I mentioned it once but I think I got away with it.
Aerostructures Sports & Social Club have been in the bottom snooker division of the Southampton & District Social Clubs League since Steve Bowler took over as skipper 12 years ago.
Last season they finished in the third promotion spot in Division 5, equal on points with Fawley RBL but with one extra win under their belts.
But then the league was restructured to accommodate the eight-team Super League. Division 5 disappeared and Aerostructures were placed in Division 4.
Is promotion a sore subject at the club on the GE Aviation Systems site in Hamble?
We went to find out.
“We actually got up to third last year,” said Bowler, 52. “It was the highest we’d ever been. And then the leagues changed...”
OK, he still feels a tad sore.
What about Mark Williams, 43, who works with Bowler in the factory?
Williams started his snooker career at Hamble Club and joined Aerostructures four seasons ago.
He is also watch manager at the Hamble retained fire station. (It has been known for Williams to get paged at work, rush to the fire station and return through the factory gates with blue lights flashing.)
“That’s the ambition,” he said. “To get out of the bottom division. We thought we were going to do it last year when we came third. It was the best year we’ve ever had.
“Then they restructured the leagues...”
Hmmm.
And what about the wise old head of Chris Pullen, 67, who also runs the billiards team at Netley Central?
“It was a great shame last year because the team’s never gone up,” he pointed out. “It would be nice to go up - but not too far.
“Last year we came third and we should’ve gone up but they altered the leagues...”
I think we’re beginning to get the drift.
Pullen added: “I don’t play a bad game of snooker but my preferred game is billiards. If you can play billiards pretty well, you should be able to play snooker quite well.”
Division 4 this season is proving to be a battleground. Sway Social, with just one defeat, are racing certainties for the title. But it’s any two from seven to join them in Division 3.
Williams said: “We can hold our own in that league. Getting out of the bottom league is the hardest because you get people coming back in like Sway. Over the last three years, we’ve had a real settled side and we’ve got better and better and better. Most of us want to get out of this league because we know we can do it. We lose some stupid games.
Steve Bowler added: “(Division 4) it’s very tough. We can hold our own against most of them. We all want to get up. We’ve got five regular players and one reserve. It’s got a nice mix.”
Mark Williams’ 14-year-old son Callum has yet to make his debut. Reserve Will Mildenhall cleans and irons the tables every week. And the team take it in turns to make the food.
Perhaps fast-improving Callum will be the one to give Aerostructures the edge in the promotion race – providing the league is not restructured again.
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