The sport of kings: Mornington Crescent

[ComeIntoTheGardenMaud]

Good morning, all. What better way to begin the long weekend than a new game of the ineffable Mornington Crescent? All are welcome - veterans and newbies alike.

To set the tone, I will start with one of my favourite moves - a double shunt to

Kew Gardens

I'm going for a lateral Nixon to Northwick Park
As its Sunday it seems the best policy!

Oh very wise Hazel. A calm and measured play.

I feel quite skittish after being blown about in the wind. It will therefore come as no surprise to anyone if I venture a brave - some might say foolhardy - attempt at a Cardinal’s Fancy on the northerly circuit.

East Finchley.

Have at it, dear friends…

Ooooh, have to stir it up again!

A Duchesse d'Orleons to Greenford

I am speechless.

Lambeth North

Thank you also for the warm welcome back from @maud. Despite its cut-throat reputation (and clearly some 'lively' in-person play at times) I'm finding the online community to be very supportive.

Blimey @Baital, that was bold (dare I say audacious?) and very exciting to us novices. It's my first time witnessing a Duchesse and it's a move that Granny only talked about after her fourth pint of Snakebite.

Waterloo East

What larks! Such skills rarely seen outside of the last championships in scenic Dubrovnik. Does anyone recall what happened to the Duke's pince nez?
I have returned, somewhat hurriedly, from the Antipodes. One would think an absence of almost 50 years would dim the memories of both the local constabulary and the demi-monde. But no, so a hasty retreat once again. And in salute to that fair city I'll try King's Cross.

Ohwhat, if your Antipodean past has anything to do with that little speakeasy by the beach just outside Dunedin (Thursday to Sunday only, and strictly by invitation), then I'm not especially surprised. The clientele and associates have practically turned score-keeping into a belief system.
One hears, I mean; I've never personally been involved honest guv

A Defined Macarthur to Pimlico

Mmmmm Snakebite. The second best guestroom was never the same again.

A small Rushton to Newbury Park

I've thought long and hard about this but I think the most judicious move at this juncture is a arcadian leap to Croxley

Oh Fuckery, don’t mention the pince nez, you’ll set him off again. Someone, mentioning no names, put them on the Founder’s statue them as a jape. Then the noble officer confiscated them. No one knows what happened after that. But the Duke has never been able to accept it was a simple mistake. He has spent years glooming about the place, muttering darkly about shadowy practices and external agencies. There’s no mollifying him.

Double waffle on the bounce…

Marylebone.

Via Paddington and the Elizabeth line to Heathrow Terminal 5. Without the aid of glasses.

Oh dear. Matters are being raked up which really ought not to be; distressing memories may be revived and then, of course, there’s the far from small matter of the superinjunction and the non-disclosure agreement. Let us adjourn to

Bayswater

The brio on display here is really breathtaking.
I feel very drab in comparison. All I can think of is a flying Norris to take us to Leyton

Oh, far from drab, LittleBitofBread. Few would have had the élan to combine flying, a Norris and (gasps) Leyton. I can only hope to match that with a spliced shunt to

Grange Hill

Which allows me to grasp the opportunity of a Flying Sausage to
Fairlop

I think we need to remain at the east end of the Central line, despite there difficulties it may bring, and so Chigwell it is.

Very concerned to read elsewhere of some people being confused by the game of games. A concern that educational standards are slipping.

Confused? How could anyone be confused? All it takes is to study the Amalgamated Compendium of Rules and its various codicils, and attend a summer school or two, and they’ll be ready to start.

Leicester Square

Some people - not all, of course - just don’t want to put in the effort…

I feel we haven’t seen enough of the DLR in recent play…

Star Lane

Mindboggling that some consider this to be a complex game - pish! If the late Bishop of Rochester (god rest his soul) could manage to win that infamous edition of 1993 in Zurich, post apres-ski, then any MNer worth their salt can certainly enter a volley or two in here!

With that in mind, and in homage to His Excellency (god rest his soul) I will resurrect (perhaps an unfortunate turn of phrase given the subsequent events at said funeral) the Erlenbach Mogul which lands me at Kensal Green.

The walking interchange emergency rule takes me to Kensal Rise.

As for complicated rules, try the Duckworth-Lewis method.

And the winter Academy, in whichever darling resort it has rotated to in that year, Maud! Not mandatory, but speaking from personal experience extremely helpful in adding to one's understanding. Plus of course the apres-ski...
The issue with the DLR, Muse, delicate and admirable as that move was, is that it rather closes off split-function options (vis-à-vis Hambleton).
However! I can still claim a downward-drawn Farthingale to take us to Dollis Hill

Cross-posted, Llyn! I do apologise.

I believe I'm still in the clear though, largely thanks to that very clever Square Fit that was set up for us a few moves ago.

Ah yes, the winter Academy - a marvellous institution in so many ways, so much so that the symposia on advanced game technique are almost a bonus. Were you there for the archduke’s exposition on Winthrops on the Northern Line? Not a dry eye in the house.

Hackney Downs

I was, Maud. I've tried his tips a few times, with differing degrees of success, I have to say, although I hasten to add that has less to do with the archduke's teaching ability than it does to the gluhwein and its sometimes stultifying effects on one's brain.
I do recall this one, though:
A Pajandrum's Mix to Penge West

Being of advanced years I have often thought of writing my memoirs of my experiences of playing the game of games. I am wary, however of the scandals that are best left uncovered and the effect my revelations might have on some of the upper echelons of society.
My lips (for the time being at least) are sealed.
With that I'm going very swiftly to Euston Square