The Brook Social Club shuts tomorrow (From Daily Echo)

The Brook Social Club shuts tomorrow

6:00am Saturday 29th January 2011

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LOVE was in the air as England beat Tunisia 2-0 in the 1998 World Cup.

Watching the match on television at The Brook Social Club in Fair Oak was Russell Hobin and a fair maiden by the name of Sara.

It was the first time they had met. They’ve since married.

No wonder Hobin, captain of the club’s C snooker side which plays in Division 3 of the Southampton & District Social Clubs League, has “very fond memories of the place”.

The Brook closes tomorrow.

Hobin said: “The closure of the club is a sign of the times. It has been in decline for the past few years.

“The committee have been working hard to keep the club going, but perhaps not all recent decisions that were made by them were for the benefit of the club or the majority of the members.

“It is sad that the Brook is closing after more than a hundred years. I have very fond memories of the place, including meeting my wife there.”

Both the teams based at the 102-year-old club are moving round the corner to Acorn Social Club, which also has one table.

We visited Brook C in January, 2010.

The team had never won promotion since it was formed 13 years ago.

Hobin admitted his success-starved potters would relish a first visit to the league’s annual presentation evening.

“We’ve been having a little bit of a go this season,” he said.

There WERE promoted after finishing runners-up in Division 4.

However, they failed to attend the presentation evening.

Stage fright, I assume.

In November last year, we returned to The Brook to watch the B side beat Woolston T&L B in the Peter Marchi Cup.

Team stalwart John Denham joined the team aged 18. With 36 years service, he out-ranks skipper Frank Shephard, who joined in 1981 - a year before John Taylor was recruited.

Denham told us: “It would be nice to win (the Peter Marchi Cup) with Frank and John. They deserve it; they’ve been as keen as I have.”

Brook B went on to beat Sway Social away and they host Bitterne Cons A in the quarter-finals on Thursday at their new home.

Founded in 1909 as Brook Social and Recreation Ground, the club was named after a nearby underground brook.

In 1911, the club steward’s annual salary was £44 11s (£44.55).

A salesman from the Automatic Machine Company offered to install a one-armed bandit at The Brook Social Club in 1938.

However, the rep did point out to the committee that it was, in fact, illegal. He did vow to remove it quickly if the police arrived.

The club moved across Fair Oak Rd into two knocked together cottages - Beechwood and Thornwood - on April 18, 1919. It’s front, back and sides have since been extended.

The original purpose-built clubhouse became Fair Oak village hall. Flats now occupy the site.

Sadly, their second home looks to be going the same way.

Let’s hope it’s third time lucky.

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