Table Changes

[Horny Lodger]

I was going to start a thread regarding the upgrading of tables to take the new one pound coin, but after visiting the Cock at Wivelsfield last night I see that Tarratts, for one, are increasing the cost per game to £2. Naturally they are taking this opportunity to do both upgrades at the same time.

As they point out in their letter to the publican, the last increase was in 1984/5 when the cost of an average pint was 80p!

What do other forum members feel? Personally, I suppose it had to happen - I'm just surprised it's taken this long when you consider most pool tables have been £2 for quite a while.

A great idea to start a thread on this, Dave. Maybe we should compile a list of those converted and to which coin, and those still to be done. (Handy to know which coins to be armed with on a visit).

I can confirm Rod Tarratt's claim on the last date of an increase of his rental tables: the Inter-Town Festival of Sport was staged in the Bognor Regis area in 1983 and Horsham won the bar billiards competition staged at the Kings Beach, Pagham. We liked the pub and area so much we have been occasional visitors ever since, but it is fixed in my mind that it became the first 'pound table' I ever saw, which would have been around 1984/85.

We cannot really blame him for the increase, as the game has been pegged at £1 for thirty years ! Say he has 37 tables to convert, and each takes about an hour to do, that's a man-week with travelling expenses on top: With claiming compensation from the Government a no-no, he has to make it worth his while somehow.

[Chris_Sav]

This has been covered in depth under table maintenance.


barbilliards.proboards.com/thread/16392/new-pound-coin


All my clocks and many others take old and new coins now by our conversion method. You can file the slot out a bit but whilst the old coins are still around they will drop straight through.

It may be thirty years since the last increase but £2 is a watershed I do not think we will cross without heavy further accelerated loss of tables

Sav

[milhouse]

Aug 3, 2017 9:01:40 GMT Horny Lodger said:

I was going to start a thread regarding the upgrading of tables to take the new one pound coin, but after visiting the Cock at Wivelsfield last night I see that Tarratts, for one, are increasing the cost per game to £2. Naturally they are taking this opportunity to do both upgrades at the same time.

As they point out in their letter to the publican, the last increase was in 1984/5 when the cost of an average pint was 80p!

What do other forum members feel? Personally, I suppose it had to happen - I'm just surprised it's taken this long when you consider most pool tables have been £2 for quite a while.

Really? That's quite shocking, who would pay £2 to have a game of pool which is over in 2mins! There are no tables that i know about in Oxford which are more than £1. There was one venue in central Oxford which used to charge £1.20 for their 3 tables a few years ago but now have no tables because nobody played on them!

I joked to my team about putting the cost of my Bar Billiards table up to £2 and they all said they would retire!

I think the point that Horny Lodger was making was that for years and years bar billiards has represented better value than pool. This is borne out by the Team Registration fees charged for membership of the respective Leagues: Our pub's Pool teams pay £80 a year whereas for Mid Sussex Bar Billiards League the annual fee is a mere £35. And as Milhouse says, a game of pool between two proficient potters can be over in 2 minutes.

I also agree with Sav that a 100% increase is a quantum leap and we weren't prepared to go down that route, so Windmill remains at a (new) pound. We have added a label thus:

Mr Tarratt as Horsham League President addressed their AGM and was able to dispel certain myths being bandied about that he was about to sell up, and gave assurances that it would be 'business as usual' as regards Finals Night table hire.

[Horny Lodger]

The Cock table has been upgraded, if that's the right word (!), to take £2 coins only.

Aug 3, 2017 10:45:00 GMT tommo III said:

Maybe we should compile a list of those converted and to which coin, and those still to be done. (Handy to know which coins to be armed with on a visit).

Table	Owner	Coin
CKRBL	AFW	new £1
Cock	Tarratts	£2
Hassocks	C.Lambe	new £1
HHUSC	Tarratts	old £1,free for team
St Francis	Tarratts	£2
Windmill	Margo	new £1
BHCC	Ros	£2
Plough	Tarratts	£2
Watermill	Tarratts	£2

[iang]

Watermill has been converted to £2. HHUSC Mick Kirwan has sorted with the club for the table to be free plày after October.

An entirely smooth transition in Mid Sussex circles, with the old £1 coin already ancient history.
Regarding those staying at a pound, my reliable engineering contact performed the conversion of the Crawley table, and Andy F-W did a competent job on the two within Hassocks town.

[toby1000]

The Watermill table (If it is staying ) was converted to the 2 pound coin but was free on match nights and on Fridays whether or not it stays that way is anyone's guess