No reason for this post . . .

. . . I just wanted to brighten things up a bit.

Don't be fooled by the curls - she can hit a 123 under pressure :o)

138 Finish

I don't get many big finishes, and this 138 is definitely the best I've hit for months. I was playing 501 legs on DartPro, and the first dart was perfectly in the T20.

This left 78, and I prefer 18's on this as hitting the single leaves 60, for a prospective D20 finish next time round.

Luckily the T18 just crept in, and instead of my usual trick of fluffing it on the 3rd dart I hit the D12 fairly centrally.

Season Review 2007 / 8

The Good

The opening 1001X team game: We always seemed to fare badly in the first match of a League meeting, but this season we notched a respectable 57.69% success rate. It was even in the 80's at one point, but we couldn't maintain it.

The Doubles games: I don't hold the percentages for team members, but I know that my success rate in the Doubles games this season was an improved 53.85%. I always feel the pressure in Doubles games as I don't want to let my partner down, so I'm relieved to have won more than we lost.

The Singles games. I've smashed my existing record, and this season's win rate will be my new standard to aim for in future seasons. The number's not important for the blog, as it just heaps the pressure on me – a good tip learned from Graham of The Derwentside last season.

Paul : Our new player for the first half of the season made a great impression and did really well. It's a pity that he wasn't available for the second half of the season, but I hope he can play for us at some point in the future.

The Bad

No 180's for me in League games this season, and very few close misses either. I know I'm unlikely to ever win the 180 trophy, but in previous seasons it was good to at least see my name on “the list”.

Travel : I really miss the team coach we had last season. Getting into as many as three taxis is just not the same. There are signs this may be resolved for next season.

Pressure : The nerves were there for me this season. I've had to wave goodbye to the care free days of my first season. I'm now well aware of the high standard around me and the need to just get on with my own game rather than worry about how good the other players are.

The Ugly

My game against Dave Crawley of Delves Club towards the end of the season. I had well more than 200 points remaining as he sunk the winning double – and I threw first! It was an absolute horror show from me, and I usually at least raise my game when I'm up against the leading players.

Chelmsford 2 - 8 Chopwell

The Chelmsford

Too little too late in the race for 5th spot I think, but I'll check for news from Jay (Wheatsheaf) after their game with The Turf. Strangely we played better than last week but didn't collect the points.

I had an awful Team game (40 average on the optimistic side), but cranked it up to win my Doubles game with Peter. I cranked it up even further in my Singles game but couldn't overcome Norman's two 140 shots with him throwing first. If he'd missed his winning double I'd have been looking at 34, so I certainly didn't bottle it.

Peter won his Singles game to get our other point, but there were near misses galore for us on a night where we played the game properly, but were just short of that finishing touch in hitting the doubles.

A fitting end to the season with us competing and making our opponents win the points rather than giving them away, and despite falling back to 6th or 7th in the League I really feel we showed ourselves to be a proper team this season. I should be a spin doctor or something :o)

All good things . . .

The 2007/8 season ends tomorrow night when we sign off with a home game against Chopwell Central. Regardless of the result this has been a great season for us – the best in my three years with The Chelmsford, and I'd like to think we've raised the bar for future seasons.

During the close season I'll continue with the practice and trips up to The Derwentside to see if anyone is playing up there on a Friday night, and I'll also post a few reviews of what went well / badly for us this year. In the meantime I'll get some practice in for tomorrow night, and we'll be doing all we can to hold on to 5^th position in the League.

Chopwell Central 6 - 4 Chelmsford

Practice darts / Alan

This was about the best result we could have hoped for against Chopwell, as they play to a very high standard. They scored a 180, with several near misses on further ones.

We almost had the chance to win the team game, and I would have been looking at 98 if Chris had missed their finish. The average throw from them including the finish was only 55.6, but they got back to their usual form in the following games.

I was pleased with my own game after a poor week on the practice board, but these 4 points may not be enough to allow us to hold on to 5th place; we are now just 3 points ahead of The Wheatsheaf, and if they can repeat their 9-1 scoreline from Tuesday night we'll find it very hard to get the points we need next week.

Cricketers Ladies 1 - 6 Chelmsford (Friendly)

Luckily the big boy (pictured with Deb) is now big enough to be left alone for a few hours hours, and I was able to take part in a great Friendly game up at The Cricketers. I think Bracken must have been crossed with a bear or something.

I think we surprised them by taking a 2-1 lead in their favoured game of Coits (throwing two rope circles at a spindle), and we then won the remaining darts games (three games of 501X Doubles, plus a 1001X team game). Dominoes were also planned, but we ran out of time on a very relaxing night out up at Blackhill.

The Cricketers laid on a nice spread of bar snacks and we had a brilliant evening away from the League, while we sat out a game due to the uneven number of teams in the league. I think we'll be playing them in the close season too, and we're all looking forward to another night like this.

The Crickters men's team arrived back from their game at Coach & Horses with a 9-1 win under their belts, plus a 3-2 win in the dominoes. They are well poised to win both the darts and the doms titles in their final two games against Delves, so good luck to them and we'll see what happens.

Cricketers Ladies 3 -6 Chelmsford (Cup game)

Roger advises we got the points we needed to go through to the next round on Thursday night. Alan P was probably our best player, scoring nothing under 60 in his Singles game and finishing well.

