England v Jersey Feb 2008

[milko]

May 1, 2008 9:26:35 GMT SirKT said:

Was this the Jersey `B` side ???, only none of these players ventured across to England in February.

Shame for those that did, not to get a look in for this match :-X

Kevin, this was a bit below the belt wasn't it, you know the reason that most of their best players didn't come over was because of the hotel that we chose.  :(

I suppose, by now, the apology letter has been sent from the Secretary to our Jersey friends.!!

Keith.

This thread has been separated from the "Jersey v Guernsey Challenge" thread, in which two entirely different discussions were taking place.    - tommo 03/10/2011

[Nick (Barnett) (R.I.P.)]

Hello everybody

Firstly I would like to congratulate the rest of the Jersey team on a fine performance, playing extremely well to stifle the visiting Sarnians and not let them get in to the match, and also to Trevor for winning his "God knows how many?" Channel Islands singles title

I have seen several sarcastic posts on here previously, concerning the lack of a lot of the top ranking players from the February International, and whilst I can't speak for other players that chose not to travel to England this time, I can convey to you the reasons why I chose not to go, they are as follows:-

1) The location of the match, this last time and previous times.

I'm not talking about the hotel, I didn't think the Skylane was that bad really for the price, although I think that may have been an issue for some that didn't attend, I am talking about the Gatwick area, I have played in every International I have been selected for since 1997, except this last one, and every time we are sent to an area with no bar billiard league, or bar billiard tables.

In Bournemouth the we ended up playing pool on the Friday afternoon, likewise in Southampton, but by far the worst location is around Gatwick, whether it's staying at the Skylane or The Chequers, there's nothing there except a couple of pubs and a bookies, no shops, no decent restaurants, and definitely no bar billiard tables, and no practise table in the Hotel until Saturday afternoon.

Would you all keep coming to Jersey if the situation was the same?

I don't know if the people who choose the location of this match are scared that if it were held where the Jersey players can actually play on bar billiard tables we may be able to give the might of the AEBBA a run for their money, it's starting to seem that way.

Why not have the match somewhere like Brighton, loads of pubs with tables, plenty of restaurants and shops, Brighton lanes etc, plenty to do and only 40 minutes drive from the airport. Likewise Worthing or maybe Portsmouth or Oxford? Why do we have to keep being sent somewhere with no bar billiard leagues, and in the case of the Gatwick area, not much else either.

2) The quality of the tables

You would have to go back a while, probably Southampton, for the English tables to be up to match standards. Last time I went to the Skylane, the tables had not been ironed, and if you ran your finger round the inside of a pocket it came out black. When you compare those with the tables presented for the English team when you come to Jersey they don't measure up. Our tables and brushed, ironed and the pockets polished, it makes a great difference to the way they play!

Remember it probably costs us twice what it cost you for us to travel to England for this event in comparison to what it cost you to come to Jersey, I don't think it is too much to ask for decently prepared match tables like those you have when you come here, and for the match to be held in a nice area where there are actually some league pubs.

I hope this clarifies my reasons for not travelling this time and may give the people responsible for organising this event some food for thought?

And finally, good luck to all those travelling for the Guernsey Open on Sunday.

Apr 30, 2006 8:23:17 GMT @fazza said:

Come on lads, as soon as you sober up, give us the results and scores of last night's big encounters.

Stats for the BBQ please.....

I got all excited there for a while. 8-) :-*

And then I noted the date of the post which was April 30, 2006. >:(

May 1, 2008 20:57:44 GMT Nick (Barnett) (R.I.P.) said:

I don't know if the people who choose the location of this match are scared that if it were held where the Jersey players can actually play on bar billiard tables we may be able to give the might of the AEBBA a run for their money, it's starting to seem that way.

I can identify with most of the sentiment in your post, Nick, and agree that a change of hotel and locality away from the Gatwick area is adviseable, and I'm sure that this is being worked on for next year.

But I am slightly miffed at the underlying message that mainlanders do not care a jot for the comfort and wellbeing of Jerseymen while you're over here. I'm sure a lot of time and effort is put into it by those who organise the Internationals.

