Blog
I’ve been immortalised in poetry! Kevin Power is a snooker fan and has written several poems about the sport and various players – now he has chosen me as his subject! I’m very flattered and honoured, I think it’s great. And it shows that I must be doing something right. You can read Kevin’s poem, which is called ‘The Rap of Mark Selby’, in the Latest News section of my website.
Poetry is not my strongest point, I’ll admit. I don’t think it’s going to inspire me to write any, I think I should just stick to what I do best, playing snooker. I’m gearing up for the China Open which starts at the end of March, so I’ve got plenty of practising to do and a few exhibitions in the pipeline.
Me and Vikki had a week in Dubai last month, it was good to get away and have a break from it all. I’d never been there before but it really lived up to my expectations. Yes, it’s expensive, but we got plenty of sightseeing done, as well as some relaxing in the sun. Shaun Murphy had been before and he said he didn’t really enjoy it because it was too commercial and too many hotels. But there was plenty for us to do and it made a nice change to get out and about and see a bit of the place.
We were there for Valentine’s Day so we had a meal at the Burj Al Arab, which is the only seven-star hotel in the world. The restaurant was right at the top – very nice too!
Mind you, we almost didn’t make it to Dubai at all because of an admin error. The paperwork for the flights had one letter wrong in Vikki’s name, so we had to get everything changed. When it was all done, we found out that I’d been left off the new paperwork altogether, so it looked like she was going on her own! We managed to get it sorted, but we missed our original flight and had to wait for another one a few hours later.
At least Vikki’s name was spelt right on the trophy she has just picked up. Her Tuesday night pool team won their league and we went to the awards presentation evening. She’s doing really well and winning more trophies than me! She put her trophy on the mantlepiece next to my Masters trophy and, although it’s smaller than mine, it does look like a bit like his and hers! She keeps telling me: “It’s not all about you, you know!”
Good luck to my fellow Leicester pro Tom Ford in the World Championship qualifiers. He’s through to the fourth round where he will play Anthony Hamilton at the EIS in Sheffield. Unfortunately, Ben Woollaston lost 10-9 to David Roe after being 9-6 up at one point. I know he is gutted and it could mean he is off the Tour.
I went to Sheffield to watch Ben in one of his earlier matches. I’m glad I don’t have to go through that any more. You see some of the names involved – Jimmy White, John Parrott, Ken Doherty, Tony Drago, Matthew Stevens, all big names, and the list goes on. And then you look at the younger generation who are involved, the likes of Ricky Walden, Jamie Cope and Judd Trump – there are no easy matches. It’s cut-throat and I wouldn’t like to go back to it.