They all had a great time and stayed behind after the game to play some friendly games. Looks like I missed all the fun, but I hope to be available for the last two league matches.

No darts for me tonight

I'll have to miss the return leg against Cricketers Ladies tonight. I've just got this great little puppy and I don't want to leave him with anyone until he is settled.

He is a 10 week old Labrador called Bracken.

Roger will pass the match news for me to post tomorrow. We're 9-0 up from the first leg, but I'm sure nothing will be taken for granted in tonight's game.

Cup : Chelmsford 9 - 0 Cricketers Ladies

Practice darts from Peter Mc

This was a surprise game that I only found out about last night. It's a cup competition much like the ones we enjoyed so much last season. A nice diversion from the League and a chance to meet other teams.

Stevie and his girlfriend were there, but the rest of the team were entirely new to me. Really great people though, and the scoreline flatters us in that at least five of the games were all down to the finishing double and we were just a bit better at hitting the doubles.

I played a really poor Singles game, but a solitary 125 and quick finish allowed me to nick it after a long string of scores which didn't even average 40. Junk from me, and very annoying after a bit of progress on the practice board this week.

I thought we would be playing the usual Cricketers team, and decided to try the Unicorn Hero 27g / 95T's in anger. I'd hit some decent stuff with them in practice, but nothing much of note in this game, so I'm still undecided as to whether they're the ones for me. We'll see. It's amazing how just that 0.5 mm in width can make them feel so different to the Harrows Magnums. More than ever with these darts they need to be held right at the tip and "pulled" towards the board rather than pushed.

The return leg is on Thursday, and it is the only thing going on at the moment as we have another couple of weeks off in the League.

Thanks to our Landlord Lyndon for laying some food on when the kitchen was closed and he wasn't expecting a game on - very much appreciated as always.

Chelmsford 6 - 4 Commercial

Practice darts with the Unicorn Hero 27's

We managed to equalise last week's 6-4 defeat to make it honours even over the two legs tonight. I thought Commercial showed a few weaknesses to allow us in after surely the worst opening team game we have ever played. I can't even remember our scores in this game (denial!) but they were terrible, and we went down 0-1.

From that point we played better and the games swung around evenly, with Peter winning the final game to make it 6-4.

It was great to speak to Stevie on their team. He doesn't normally play for them, but he recognised my Banks Beer polo shirt and we were able to share memories of drinking this admittedly ordinary beer in the admittedly outstanding place of Barbados :o)

Two weeks break for us before our final games against Chopwell Central, and then this blog can finally get back to the minor stuff of my practice routines and mental tortures ;o)

Commercial 6 – 4 Chelmsford

We had a close game up in Leadgate with the scoreline remaining even until the last couple of Singles games when The Comercial pulled away to notch a won.

We lost the opening Team Game but from that point we matched them quite well.

I had an indifferent night, but at least I raised my game from a really poor 1^st three throws in the team game to compete fairly well despite losing my Singles game to Alan. It was just a struggle though.

Great hospitality as always from The Commercial, and we're well set up for the return game on Tuesday.

Bank Holiday Special

We had a Bank Holiday “special” at The Chelmsford this weekend. Peter and Lena organised the events, and Lyndon and Sue were great hosts as usual.

Peter laid on a brilliant Quiz, with some really interesting questions. Sian's Superstars won this by a margin of only one point (Deb, Simon, Caroline, myself).

In the Dominos competition Tracy was the victor. She doesn't play in public that often, but has learnt a shrewd game playing with Jean and Gareth in the home.

Coming totally out of left field I surprised everyone (not least myself) by winning the Pool competition. I put it all down to watching the Snooker World Championship on the TV until Lena pointed out that I watch the darts too, so that doesn't make any sense :o)

The Darts competition was won by Peter, who beat our barman Chris. Good darts from Chris, and I was unbiasedly impressed with Debs' 128 against Peter in the Semis.

There was also a Curry competition, where about 10 different dishes were laid out for us to taste and judge. A split prize was given for this, due to all the entries being so good.

We had a great day, and we travel to The Commerrcial tomorrow night as the darts league nears its end.

League Update

.1) Cricketers ....... 191 . 22
.2) Delves Club ...... 182 . 22
.3) Chopwell Central . 171 . 24
.4) Coach & Horses ... 143 . 22
.5) Chelmsford ....... 131 . 24
.6) Commercial ....... 108 . 22
.7) Shotley Club ..... 104 . 22
.8) Wheatsheaf ....... 100 . 22
.9) Derwentside ....... 94 . 22
10) Leadgate CC ....... 93 . 22
11) Jolly Drovers ..... 88 . 22
12) Smelters .......... 86 . 22
13) Turf .............. 85 . 22
14) Stanley Masons .... 67 . 22
15) Castleside Inn .... 37 . 24

As feared, Jay's old team the Coach & Horses have overtaken us since last month's table. They've played two games less than us, so to be realistic all we can hope to do in the remaining four games is to try and keep fifth spot. Our games against sixth placed Commercial on 6/5 and 13/5 will be crucial.

