The Guestbook

Back in the 1980s The Sheppey Pool lads were liken to “The Rat Pack”.

They were all in their early or mid twenty's. They could certainly play this game of Pool, not only did they dispose of all comers, they also disposed of large amounts of Lager while doing so.

To be honest I didn’t know how they did it. This some times got us into a spot of trouble. On one occasion after a super league match at Folkestone we stopped to get some fish & chips.

All the lads piled into the chip shop, Two police men turned up to collect an order they had made over the phone and went straight to the front of the queue, The Sheppey Lads started to give them a hard time. Robert said to them don’t take no notice of us officer. We are all pool players from The Isle of Sheppey (Big Cheer) and we beat London today playing for Kent, (another big cheer) and tonight we beat Folkestone in a super league match, (another bigger cheer) that’s why we are all pissed - including our driver. I thought here we go we are going to get nicked, But the coppers were more intent on getting back to the station with their fish supper still hot, (by the way i was not pissed). This was also the day I was Dubbed (The Fiddler) by Robert Montgomery, who else.

We had been at Pool Land playing London all afternoon, ( The Sheppey lads had a love/hate relationship with pool lands owner Mr Jezzard ) he loved us when we were there because his bar takings went up by over 50%, but he hated us when we won every thing. Now Pool Land had their own pool teams that played in a Sunday night league. The sandwiches were made for such a match that night and placed on the end of the bar covered with tinfoil.

Someone pinched some of the said sandwiches but aving taken one bite out of them did not like them and put them back. When the sandwiches were revealed to the visiting team that night quite a few had big bites taken out of them. The finger of suspicion points to us. We may have got away with it if it had not been for another incident that had happened. As we were leaving Pool Land I was warming up the bus when all the lads came out and piled in the bus. Just as i was pulling out of the car park an irritate Jezzard came running after us and banging on my window. I roll the window down and say what have they done now. He says they have eaten the visitor book. I told him I would sort it all out at the next Kent committee meeting. (At the time I did not know about the sandwiches).

That’s when I told them we would be have to pay for a new visitors book and we may get fined. Who is going to pay for it they say, I’ll have to fiddle it some how. That’s when Robert called me “The Fiddler” and it stuck.

At the next KCPA meeting we were told about the sandwiches, I said you sure it wasn't rats, mockingly Jezzard said we know the difference between rat teeth marks and human teeth marks. I paid for the new visitors book and the fine a total of £17 out of the Sheppey Pool League funds, sorry about that

JVAs “The Pool Years”