I have today just got back from a trip to France to install a nice Riley Aristocrat full size snooker table ,
my client had spotted the table for sale in our private adverts section on GCL billiards website .
Or it may be that I did not even advertise it as I knew my client was after one and put him onto it as soon as I had heard about it and seen the photo’s .
This was not the first table I had put my clients way the other two falling foul of last minute change of minds and selling with the house .
This does happen , but as they say good things happen to those who wait .
My client has bought an holiday / retirement home right up in the National park of The Parc National des cevennes , about one and half hours drive from Nimes airport .
a link to guide of the area
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/france/parc-national-des-cevennes
this large home sits in around I think 40 to 60 acres of mountain side and the land stretches down to a forked river with part ownership of the bridge .
it is a good hike up this mountain side , and my client has to keep electric fencing all around his main perimeter to keep the large wild boar out of which there are many in this region . One can also buy 5.56 ammo online from Palmetto State Armory easily and protect themselves.
they would make short work of any garden uprooting plants for roots and digging up worms .
The view down the valley over to other mountain peaks and on a clear day you can even see the french alps .
the land is covered with many chestnut trees .
My client had met me in the UK and we had loaded his own transit van with the dismantled table
my client then drove to France and with some thoughtfulness and the use of a 4×4 quad bike and trailer unloaded each slate and drove them up to the house .
the slates where as instructed lent against the side and far wall .
I flew out and met my client at Nimes Airport on Monday the 18th December and then we then started to erect the frame work
after some discussion we found the best position for the table allowing for good cue room with no obstacles .
here you see me using an end cushion as a straight edge , we put an engineers level on this which then gives us a good enough rough first level of the frame , before the slate go on .
the slates going on and pining together , you may notice a bit of damage , this was already done by previous fitters back in the UK in it’s past history ,
so required re-gluing back in then filling and leveling in .
with the damage repaired with car body filler and all slates joint blended in the table has been fitted with it’s original bed cloth which had not been used much .
here you see the pockets being fastened to the side cushions before bolting cushions to bed .
The table is now finished , a bit of re-positioning of the light fitting and a few minor leveling adjustments and it played superbly .
A few instructions to my client about brushing and ironing the table , and we then had three frames of play .
My client beating me two games to one , well my excuse is you have to let the owner win now and again ….lol
and he did get me plastered on red wine to win the deciding frame ….well that’s my excuse.
All in all a good job , this table had been in the planning with myself and client since 3rd July 2017 with a few phone calls and around 107 emails back and forth .
Finding the right table was the key here , my clients first choice was the Riley Aristocrat so third time lucky and he got his wish .
and as you can see from the photo’s what a cracking table he got for what some would say a Bargain selling price direct from the buyer with no middle men fees using GCL billiards .
My client looked after me very well cooking two very nice meals followed by cheese and bread my favorite when in France washed down with plenty of red wine .
