VIP Helicopter Day

Its was a fine day, a normal day, a day not unlike any other bright and breezy day…. to start out with… Today though was going to be something special. Today we were going on a Ladbrokes Poker VIP mission – we were going to learn how to be a helicopter pilot.

I could see us flying over the landscape swooping down on the farmyard animals reminiscent to a scene from a Vietnam War film, Platoon, Full Metal Jacket, Apocalypse Now – ‘I love the smell of Napalm in the morning’ YEAH!, it was going to be a big day!!!

We are on a VIP day out to the middle class town and of Denham near London. Not so much ‘Nam and Tiger Helicopters’ as ‘McLarren Prams from Mother care’. “I love the smell of coffee and croissants in the morning’ and that is what was waiting for us upon arrival for ‘debriefing and training’ - they used those terms. It’s getting good now, I’m starting to feel the part now and it is only going to get better.

So it’s not really War – what is it good? So I needed another metaphor ‘Airwolf’ – yes it’s the poor mans action version of Knight Rider – but flying and in the air over towns and cities, chasing the baddies with danger and excitement. I didn’t need to try to make the day more exciting – the day gave me one of the biggest buzzes that I’ve ever had.

They gave us our very own RAF throwback in the form of ‘Captain Q’. Please watch the video and listen to his reasoning why we MUST all fly, and why we owe it to everyone who has ever lived before and after us to fly in a helicopter. Inspirational, a caricature and stereotype of himself and the First World War pioneers of the RAF, a cross between Captain Flashheart from Blackadder and Edward Mannock the fighter Ace. I say this with total respect, he was the cherry on top of the ice cream on top of the apple strudel on top of….(Insert name of suitably attractive person you fancy)…

After briefing we went straight out and after a little more explanation of the Chopper we were in and up into the great wide blue skies above the grey houses and green fields of England. The shock and trepidation you feel as you go lift off heightens the senses, the nerves ease away under the tutelage of Captain Q – he’s flying the craft whilst you are holding the stick and getting familiar with the controls – then he tells you that you are in charge he relinquishes control and you have IT – you are flying this beautiful little bubble into the clouds swooping down over the trees, gliding in the skies, cutting through the air, turning at an angle and feeling the G-force in your stomach. A hundred years of technology and the dreams of every person who has ever lived to be able to fly is in your hands and you are doing it – you are flying, you are soaring. The feeling of freedom, power, control and adrenalin all culminating into one of the biggest rushes you are ever going to feel in your life. This is what a VIP feels like at Ladbrokes Poker.

Champaign when you land, a posh nosh up at a swanky countryside pub, experiencing it with a loved one, meeting and bonding with others who play poker at Ladbrokes all added to a genuinely unique day out. The perfect day and perfect example of what being a member of the Ladbrokes Community and Ladbrokes VIP team is all about.

Get yourself on the next VIP day – I implore you.