The Little Garden of Eden
Tucked away off the main high street in Faversham, Kent, hides a snooker paradise that few know of but crave to see. I first came across the Faversham Club earlier in the year when my good friend Colin Phillips, a snooker promoter, invited me to an exhibition between Joe Johnson and Tony Knowles. I travelled by train the day before and stepped off the train to be greeted by a town that still has retained much of its Elizabethan architecture. A fabulous hotel, the Sun Inn awaited me with a spacious room and a view that overlooked the cobbled high street outside. Later on I met up with Colin, Joe, Tony and Glen Sullivan-Bissett, the snooker referee for a curry in the local curry house. We then decided to go for a few drinks at the Faversham Club.
Walking down the cobbled street, we suddenly veered off into a narrow alleyway that led to a gated entrance. At the bottom of the path was a building with a large wooden door with a door bell. A man came to the door and let us in to what was a snooker fan's dream. The club itself hasn't changed much since it first became a snooker club in 1884. Previously the building dates back to 1835 when it was used as a chapel for Calvinistic Baptists and later Wesleyan reform Methodists. Beyond the tiled hallway lies a bar on the ground floor that serves locally brewed beers on tap and a barman that has resided there for much of its history.
On the upper floor, beyond a steep, carpeted stairway, lies a snooker room that has two full sized snooker tables and has the original score boards and clock that many a player has watched into the late hours of the night as cigarettes burnt in the ashtray and beer glasses were gradually drained. This really is a place that is a paradise that is set in time and even if the clock stopped, wouldn't change as the local residents want to preserve this small slice of snooker's past and present. When you come here, you realise how much snooker means to people and you can feel the community spirit when you enter the building.
I had the good fortune to play my friend Joe Johnson here the next day in front of a packed audience and it really was a special moment that I will never forget. Although I lost, it was a leaning curve and showed me that win or lose, the pleasure was in playing a friend and professional who had been there and won the greatest title, the World Championship in 1986. To stand in front of a table and be photographed with Joe Johnson and Tony Knowles really was special and sometimes I have to pinch myself that I am now friends with these people. Little, old me has become a snooker blogger and now gets to meet some of my heroes backstage, an experience I wouldn't trade hands with anyone.
My friend, Colin Phillips has been in charge of holding snooker events at the Faversham Club and elsewhere for about four years now, holding regular, charity, snooker events for different charities, seven in four years so far and five snooker competitions in the club. Many famous people have played here or watched, including Ken Doherty, Stuart Bingham, Mark King, Bobby Davro and Bob Geldof. Of course Colin is always there sporting his famous, red MC jacket and donning his microphone with his usual good humour and funny quips.
The Faversham Club is a place that will always have a special place in my heart and one where I felt truly welcome. I may have been cold outside but when I entered that front door, the welcome was genuine and had the community embrace that is missing from so many snooker clubs. You feel like you are part of the club and not just a visitor and the staff are there to help you and answer your questions and be genuinely hospitable, a home rather than a business. It is a place that every true fan or player should visit once in their lives or maybe more.
Walking down the cobbled street, we suddenly veered off into a narrow alleyway that led to a gated entrance. At the bottom of the path was a building with a large wooden door with a door bell. A man came to the door and let us in to what was a snooker fan's dream. The club itself hasn't changed much since it first became a snooker club in 1884. Previously the building dates back to 1835 when it was used as a chapel for Calvinistic Baptists and later Wesleyan reform Methodists. Beyond the tiled hallway lies a bar on the ground floor that serves locally brewed beers on tap and a barman that has resided there for much of its history.
On the upper floor, beyond a steep, carpeted stairway, lies a snooker room that has two full sized snooker tables and has the original score boards and clock that many a player has watched into the late hours of the night as cigarettes burnt in the ashtray and beer glasses were gradually drained. This really is a place that is a paradise that is set in time and even if the clock stopped, wouldn't change as the local residents want to preserve this small slice of snooker's past and present. When you come here, you realise how much snooker means to people and you can feel the community spirit when you enter the building.
I had the good fortune to play my friend Joe Johnson here the next day in front of a packed audience and it really was a special moment that I will never forget. Although I lost, it was a leaning curve and showed me that win or lose, the pleasure was in playing a friend and professional who had been there and won the greatest title, the World Championship in 1986. To stand in front of a table and be photographed with Joe Johnson and Tony Knowles really was special and sometimes I have to pinch myself that I am now friends with these people. Little, old me has become a snooker blogger and now gets to meet some of my heroes backstage, an experience I wouldn't trade hands with anyone.
My friend, Colin Phillips has been in charge of holding snooker events at the Faversham Club and elsewhere for about four years now, holding regular, charity, snooker events for different charities, seven in four years so far and five snooker competitions in the club. Many famous people have played here or watched, including Ken Doherty, Stuart Bingham, Mark King, Bobby Davro and Bob Geldof. Of course Colin is always there sporting his famous, red MC jacket and donning his microphone with his usual good humour and funny quips.
The Faversham Club is a place that will always have a special place in my heart and one where I felt truly welcome. I may have been cold outside but when I entered that front door, the welcome was genuine and had the community embrace that is missing from so many snooker clubs. You feel like you are part of the club and not just a visitor and the staff are there to help you and answer your questions and be genuinely hospitable, a home rather than a business. It is a place that every true fan or player should visit once in their lives or maybe more.
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