The guys from The Commercial sometimes read this blog, and they'll be interested to know we have a tough challenge against Chopwell Central in the final two games. Still, it's good to have something to play for right to the end of the season, and there aren't a lot of points seperating the middle third in the table.

The Darts / Dominoes Cup Competition

We had a night off tonight as Chopwell and Cricketers entertained us with a great game up at our place in the Team Darts / Dominoes competition. Our small bar was packed with both competing teams and the usual regulars, and I thought the atmosphere was great for darts.

The darts are played to a slightly different format in this competition ; The two teams of six play games of 1001 DS/DF, and Cricketers took a 1-0 lead in a really high scoring game.

The second leg was a bit more subdued. Cricketers couldn't get off with a starting double, and Chopwell had problems in finishing. Chopwell finally hit the D1 to equalise despite an agonisingly close miss from Timmy Richardson on a 126 Bull finish as they tried to make amends for taking more than 6 attempts to start.

In the next game Cricketers were far more focused and won to make it 2-1. Meanwhile the dominoes decided the game, with Cricketers winning the final game of the night and progressing to the next round.

180's from Chris (Chopwell) and Davey Gill (Cricketers), plus two close misses on high bull finishes from Timmy Richardson were the highlights.

Chelmsford 6 - 4 Derwentside

A practice shot

We played a far better game tonight, and managed to win some evenly matched games to make amends for last week's defeat.

I was much happier with my own game despite a wobble on the finishing and feeling some heavy nerves on the end game. Alan and I were both down to a finish after about 15 darts, but we both ended up in the Mad House to spoil it somewhat.

Norman was his usual self, stringing together some consistently high scores with his 12 grm darts, and hitting a great Bull finish in his Singles game against Mark H.

Collie was unavailable, and we saw Darren step in and continue the good form that has seen him win a long string of Singles games. He was just short of beating Peter on the night though.

It was great to see the Derwentside team up here again, and I'm really looking forward to a good Friday night practice with them this weekend.

Derwentside 7 - 3 Chelmsford

The Derwentside team

We were up in Blackhill last night, taking on The Derwentside. Sadly for us it didn't go too well, with only Peter and Alan able to win any points for us. Peter won his Singles and Doubles game, so was our man of the match on a night where we struggled to put any pressure on Derwentside.

Far too many of my own darts were missing the 20's, and although I didn't play that badly I didn't do enough to beat Craig in my Singles game.

John was new to their team, and I thought he built some good scores. He was unlucky to face Peter in his Singles game, and will probably win a fair few points in future games.

So yet again we have shipped points in the opening away leg, and will need to take every chance we get next week. I noticed Alan from Derwentside was very focused on the night, and I just hope I can again get back into that frame of mind on Tuesday.

The Unicorns

I'm really starting to warm to the Unicorn Hero 95%'s I've been tinkering with for the last couple of weeks. I've taken the metal file to them again, and they are now throwing really well for me. In the picture the first dart was the wayward T5 (very nearly a lucky T12), and the other two made the correction. They're all hitting the board at this nice angle now, and I've tested to ensure I don't get any benefits from changing from the current Medium / Standard config.

I was also trying some 26grm Alan Glazier Sharks, but I found that D20 seemed to be a difficult target to hit. Surely just 1grm can't make any sort of tangible difference, but even if it was psychological it was still definitely "there". The Heros are good at the high and low doubles though, and I've been getting some good consistent shots in at the Bull as a medium height target.

Maybe I'll try them up at The Derwentside on Tuesday, but I'll take the Magnums along just in case. I just wish I got more competitive games to try these sort of changes. Dimensions wise the only difference between the two is the Heros are less than 1mm wider - a tiny difference, but it's strange how I immediately knew they were wider just by looking at them.

Chelmsford 2 - 8 Delves Club

My first maximum with the Unicorn Hero 95s

Although this return match against Delves ended with the same score line, we played a far better game. The opening 1001 Team Game was our worst showing, and we had 300 points on the board as they took the point against the throw.

It was a comprehensive point for them, and it got worse for us as we lost all three of our 701 Doubles games to trail 0-4.

Our best chances for points came in the 501 Singles games. Mark H was very unlucky not to beat Dave Crawley (what a scalp that would have been - Dave has now won all 18 of his Singles games I think), and Alan P too had the chance to finish his game with a really interesting end game ; with 86 remaining he hit S18. That left 68, and instead of going for a straight S18 he aimed just inside the double wire on the 18 knowing that either a single or a double would leave a finish. It strayed into the D18, but he couldn't hit the D16. I would've probably aimed for the T18 as I'd be fearful of missing the board altogether by aiming around the double, so it's not an approach I could try in a game.

Near misses aside we fell behind 0-7 before Peter played a great game against the darts to pull one back and avoid the dreaded whitewash. I was next up and thankfully throwing with the darts (i.e. throwing first). A 123 start and some decent score building put me in a good position. The nerves kicked in as I realised I could get something, but I held it together to finish on 48 in two darts.

Unicorn Hero 95%

Unicorn Hero 95% Tungsten, 27 grms

These are the new Unicorn Hero 95% 27 grm darts I've been trying for the last few weeks. They're waiting in the wings in case I lose my Harrows Magnum 27grm, which are no longer manufactured.

