Beating the homesick blues

MEMORY LANE: Bruce Cunningham has found the ideal vehicle to cure a bad case of the homesicks. PHOTO/Stuart Munro

The call of a mispent youth and a yearning for home has enticed Bruce Cunningham back to Whanganui and the NZ Masters Games.

For the past 25 years the 62-year-old has managed a juvenile justice centre in Gosford north of Sydney.

After his children grew up and left home he was becoming increasingly homesick and began recalling his own youth down at the old Lawrence's Pool Hall tucked away in an alleyway off Victoria Ave.

It no longer exists, but lives on in the memories of many born and bred in the River City. It did become the Wanganui Rock 'n' Roll clubrooms for a time before being demolished just within the last few weeks.

"I used to go down during my teenage age years and play snoooker,' Cunningham said.

"I gave the game away for years and then my family suggest I take it up again and register to play masters games competition. It was the ideal way to get back home every two years, although I have also competed at the Dunedin masters.

"The older I get the more homesick I've become. But I've played at the last two NZMG in Whanganui. Last games here I got beaten in my age group final and got silver and the time before that I won bronze.

"In Dunedin just last year I got beaten in the doubles final, hopefully I can do okay here this year," Cunningham said.

He gets his chance to hustle during th emen's singles competition tomorrow.

Meanwhile, NZMG snooker competitin organiser Jack Osborne said numbers this year hovered around the same as 2015 witjh 26 registered for Whanganui.

"There's a few locals, but also a few out-of-towners. We have the usual age groups, pairs and one 30+ women's division where they play single frame games except for the final which is best of three," Osborne said.

The snooker is being hosted by the St Johns Club where the over 65 men and women sinlges were played for yesterday. Pairs will be played today while the largest field of the competition, the 50+ men, will be played tomorrow.