Carpet Ball & Stick

Thanks so much for turning to the opening page of this fictional comedy. I've been a musician/songwriter for the past twenty-six years and have always portrayed my feelings and emotions through song and music. However, through some unknown reason, my passion was channelled via a different route and spilt out onto the following pages. As a desirous snooker/pool player, I've been around the cue-sport scene since I was eight years of age and had aspired to become a professional snooker player. This was not to prevail and I turned my hand to music instead. For the last twenty-one years I have worked as a self-employed music teacher. I also write music for film/TV and front a rock band called 'NeoN.'

I now only play pool, but still addictively follow snooker. I currently play for a couple of my local home town teams (King George Dragons & Polish X). From time to time I play the odd match for my first team (Kings Cross Assassins) who are part of the Chalk Farm Pool League and are led by their captain and my friend Peter Berrie.

Since re-locating to the town of High Wycombe in the summer of 2017, I've been extremely fortunate to meet my girlfriend Carla, and become surrounded by an amazing group of people; whom I now call my 'close friends.' Many of the characters in this book are based upon some of these friends. The inspiration and silliness evolved through many nights in pool halls, local pubs and everyday experiences; mixed with drops of my vivid crazy mind! The bulk of the story was written and composed on a WhatsApp group whilst sat in my car, in between lessons, in London. This has given me the chance to express my true passion for the game of snooker and pool in my own words, but in a humorous way.

A lot of the events and scenes within the book have been twisted, fabricated, over-exaggerated or nurtured from true events and some are not so true at all. Please now open your own vivid imagination when embarking upon my little adventure typed upon the following pages. I hope it brings a smile to your face with this 'tongue in cheek' story.