Is it me or do the people that run Chiswick Snooker Club have a total disregard for the Berkshire County teams? For as long as I’ve been playing for Berkshire people around me have been complaining about the club and calling for a change of venue.

“The tables aren’t good enough”, “The balls are terrible”, “It’s always too hot to concentrate”, “There are more rolls in here than in a wall paper factory” etc, etc. I never really took much notice of these comments before and just got on with my (mediocre) game…until last night.

I went to Chiswick to knock in a new tip ahead of Sunday’s game away to Sussex. The club was empty. There were 2 people sitting at the bar, not a single person on the tables. I asked the brunette behind the bar if I could have one of the tables “on the clock”. Her response was a resounding “No”, continuing with “I’m not going to open the table for you” in a strong polish accent.

I was a bit confused. Just 7 days earlier it had not been a problem. She informed me that Chad had had a change of heart. She’d been told that county players were no longer allowed to pay for the tables hourly. If you were one of the FIVE players that played for the Club in the local league it was ok, but as one of the 60 odd Berkshire players it was a no no.

If our home venue does not value us enough to allow us to practice in it, what is the point of playing there at all? My Berkshire shirt proudly displays “Chiswick Pool & Snooker Club” on the chest. Why? As far as I’m concerned the place is run by a complete bunch of losers. And I look forward to Interleague on the 8th June when I’ll be confronting the owners with Mr Uzzell to see if “The Home of Berkshire” is really an appropriate name for the place…