Despite the 5am retirement to sleeping quarters, freshness levels are at an all-time high this morning upon awakening – thrice huzzah! The 65 second journey to Leeds train station is an arduous one, but it is negotiated with astonishing success. Alas, t’train t’Barnsley has been cancelled and we must wait a further 30 minutes for the next suitable candidate, but this still has me bounding up to the Metrodome at 11.45am, which as we know by now is 15 minutes early in Ireland but 45 minutes late in England and a grievous offence, as the law states that unpaid officials must faff around and do nothing for a minimum of one hour before they are actually required.
Baron Thomas Cox announces that Board 16 is to be my co-domain today, alternating marking duties with an Anglesea debutant whose name I didn’t catch. Here are the matches that I marked :
Round 1 (Last 128)
Co Stompe 6 Adrian Bolitho 1
Co was in particularly great form today, both from darting and general disposition points of view, and is full of chat. Adrian can certainly hit high scores, but not nearly consistently enough currently, and the score was a fair reflection of the match. There were no tantrums or histrionics from him when he went behind though, which is always nice to see.
Thankfully I didn’t have to mark either of Wayne Mardle’s matches on the board because he was at the exact same craic again – shouting at the marker every time to confirm what finish he needed, even though the score is clearly visible on the board. Before his game with Dave Ladley, he stopped to have a lengthy chat with the marker whilst in front of the board, preventing Dave from throwing – fair play to Ladders, he just shook his head and smiled calmly.
Round 2 (Last 64)
Justin Pipe 6 Barrie Bates 4
The Fates have unfairly bestowed poor Barrie with ridiculously more that the fair share of ailments – he now suffers from gout, rheumatism, a bad leg and now a severely swollen finger. It is testament to his fantastic character that he just keeps on playing and smiling. His opponent in Justin Pipe – The Slowest Player In Pop – but rapidly emerging as one of the best. Neither player are at their best here, but it is an entertaining and close game.
Round 3 (Last 32)
Justin Pipe 6 Co Stompe 5
A cracking game, featuring heavy scoring and sharp finishing from both players. When the scoring is so good, it doesn’t matter how slow the player is, and I can remember a wave of serenity crashing over me during this game! Justin recovers from 3-1 down to edge this one in the decider.
Round 4 (Last 16)
Justin Pipe 6 Peter Hudson 3
Both players had been in phenomenal form to reach this round, so it is always strange when the standard drops so much so quickly. A number of legs were won in more than 30 darts, and the pair were both publicly disgusted with themselves after the game, but very amicably so. Justin obviously regained form instantly as he went on to reach the semi-finals and narrowly miss out on going at least one step further. For the record, Paul Nicholson won the final against Steve Brown – two staunch members of the Nice Guy Association, so it was great to see both do well.
Time for some delicious pints of Carling before assisting in getting the Youths Competition by marking the first game on Board 3, where Dublin’s finest young darting prospect Ryan Maher whitewashes Carl Draper with some quality high scoring. These competitions are still attracting a number of no-hopers (Carl is not one of them, I should stress), but from the Last 16 onwards and in many cases beforehand, the matches are consistently excellent.
A taxi is summoned to bring us to the Encore Ramada – a bed and breakfast bargain at £20 per person. I make the schoolboy error of lying down for a quick kip at 7, and wake after 10. Hunger is at fever-pitch level so I head outside with Enda to what I believe to be a nearby Indian restaurant that I ate in before, only to remember the following day that the place I was thinking of is in Derby!, so it should have been no real surprise to have discovered naught but roundabouts and fly-overs nearby.
A Google search elicits the number of a take-away and half-an-hour later, I’m devouring a Chicken Chilli Masala despite it having fallen foul of strict Yorkshire legislation that demands that all dishes must contain neither fruit nor vegetables (Terry’s Chocolate Orange receives a special dispensation though), and must have a minimum of 25% fat content. It’s now too late to head to the nocturnal delights of Walkabout and Escapade, so instead the Top 50 Dance Crazes Of All Time presented by that funny Mitchell and Webb bloke gets watched until 1.30am, and jolly entertaining it is too.
Contentment : 17 / 25
Excitement : 3 / 10
Memorability : 5.5 / 15
Overall Score : 51% (17th out of 162)
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