I accidentally selected the "Latinum" option when I ordered them. It's hard to find out exactly what Latinum actually means, but one site described it as "New Unicorn Latinum Tungsten Technology Gives Smooth Release & Soft Feel".

"Smooth release and soft feel" is a bit of an understatement! They always felt greasy and wet, and I couldn't actually grip them properly. It's like a fine satin finish, and really hard to explain until you actually hold them. Anyway, to counter this I've taken a metal file to them and roughened them up a bit. You can see the effect in the picture. This makes all the difference, and I can throw them quite well. Also, I took 3mm off the points to make them exactly 2.5cm in length, which is the length on all of my favourite sets (Hi-Tec, Alan Glazier Shark, Magnum).

You'd be wise to avoid the Latinum finish unless you really need this silky smooth finish on your darts, but apart from this I'm quite pleased with them. They are individually laser etched with "26.9g", so I didn't file that bit :o)

My odds of ever hitting a nine darter

Pictured : The bad news

My odds of achieving a 9 dart finish in a game of 501X are an absurd 18 million to one.

Using my DartPro data from the last 1,207 legs of 501 I've been able to work it out:

I get a 180 every 300 shots, so an opening score of 180 would be 300 / 1

To follow it up with another 180 I'm assuming the odds would be roughly the same, give or take a few extra nerves when it dawned on me that the 9 darter was "on".

That would leave 141. I only hit finishes as large as this this at a rate of once every 200 games, so that's 200 /1

This gives us the 18 million to one (300 X 300 X 200 = 18,000,000)

I probably play around 70 games per month, which is 840 per year. I can therefore confidently predict that I should finally have my 9 darter in the year 23,437

Doubles Cup, 2008

Pictured : Practice darts. Only two of these "count"

Roger and I competed in the last 16 of Doubles cup competition last night at the Coach & Horses, Leadgate. We were knocked out in the first round 2-1, but we both played a decent game and made sure that our opponents (Stevie and Chris Chivers) had to beat us rather than us giving them anything. I felt a lot more stable following that practice routine I'll be explaining later in the week, and I got a fair few steady 60's, 59's and a couple of tons over the three legs. I missed a 112 finish by an inch on the last dart, but Roger finished the D10 I left.

Jay Coulson played his first game after a shoulder injury and did well to get into the second round, before losing to Tim Richardson and Davy Gill. There was the usual high standard on display at this stage of the competition, and several players seemed to be scoring several consecutive tons and showing just how well you have to play to progress into the final 8 teams.

The oche in the Coach & Horses was perfect, despite the stepped walk up when retrieving the darts. The lighting seemed to be the main factor, and I was able to totally concentrate on the board with no distractions in peripheral vision. Nights like these are a real highlight of the season, and Roger and I both enjoyed the event. I just wish I got more competitive matches like this to bring my game along.

Delves Club 8 - 2 Chelmsford

Delves Club beat us at a canter last night. They weren't playing as well as they can, but most of the times they needed to “up” the pace they were able to do so. One impressive string of scores from them came from Fish, with a 100 / 180 / 100 sequence.

Alan P from our team hit a 180 in his Singles game too, but lost the match due to narrowly missing his finishing doubles. Peter was easily our man of the match, winning his Singles game and his Doubles game paired with Mark.

No joy at all for me. I couldn't get steady shots into the board despite the great throw they have at Delves. I hit a large number of 45's and 41'1 and lost my Singles game to Dave Crawley who absolutely battered me, and I am desperate to show them the better side of my game in the return match next week.

Peter has given me a really interesting practice challenge and I'll blog it later in the week. Keep tuned, because I'd be surprised if many people will have heard about this new idea for “stance”.

Chelmsford 5 - 5 Leadgate Cricket Club

This was a much better showing from us tonight, as we drew with the team who had beaten us so easily last Tuesday. We lost the opening 1001x Team Game, but not by such a great margin this time, and we had a two darter left if they had missed their winning double.

Again, Gerry (the Celtic fan I mentioned last week) seemed to be their strongest player, and he was a real threat all night. It's hard to learn from players who just seem to hit such a high percentage of 20's, but I'd love to be able to play so solidly.

Paul C was back for our team after a few weeks off, and I think he was our steadiest player, winning his Singles game and contributing well all night. Roger played a decent game too, on a night when he wasn't expected to be available.

I played well in my Doubles game with Roger (a couple of 80+ scores and a 140 to allow us to overcome playing against the throw), but I was still happy seeing him hit the D1 I had trouble hitting. Also, I got a win in my Singles game against last week's opponent, Les.

All square on the night then, but we dropped the points last week, and it could cost us 4th position in the league.

Stance

I've been trying a new stance over the weekend (figure 1). Both feet firmly on the floor with the weight evenly spread between them, and a straight back with no lean whatsoever. This is so weird for me, because as you can see from figure 2 I normally put all of my weight on the right leg, with an awful lift of the left foot as I throw. I want to get rid of this lifting of the foot, even though I've made improvements over the last few months.

I've had some incredible practice shots with figure 1, regularly putting three darts in the same double bed, and my best ever shot on the Bull (50, 50, 25). But the bad shots are worse than ever, and after a fair bit of DartPro recording I've proved that figure 2 is the more accurate over a long enough stint on the oche.