So, although my own involvement was only miniscule, I would just like to put the record straight by saying that practice facilities were laid on for our visitors back in Feb: we (Surrey) set up a 'friendly' International on the Friday night in Redhill - about five miles up the road. It was split between two of our best venues, the Old Oak and the Flying Scud. The lads seemed to enjoy themselves by the amount of ale that was consumed, and Geoff Jukes personally transferred the players back to their hotel in a relay.

So a little bit of extra organisation was made on your behalf to get players such as myself out to play on a Friday night - and afford Jersey the chance of competition on tables of equal quality to those on which the main event was to be staged - but Geoff's sterling efforts have largely gone unheralded.

[Nick (Barnett) (R.I.P.)]

There was no underlying message? If you managed to read one in to what I said then you were mistaken.

When ever we have travelled to any pubs on the Friday night before the international, we have been made very welcome, and had a good evening.

The point I was trying to make was about the location of the matches and the dubious standard of the tables.

Your quote ".....scared that if it were held where the Jersey players can actually play on bar billiard tables we may be able to give the might of the AEBBA a run for their money, it's starting to seem that way" was the bit I was taking issue on, Nick, as it suggests some sort of clandestine conspiracy. ;D

You made your points load and clear and I'm sure they are noted by those who matter.

Not sure about the practicality of your offered solutions though: "Brighton only being 40 mins from the airport" etc. Sounds good on paper, but then there's the logistics of getting you all there, and that's an hour wasted in travelling.

Possibly a mini-tour of some venues in Sussex could be arranged, but then you will be playing on Tarratt (=SAMS) tables - which are totally different from those you would play on in the International.

[SirKT]

I think you need to speak to your peers Nick. They`ve always been insistent that the International has to be played near an airport, preferrably Gatwick, so that people can have easy main-line access to the capital, for shows ,shopping , horse racing etc.

No local Bar Billiards league ???
S`funny, i thought Redhill (one of the best around) was only 3 miles away ???

We could always move it back to Bournemouth (great hotel the Queens but no local league i`m afraid and they don`t fly into Herm airport anymore from Jersey), or Southampton, i`m sure the Novotel would have us back, still a trip from the airport, oh and no local league again.
Maybe you could all get the ferry to Pompey :P, i`m sure there would be a hotel somewhere, suitable for the International and they do have a good league ;)

Oxford ??? hmmm, let me see. Plenty of league tables there, plenty of great sightseeing & shopping. Yes, everything but a an AIRPORT Nick. Well there is Kidlington airport of course but it might cost about £200 return in a small plane.

Looks like it`s still Gatwick then, doesn`t it :-/

If you`d taken the time to read back in the England v Jersey thread, you would have seen that i mentioned looking around the Worthing area for a suitable venue at a decent price for the 2010 match. There are plenty of league tables around like the Marine View, West Tarring club, the Elms, to name but a few ;D
The main-line station goes into Brighton & London and there`s loads of shopping too.

[lloydy]

Is Horsham an idea?

Bar Billiard tables, Good hotels, 25 mins from Gatwick, a shopping centre and a direct line to London Victoria or London Bridge.

It's got all the answers!

[DA-DM]

May 5, 2008 12:37:31 GMT SirKT said:

Maybe you could all get the ferry to Pompey :P, i`m sure there would be a hotel somewhere, suitable for the International and they do have a good league ;)

not to mention i live here !! ;D 8-)

there's a big marriot hotel next to a big tesco, there's also a premier inn and that's just at north harbour. there is a lot around if you look ! port solent is very near also, as is the city centre with it's train station etc

not my business but just trying to help ! :-X

[fazza]

The Marriott would not know what had hit it!!!!!
And I could get a dis-counted room. Yeah!

[DA-DM]

::) that's frightened them off then....

[fazza]

Love you too

[DA-DM]

8-) :-* i just thought i'd say it before anyone else did !

so where will it be then ?

[BB Warrior]

Brighton would seem to be an obvious choice....... 30 minutes drive from Gatwick with good train links both from the airport and to London.

Plenty of hotels or B&B's to stay in, lots of local shops, restaurants and bar billiards tables to play on as well.....!! ;D

If there are no suitable (cost-effective) venues to play the actual match, then I would suggest the Hurst Club (15 minutes drive from Brighton) would be an option, the Sussex Singles have been played there for the past couple of years and that seemed to be reasonably popular with the players. :)