OOOOOOOOOONNNE HUNDREDDDDDDD AND EIIIIIIIIIIIGHTY!!!!!!!!!!

I enjoyed a night of Premier League Darts this Thursday; got the train down to Brighton seafront and arrived just as the sun began to set.  Beautiful!

There’s something about the coast which revitalises me, the glistening tides washed away 24 hours of stress and anxiety; I felt very guilty not being at home to comfort Chico following his trip to the vets when he became El Castrato!  Poor little fella 😦

I met my good friend Ian down there along with his son who arrived with a friend; the Brighton Seafront venue was perfect for the occasion.  The queue to get in was full of the sort of people I’d seen at other meetings live on Sky Sports; jovial and dressed up in a variety of costumes or generic outfits for a bit of fun.

Darts is a game that I have enjoyed since I was a kid, I used to play with Mum and Dad down in Selsey, Brian and I also had a dartboard growing up and I have a fond memory of playing ‘Killer’ before settling down to watch ‘The Young Ones’ in the 1980’s.

Eighties Darts involved players like Eric Bristow and Jockey Wilson; overweight bememoths who drank and smoked excessively whilst applying their craft in a pub atmosphere.  The modern game is pretty similar in many ways, just minus all the ciggies (thank goodness!).

The atmosphere in the venue was absolutely fantastic, everyone was up for it and copious amounts of lager and a reluctance to eat over-priced food made for some serious mischief.

I am unable to fully convey how amusing it is seeing grown men sod about in a variety of different costumes; there was a group of guys dressed up as ‘Where’s Wally’, a couple kitted out as Mario and Luigi, a pretty disturbing looking bright pink latex Pig (guy had some serious moves).   Their support was genuine and openly appreciated by the players, a true display of camaraderie if ever there was one.

Think the most interesting thing I saw that night was an African couple who turned up to watch and sat in the row in front of me, most people would be forgiven for considering Darts as a Nordic sport played by whities; but not so.  Every arcade I went into in Japan had fancy dartboards, they were everywhere in Hong Kong as well!

Paying £20 for a ticket to see Phil Taylor (arguably the greatest player of all time) ply his trade is an absolutely bargain; great evening!  I thoroughly enjoyed it and hope I get a chance to go again soon!

Lets………….play……………darts!!!!!!!!!