Page 9 - PBCOctober2019

Pickwick Bicycle Club Magazine Volume 16 No.2 October 2019 !9

Another fanfare and John Virgo –that
household name of snooker - stood to regale
us with tales from his life in the world of
professional snooker. His time with other
well known names, such as Ray Reardon,
Dennis Taylor, Willie Thorne & Jimmy
White, before going on to co-host the TV
show Big Break with Jim Davidson for over
10 years. The pair brought the game to the
family home and in colour.

He was famous for his trick shots and impressions–although he
didn’t do any for us. He became ‘the’ commentator for all of the
championship events, with his well known ‘where’s the cue ball
going now’ observation, and had just returned from 17 days at
the UK championships. He concluded with the toast to “The
Immortal Memory and The Pickwick Bicycle Club”.

Vocal refrains ensued once more and then it was my turn to say a
few words.

Even though it was exactly 47
years since I became a member of this amazing club, I was
still required to keep it brief, apart from thanking John
for his entertainment and toast to the club’. I wanted to
reiterate an earlier message of mine, that we are first &
foremost a cycling club and we have 3 regular rides in our
calendar to prove it, with many other opportunities
available, so we are in good fettle for our upcoming 150
th
anniversary in 2020.
At this point I was able to inform the gathering that the incorrect attire fines had
totalled some £2800 for my Rockinghorse Charity, which provides help for newborn babies
suffering from jaundice. I will report more on this in December.