We have just dismantled and loaded this Riley aristocrat full size table from Collingham in Nottinghamshire to our shipping agent in Lincoln
then palatized everything to three compact parcels .
We sent a BCE Westbury out last month , and used the same shipping agent who sends two very  large removals lorry’s out twice a week to France and Spain

that large that they even load a Mercedes sprinter in the rear to do delivery’s from the large lorry once over there , to different locations throughout France .
that really surprised me when they said that’s what they did , but just look how large that juggernaut is in above photo , imagine this fully loaded then a MWB sprinter also in the back of it !

In the shipping agents yard in Lincoln , unloading into a storage container ready  to be put into the delivery vehicle later next  week .
Nice new White Movano van with new livery , only 2nd time we have used it since we bought it in January …..but blame covid restrictions for that .
we hope to use it a lot more this year once the covid rules are relaxed .

Pallet wrapped , and yes there is a full size Riley Aristocrat under that black wrapping , which is also ratchet  strapped to the pallet then double wrapped again
all wood parts are also bubble wrapped  .
cushions plus slide in panels  x 6 , legs x 8 and all frame buttons  , polished end frame x 2 , cross members x 2 , 6 adjustable brackets for muntin’s , 3 muntin’s ,
all long cues and rests , balls triangle bolts nets leathers rails all in a box and sealed , bed cloth and scoreboard also Double wrapped
Lighting shade is just bubble wrapped .
polished long sides of frame is bubble wrapped and black wrapped .

the table that is on that pallet now .
A very nice 1980’s Riley aristocrat in superb condition .
If anyone in France is looking to buy snooker tables , We can collect from ground floor any table in the UK and deliver to the shipping agent in Lincoln for delivery to France , he also does Spain .
We dismantle bubble wrap and palatize the table ready for shipping and deliver to shipping agent .

I have teamed up with a  Local Nottingham / Derby based  firm that custom manufactures on site Bespoke  Garden rooms
So let Dean Selby of Cosy Garden rooms Quote you for a Garden Room and GCL billiards for your Pool or Snooker cue sports table .
Just let Dean Know that Geoff at GCL billiards sent you to him .
I have today re-clothed Deans own table and once he informed me he had this garden room business , I informed him I often get asked to recommend a Firm that manufactures these rooms

I would not  just recommend something that I thought was not up to scratch but having seen Deans room and his extension room to his main house I was impressed .
Now Deans is an extra long Room with fitted Bar , Pool table large TV screen and WC room .
and I was informed including base this room would come in at around £22000 to £25000 depending on inner fitments and Electrics  and extent of drainage connection required .
I would like to say the finish of the room is very nice with custom made paneling and a fitted Bar .

Just two thirds of the room here

and the rest of the room to the left , plus as an extra he had a hot tub covered and deck area .
the room is heated very economically by a diesel heater .

another one of Cosy Garden Rooms build’s


From medium sized to the same size as Deans own room , and for snooker tables even larger , although you may need planning for a full size snooker table room .

Dean decorated his room in the peaky blinders Edwardian  style of decoration looking for older style furnishings like the repro ball and claw American type pool table which Dean sourced himself .

Plenty of room around this 7ft by 4ft table to use a full size cue all the way around .
the cloth Dean chose , was Hainsworth Elite Pro in Black .

So if you are in the market for a Bespoke made Garden room contact Geoff at GCL Billiards for more information
or go direct to Dean

dean@cosygardenrooms.co.uk

www.cosygardenrooms.co.uk

This week we had the pleasure of re-clothing a 12ft snooker table in Hainsworth Smart Royal blue cloth near Ashbourne Derbyshire for our client Colin .
I tried to order my normal fit Strachan 6811 Tournament in blue but both my cloth stockists had run out and had none arriving soon to complete this job .
my Client fully understood this and went with my other suggestion of Hainsworth Smart  in royal blue .
I was only just in time ordering this cloth in because Hainsworth also had a rush on this Blue cloth and only had a small supply left in stock and not to be put back on machines for at least another month for production in Royal blue .

My clients table stripped down and fitting the cushion cloth one by one .
He wanted to try a different colour and settled on royal Blue .

nice tight fit around centre pockets .

Bed cloth fitted and marked out .

Table finished and ready for play

Hainsworth smart is available in many different colours , it is a long lasting not too thick not too thin cloth 90/10 wool blend .
and has a very short fine nap enabling this cloth to actually play fast is kept well and brushed and ironed every 10 hours of use .
My client had a few issues with some cushion bolts missing which I replaced , and also nailed in cushion cloth retaining slips , so again replaced these with tighter fitting slips .
the Room has very hot underfloor heating and this transmits upwards and into the slate ,a t first I thought the slates where heated but they are not , it was just heat rising up from the floor and into the slate .

My client was over the moon with the transformation of his table   , that he kindly took the time to write me a letter of recommendation .

Once the covid restrictions are lifted and Pubs and clubs are back to normal business
How about a Brand new Supreme Winner Pool table fully maintained to announce to your clients you are back open for business .
If you have  an old pool table on site and are thinking of refurbishing it …STOP
look at what Rental of tables has to offer fully maintained .

