And Bully's special prize.......

I switched on the TV yesterday lunch time, expecting to see maybe pretty Australians or middle aged couples selling off their family silver. Instead, I was confronted with pretty much the polar opposite. Slightly overweight, pale looking men, wearing what appeared to be their entire family's silver (maybe gold plated, maybe the neighbours too looking at the sheer amount of it). And they were throwing pointy things. Yes folks, it's the World Darts Championships. 

Now, darts have been around me all my life (and I don't think they were being aimed at me!). My Dad has played for as long as I can remember in a few local pub teams and has even become somewhat of a legend amongst my friends for it. One of his fellow team members a few years ago was none other than Trina Gulliver, the Lakeside Womens World Darts champion of 2010. So he's not a bad player. I even remember him playing a friendly game against Eric Bristow when I was six or seven, and I was far too excited for a child of my age when he returned with a signed photo bearing the message 'Hayley. Don't worry, your dad will beat me one day!, Eric'. He didn't, btw, but I suppose there's still time. 

My mum also played darts for while, which I could never understand, since she seemed to hate the game. However, I realise, since creating two highly strung girls myself, it was an obvious ploy to get away from me and my sister. 

So, given the family record, (and the training from watching 'Bulls Eye' every saturday tea-time) I should be brilliant a darts, right? WRONG! I tried playing myself a couple of years ago, with a team comprised of some of my work colleagues, imaginatively named 'Library Lushes'. (Can you guess where I work?) We actually did pretty well and got through a couple of seasons with surprisingly few injuries. But it's bloody hard! You need really good hand-eye co-ordination (to hit the board) and spacial awareness (to avoid hitting anything/anyone else around the board, or in some cases, the room). A few of our members found it staggeringly difficult. And then you have to do MATHS! I have a new found respect for my dad who can do fairly complicated sums in super quick time to work out what numbers he needs to hit to win- and then hit them! Sadly then, it seems I have not inherited this talent. Though, to be fair, I haven't put in the time and effort at the local pub that my dad has managed to over the years. 

As such, regrettably, I don't suppose I'll ever be good enough to join this lavish world of designer chic, pointy sticks and beer. I guess i'll carry on just playing my dad now and again, and losing. And you never know, if they ever bring back Bulls Eye....