The good news is that when I revert to figure 2 the lifting isn't as bad and it seems to have improved my overall stance. I'll stick to the old way for now, but during the close season I'm thinking of roughing it out and becoming good at figure 1. I daren't do anything drastic at this important point in the season, but I'll use it in practice to improve my balance etc. Figure 2 could never be used in a long tournament because it is so tiring, but I can throw all day in figure 1.

Leadgate Cricket Club 7 - 3 Chelmsford

We suffered a heavy defeat on Tuesday night. It wasn't just the 7-3 score, but more our really poor showing and overall performance. This doesn't detract from LCC in any way though, as they played consistently well all night and could have won more legs. At one point they were 300+ ahead of us in the 1001X Team game, which was a real first for us this season, and losing this opening game so emphatically set us off on the wrong foot.

Their veteran player Andy was as sharp as ever, and the rest of the team were playing up to his standards. Remember I've been praying for some good solid steady 60 shots? One of their players (Celtic fan – didn't catch his name) had this totally nailed with long strings of 60 / 60 / 100 / 60 throws.

For next week's return leg at least we know we can only play better, but we've put pressure on ourselves by losing so many points in the first leg.

Our only points on the night were a Doubles win for Pater and Alan, and Singles wins for myself and Willie. Peter narrowly missed a 164 finish (25 instead of the Bull), and Roger played a good consistent game, so it wasn't all bad.

Darts Exhibition Night

Pictured : Bob Anderson

Here are some further details of the event Alan from the Derwentside commented upon ;

On Friday 14^th March, the Derwentside are hosting a Darts Exhibition Night featuring Bob Anderson. Tickets are on sale now priced at £8, available from The Derwentside tel 01207 502562

The Limestone Cowboy has a string of world and international titles, including World Professional Champion 1988.

This should be another great night at The Derwentside, and I'll blog some pictures and a review of the event.

League Update 19th Feb 2008

The good news is that we've maintained our position in 4th place, but Coach & Horses are just 3 points behind us with two games in hand.


Pos... Team ............. Points . Played
.1) Cricketers ............ 137 ... 16
.2) Delves Club ........... 130 ... 16
.3) Chopwell Central ...... 123 ... 18
.4) Chelmsford ............ 110 ... 18
.5) Coach & Horses ........ 107 ... 16
.6) Commercial ............. 91 ... 18
.7) Shotley Club ........... 84 ... 16
.8) Turf ................... 79 ... 18
.9) Wheatsheaf ............. 70 ... 16
10) Derwentside ............ 69 ... 18
11) Jolly Drovers .......... 66 ... 16
12) Leadgate Cricket Club .. 65 ... 16
13) Smelters ............... 58 ... 16
14) Stanley Masons ......... 22 ... 18

Ruthless Xtra Strong Poly

I thought I'd mention on here that the Ruthless Xtra Strong Poly flights I've been using since November 2007 have been quite a discovery, and I won't be buying any other type now. I understand from hotshotscanada.com that the extra strong polyester they use is 33% thicker than other polyester flights.

I used to have to replace my flights every week (I once wrecked a set in a single session!), but these ones last far longer and retain a perfect “+” shape even after Robin Hood shots where a dart lands right on top of the previous one thrown.

The durability is great, but there are two other important advantages I've noted ; stem grip springs are no longer necessary, as the fit is so good there is no slack. Secondly, the tight fit means that I very rarely damage a stem with an incoming dart. Usually when that happens the dart bounces back and doesn't score, so they may even be improving the total number of scoring darts?

It's definitely worth adding a set to your next order to see for yourself. They're widely available, with Pure Darts being a good buying option.

Chelmsford 8 - 2 Jolly Drovers

We had a good night on Tuesday, matching last week's result with an 8-2 win. The games were closer than last week though, and I think the score line flatters us slightly. The problem for the Drovers seemed to be their strongest players were a bit off form and they let us off the hook when they had chances to take points. Still, we need those points given that we will soon sit a couple of weeks out due to the uneven number of League teams (15), and the other teams will be putting points on the board while we stand still. We don't get many League updates, but I think our scoring has been good enough to keep us in 4th place.

My own form continues to be erratic, but I was really thankful to win my games ; a 2 dart finish on 72 in the Team game (T12, D18), Peter got the D1 I kindly left him in the Doubles game (hey, he left me the 3!), and I did OK in my Singles to finish on D2 against the darts to Chris. An awful lot of my first darts were into the 1 or 5 though and this is not a great time for me at the moment.

Paul from the Drovers entertained us with some great jokes and it was a good night.

We have a break next Tuesday while the League Singles competition progresses. We'll still meet up in The Chelmsford though and there will be some sort of darts competition modest prizes to go for. I just hope I don't hit form on a night that doesn't matter.

Brief respite

Pictured : A 141 finish

It's been a terrible few weeks on the practice board, but this was a good shot for once. A 141 finish, and done my own way too. According to DartPro when you hit the T20 with the first dart you should be looking at T19 to leave D12, but with 81 left I always go for 15's to leave 18's. Probably not the most logical option, but just being comfortable with what you're doing can work sometimes.

