Now that's what I call a game of arrows!
After a week of relaxing in sunny Scotland I'm back to reality and back to work, but also back to the dartboard. I did manage to throw a few darts whilst I was in Scotland, but really missed having some proper practice.
As the lack of darts was beginning to get to me, I stumbled across what I thought was the closest thing to it…field archery! This looks pretty similar, pointy things flying through the air at a target, how hard can it be?
I booked up to have a session of tuition, and having watched 1066 Battle for Middle Earth on TV earlier in the week, felt I had all the knowledge I needed to get the Vikings and the Normans worried all over again!
The day of the archery, however, the only things that were looking worried were the sheep in the field we were going to do the archery in… and it wasn't because I thought they were pretty!
Some people think that sheep are stupid – not so. Once they had seen me heading towards the field with a bow in my hand, there was a rapid dispersal to the far corner of the field, well out of harm's reach.
Well, archery doesn't replace darts, it is pretty hard to master, and a lot more strenuous. I managed to get some good grouping, not quite 180 standard, but by the end of the hour, all six arrows within a six inch area.
The only trouble was they were about a foot above the bullseye! Still, it was an enjoyable morning and I'll probably have another go at some point.
Back home for the Bank Holiday, and I managed a bit of a practice, as Tuesday meant Harvey League Darts against the Mog's Mob team from the Grenadier, one of our main rivals for the league title.
We started slowly in the match, going 2-0 down before I went on and made it 2-1. We clawed the match back and got to 4-4, then went on to play some good matches in the doubles and triples, and eventually emerged as victors by seven legs to four, a great performance by the team.
Last week while I was away, the Sussex Superleague got underway, and the team I play for, the Pebsham Hollington Oak, was at home to Hastings.
The format in Superleague is best of nine matches, with each match the best of five legs of 501. This is a great format, as you get a chance to get a bit of rhythm in your game.
Every dart that you throw is recorded, even ones that miss the board or bounce out, and throughout the season you can monitor your individual dart average on a league table.
The team got off to a winning start, with Adrian Gray getting the man of the match award with a great 30.22 average. Wins for former world number two Shayne Burgess, Steve Barraclough, Adrian Boyle, Mick Evans, and youngster Matt Wenham ensured a great 6-3 win for us.
As far as the league is concerned, at this early stage of the season Eastbourne DGH are top following their 8-1 win over Hailsham. Lewes are second with our team third.
This week we were away to the current Superleague champions, Lewes: a very strong team with many quality players including, Reg Harding, Ricki Blay, Rod Hawkins, Ian Perkins and Keith Price.
The match did not go our way at all. We lost the match 7-2, with only Matt Wenham and Mick Evans winning for us.
Captain Sheebo had come along to support but we unexpectedly arrived one player short, and he had to step into his first Superleague game.
He played well despite being nervous and actually had shots to win his match, but eventually lost 3-2.
I was drawn against former county player Mark Davis, who in recent months has become the resident cabaret for us at PDC events as he has been driving players such as Tony Ayres and Ian Perkins to the tournaments.
He has a fantastic sense of humour, although I struggled to see the funny side of an outstanding performance from him. He hit a 30.06 average against me, and although I played well enough, I never actually had a shot at a double!
Not a lot I could do against "The Brighton Basher" in that kind of form! In fact, his average was actually higher than Mervyn King when he defeated Phil Taylor in the Premier League on Monday, which James Wade eventually went on to win.
Lewes were understandably pleased with their performance against one of their main rivals, and we as a team need to get ourselves back on track for our match next week, so that hopefully we can challenge for the title.
As for Mark, I won't take up his much valued advice – I'll stay with the PDC. I don't think I'll give it up just yet to become his driver, after all, he said himself that he had no idea where his performance came from. Shame he managed to find it against me!
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Weather for Lewes
Wednesday 08 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: -2 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny spells
Temperature: -0 C to 2 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North east
