Tim & Geoff 3- Green Tree 3

Just as well I was able to play - eh ? Despite the worst throw I have encountered- designed for midgets- we still managed to get a respectable draw from this away fixture, even with Ken, Ian & Dave all playing poorly. Oh and where was Piglet ?
We need to re-arrange the game postponed by The Queens in Didcot, and I believe December 18th has been suggested. It would have to be away, as our function room is booked that night; also I know Geoff is away, so not ideal, but we'll have to go with it- Kath can you arrange ?

Normal service is resumed.............

After the debacle at The Horse & Harrow, where we played like arses & lost 4-2, a much needed 6-0 victory over The Cross Keys put a smile on everyones face last night. I have to say the oppo were a good bunch of lads, but this was a bit of a mis-match created by the League's crazy idea to put all teams that didn't play in the summer in div 4, irrespective of their previous form. So we get some Premier players, such as The Chequers in Berrick, beating up, and demoralising new teams to the league, which doesn't do anyone any good- does it ? Am i right in thinking this "cock up" has been noted, and will not be repeated by the committee ?
Next week- I'm away & so is DB- please keep up the good work !

Expensive Victory !

After the disappointing away defeat to The Chequers/ Cricketers last week, we bounced back with our first maximum win last night, at home to QA Goring. David got his first win to get the ball rolling, Ken played well, Tim got a 180, and Chris won on debut to leave us 4-0 after the singles. Ken & Tim, followed by Piglet & Ian completed the rout, and I had to doll out the shirts. Bad luck to Geoff, whose wife stopped him coming to the party !

Next week it's more Queens, but this time away in Didcot( nb this was originally home, but is now re-arranged as away )

Darts Get together

to finalise how many teams we are entering in The Benson League this Winter.

Please meet at The Bear Sunday 20th July 2008 at 7:30pm- bring your arrows-food provided

King of the Landlords !!

Slightly surprisingly, but very satisfyingly, yours truly won the Landlords Cup at the Finals night in Wallingford last week.First trophy for the pub, so how about a concerted effort to win something else ?

We are definitely going to enter our A team, but I am still happy to enter 2 teams for the winter darts, but only if there is proper committment to turn up on a Thursday. It shouldn't require a "ring round" on Thursday afternoon trying to scrape a team together. We will have a get together at the pub in the Summer to sort out how to proceed.
Any thoughts ........

The Three Musketeers lose their Crown

Thanks to Kathy for writing this in the wake of Thursdays disappointing events..........

"The lack of a full team forced the Bear into a 4 -2 loss at the Crown !
With the Landlord and Geoff on Valentines duty and Wally too busy watching Tottenham;
Ken, Dave and Kath travelled to Didcot to face the realality of not being in a trophy position after all. With the 1st game a 3 -0 to the Crown through lack of opponent, Kath lost to their 'Best Player' in the "1st real" game 3-1. Dave narrowly missed his double to make it a 3-2 loss and Kaptain Kenny brought home a 0-3 win for the Bear. The doubles draw left Dave and Ken to a 1-2 win and Kath playing twice in the doubles managed another leg but lost 2-1.
This was a valiant try for the 3 musketeers but after all results were in, left the Bear sadly sitting in the middle of the league table.

So what happened to the B Team !
With no one to drive him anywhere, captain Dave Latamer was stuck playing gooseberry to a full pub of courting couples on Valentines night, when in walked the Dolphin C team.
What happened next is an unwritten chapter in this bloggers knowledge but I'm sure someone will let me know how Secretary Mark failed to notify the Dolphin that we had re arranged the game and had made arrangements for the game to be played at the Portcullis in the TV room.

So apologies to The Dolly & The Portcullis...................."

Kurse of Kaptain Kenny...........

Looks like the weight of the captain's job is sitting heavily on his shoulders- another "double" loss for him, and a heavy defeat for the Landlord at the hands of their best player, meant another 3-3 draw for Bear A. At least we didn't lose !
The match fixing panel are investigating the CAT's mysterious loss to The Plough, and an irregular betting pattern that has been traced back to an infamous pub in Didcot. Each way betting has now been suspended.
B Team are still AWOL so don't know how badly they lost.


PS We were all nice to Dave last night.........

Who goes up with The CAT ?

A 4-2 victory for Bear A last night against our old rivals at The Plough. All square after the 4 singles, with Tim & Geoff cruising to victory whilst Ken & Dave doggy paddled down the plughole. Thankfully, our pairs form has been a revelation recently, and when Dave wimped out, Kath stepped in, to team up with Geoff again, and maintain their perfect record together- they make such a nice couple, it seems a shame to break it up. Ken & Tim duly mopped up and we are now in a good position to hold onto that vital promotion spot. However, still two tough games to go, and we will be missing the "untouchables" for the last game.
Thanks to all the B Team players who couldn't be bothered to turn up- I take it you don't want a team then ? Despite being 1 player short, they actually performed well to go down 2-4 to the Dolphin.- well done Ian, Tony & Roger.

The Comeback Kids................

A repeat of last weeks great escape, with a 3-3 draw earned at The Coach & Horses. Geoff got us off to a good start, but 8 successive legs were lost, meaning we had to win both pairs to draw. New Captain Kenny agonised over who should be selected for the last 2 games, and then realised there were only 4 of us anyway, as Old Captain Dave refused to turn out. C&H gave us a chance by resting their senior players, and thankfully we took the opportunity. Heard a bit of a mumble about Geoff's Shanghai on the 20's, but apart from being a tad lucky, there was nothing wrong with it. So I guess it means we're still quite tight for 2nd spot. B team did their usual stuff- probably the most consistent team in the league !

Where's Wally .....?

With Tim in Italy, and Wally a.w.o.l. it was left to Kathy to save the day with an heroic performace in the pairs, to scrape a draw against GSSC. Not sure of the details, but I'm sure she will give us the full version of events.......

So, over to you .....................

Nearly but not quite.....................

The elusive 6-0 still evades us after a 5-1 victory over The Black Lion. All was going well until the final pairs, and when Tim matched Ken's earlier 180, a victorius end looked likely for T & G; but ...............well the rest is history. With the Coach & Horses managing a 6-0, it means we need a good win next week to stay in the hunt. I'll be on the way back from Italy, so you'll have to manage without me- at least there's no argument about who's playing singles ?
Took a phone call at 5:30pm from a sick Capt Latimer of Bear B, saying he couldn't raise a team-in fact he hasn't been able to raise anything for quite a while now- but thanks to Rich & Jess for stepping in & saving the situation; teaming up with Charlie & Steve, they managed to lose 1-5, which is a bit of a result for the perpetual under-achievers

CAT Flap !

The CATS undefeated run came to an end last night with a sensational away win for The Bear. Has panic set in at The CAT ? Are they allowed to practice enough in their newly re-furbed pub ? Have they been poisoned by dodgy roast potatoes ?
Anyway, some masterful darts from Geoff, Tim & Wally meant we only needed to win one of our pairs games- which has proved an insurmountable challenge, on most occasions. Having talked Dave into a change of strategy, Tim was happy to step back with Geoff and watch Wally hit the winning double for a notable victory. Unfortunately, but perhaps not surprisingly, our B team lived down to expectation & lost at home. Next week it's the BLACK LION- surely a banker home win for The Bear A & a chance of a nice night out for The B team ?