This is my third highest finish in the last two years, so I'll take some encouragement from this. I'd take a lot more encouragement if I could just hit some steady 60's though :o)

Jolly Drovers 2 - 8 Chelmsford

Pictured : The Jolly Drovers

We secured 8 valuable points on our travels tonight, on a night where we were scraping to get a full team of 6 players together. We again won the opening Team game and raced to an 8-0 lead before the Drovers put a more realistic slant on the score line to win the final two 501 Singles games against Lena and Mark H.

I've been struggling for a couple of weeks now on both the practice board and the match board, so I was really relived to win my Doubles game against the run of play with Willie, and also an unmemorable Singles game with a D1 finish. It might be just the thing to kick start a return to form.

The Drovers is one of my favourite venues. As soon as you walk in you are immediately impressed with the atmosphere and decor, and they serve some great food at the end of the match.

Chelmsford 5 - 5 Smelters

Our return leg against The Smelters ended in a draw last night. I thought The Smelters were the stronger for having Harry in their team after he sat out the first leg, and he scored well all night.

Yet again we won the opening Team Game, making it an incredible 86% success rate in this 1001X game for the season so far. From that point we seemed to cancel ourselves out, and neither of us took any big leads.

My own good run of results came to an end. I was beaten in my Doubles game with Alan P, and also in my Singles game against Brian. My big problem all night had been hitting the doubles, and I must have had six attempts at a finishing double in the three combines games I played in. This is simply not good enough, and I'll be bashing the practice board doubles overr the coming week prior to our game at the Jolly Drovers on 12th Feb.

League Table Update, 15/01/08

.......Team...... Points . Played
1 ) Cricketers ... 118 ..... 14
2 ) Delves ....... 115 ..... 14
3 ) Chopwell ...... 95 ..... 14
4 ) Chelmsford .... 83 ..... 14
5 ) Coach & Horses. 79 ..... 12
6 ) Shotley Club .. 69 ..... 12
7 ) Commercial .... 67 ..... 14
8 ) Turf .......... 65 ..... 14
9 ) Wheatsheaf .... 57 ..... 12
10) Derwentside ... 50 ..... 14
11) Jolly Drovers . 50 ..... 12
12) Smelters ...... 46 ..... 12
13) Stanley Masons. 40 ..... 12
14) Leadgate CC ... 35 ..... 12
15) Castleside Inn. 11 ..... 14

Smelters 4 - 6 Chelmsford

A good night again for us, picking up 6 points and keeping the momentum going on a night where several of our players were missing and our non-playing Captain needed to play.

We won the opening team game and then continued to take a 0-3 lead. This seemed to spur The Smelters into action, and they took the next four games and make it 4-3. Chelmsford ended strongly though, taking the final 3 games to win the game 4-6.

I was pleased with my own game tonight, hitting the winning shot in the Team game, playing well in my Doubles game with Alan P, and doing just enough to win my Singles game with the aid of a fluke T18 while score building.

The Harrows Magnums

Harrows Magnum 97% Tungsten, 27 grms

Zeeple has asked for a closer look at the Magnums, so here we go.

The knuring is very light, and almost more like an engraved diamond pattern. The middle dart has some of the deep grooves missing, which leads me to suspect they are "rejects". I definitely would have sent them back if I'd paid £30 for them rather than them being a gift. Its purely cosmetic though, and they throw really well.

They are exactly 5 cm in length, with 2.5 cm points. The 97% tungsten content means they are extremely durable ; After 3 months of hammer they are still unmarked in any way, and remain in an almost new condition. This was not the case with the 85% tungsten darts I used to use, and they'd have all sorts of marks after this time. Also, there is no visible oxidation with the Magnums to date, and they remain shiny.

Nearly

My 180's have really dried up recently. It is not through lack of trying and near misses, but this practice shot took the biscuit! The first two darts went exactly where I aimed them, but the third dart seemed to hit the Treble wire and take both flights off the other two as it bounced out and fell to the floor.

The stem on the lower dart seems to have lost it's grip on the flights and is due for replacing, but it was still an incredible fluke to lose both flights on the shot.

Heavy darts, apparently

Pictured : Unicorn "Phil Taylor" 95% tungsten

The Harrows Magnum 97% 27grm darts I'm using are great, but they are now extremely hard to get hold of. Harrows have stopped manufacturing them in the 27 grm weight, and the last few UK suppliers have seemed to run dry over Christmas. This means as soon as my set are lost or stolen (it happens - especially when you only have one set of them!) I will have real problems in replacing them.

The pictured dart seems to be a fairly close match though. Slightly less tungsten in the alloy, but the same overall shape, and Unicorn seem to offer a 27 grm option across most of their range. These will probably be the replacements I get if I need them. it's just strange that a 27 grm option seems to have been dropped by Harrows in their top end darts. I don't consider them to be that heavy, but the trend seems to be on lighter darts than in earlier days when 30+ grms were freely available across the range.

One nice feature of the Unicorn darts are that they are all guaranteed to be within 0.1 grm of each other within the set of three, and they're engraved with their weight to that precision. Unicorn also offer a "Latinum" finish, but I' not too sure what this means - even after scrutinising the specs on their web site. It's something to do with the finish of the grip rather than the alloy I think. Maybe a gimmick, but who knows.

