A table with a soul

HEIST-OP-DEN-BERG/KAPELLEN - In a remarkable and heartwarming gesture, the Michiels family has given a beloved carom billiard table away for free to a billiard café in Kapellen. Driven by the wish to save a priceless family piece from the scrapyard and to keep the sport alive, the family decided to pay a third of the moving costs themselves. GePe-Biljarts made this remarkable handover possible — a story of heritage, passion and coincidence.

The story begins at Café 't Pleintje, a historic neighbourhood café in Heist-op-den-Berg founded in 1935 by Roel's great-grandparents. After the Second World War the business was taken over by their daughter Madeleine and her husband Charel Michiels, who ran the café with their four children — among them their son Paul Michiels, better known as 'Polle Pap' of the band Soulsister. The billiard table, made by the respected Brussels manufacturer Horemans-Billards Van de Kerckhove, played a central part in the family history. The firm, founded in 1893 by three-time world champion Edouard Horemans, built tables of outstanding quality, and this one probably dates from somewhere between the late 1920s and the 1960s. In 1965 Roel's grandfather, Charel Michiels, founded the billiard club "Krijt op Tijd" at the café, with Jos Claes as its chairman. The two tables served both the sport and the community.

"With wooden lids on top they served as tables for funeral receptions, and they were even used for a cheerful game of ping-pong."

"Those tables were more than sports equipment," says Roel Michiels. "With wooden lids on top they served as tables for funeral receptions, and they were even used for a cheerful game of ping-pong. On a table like that my grandfather taught my cousin Yves Janssens — who still runs the family café today — and me our first shots, and that created a bond that lasted."

After the club folded in the 1970s, one of the tables moved to the cellar of Roel's grandfather and the other stayed behind in the café. In 1991 Roel's father claimed the one left in the café and moved it to the attic of their new house, where Roel, then fourteen, went on developing his passion for the sport.

The search for a new and loving home for the table was a chain of unexpected events. At the historic Café De Pellikaan in Ostend, Roel's father heard about 'De KroegTijgers', an organisation devoted to keeping Belgian café culture alive. A Facebook post by 'De KroegTijgers' led to contact with Café Starrenhof in Kapellen. With four modern competition tables and two active billiard clubs — BC Kapelse and Starrenhofsenioren — Starrenhof turned out to be the perfect destination. 

"I am proud that I could help pass on such an important piece of heritage."

GePe-Biljarts played a crucial part in the handover. "When I heard why the family wanted to give this beautiful table away, I knew this was more than a move," says Gert, owner of GePe-Biljarts. "My work here was about preserving the history and the emotional value of a family piece. I am proud that I could help pass on such an important piece of heritage."

The billiard table has kept its soul on its journey from Heist to Kapellen. It now stands as living proof that tradition can survive and adapt in a changing culture, and as an example of how the passion of individuals, together with the right professional partner, can secure the future of a sport.