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Here
we are again in glorious June, and here’s my
usual gag: June is busting out all over and I wish
she would come to George Hall to give us a show!
Yes,
summer is officially here (allegedly) and we can all
celebrate by welcoming Setanta Sports as the latest
broadcaster to feature darts in its excellent sports
coverage – despite the best efforts of some
who shall remain nameless (for the moment!) to discredit
it.
Five
BDO tournaments are being shown in the new BDO International
Grand Prix series from May to September, and then
there will be another eight shows in the Betfred League
of Legends Tour on Friday nights from May 30 right
through through to August 22nd.
I
am delighted to be taking part as a ‘Legend’
because this fantastic tour is going to bring back
many happy memories for all the players taking part,
as well as the fans and Setanta viewers.
On
top of all that, and perhaps most importantly of all,
they are going to be great fun for everyone!
By
the time you read this we will have kicked off at
the Circus Tavern (the Semi-Finals and Final will
also be there on August 22nd) and next up is the well
named King George’s Hall in Blackburn (June
20th) and we finish off the month on June in Brum
– at the Hilton Metropole Hotel on June 27th.
I
am already being asked: Will I win it? Can I win it??
That
would be luvverly jubberly, but it’s the taking
part that counts and I have to say that even I feel
nostalgic to be on stage again with the likes of Big
Eric, Bob Anderson and all the others.
It’s
a real legendary line-up: Eric Bristow, John Lowe,
Bob Anderson, Keith Deller, Cliff Lazarenko, Dave
Whitcombe, Peter Evison and, last but not least a
real Leg-end…..Bobby George!
I
loved the quote from the Limestone Cowboy in last
month’s Darts World: “We’ve had
some tremendous battles over the years and the passion
is still very much there. There’s no way I want
to lose to Eric or Bobby, and I know they won’t
want to lose to me”.
Too
right!
But
I do hope we can turn this into a ‘fun’
tour for those who come to see us in all the venues,
as well as a competitive one for the fans, sponsors
and television.
I
think my quote in last month’s Darts World sums
it up nicely:
“We
all feel like born-again darts players (a bit poetic
that!) and it’s going to be lots of fun, but
competitive too. He who dares wins!” Come to
think of it, that should be: He who DARTS wins!!
Let’s
face it, we were (and still are) the ‘originals’.
Thanks to wall to wall televised darts on practically
every channel, darts was the ‘big thing’
in the late 70’s and 80’s.
Me,
Eric, John, Jocky, Cliff, Leighton, Keith, Bob and
a few others were the original darts pop stars. So
much so that if you ask most members of the public
today to name a darts star they will instantly say
Bristow, Lowe, Wilson or George!
That’s
not being boastful, but simply stating a fact. Don’t
forget we were on most of the ITV channels as well
as the BBC at a time when there was on ITV and BBC,
so our audiences could view for free and were counted
in mega millions.
I
think our tour is a timely reminder of what the game
is missing. Back then it was all about larger than
life characters, rivalry and excitement. Now money
seems to have taken over (at least in some quarters).
I
can tell you this, I can’t wait to get back
on stage and play against my fellow Legends. It’s
going to be a darts party to remember, with loads
of showing off and lots of smiling faces on and off
the oche. Bring it on!
THAT’S
THE WAY TO LEGENDS IT!
Thank
goodness, none of the players have brought politics
into this tour. We all see it as the type of ‘Seniors
Tour’ that happens in most top sports, so it
is disappointing that the PDC felt it necessary to
issue a statement effectively stopping the players
from playing where they choose, and throwing fifteen
years of loyalty back in their faces.
The
websites have been filled with criticism and rightly
so!
I
can just imagine the reaction if the BDO had done
anything like it! Pro Life would have been reaching
for his poison pen to condemn a statement preventing
the very players (with the exception of me) who made
the PDC (the WDC in 1993) possible in the first place.
Talk
about biting the hand that feeds you!
In
a funny way, it’s refreshing that The Legends
are perceived as some sort of ‘threat’
simply because Setanta Sports have recognised the
appeal of a ‘seniors’ darts tour.
From
box-office reaction so far it is looking as though
the public is keen to see us old’ uns back on
stage and television, and we hope that packed venues
result in great viewing figures on Setanta.
THAT’S
THE WAY TO SETANTA IT!
Like
I said in a recent column, anything positive like
this, should be applauded and supported by everyone
in darts – especially the players.
The
great thing is that the League of Legends is complemented
by the BDO’s International Grand Prix on Setanta
Sports. The usual unfortunate and uncalled for comments
were made in the Pro Life column last month, but once
again the fact is that this represents a total of
thirteen more days of televised darts with a brand
new broadcast partner.
That’s
got to be good for darts unless you live in a cave
or walk around wearing blinkers!
THAT’S
THE WAY TO DART IT!
Staying
with new TV avenues for darts, I’ve been busy
once again in spreading the verbals!
 First
of all, George Hall played host to BBC’s ‘Celebrity
Cash In The Attic’. They sent a whole team,
including the lovely Angela Rippon (a true professional
who loves a good laugh) to rummage through me and
Marie’s drawers (no prizes for guessing whose
they enjoy rummaging through best of all!) but the
only antique they found was me!
See photo of Marie, John Cameron (a very sharp and
funny valuer), me and the lovely Angela Rippon at
the auction house flogging my heirlooms!
Unfortunately
it clashed with the official launch of The Legends
tour at Old Trafford……..Pity we couldn’t
have combined the two things, because eight ‘antique’
darts players must be worth a Bob (get it?) or two!
Obviously,
I don’t want to give too much away about Celebrity
Cash In The Attic, but I can tell you that I sorted
out some very special darts memorabilia, and all the
proceeds are going to Woodbridge Mencap Gateway Club,
which also benefits from the energy of Roly Bright,
the former chairman of Suffolk for 30 years and my
No.1 driver and mc for so many years.
THAT’S
THE WAY TO CASH IT!
The
next visitors were a more serious bunch from BBC’s
‘The Money Programme’. When they first
turned up, Marie thought we were being repossessed!
Mind you, when she realised that George Hall is all
bought and paid for, she knew that they – and
possibly Gordon Brown – were after some much
needed advice!
And
she could have been right! I reckon they had come
down to borrow some of my gold, because the Government
needs to increase its gold reserves during the current
credit crisis!
Mr.Brown
has taken enough from me and everyone else in the
country, so he ain’t nicking my gold to bolster
the economy!
They
actually came to talk to me because there has been
quite a rise in gold prices, and they thought it would
be a funny angle to get the message across.
Don’t
know about that, but I did feel good when they’d
gone because my value (in gold at least) has increased
significantly!
THAT’S
THE WAY TO GOLDFINGER IT!
And
finally I must mention my recent visit to Loret del
Mar in Spain for lots of fun (and darts) in the sun
– my thanks to Peter van Acker, Ad Schoofs and
the whole team for making it much more fun than sun!
We
had a great time and it was an excellent ‘warm-up’
(get it?) for The Legends tour, because I played well
and got to the final against Co Stompe, who only narrowly
beat me 7-5.
Co
is one of the nicest darts players you will ever come
across and in that final he didn’t miss a thing!
He’s a credit to Dutch darts, but next time
I’ll have him!! See photo of Co and me having
fun in the sun!
That’s
it for yet another month. Make sure you come to see
us on the League of Legends Tour, but if you can’t
then tune in to Setanta Sports and have a great summer
watching both the Legends and the BDO International
Grand Prix……….
.THAT’S
THE WAY TO DO IT!
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