Steiner and the Hypnotic Cue

CHAPTER 16 In the Bleak Midwinter

The next few months passed in haze of airports, hotels, venues, and applause butted together with some sightseeing. The money poured in.

I got into the habit of doing TV interviews. Often the interviewers, who were usually very nice looking young women, would ask the questions in English, and then say something to the camera in their own language. I never said too much, but  my confidence grew.  I soon forgot about the ginger girl with the dyed black hair and Murphy—what could they do when I was abroad?

I also got into the habit of understanding the banking business.

Much of the time the promoters and organisers refused to pay us by international transfer to the account we had set up in Scotland. So, more often than not, the first port of call in a new country was to a bank. It was often tedious, but in some banks the process was smoothed along by an ‘important person’. We discovered there was many a  ‘Mr Fernadez’ out there. Fortunately, we didn’t really get ripped off, although a few payments for 147’s did not always materialise.

David reminded me that all these bank accounts were  a good thing. It meant  we could avoid a lot of tax when we returned home, if we gently trickled the money into our Scottish Bank Accounts.

I had already paid tax on the sponsorship deals I had back home—I couldn’t believe how much they robbed me!

David further explained to me the joys of becoming a tax-exile in Switzerland.

Well, this was something for the future. In the meantime, it was well into December and we headed home for Christmas.

Christmas in Scotland was brutal.

It was dark, wet, gloomy and depressing. The glamour of the last few months made home seem very bleak.

In some ways I enjoyed it. It was nice to be around people who spoke the same language. For months, Noble was the only person with whom I had proper conversations.

It was also good spending money. We couldn’t really buy anything, as we were ‘living out of suitcases’. Although I did buy a Omega watch, James Bond style, in Istanbul.

I set my sights on buying a car, but, of course, I couldn’t drive. I didn’t even have a provisional licence.

I wasn’t all that popular in the media anymore having spent three months abroad. Things change fast.  David and Hendry did their best to get me back into the limelight.

I felt a bit down, but then I thought of the money. That cheered me up no end.

I popped down to Fife for a few days with Scott and told him all about our adventures.

Back  in Elgin, I phoned up David Noble to see if he could arrange another tour somewhere.

No was the short answer.

The long version was he needed a break. He had to spend time with his family over Christmas and New Year.

He also pointed out that we could only continue to showcase abroad on the back of winning competitions. Hendry had managed to get me a place on the Masters, and I had better get trained up, as I had not faced serious competition since Shaun Murphy.

With just a few weeks to go, it was back to Auchterarder for intense training with Hendry and Maguire.