Left to right: Maurice Buckley, Bill Gair
and Les Chapman.

The Clubhouse, as the focus of social life at Bramshott, caters for all interests. There’s a tranquil library for residents who want to read or catch up with their correspondence or use the Internet in peace and quiet. The cosy bar is open several evenings a week, and is staffed by a roster of Bramshott residents. Those who want to keep fit use the hydrotherapy pool, gym, seated aerobics and yoga classes, while residents with a competitive frame of mind test their skills with table tennis and snooker.

Snooker is especially popular. Residents Mike Thorn and Les Chapman, both keen players since they were young, are joint co-ordinators of the snooker room and organised a knockout competition, for which Urban Renaissance Villages’ Chief Executive Bill Gair donated a trophy. Les is the first winner of the Gair Knockout, as it is now called, beating his 86-year old neighbour Maurice Buckley.