Dartoid’s Column

Far be it from me to steer anyone away from a couple weeks of sun and fun in Puerto Vallarta .. the place is amazing.

Pristine beaches etch endlessly into the sunset. Bikinis are everywhere. The nightlife runs into morning — the Dos Equi’s flow. And the food puts my favorite local Mexican haunt to shame.

Facing a few days of business in Manhattan it seemed there were only two logical ways to proceed. I tried both.

I checked the CYBERDARTS listing of steel tip pubs in New York. And I posted a message to the “alt.sport.darts” newsgroup asking where the best place to play was in New York City.

If the truth be known, I can’t remember how I got myself into writing these little reports. I recall some months ago contacting Rick Osgood to see if he knew of a place to throw darts in Beijing. His hesitant response was something like: “Well… no, but if you find a board let me know and I’ll add it to the CYBERDARTS listing.” He must have thought I was nuts.

For the past week I’ve been hunkered down in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. This is snowmobiling country, hockey country, sealing country — blizzard country! Tonight the snow was coming down in flakes so fat that you could actually feel them when they hit your jacket. Wind chill was negative forty.

I’ve just arrived in London after spending the past week in the Wealden District — East Sussex, home of Winnie the Pooh. I’ve been conducting some business and, as usual, throwing darts in the evening. The past few days I’ve tried out a members-only establishment called the Constitutional Club in a small town called Crowborough. It is located off London Road across from a pub called the Cross.

Have you ever tried to explain the rules of 301 or cricket to someone who doesn’t speak a word of english? I’ve just attempted this in a bar called “O’Kim’s” at the Westin Chosun Hotel (87 Sokong-dong, Chung-ku) in Seoul, Korea. I was not successful!

The past thirty-two days have been a pain in the butt. Literally. What was originally to be a week-long Guinness tasting holiday in Dublin with three buddies somehow turned into a month-long, 2,000 mile, bike ride from Dublin to Moscow. Don’t ask me how this happened. I no longer remember myself.

Just got back from throwing darts here in the UK. The place doesn’t have a street address, which is common, but it’s great. So here’s something for your listing …