Starting to play again after a long, long time...

[willtyson]

If you want to try before you buy I'd go to Green Baize cues where they've got tons. Check out the shop (pics take a minute or 2 to load) http://www.greenbaize.com/forum/foru...d=547#post_547

[throtts]

Not so sure on try before you buy. I order my JP Majestic online and get on with it great, playing well too. I am old school though, sort of get on with it attitude..

[willtyson]

Not so sure on try before you buy. I order my JP Majestic online and get on with it great, playing well too. I am old school though, sort of get on with it attitude..

I've not ever tried before I've bought, but I can see why some prefer to. If I don't like a cue I just sell it and get another and know that I've had the pleasure to own a lovely cue in its own right for a period of time lol :snooker:

[Steve_Tuck]

Yeah, I'm kinda prepared to relax "the try before you buy" a bit, putting my trust in having something made by Parris. However, I am beginning to have some doubts as to whether that'd be the right way to go...

If anyone has had a cue made for them to their own spec, I would be interested to hear your opinions.

[coomsey76]

Great write up of your snooker up bringing......

Welcome aboard mate.

[itsnoteasy]

Loved your write ups Steve, that must have been great playing with Jimmy and Tony Meo, i saw Mike Hallet at Butlins(filey) i think it might have been 80/81 my first lads holiday ,my pals couldnt be bothered watching but i stayed, he was first player i ever saw clear the table, stayed with me all my life even though i didnt play snooker if it was ever mentioned out came my Mike Hallet story lol.
Welcome and looking forward to more stories

[Steve_Tuck]

It was at Butlins in Skegness that I fisrt picked up a cue in Sept 1976. There were 52 tables in this room, no light shades, chipped balls, awful cues, but boy, did I get hooked. I saw Ray Edmunds and John Virgo play there on a match table and Virgo made 94 against me...

[throtts]

It was at Butlins in Skegness that I fisrt picked up a cue in Sept 1976. There were 52 tables in this room, no light shades, chipped balls, awful cues, but boy, did I get hooked. I saw Ray Edmunds and John Virgo play there on a match table and Virgo made 94 against me...

Great stuff.

Did JV say, "where's the cue ball going" , back then. Haha..

[Steve_Tuck]

Another little story comes to mind... Soon after being introduced to Fred Peck, I went over to his place in March, Cambs on one particular Sunday afternoon back in about 1980 and when I walked into the snooker room there was a young girl playing on the table knocking in a few balls. Her name was Mandy Fisher. She was 15 or 16 years old. She was a fascination for me as I'd never seen a young girl playing before. Anyway, we had a few frames together and clearly she could play a bit, of that there was no doubt. On top of all that (and I hope she wouldn't mind me saying so), she was real cute too. It's fair to say, (and I never did let it be known), I did end up having a bit of a crush on her from afar...

[mythman69]

Did JV say, "where's the cue ball going" , back then. Haha..

Probably only when his opponent's cue ball went astray . . . he probably said something else when his did

[Steve_Tuck]

I posted on here for the first time a couple of weeks ago...

On 16th June... the 14th day since picking my cue up for the first time in 31 years, I made a dead 50 break against my son in a practise frame. Wow... this came completely out of the blue and even though I should feel elated, the truth is I feel a bit gutted. I missed a dolly of a red with the rest with another 4 or 5 opens reds around the pink and black. I got down, thinking, "Blimey, there's 70 or 80 on here", and the next thing is... my head's gone.

Since starting to play again on 3rd June, I've had 7 x 1 hr practise sessions, just concentrating striking the cue ball, re-building some semblance of a cue action and re-learning some potting angles with the blue, pink and black only, on their spots. In all, I've played 6 practise frames, with a couple of 20's early on, before the 50 came along in frame 6. Can't stop smiling. Totally unexpected... but it's a promising re-start, nonetheless. At the beginning of this adventure, I would have said my ambition would have been to make a 50 break again. Can now cross that one off the list!

Also, have to report since starting again and re-biulding a cue action from scratch, with all the advice there is now available, there has been no sign of the "yips" which caused me to stop playing all those years ago as a nineteen year old.