Chelmsford 8 – 2 Shotley

We played well as a team to get these 8 points. Shotley seemed to be slightly weaker than last week, with at least one of their key players missing. Still, as predicted all of the games were closer than the score suggests, and it was the finishing which was the difference.

We again won the opening 1001X team game, but this time it was far closer, with both teams seeming to average just 50 or so per shot as we both took our time to settle into the game.

Shotley’s 17 year old player gained more of the experience he needs and won his Singles game. Their only other point came in their Doubles game against myself and Mark H.

I was really pleased to keep my nerve and win my Singles game though. I was again playing against the darts and my opponent’s first shot was a 140. I replied with two tons, an 80+ and a 70+ to leave me approaching my finish. I missed a D20 opportunity before winning the game with a 4 finish (S2, D1). This was definitely a game I would have lost last season, and sometimes it seems better to come from behind rather than set the pace. I’m sure this doesn’t matter for the better players who just “play the board” though.

We have a break next Tuesday for the Doubles competition which Roger and I are still in. I’ll need to do some focussed practice this week, as we could be up against some of the top players in the league and we were lucky to get through the first round.

Remaining Fixtures

15/01/08 - Shotley Club (H)
29/01/08 - Smelters (A)
05/02/08 - Smelters (H)
12/02/08 - Jolly Drovers (A)
19/02/08 - Jolly Drovers (H)
04/03/08 - Leadgate Cricket (A)
11/03/08 - Leadgate Cricket (H)
18/03/08 - Delves Club (A)
01/04/08 - Delves Club (H)
08/04/08 - Derwentside (A)
15/04/08 - Derwentside (H)
06/05/08 - Commercial (A)
13/05/08 - Commercial (H)
03/06/08 - Chopwell Central (A)
10/06/08 - Chopwell Central (H)

Shotley Club 6 - 4 Chelmsford

Pictured : A practice maximum

We had a narrow defeat tonight against a very evenly matched team, who are just three places below us in the League. Things appeared to be going badly for us in the opening 1001X Team game, and we fell more than 300 points behind. Somehow we managed to retain our great form in this event we were guilty of daylight robbery as I sunk the winning 47 finish (15, D16).

The rest of the games swung very evenly between the two teams. I was really relieved to win my Singles game against the darts, despite some worrying practice darts all week, and Shotley's 17 yr old player did really well to win his Singles game too.

So, next week will be a really interesting return game, with each and every one of us thinking we can win our games.

Powerball

Here's something I've been using for the last two weeks. It's an exercise device for the hands, wrists, and arms. I don't know if it will help the darts, but it can't hurt.

Once it's in full swing it can theoretically weigh 40 lbs, but with my modest record of 10,743 RPM it's probably only weighing 10 lbs. Still, not bad for a piece of plastic the size of a tennis ball though. Further info available from http://www.powerballs.com/ and http://www.lovepowerball.co.uk/

After the Christmas break

After the long break over the Christmas period we restart out League campaign at Shotley Club on Tuesday night. We've been using taxis all season, but due to Shotley being so close we'll be getting the bus along. After missing the taxi in the last game at The Turf I may even walk - on purpose this time!

Roger came down for a practice night on Sunday. It's been very quiet on some nights over the festives, and Sunday was one of them. The darts were fairly poor, and we'll have to play better than that on Tuesday.

The Turf 4 – 6 Chelmsford

We had a very quiet night up in Consett tonight. The Turf struggled to put a full team out and by the time we kicked off it had all fallen a bit flat, with none of us enjoying the throw and generally not settling. No complaints though – this is all great experience, and not all throws will be ideal. I think the stark lighting and uneven floor put me off the most.

We again won the opening Team game. At this point in the season we have a very respectable 80% success rate in this 1001X game, which is a huge improvement on last season where we seemed to lose most of them.

Alan P and I lost our Doubles game, but at least I made amends for my defeat in the home game by getting a Singles win tonight. I think the D10 I hit was my only third decent shot of the night, and I was really struggling.

The rest of the games swung from team to team, with Roger needing to secure the win with the final Singles game of the night. Congratulations to their bar manager, who scored a 180 and won his earlier Singles game.

A taxi mix-up saw me walking back home and missing last orders in The Chelmsford. It was so easy when we had the coach!

An Interview With Nannette Brooks

L to R : Rosemarie Duff / John Lowe / Nannette Brooks

Nannette Brooks is the No.1 Trinidad & Tobago Ladies' darts player, and I'm really pleased that she has provided an interview for the blog. Over the last two events in Barbados that I attended she has shown a real determination to win which I hope I can learn from.

Nannette's darting honours include:

• MVP ladies at the Caribbean Championships 2006
• Caribbean Ladies singles1994 1996
• Americas Cup ladies singles 2002
• Caribbean Cup ladies doubles(with Ann Marie James Murray) 2006

ST : How do you overcome nerves in the big games?

NB: I have discovered that there is not much I could do about that as once you are playing darts the butterflies will be there. None the less I have found that as a game progresses or as a day of tournaments progresses it gets a lot easier. Hats off to those who can play without anxiety.

ST : What practice routines do you use?

