That might sound a bit presumptuous of me, but trust me; I've been there and got the tee shirt! This year though, I made a conscious effort not to eat as much, and it worked, I enjoyed Christmas without the bloated feeling, and even got some exerc
ise (albeit by trying to fly to an island dressed up as a chicken on a Wii games console!)
There was never going to be much darts played over the past week, as there is always too much to organise in the lead up to Christmas. However, at my works Christmas lunch, there were a few people who wanted to have some games, so I had to oblige. The afternoon was good fun, playing a lot of games of 301 against my workmates, and playing winner stays on, I only ended up chalking once, thanks to Barry 'The Earthquake' Newton, who took out his double whilst I was having a disagreement with double one. The Earthquake doesn't play competitive darts anymore, but when we were younger, I can remember playing a full length copy of the Lakeside final against him, it went six sets to five in my favour that day.
Once I had chalked a game, I got back on the board, and that's where I stayed. My confidence built throughout the afternoon, and I rounded off the day by taking out a 120 finish by hitting three double tops.
Now with the festivities well underway, so too was the PDC World Championships, and a chance for those of you that have Sky TV to see the calibre of the players that I come up against each week. Some early casualties included former world champion Dennis Priestley, and also crowd favourite, Wayne Mardle. Phil Taylor looked in ominous form against Colin Monk, winning his match without Colin winning a single leg. I couldn't believe that the darts was nearly postponed one day due to the snow... the players were having to abandon their vehicles and walk the final 3 miles to Alexandra Palace – great preparation for the most important matches of their year.
Once New Years Eve is behind us, a group of six of us are making our annual pilgrimage to the Lakeside Country Club at Frimley Green to watch the first two days of the BDO World Championships. We always have a great weekend away there, and this year is our fifteenth year. Look out for some familiar faces on your TV screens this weekend, most probably wearing some silly hats... that might be us!
I'll take this opportunity to remind Tony Cox to pack some paracetamol, as he always needs some on the Sunday morning for some reason!
Not much else to say really, other than to wish you all a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year.
