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Let your next career move come to you.

Old-timers on RoF

Following on from the other thread, who is RoF's Father of the House?

Laz and Diceman were here in '02. Surely Mutters was too? I'm '04.

Does anyone have a screenshot of what the first ROF messageboard actually looked like?  Would love to see that.  Was launched start 2001 apparently from Wiki.

Alan, when were you in Brussels?

My original username was britinbrussels cos I was there too - it was the first place I roffed from.  So I must have been here pre-September 2001 as that is when I moved countries.

I remember Boo being here back then.  And Bailey.

enforcer was this short dude who looked like one of the mitchell brothers and drove a deeply pre owned Ferrari in the style to which Teclis aspires, but was actually quite a senior and respected in house lawyer. He was an absolute powerhouse of both the early discussion board and the very first ROFdrinks.

I attended a very early one of the latter at the Heeltap and Bumper by St Paul’s, where attendees included Bookem - another great survivor - Brigadier Grappa, Boo, s, kyliefan and others. 

Randomest ROFdrinks for me have to be a pint with whatsmypassword in Clapham old town and having a beer with snafu (wonder what he’s doing now) in that post-softball pub at the top of great portland street. Only it wasn’t after softball. There was a christmas drinkies near there once, where I recall meeting minkie and CJaded (grrrrrrrr).

wang, I think one of your earliest posts was to anonymously take the piss out of me

I remember more or less immediately guessing who you were!

Speaking ot this period of time, do you remember Vivo’s?

HGR btw made a cameo appearance a few weeks ago. Some say he once met Whitesockboy for a pint; others say he was whitesockboy. I believe he and DD King once arranged to meet for a fight in Battersea Park, but the great man didn’t turn up.

I think Boo may have been the very first poster. Other players in '02:

HGR, Lydia, enforcer, bookem, csider, laz was prolific by then, shafty, monty, sure wang was flying then too, tuscan, niamh something and the nasty bird he impregnated, cruella de vil.

Reasons for leaving seem to be getting a training contract or a bird or up the duff.

Niamh O’Reesh! Now he was an absolute bell end. First of the board’s two defining investment bankers, the other being Chippy the ROF Kangaroo.

Also a big figure at ROFdrinks at the time (02-03) was a lad who styled himself Tripp Fontaine. He was a bit Legal Alien before Legal Alien’s time. He burned brightly but briefly, like Ledley King. I once kipped on his sofa in Battersea after a particularly wide-roaming ROF afterparty of the old skool.

I’ve temporarily forgotten what they called that posh bloke, kind of a quasi-banker, that OB had a crush on. Very tall.

Bbombadier wasn't it?

 

I remember Grappa. I had forgotten that chap. he used to turn up in bars when others were drinking stuff and he'd stick to the espressos, whatever the hour.  He talked off the board about the connections he had (I think he knew someone who had set up BPP law school and that was a constant refrain). But on the board it was all about Panzer tanks and such. 

Of a similar vintage (RoF vintage rather than actual age), there was Lord Shaftington, Bookem, Csider, Boo, Bailey, Skiver, Flying Wang...

Dignam was much better in real life than he was on the board. I think that has something to do with him listening to too much of the Joe Rogan podcast and going all red pill/UFC/alt-right.

I have looked.

Am at ease with it.

You should take a long look at yourself notm8. At least you have the example of what to avoid but you're still in the vicelike grip.

Been lurking and occasionally dipping a toe in since the start. Bejesus the point about vac students not being born is terrifying. I have yet to make it to ROF drinks.    

i was minding my own business in 2007, posting on autoadmit, a website for american hmongtards, when it was invaded by people from rof, a website for british hmongtards

i eventually learned to speak in british english, to casually deploy terms such as "well fit bird," "c u nt" "prolif", "alan" "orla" "tunslut" and "bloody tory w**ker" and beat out another american, Partner, for roffer of the year in 2008

I have a horrible recollection of lurking when I was in Singapore. And - good god - that was in 2001.

Never posted much mind or turned up at drinks or anything. I don't think anyone knows who I am.

Which is actually a rather sad tbh given the amount of enjoyment (and even insight) I've benefitted from over the years reading Rof.

Late to the party ‘04

After being told in a firm wide email not to look at the website 

Too many drinks, karaoke and book clubs to count since then

heh

 

May 2002 for me. I just looked it up. I can in a few seconds do a word searchof rollonfriday in my diary. It appears no earlier than then  - the first entry says "5.20pm Been wasting time on line at rollonfriday "

I think if I were on it much earlier than that I would have mentioned it so I suspect May 2002 is the time.

On behalf of humanity may I be the first to express our gratitude to Lydia for chronicling those moments of greatness and retains them carefully for a generation. 

Verily the spirit of Samuel Pepys speaks through you. 

Can't remember really. I knew about RoF, but my initial memory is some chap called Matthew tapping my then firm for advertising.

He asked whether I'd heard of the discussion board, probably worried I'd blab their rates. I said not really, but then took a look.

I just searched Lydia too and she did not exist until May 2002 either. When I scanned my paper diaries recently from 1971 ish I did start reading the Word electronic ones from 1998 as well and edited some if there had been boring long ROF chats pasted in  - I did it deliberately as I did not want to keep them and it totally ruined the purpose of a diary to set out what I was doing even if some of that time was on RoF. I kept a few  bits in - then I got side tracked at about 2002 or 2003 I think so probably there remain boring bits in there after that.

 

Before that in the mid 90s??? there was a lawyers' discussion group on line in the days of dial up called LINK  and my first work email address was [email protected] as they offered a free email address.

fred titmus - -were you klinkerhofen?

I started in 2004.

There were a few of off-board groups then (even without watsapp) 

I think i attended my first rof drinks in 2006...courtesy tiggles and kev. Was shit scared as I knew someone posting here then was also working at the same firm then but didn't know who at the firm. 

also...I had my first rof fight with duxo. I had joined couple of months after he had. He used to carry his airs and graces on rof somewhat more diligently at the time. 

Of course now he is a much loved old codger. 

Early 2007 for me.

I was being transferred within my firm to the sandpit and had zero idea about salaries. I simply googled legal salaries and this orange monstrosity appeared before me.

I was trying to remember sparklingwater's username the other day. Funnily enough I could remember his irl name but not who he posted as.

MacG! There is a blast from the past. A one man story generating machine.

Laz: I am still in touch with SNAFU amongst other ex oranges (I know I ain’t alone )

He is doing v well in house, upper echelon stuff in the belly of a global beast

yeah that fits

I once had a beer with montie (in the Raglan) that became manybeers and I had to leave my missus' car where I'd parked it on Gresham Street. Failed to make it in the next morning before the parking charges started again, and picked up a juicy fine.

I bump into pithe on the Newcastle Fans Facebook Group from time to time.

Jeez, the latest poster on this thread is 2008! Where's our new blood?

 

..mind you probably not on a thread called "old timers". 

 

2005 for me. Lurked in 2003/4 for sure but I think I only read the news then. First post was something about the 7/7 terrorist attacks..

In my early days here a lot of the on board chat was dominated by the real world tempestuous romance between two posters called red godfather and _helen.

I met RG at the great portland street rof drinks and after we were introduced he said to me “yeah, me and you don’t get on”, which was weird as I’d never exchanged a word with him on the board. So that goes down as a non positive rofer-meeting experience I spose.

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