Hey, hey, welcome back, Tomski here. Your loveable, long lost American cousin who has finally found his way back home. It’s been a while since we last had a last chat but don’t worry, my love affair with you crazy Brits continues!

I called some of the folks stateside this week and as inevitably it does, the subject of politics came up. We of course discussed the latest Trump Tweets and the state of the world when my sister asked me “what’s it like in the UK?”. I just told her the situation over here is crazier than it is back home.

“Well sis, the party that got the most votes, people say they lost and the party that got the least votes, people say they won but the people that lost, but won, are still in power, I think”. The truth is, I’ve had since June to work this out and I still can’t, I’ve drawn flow charts and everything!

What really tickles my pickle though is that in the face of crazy worldwide politics and the threat of impending doom, you Brits keep your epic sense of humour. Case and point. I was having a pint or 2 with my buddies the other week and we got to talking about the pissing contest between Trump and Kim Jong-un. Dangerous Dave piped up that he had put a tenner down at odds of 66 to 1 that a statue of Donald Trump will be erected in North Korea this year.

I’m pretty sure that Dave isn’t banking on world peace and being able to collect that bet, more that it was worth a tenner of his money to have a good laugh at an otherwise terrifying situation. You can even bet on when the world will end. But guys, come on, seriously? How the hell can you win on that!

In fact, the Brits bet on some pretty bizarre stuff! Take the Royal Family for instance. Seriously, they are like Hollywood stars over here! You can’t pick up a newspaper or magazine without some piece of gossip, or the latest sighting of one of the royals out and about. You can bet on the name of the next royal baby, when Harry will pop the question to Meghan, you can even bet on Prince Harry making a cameo appearance in Suits. I shit you not!

Of course, it is not just bizarre betting that is popular over here. In fact, I have started to get into horse racing quite a bit the last couple of months, what could be more British than that? But to let you in on a secret, I’m really just betting on the little men that ride on the top. I’m hoping if enough people bet, then we can raise enough money to free these little people from captivity and release them back to the shores of Lilliput and Blefuscu!

Joking aside, as you know I’m a great believer in ethical practices and want to share hints and tips with fellow noobs out there. I have spent hours looking at sites and wondering if they are legit. I discovered a website called horseracingbetting.co.uk and it does all the work for you, full reviews of every site I was looking at so this saved me a lot of time. I hope this helps if you fancy a punt on the sport of kings. Damn, looks like that British obsession with royalty is creeping up on me too!

One thing about life in the UK is that I get distracted easy, I’m pretty sure it’s not a new thing for me but I find you Brits so – how do I put this? Quirky, and for want of a better word, British!

I mentioned in my welcome post my skills at FFFG and how I could by an Olympian, well if being polite was a sport, the Brits would be the undefeated champions, no doubt!

I was walking on the sidewalk by the apartment I live in, a young woman was walking in one direction and an elderly man was walking in the opposite direction. What followed was almost five minutes of the funniest example of what being British is.

The man would go in one direction, so did the woman. They were both apologising and insisting the other person went first. This went on and on and on, back home, I’m pretty sure the woman would have just pushed the old guy over! It made me think of the Monty Python sketches my Dad used to watch when I was a kid.

The British are also obsessed with cups of tea, it seems any problem no matter how big or small can be solved or at least made manageable with a cup of tea. The wife drives me mad! Caught speeding? – Cup of tea! House has been flooded? – Cup of tea! Leg fallen off? – Cup of tea!

The British also ask a lot of stupid questions! I was in Tesco’s near where I live. I had 8 cans of beer, 2 bottles of wine, some chips and a few other items. The cashier was scanning the items and she said “Would you like a carrier bag?”. I looked at her puzzled, thinking “how the hell else am I supposed to get them home” but said, “We could do, unless you want to play the most expensive game of Jenga ever”. Her face didn’t move one bit as she said “I’ll take that as a yes then!”. I thought you Brits were famous for your sense of humour?

Also, what is with the obsession with the weather? Seriously, some days even the news is the weather and they end that news by talking about the weather! My head spins. “Whoa it’s too hot, I don’t like it this hot!” from the same wife who was complaining the week before about how cold she was.

It’s not just talking about the weather either, a sprinkle of sun and suddenly the Brits adopt new laws. The normally reserved Brits suddenly become extroverts and you can see topless, overweight guys basking in the sun as soon as it gets above 17 degrees. Drinking is suddenly acceptable at 11am, cars become mobile jukeboxes, ice-cream becomes the national dish and everyone in the whole neighbourhood decides to have a BBQ at the same time.

But as soon as you’re having fun, the British weather shows who has the biggest sense of humour and we get thunderstorms in August. Don’t change Britain, don’t change!

Hey, Tomski here; self-confessed comic geek, accomplished video gamer, seasoned gambler and I count my ability to chug 3 beers in under 12 seconds as my greatest achievement in life so far! Sounds sad? Are you kidding? Go chug 3 beers and let me know how you got on kiddo!

I’m also pretty good at the “five finger fillet” game or as you Brits will know it, the “stab between the fingers with a very sharp knife game”, if that ever becomes an Olympic sport, my fellow Americans will finally embrace me with open arms when I return with the Gold.

So, let me tell you a bit more about myself, I’m 29, originally from California, a son of farmers and I studied Moral Philosophy in London, England. I accidentally fell in love and married an English girl who is more 1960’s than 21st century. As we share similar ethical views, we just clicked. For the last 10 years, I’ve been living in London and I love life here.

A great thing about being here is being able to play at online casinos. Back in the US, there are not as many opportunities to bet online as there are here in the UK. As I started to play online, it led me to question how safe, fair and ethical online gambling operators are. In fact, as a foreigner in the UK, I had a lot of questions regarding the general ethical practices of people and of companies here.

That’s kinda where the idea for this blog came from. As for gambling online, I bet regularly, and I can share tips with you of how to make sure you are making a safe choice of where to play. It’s not all gonna be about betting though, no siree!

I will be questioning to what extent we can trust that businesses are operating responsibly. How our choices as individuals influence the practices of national and international corporations, and how making informed choices can have a big impact on society and the environment. I’m also looking forward to sharing my general musings about life in the UK from my unique point of view!

Now all I need to do is find a site that explains cricket, I have tried several times to understand the rules but I’m no closer! I have no idea what is going on and why are they so scared of bad light?