The first time I ever played snooker I was about 14.

I took to it like a duck to water, though only initially allowed to play on the three quarter table at the local Billiard Hall, within a few months I’d progressed to the full size tables and was knocking in regular 50 breaks and continued to improve quickly. My dad was a good player and it does seem to run in families.

Over the next couple of years I began to earn money by hustling, so what’s the secret? Put simply you find a guy prepared to play for, let’s say a £1 a game (bear in mind this is nearly 50 years ago when I was earning £12 a week). You lose the first five games then offer to play one game for 10 or 20 quid – win it and clear off with a nice profit.👍

I was earning £100 a week or more, there were plenty of Billiard Halls and Clubs about back then so always somewhere fresh to try your luck at. Now it’s not that easy to lose on purpose – you couldn’t make it too obvious so I learned to play right handed then switched to my normal left hand for the final frame. Amazingly, few players ever clocked on. Though it did backfire on occasion – I’ve been chased out of several Billiard Halls, barred from others and even got stabbed in the back with a broken snooker cue!!

Exciting times – Billiard Halls were spit and sawdust places back then, you couldn’t see the end of the hall for cigarette smoke, all sorts of criminal activities took place, often had police raids when everyone piled out the fire escape when the sound of heavy boots came running up the stairs! Perhaps it is rose tinted specs but times seemed simpler then and I have very fond memories.

It’s amazing how that first game of snooker opened up everything that followed👍👍