Having had our pool table rental business ripped apart by Covid restrictions and pub opening and restriction times .
many Pub site’s  requesting we take our tables off site to free the space up for more seating and eating tables , as it was becoming impossible for them to carry on offering pool tables for use under the strict covid ruling of mixing leisure sport pastimes in close quarters .
a few clients just pushed the tables to one side and we will recommission these tables , when the Restrictions are lifted and they are allowed to use the pool tables again .

Photo above at supreme tables Factory loading new tables onto our van .
We have sold a lot of our used stock off , but I have invested that money along with an investment added to it to replenish our rental stock with Brand new Supreme winner coin op tables .
All Brand new tables now come with a new colour badge …gone is the old green one and replaced with a new Blue design one .

Our Rental terms are as follows

First year

Sign up for the first year at £95 per month no vat will be added , you will get a re-cloth every 6 months in Hainsworth Match cloth in Green
the cloth that comes on it for the first 6 months is Strachan 6811 , once that is worn out at 6 months every re-cloth will be done in Hainsworth match  .

After the First year .

Then the rolling contract is for 6 months after the first year , once re-clothed you are committed to a 6 month contract until the next re-cloth time .
You will get two sets of standard reds and yellows  balls from new , one for general use one for match use .
4 cues and chalk .
This will be replaced by a set of balls every 12 months and 2 cues and chalk .
any coin op breakdowns is covered by our contract .
Most pool, tables take at least £40 a week some take much more , I have Clients who take over £100 per week on pool tables .
as each Rental client has the keys all that is taken into the cash box is your takings , all we require is our monthly rent .
all our pool tables are Black pearls cabinet , we do not operate any other colour cabinet .
As you may know Each re-cloth in Hainsworth match can be around the £300 price mark so take that yearly  £600 just in re-clothing into account that you do not have to pay for a re-cloth every 6 months it is all included in your rental price .
Your pool, table is maintained well with a 6 monthly re-cloth , and your clients will flock to play on a decent clothed table .
Rental prices will only increase if we have higher overheads , we did not put our prices up for the last 8 years until now , it used to be £90 a month
but I am sure you will agree after 8 years costs of tables and cloth and accessories  have increased .
We still feel this is the best Value Rental contract offered out there by any Rental operator  of pool tables .
we never had one complaint in 8 years in the way we operate our rental business . but plenty of praise .
and with Geoff Large having over 47 years experience in the snooker and pool table maintenance side of the cue sports business as a time served Billiards fitter you are in no better hands .

2020 the year we where restricted in what we could do work wise .
some work was not possible to do because of the covid restrictions , and other work was OK to do  , but we where never near our normal quota of work that we turn over this year .
the Government Grants helped us self employed small firms survive , and we are extremely grateful for that help .
work picked up a bit towards the end of the year , but we are left with a lot of unused cloth stock ,  regarding cloth ordered in for jobs that where cancelled , plus the replacement of our sold pool tables  that came in off site .
We lost a lot of our Pool Table Rental site income due to Covid , in fact you could say down to Zero takings with many pubs asking for the tables to be taken out .

So we look forward to 2021 the year we hope that covid gets kicked into touch , and in the hope that we can improve and our lost rental business , and is allowed to restart also .
Because we had to sell off a lot of our ex rental pool tables off site , we have replaced some stock ready to go once the restrictions allow licensed premises to operate fully again .

Brand New rental pool tables coming into stock ready for 2021 replacements .
we have had some expense this year  and I am using my own cash reserves to buy in the new tables and make up the deficit of the S/H to new replacements .
this will unfortunately mean we are going to increase our Licensed site rentals by a £10 increase of the last 5 years rate , but we are upgrading the two re-cloths per year to match cloth to offset this
they would have normally be re-clothed in strachan 6811 .
we still think we are the best value Pool table rental firm operating in our area for Brand new tables .
the replacement tables are costing us more and so is the cloth .

My van is now three years old and I would normally be looking to PX for a newer model , and with the No deal scenario .
I have bit the bullet to avoid price increases on a new van , and also any import duty raise in the chance of a No deal scenario , which could have put a few thousand pounds on the cost of a replacement if i did not go for a VAN CHANGE NOW .
All though I could have done without the expense of a new van in these Covid times  it had to be done now .
And have put an order in for a new van to be delivered 2nd week of January 2021 , I have always stated that reliability is must for any firm to operate , by changing our van every three to four years it will give us some reliability in making and keeping those appointments of work and commitments we make  .
Having spent  Seven years working for a firm that ran vans into the ground with many lost days due to breakdown or leaking oil over clients drives  , I made my mind up when I started GCL Billiards not to go down the same route , and refresh the image and reputation of the firm by changing vans every 3 to 4 years .
Fresh new vans are the face of a company , clients see a nice modern newish van arrive with their prized possessions or for maintenance work , and they feel more at ease knowing they have a company that cares about their image and reputation .
This does cost a bit to afford which is why we charge a mileage fee to not so local destinations for a round trip .

And last but not least , we wish all our clients past present and of the future , a very merry Christmas and prosperous and happy new Year .
Lets hope that 2021 is the year we sorted not only Covid out but also the uncertainty of Brexit , which in my opinion was dragged out far too long .
Lets hope that the EU do not hold anything against the British People or it’s Government who wish to start off on a venture of regaining a variety of world wide trade deals that will make us all busy , with  plenty of work and be prosperous .