, military modelling, progressive rock...

  Oh dear - I've just read through that list and I sound REALLY boring (and about 20 years older than I actually am!).

  No homepage (yet), but email available on nk@tinyonline.co.uk

• Simons Mith

  
  [ Yup - that's a profile all right -ed ]

• Watty

  Originating, as I do, from Aberdeen, I am frequently too warm, and can often be heard pining for the icy blast off the North Sea. I discovered the Great Game a few seconds before I discovered that my father... well, the whole story is here. Somewhere.

  I was a stalwart of the Edinburgh University Club in the early eighties, until - well, if you can bear to plough through the full story, you'll find out for yourself. If I ever get round to finishing it, that is. After the traumatic events of early 1981, I retired from competitive play, and only suffered nightmares every few weeks. One day, fifteen or so years later, whilst idly racking my brain for things to type into a search engine, I tried 'Mornington Crescent' and found myself here, where I have been ever since. I am even able to play ordinary MC games without having uncontrollable shakes now.

  My style is best described as 'conciliatory, with a dash of ruthless'; my standard opening (although somewhat passé now) is Stanmore; my position on Arnos Grove / Cockfosters has long since been proved irrelevant; and my ambition is to have a paper on Quickfire MC published before it becomes outdated.

  I have no web presence, entirely due to the inconvenience of having a young family and a demanding job; if I did, it would almost certainly revolve around a database of the second-hand bookshops of the UK. I may be emailed here, which I check every few minutes, or here, which I check once a month or so. The choice is yours.

  Oh, and I live near a semi-ghost station (Carpenders Park) and work near to Croxley, but the less said about that the better, don't you think...

• st dogmael

  d.6th century
  Feastday: June 14

  Welsh monk of the house of Cunedda, the son of Ithelab Ceredig ab Cunedda Wledig. I preached in Pembrokeshire, Wales, and then went to Brittany, in France. Several churches bear my name.

• Baaka

  Baaka - (see www.midascomp.co.uk/cv.htm if really interested). Banned from playing MC as currently resident in a converted railway station on a deserted spur of the Waverley line. Lurks, instead, in peripheral games on MCiOS.

  Born 1955, real name Alastair Davies, and borrows pseudonym from initial letters of self, wife and 3 children (who have to go through life known as irsteen, bi, lex and eckie).

  Mail alastair@midascomp.co.uk to brighten his working day/evening/night/hint of eternity.

• penelope

  penelope (nee dollis) was born in 1965, destined to be a housewife. She achieved her ambition in 1988 when she married a three-bed semi-detached tudor-style residence on a quiet cul-de-sac. She whiled away her hours wearing pink marigolds and road-testing washing up liquid fragrances for Lever Brothers whilst listening to Womans Hour, presented by her heroine, Jenni Murray, on Radio 4. penelope's association with the baudy game came about when she accidentally tuned in early for the show. Instead of Jenni's capable tones, she heard the earthy gruffness of Humph and was swept away by her mental images of Sven, Samantha's hunky stand-in.

  Her style of play in MC is timid to the point of non-participation. In the poetry games, however, penelope feels confident enough to join in, relying on her 1973 Collins Rhyming Dictionary, won in a junior school poetry competition (plus a large slug of Harvey's Bristol Cream). Her dream is to make it to the national finals to see Sven in the flesh.

• Isegrim

  Hello! I am Isegrim. Named after the word of the same name. Welcome to my profile.

  I have been able to play the game of Mornington Crescent for as long as I can remember, mainly due to my mother being extremely large fan of the game who once acheived a world ranking 17,935! However, because of this, I decided to reject the game for many years in that rebellious teenagery kind of way. As a result, it was not until the grand old age of 15, when I first when to college, that I was able to appreciate a solidly constructed straddle or an elegantly executed huff.

