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

Quietly slipping out of Nidd

Elephant and Castle

It is to your credit @VegimalCrudite that you quietly returned. None of the fanfares and trumpets that beset the French game of Chatelet les Halles, indeed that is why there is a subterranean orchestra I suspect.

Oval

Oui oui tres la pen de ma t’ant est dans la fenetre of my chat rose.

West Kensington haza!

If you know, you know

Harold Wood

Ohhh I know, Maud, I know… 😉

Smart, if a little risqué!

Due to the strikes I feel somewhat limited, but there is a chance to play a favourite.

Finchley Road and Frognal.

Up the workers!

Ah Harold Wood, I was there. Memories memories.

May their rabbits multiply and their hamsters dance.

St Johns Wood

Ah!
I think…
Yes! Counting in McPherson's Parameters (as we must after that infiltrated seventh upthread), and using my Petersburg Bonus, I can say

MORNINGTON CRESCENT!

Gosh, LittleBitofBread! I didn’t see that coming. Fiendishly well played, reminiscent of the Cardinal before he succumbed to, well, you remember. Will you start the new game?

So kind, and, yes, I do remember. The poor Cardinal. He didn't deserve it. Well, not all of it.

I'll start simply.
Finsbury Park

littlebit bravo, but I feel such a fool

If I am allowed the Worker's Day Shortcut (usually, I realise, kept for the 1st May, but I believe that is a convention rather than a rule as such, and given my travel times have doubled this week I hope it will be allowed)...

Angel

Au contraire, VegimalCrudite, your play has been exemplary. One of the many joys of the game of games is how fortunes can fluctuate regardless of what one has played.

The currents within a vigorous round of MC can run very very deep.

A Leftward Brentford to Edgware Road

Which Edgware Road I ask? So the incomplete name rule comes into play, taking us back to Angel. So onto Moorgate it shall be.

Very deep indeed, LittleBitofBread, very deep indeed. <<knowing look>>

Tower Hill

Ooh!
Grange Hill

Always wanted to try playing a Horseman's Twitch on a demi like that.

Nice! That sets me up perfectly for a Perkins Gradient to

Buckhurst Hill

Ooh! A Curator’s Diagonal is in the offing and that puts closed stations into play! I’ve not been so excited since the Ludlow ‘75 expo!

British Museum.

Least said about Ludlow in ‘75 the better, Tragic. I haven’t been able to eat chocolate mousse since.

Aldwych

Good grief, I turn my back on this thread for a trifle and return to find a completed game. Bravo @LittleBitofBread, you seized the opportunity.

Well if we’re off again so quickly, and as it’s National Hot Dog Day, it offers me the opportunity to pull a Shepherd’s Toe Hook (left side) and go with

Gants Hill

Thank you, CaveMum, aren't you kind.

Lancaster Gate for me, with a nod to the 1996 Broadstairs Agreement, specifically on the change to Watlington's Rule.

Hmm...

I think a Wigmore Parry to Pinner... inspired by my recent reading of the Patois Recollections

Excellent! Things are moving again. I feared we might have stalled at Gants Hill and would need a leeward swing to restart. Fortunately not, as the repercussions can be serious and long lasting, as the Scouts’ District Commissioner can confirm.

Harlesden

Hmmm.... the District Commissioner’s recollection changes after the third single malt. There are other accounts, far be it from me to decide on the ins and outs. But it was certainly 'you had to be there' moments.

Stratford

Obvious and playing it safe.

What a relief that someone managed continue the play after my little detour. That’ll teach me to attempt such advanced play!

As it’s a Friday and the moon phase is a Waning Gibbous, I propose a saunter across town to

Marble Arch

So much use of the Central line. So the never built rule has to be used to get us to Green Park