Not a Whitewash - but almost

Whether ‘tis nobler in the mind to suffer
the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune ....
After last year’s failed attempt in the District 1240 sports competitions, Secretary and Sports Guru Brian decided we needed to give the District the benefit of our expertise and again chose that highly physical and demanding sport, Darts.  Despite our success in 2022 (losing all our games!) we decided to enter again this year.

Home Advantage?

Who were our opponents?  Rotary Club of Leigh-on-Sea and winners of the competition for the last few years.  Oh well, it seemed like a good idea at the time, although we did have “home” advantage.  

Home?  We decided on the Nags Head in Ramsden Heath, which came highly recommended, not only for the facilities and privacy it offered, but especially for its sausages!!

But none of us had played there before.

A Jovial Crowd

On Monday November 20, 2023, Roger, David, Les, & Brian assembled there at 6.30 p.m. along with support from cheerleaders Nick Street, Bob Godfrey, Malcolm Acors and Peter Greene.

Hopes were high as the official start time of 7 pm came and passed, without our visitors.  Would we win by default?  No such luck.  The four members of the Leigh-on-Sea team were soon there and we were ready for the start. 

A few practice throws and we were into game one, and our gallant captain, Roger (Phil “The Power” Taylor) stepped forward, our honour and hopes on his shoulders.  A gallant attempt, but to no avail, and we were one down.

Next David ( John “ Old Stone Face” Lowe) was on the spot, but still no success, and we were two down.  Then Les (Bobby  “The King of Bling”  George), but still no success, and finally, Brian’s (Eric “The Crafty Cockney” Bairstow) turn.  And ... success, at last a win with a double 2! Hurrah!  Had our fortunes changed?

Double Up

After our first win, our team were eager for the doubles and up stepped Les and Nick.  A slow start, and then a quicker finish as we lost.. again.  Roger and David suffered the same fate, but the result was much closer, with both teams stuck on a double one before Leigh finally succeeded and won the game.

We’d done our best, but time for a welcome break, delicious snacks provided by the pub, lively conversation with our guests.  Time to go home?  Not a bit of it, a final foursome challenge.  Les, Brian, Nick and Peter against our visitors - but .... no change, defeat again.  But not without mishaps - see photo above!

To be fair, Leigh were reigning champions, and deserved their win.  

Still, the silver lining - no forced trip for the next round at Harwich, Dovercourt or Frinton.  Now that’s true success.

It was a fun evening, with great Rotary Fellowship, in good rotary company with the highlight of sausages and chips provided by our opponents.