  Now, living in Chichester and working for a charity accounting specialist, I am able to devote much of my spare time to studying and perfecting my play of 'The Great Game'

• Boolbar

  No, Boolbar is not my real name, but due to my real name generating large quantities of porn in any search engine I tend not to use it on-line. Boolbar is of course short for Mega-Ogg Boolbar, the title of a game that I wrote for my ancient Atari 400 micro-computer in machine code. Ah! That membrane keyboard. Happy memories.

  I was born in a small village called Lickey End which explains a lot of things : especially the fish. I am married with no kids (I'm not that fond of young goats) and live in the Norfolk fens, which are flat, and soggy. If the sea rises another couple of metres I'll live on the coast. Horrah !

  I was first introduced to Mornington Crescent many years ago, and have played on and off over the years, but mainly off until I realised that secret coded messages in Kate Bush lyrics were really a clever game-plan to help you win. Wow ! (That's code for "Waterloo out-huffs Wimbledon" BTW).
  On the Arnos Grove / Cockfosters debate I believe that badgering should be used, but only when the angle of entry allows token sliding.

  If you are reading this in 10 years time then I guess this email address is out of date - andy@appliedbusiness.co.uk - so don't use it.

• Mr Pavitt

  Favourite Phrase. It wasn't me.
  Claim to fame. It was me really.
  Favourite players. Ibid for his interest in toxicological ornithology (Bird Poisoning). JLE, Penelope and Boolbar. Fourth and Lastly, Vlad the Impala for being a small African antelope. And Tuj. This is updated regularly, so watch it!
  Aim to be dead by. Tuesday 23rd October 2031.
  Favourite colour. Orange.
  Musical tastes. Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Blancmange, Hot Chocolate, Cream and Beetroothoven.
  Favourite Game. Amateur Pinocchio Tournament (No, really).
  Please don't contact me. I have a cold.

• Rob Miller

  After a break from Crescent I have returned to the game with a focus which would put Kodak and Canon to shame.

  Hailing from Northern Ireland where MC is a relatively virgin game meant doing a stint on this site in order to discover the finer intricacies of the game.

  My path to the game has been thus: The influence of a father's addiction to Radio 4 brought about a strange liking for ISIHAC but no realisation that MC was more popular than it seemed. Many years later, whilst attempting some postgrad study, it was through The Ship of Fools Website that I was led here. After a stint of unemployment, job searching and "The Little Book of Mornington Crescent". I have returned to the fold a stronger, wiser player (with a wage). So let me know of Pilg's :)

  I now favour the double angle vertical lock on the Central Line as a means to strengthening already strong positions on the board of play at any one time ....... so beware! The Victoria/Oval Huff (1973 - xxviii - (xi)) is also a very daring move and never one to be underestimated, it can strengthen a very weak board.

  Enough tactics though; Contact me here and have a look at a website here.

• Linz

  Oooooooo, this is scary. Imagine my surprise when a friend of mine (who shall remain nameless but may write his own profile if he can pull his finger out) announced, in a totally blasé fashion one day this week the second in Jan 2002, that this wonderful place existed. I have been listening to ISIHAC since the age of minus nought which equates to around twenty-ten years I think (my unvivid imagination may have coloured in the first few), and my first real recollections involve wondering how Mrs Trellis from North Wales (just up the road from me, relatively speaking) could get it so wrong, and perhaps more psychologically damaging, why people in the audience could be so cruel in laughing at her misfortunate deficciencies. defishiencies. defisencys. Problems. This is scary because over all these years of studying MC, I still really don't have what I would term a 'decent handle' on the game yet. So this conjours up nightmares for me because I feel inferior, further down the evolutionary chain even than the poor Mrs Trellis from North Wales. I would like to hope that the originators, organisers and contributers to this haven of beauty and utter common sense would go gently on the clumsey new boy and not be too harsh about his first few journeys into the unknown - much as I did with Mrs T from NW all those years ago. I have already only just avoided by the skin of my proverbials (with the help of the aforementioned learned colleague and friend) a dangerous skirmish with the Face Pyjama Police after only THREE DAYS of involvment.