NB : To be honest I do not practice very much. It is a bit of a joke among the Trini dart players. However, I will have no choice next year when the national team starts to practice in preparation for the Caribbean Cup. We start to prep in January and we have some long evenings of practice ahead of us. I look forward to seeing great strides in my game as a result.

ST : What is the darts scene like in Trinidad & Tobago?

NB : We have leagues all year round. There are twelve teams in the association and there are many young people becoming involved.

We host the Caribbean Championships next year so there is a lot to do as the event is one of the biggest in the region. The America's Cup will also be held here and this will include the USA and Canada....some formidable opponents!!!!!!! It really is one of the nicest events......very competitive, but at the end of the day we can all say we have seen great darts and renewed wonderful friendships.

Chelmsford 6 – 4 The Turf

Pictured : Three practice darts in the D18

We had an interesting game against The Turf on Tuesday night, taking the lead in the opening 1001 Team Game with an average throw of 71.5. This is our best Team Game in my memory, and The Turf had more than 300 points on the board as our winning double went in.

We raced to a 3-0 lead with the next two Doubles games, but from that point The Turf turned it around and started to take their chances to finish games.

I played OK in my Singles game but lost to a spectacular 110 finish in two darts (T20, Bull) leaving me to rue yet another messed up D20 finish. This was despite some heavy practice on D20 alone during the week.

This was the first time I had played against The Turf, who are currently directly below us in 6th place. We have a week off while the next round of the Team competition is played, but I'm looking forward to seeing what their place is like in the return leg on 18th December. There are quite a few characters in this team, so it should be a good one.

Witney - The Legends of Darts, Part 4

Here's that fabulous memento I was presented with in Witney on Friday.

Witney - The Legends of Darts, Part 3

Cliff Lazarenko collects his prize from Paul Booth

What a thrill I got on Friday night when Colin arranged for me to play on stage, partnered with the Witney's Mayoress (Chrissy Curry) against John Lowe and Eric Bristow. I threw some terrible shots before finally getting a steady 60. By that time the legends were miles ahead and John Lowe sunk the D5 to win.

This was my first time on a proper stage, and I was just as awful as I imagined I'd be!

It's weird – it's not the nerves, it's the total lack of connection with the dart board itself. All you can think of is what is happening behind you, and not the thing you are straining to hit with a dart!

Everything the Mayoress scored was doubled by MC Paul Booth, so by the time I hit the very ordinary 60 Eric Bristow whispered in my ear “So did he double that score for you?!” Absolutely class!

A magic moment in my life, and I will absolutely treasure the glass trophy I was presented with at the end of the evening. I'll post a photo of it on here soon – it is some classy work by the Witney Trophy Centre.

Witney - The Legends of Darts, Part 2

(left to right) John Lowe, Keith Deller, Eric Bristow, and Cliff Lazarenko

Congratulations to Cliff Lazarenko who was the very popular winner of the Witney Legends of Darts tournament on 30/11/2007.

Cliff is back from illness and started slowly with a few stray shots, before buckling down and grinding out a hard fought victory against Keith Deller in the final.

Best wishes to Cliff in his recovery and hopefully we'll see more trophies being collected by this true legend of the game.

Witney - The Legends of Darts, Part1

Organiser Colin Smith (left) with MC Paul Booth

What an superb personal success for Colin Smith : Witney's “An evening with the Legends of Darts” was meticulously organised by Colin over the last few months, and on Friday 30^th November 2007 it all paid off as Witney hosted a highly professional event which will live long in the memory of the 200 strong crowd who witnessed a little piece of history in the small Oxfordshire town.

Everything about this event gleamed, from the four darts legends on show (John Lowe / Eric Bristow / Cliff Lazarenko / Keith Deller) to the big screen video (John Richards of Phototechniques Ltd), the oche and lighting, the superb trophies (Witney Trophy Centre), the pumping rock 3 piece live music (The Dirty Earth Band), right through to the ultra professional graphics and printing work (Ken Smale / Blenheim Clolour Ltd Eynsham). This list is by no means comprehensive, and just shows the amount of work Colin had to go to in pulling this event together.

Chelmsford 7 – 3 Stanley Masons

It was a fairly off key event tonight, with many of us just not playing as well as last week. At least we secured 7 points on a night where (just as last week) very little separated the two teams.

We won the opening 3 games to take a good lead. Willie and I played well in the Doubles game and I finished on D4 to get the point.

Annoyingly I was the first player to lose a Singles match. I was throwing against the darts against Derek, but I still got three darts at my favourite D20 before missing and letting Derek finish well on 16 to take the point. I won't be doing any more of those practice photos on here, where all of the darts are crammed into the D20 bed ;o)

Mark H also lost his Singles game despite some good early scoring, but that and a Doubles defeat were the only low points on a night when most of the team finished reasonably well.

Man Of The Match goes to Peter M, who won every game he was involved with and did well on a night where most of the games were a little under par.

I'll be getting a League table update shortly and I expect to see The Chelmsford in the top third. Quite a change from last season.

Practice night

Pictured : Tonight's practice highlights

I had a great night on the practice board tonight, beating my current averages in 501 legs and getting reasonably close to most things I aimed for.

I've peaked too soon for Tuesday night's return game against Stanley Masons obviously.