I have been relegated to the garage. Four odd weeks I have been stationed in either the corner of the lounge or more recently the dining table but today apparently my wife wants the room back. I haven’t really got to the route of why she wants me to move now, but I am a pacifist and see no need in an argument. I can sort of understand. We have an open plan kitchen/lounge/dinner, so I guess if I am there on the phone making a lot of noise she can’t really do much else. But why it’s taken so long to reach this conclusion is another question?
Anyway I pack up my laptop and move. I am heading to the garage, it’s the only other table we have in the house. I say table, it’s a bar leaner. Which I am sure isn’t going to provide the most ergonomic working environment and it will come with other distractions too. See I have a little bar in my garage. Unless I get myself a classic camper I won’t ever be putting a car in here so I thought what better than a beer fridge and a pool table. It was already carpeted out when we bought the place so it hasn’t taken much to turn it into my little bar. A friend of ours even bought me some coasters one Christmas, so Andrews’s Bar was born.

Andrew's Bar

Andrew’s Bar

I am still debating with myself installing a telly, I guess when we get some sport to watch again I might put one in. But for now it has everything I want, a little sanctuary from normal life. Just what a bar should be. Only it’s not so much fun on my own. It great when friends come round, we get the music on, have a few beers and a laugh. But right now it’s not the same. Lola is rubbish at pool, she just wants to fetch the ball not pot them. There is only so many games you can play on your own.
Incidentally it wasn’t till I got to New Zealand that I rediscovered my love of the game. We were living in Newmarket at the time and a chance visit to the local Doolan Brothers Bar rekindled my love.
On a Thursday night they have a pool competition with a hundred dollar bar tab as the prize. We were in having a drink one day and I saw the sign and said to my wife “we should do this”; it will be a great way to meet a few people and could be some fun. I still remember her looking up and asking if I can play pool. Strangely in the thirteen odd years we had been together she had never seen me play. Now I am not great, but I can hold my own and as luck would have it I get better the more beers I have.
What I didn’t tell her; is that growing up as kids I can’t remember not having a pool table of some sort and obviously us getting involved in pubs, pool tables were always around us. Annoyingly my little brother was always better than me, proper miss spent youth that lad!
Anyway I have a bit of form but apparently not played for a lot longer than I thought, doesn’t matter there will be beer and that’s the best confidence giver you can find.
Thursday comes round and we go to the pub and sign in for the competition. There isn’t a huge crowd, but still twenty odd playing I guess. Its straight knock out and away we go. Now these trips to Doolans did exactly what I had hopped they would. Brought us into the community, made some great new friends and won a few beers along the way. I don’t think I won it on my first attempt, but I might have done. I have certainly won it a few times since, but either way we always had a cracking night in there with Scotty and the gang.

Drinking Voucher

Drinking Voucher

Win or lose,
We’ll have some booze,
If we draw,
We’ll have some more.

Was pretty much the moto for the evening and we always succeeded in that.