  Anyway, I'm thirty one, 'work' as an electronics thingy bob in the quiet student town of Aberystwyth, hobbies include crashing motorcycles without external interference and bickering with my 'ex' partner who I live with and love dearly. Love triangles? Pah, try uni-directional squashed love triangles with one of the pointy bits chamfered off. No, I'm not bitter, yes it is a bit consuming. Err, oh yes, lived here all my life, not Welsh but can speak a little. Favourite saying is attributable to my Grandma who I love dearly too - 'We had three but the knurled bit that unsrews fell off and got lost' - used whenever the meaning of a technical term or any word is not known. I'm called Linz because my mum (who I also love dearly) chose to call me Lindsay, which is quite plainly a girls name and I'm quite plainly a boy. And no middle name. (And people wonder why I have an inferiority complex). When its written as 'Linz' most people can spell it. My second name I shall leave until next time when I'm feeling a little stronger. Favourite word used to be vestibule which I still find delightful, but my friend's antelope has got me thinking again......

  Favourite drink? There are so many its difficult to pin this one down. I shall consult my liver on this one. Favourite colour is Red, favourite bike, my buckled VFR which was red but now has a tasteful black motif all down one side. Wierdly, it looks like someone picked up a road and ran down the side of it at about thirty miles an hour. Thank you all, in anticipation, for your patience.

• Pave

  Lucas Raven Black
  I was born, which will not come as a surprise to anyone, but upon which planet has been greatly debated.

  Outside of work....and Mornington Cresent... I have tried my hand at many different things (ah yes...regrets-had a few of those y'know....), the list still grows, but so far I have notched up.............

  ........Philosophy, tai chi, sword fighting, stand up comedy, blues musician (blues harp), motorbike drag racing, motorbike rallies (HA and Outcast plus many more), run a London music venue, run a music management group, assisted many bands, befriended several famous people (but don't like to name drop), spoken word (humorous and serious observational talk on stage), written and presented poetry (mainly gothic or dark), changed my name, traipsed through several religions in search of enlightenment, only to realise that the ideas behind religion are ruined by the people following or leading the religion (maybe more on that later), played flute (toured Europe), I've had black hair, red hair, blonde hair, brown hair, white hair, done Latin American dance, Worked overseas in aircraft engineering (and earnt beer money by singing and playing my blues harp), airfield fireman, supernatural investigations and research, gliding, motorbike stunts, quality engineering, novel writing, several relationships (and only one who hasn't remained a friend...good score!), horse riding and jumping, hovercraft, built custom motorbikes, computers, been many peoples shoulder to lean on, and I was younger once and did 'partake' in music festivals (no more though). I have been the life and soul of the party, I have been a loner walking the night streets....

  ....so far, the Cresent keeps me sane...I can't help it but...I must get the Diamond Pro-League Pinocchio Cup before my dying day.....Which could take a while, as I am immortal and everlastingly good looking and very modest....Did I mention that I invented oranges and electricity?

  ......I have done a lot so far, and I'm no where near finished yet. Life is for living, so live it, and I am living it now with my fiancée (thanks to Néa for the é!!!), Chris(tine). Here's to learning from the past, and living for the future........

  get me on ravenblack@ntlworld.com, or at my site http://www.twa2lb.co.uk.

• Nicklas

  Born in 1977 here in Sweden, I wasn't introduced to this lovely game until twenty-two years later. This happened with the Stora Mossen game here at !York. Despite rather weak efforts, I have yet to hook any friends, who just don't seem to get it. It's not as if the 200+ rule books are hard to read or anything.

  The way I play is best described as a mixture between the late Mornington Crescent master Reginald C.E. Hawthrope and - almost unknown - the chaotic-playing Harris Jackson Jr -- this highly complex style can be oversimplified as "get enough LV and move to the station before your opponent," but that lacks the panache that's only visible in an actual game.

  This website of mine is probably the most fun at the moment.