A few moments later, the 'joker' walked in. He always relieved himself of his new gags, and then left without playing a frame. He was followed by the brothers. They lived opposite the hall and came in looking for a 'muggins' (a gullible newcomer). If you won money from the younger brother, then 'Play Me', the elder brother, played you next.  It would be on a 'double or quits' basis, and would stop only when he was winning.

Friday night, after everyone had been paid, the players for big stakes looked around for their beer money. They would give away one, two, or even three black balls on the scoreboard. This was usually sparked off by the quiet man in the black suit, tie and trilby. By 7 p.m. the hall was full, with people also buzzing around the skittle table. 'Littlun', a larger-than-life youth, picked up 'crumbs' from the players for marking score and running errands outside the hall.

Then my mate Billy 'Walk-About' came in, strolled over to our table, and whispered,

"Who's he?"

Yorky and I laughed. Billy got his nickname from the psychology he used to cause an opponent to play badly. He would size up his shot from every angle, and walk around the table for some minutes before cueing     by which time your much-needed patience to play well had evaporated.

"What's the joke?"  Billy asked.

Really, the joke was on all of us. We could have asked the question 'Who's he?' of almost anyone in the hall. Misspent youth under the table lights, listening to the clack of coloured balls, was robbing us of the opportunity to develop a good character;  something which can only be achieved with knowledge, experience, wholesome study, and good associations that encourage useful habits.

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