[wmccreedy]

Really loving ur write ups Steve, great piece of snooker history. Glad uve got over the 'yips'. Wish u well on the cue search

[garyd147]

Hi Steve, your posts are great reading.
No doubt you will have many more 50+ chances. Just keep enjoying.

Cheers
Gary

[Steve_Tuck]

Here's another little story... it was about 1979, I was an aspiring 14 year old snooker player and I was invited over to Fred Peck's place in March, Cambs to watch a billiards demonstration given by Mark Wildman from Peterborough on Fred’s magnificent table.

Mark explained all about half ball in-offs, the drop cannon and top-of-the-table play, etc, etc. Anyway half way through the evening, Fred announced that there was a break and all 25-30 invited guests retired outside the snooker room into Fred's garden where a light buffet and drinks were served. It was a beautiful sunny, summers evening in June and everyone sat around, plates balanced in knees and drinks in hand. Mark was a big, well-spoken man, immaculately resplendent in his black evening suit and he was holding court. He fancied himself as a bit of an after-dinner speaker and he just loved to tell a story.

He started to tell this tale of a trip he and Fred and some others went on some years back up in the Scottish Borders fishing for salmon on the River Tweed. Almost imperceptibly the murmuring conversations around the garden stopped and everyone turned to listen to Mark...

Then there was me... a young, keen boy, a billiards and snooker fanatic, who liked to do a bit of fishing, in the company of one of my heroes... enthralled. I was in my absolute element.

Mark told of the journey north and the hotel they stayed in, of the magnificent evening meal and the aged, single malt whiskey that followed. Early the next morning after breakfast, they made their way down the dew-laden banks to the river, shrouded in mist, purple heather adorning both banks. He described the sound of the water as it babbled over rocks, coursing along, icy, cold, clear, running over rubber waders as the anglers found their spots.

Mark described the day’s fishing and bemoaned the fact that by the middle of the afternoon none of the fishing party had landed a single salmon between them. As they were discussing how much longer to fish before retiring back to the comfort of the hotel, Mark suddenly had a take on his fly. Across the river a huge salmon jumped clear of the water and headed of downstream aided by the fast current. Mark’s rod bent over, straining against the power of the fish and line whistled off his reel. Fearing he might lose this monster salmon he eventually managed to halt the run and turned the fish upstream. He described how over the next twenty or so minutes how he fought with this gigantic fish, heading off run after run. Eventually, he gained the upper hand and the fish began to show signs of being beaten. Finally, almost exhausted, he guided the fish towards the shallows, over submerged rocks, around a weed bed and closer to the bank. The landing net was submerged close by and Mark inched the salmon closer and closer to it.

There’s me sitting there at the front, open mouthed, hanging on Mark’s every word as the suspense and the tension reached breaking point. He’s going to land this fish; he’s going to do it…yes, yes, get in…

Mark continued: I brought the fish closer and closer to the landing net and then just as it was about to pass into it, the salmon gave one final, almighty flick of its huge tail, arching up out of the water clean into the air and in a flash it has slipped the hook and was gone, disappearing into the swirling water with a huge splash.

Oh no, everyone gasped… I thought, “Damn.”

Quickly, Mark went on… “Would you believe it… I was just about to land the biggest salmon of my life, all 23lb 10oz of it, and at the last minute it escaped…gone forever.”

Everyone groaned… except me…

I broke the silence… everyone turned towards me. “Hang on a minute, Mark”, I said, “if the salmon got away, how'd you know it weighed 23lb 10oz?”

Mark: “’Cos it had scales on its back!”

The gathering erupted. Everyone fell about laughing… I just went very, very red…

There’s always one, eh? That day it was me and I learned a vital lesson… keep your head down and your gob shut!!!

[throtts]

Hahaha, funny.

Very coincidental too, I was just talking to a youngster who is about to start out the big wide world of work, he is 16 yrs. Told him to, "just keep your head down and get on with your work", that way you will gain respect and move in the right direction. Stay away from all the bull****..