Life support machine turned off at hospital club (From Daily Echo)

Life support machine turned off at hospital club

6:00am Saturday 19th March 2011

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SOUTHAMPTON General Hospital Sports & Social Club has become the second club to fold this season.

Following Brook Social Club’s demise earlier this year, the portacabin - formerly a Portsmouth school classroom - in the hospital grounds has closed its doors.

It had been the club’s home since 2000.

The self-supporting club was open to hospital staff, associate members and the odd bus driver needing a comfort stop and a cup of tea.

Brenda Scott, a committee member in the late 1970s and early 1980s, remembers when the club was one room with a small bar in the old General Hospital.

“We used to have sports days at the Sports Centre and pancake races on Shrove Tuesday within the hospital grounds,” she said.

General Hospital pool teams have claimed eight of the 12 social clubs league titles since the league was founded in 1997.

In that year, Graham Leale and Alan Edwards formed a team at Nursling & Rownhams Social Club.

Table problems in 2001 forced Leale, the only founder member still in the squad, to migrate to the hospital. Leale’s son Richard, Darren Sexton, Vic Barnes and Adrian Sturgess are former Nursling players.

Meanwhile, Mike Finn is bidding to become only the fourth snooker player in the history of the social clubs league to claim the Town Championship and pairs titles in the same season.

Finn (Woolston Cons A) meets defending champion Nick Jennings (Churchills A) in the best-of-seven individual final at Shirley Conservative Club on Thursday at 7.30pm.

And then on April 7, also at Shirley Cons, Finn and Drew Farminer defend their pairs title against Billy Castle (Churchills) and Adam Nash (Woolston Cons).

Mark Benzey, then representing Eastleigh Conservative Club, was the last player to lift both trophies.

Benzey, who now turns out for Chandlers Ford Central A, beat Bob Cooper (Park Gate RBL) in the 2001 singles final and then teamed up with Ian Carpenter to triumph in the pairs against Chris Weir and Warren Renyard (Hythe Club).

In 1970, John Lodge (Locks Heath WMC) defeated Albert Lee (Shirley Social) and, with club-mate Geoff Knapp, saw off Norman Phillips and John Clarke (Minstead Social).

Lodge and Knapp repeated their feat five years later against Kenny Stark and Peter Chappell (Pirelli). And in the same year, Lodge defeated Terry McCarver (St Denys Cons) to claim the Frank Mintrum Cup.

Chris Holland and Dave O’Brien (Shirley Warren) beat George Perry and Wally Cattanach (Shirley Cons) in the 1973 pairs final and Malcolm Eldridge and Joe Bridle (Nondescripts) in 1965, the second running of the Badger Shield.

Holland and Eldridge also met in the 1965 Town Championship final. It was to be Holland’s third of a record 13 titles. He added his fifth against Brian Price (Esso Ashlett) in 1973.

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