The Bear At Home Darts Teams

More Success..........................

2009-01-30T08:38:00.002Z

Another good night at the 'oche, with only "bus crash" failing to win; true some made heavy weather of it, but 5-1 is a good result in anyone's book. nice to see Piglet back this week too. Ken needs more practice with the scoreboard, so I suggest he chalks all home games now. Cross Keys next week away & Ian has threatened to drive us there, or is it "up the wall" ?!

Revenge.......

2009-01-23T17:29:00.002Z

Revenge for the defeat suffered when we re-arranged against QA Didcot was achieved in satisfactory fashion last night with a 4-2 win.
Despite not playing that well, we will take that thank you very much. Nice of Piglet to show up ??

Tim & Geoff 3- Green Tree 3

2008-11-14T07:43:00.002Z

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.............

2008-11-07T12:35:00.002Z

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 !

2008-10-17T08:08:00.003Z

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

2008-06-05T16:34:00.002Z

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 !!

2008-03-21T08:42:00.002Z

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

2008-02-18T17:35:00.002Z

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...........

2008-02-08T11:41:00.000Z

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 ?

2008-02-01T08:51:00.000Z

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................

2008-01-25T08:42:00.000Z

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 .....?

2008-01-19T10:25:00.000Z

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.....................

2008-01-11T08:58:00.000Z

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 !

2008-01-04T09:52:00.000Z

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 ?

mixed fortunes

2007-11-16T08:38:00.000Z

A home defeat to The Sprat for our A team, but a rare away victory for the B's on one of their many trips to The Dolly.

Easy wins for Tim & Geoff were the highlight of a close tussle with The Spraties, but poor form in the pairs again let us down again. Meanwhile Dave's grandchildren performed well to record a 5-1 away victory in Wallingford.

This leaves both teams slightly off the pace in their respective divisions at the half way point. We are back in action on Jan 3rd, so in the meantime Happy Christmas, and thanks for your underwhelming input on this blog site.............

Good Luck to both teams.............

2007-11-08T12:10:00.000Z

Have a good night & make sure we win please..............all excuses on a postcard to NY 100019

Score Draw for A

2007-11-02T10:01:00.000Z

The usual draw with The Plough. Two evenly matched teams could not be separated in the end, and a draw was probably about right. Ken lost to a girl, Tim played their best player, GG & Wally won their singles and GG & Tim stayed just sober enough to win their pairs. Apparently The Plough is up for sale, so maybe their players will come and join The Bear team ?

Meanwhile back at HQ, Roger celebrated his 50th by losing to 1062, whoever he is, Steve was unlucky, Ian was lucky, & Stan was crap. This all meant another loss by Bear B to yet another Dolphin team, and no consolation prize for Capt Latimer this week. There are only another 12 Dolphin teams to play- surely you can beat one of them ? Tony finally hit the target in the early hours when he landed a chocolate cake in Roger's face- boys will be boys !

awesome..................

2007-10-26T00:10:00.000Z

I have to admit to playing well- it would be wrong of me to do otherwise.

A 4-2 victory against a strong C & H team was a great result for our A team, and of course a 1-5 defeat from the B team was also pretty good for them too- so everyone was happy- especially Dave Lat who almost pulled for the first time in living memory (that's his memory- not mine of course ). Wally was hiding on the sofa with Monty so it was left to Geoff, Tim & Dave to win the darts, whilst Ken contributed nowt as usual.

Apparently "bus crash " Ian was the only success, for "B for Bollocks", in the Dolly- apart from Dave's "nearly but not quite" experience- which will probably have to do him now for the rest of the year.

Double Whammy !

2007-10-20T07:29:00.000Z

Victories for A & B on the same night....definitely one for the album. In the absence of Capt Kent, the most senior member of the team led Bear B over to Goring for a momentous 4-2 away win. Only Roger & Ian were pointless, which is something I have always suspected. So Dave Lattimer has a 100% record as leader- perhaps he should have a word with Steve Mclaren on how to motivate your team ? Meanwhile, back at HQ it was 2-2 after the singles with Dave & Geoff earning their spurs, and given our appalling pairs record, you would have expected a 4-2 defeat for sure. However, with Wally taking a break to count his trophies, Ken & Dave won grittily, and a classy performance from Geoff & Tim sealed the victory.
A jubilant B team were put in their place, on return, with a crushing defeat in an "A" v"B" beer leg.
Come on England..................................

Come on England.........

2007-10-12T09:55:00.000Z

Here's another of my rude & unnecessary posts, littered with examples of bad sportsmanship.

After last weeks momentus victory by the B team, we thought it was the dawn of a new era, but this week the bad times returned with a loss to Black Lion B. Never mind chaps - it's only a game ! Can't remember who won , but I think it was Steve & Ian-please correct this if I'm wrong !

Meanwhile the A team travelled to Woodcote, and were pleasantly surprised to find the Black Lion is a Freehouse- so no Greene King- hoorah ! Ken & Monty were unavailable, and the rumour that they were seeing each other is only a rumour, so I don't want to mention it. Geoff's return buoyed the team until he started playing- fortunately he found enough form to beat one of their girls. Wally won well, Dave played superbly to win 3-0 (not often you hear that said ), and Tim completed the 4-0 whitewash in the singles, to ensure a shot at the holy grail of 6-0 and the promised land of darts shirts. Thankfully Dave & Wally cocked up, so it didn't matter that GG & I also missed the target. I must also report to the league that Geoff Goddard was wearing a French Rugby Shirt, which is surely an act of treason ?

B good- A bad

2007-10-05T07:45:00.000Z

The CAT arrived in matching shirts (apart from Ryan)- always a bad sign if you ask me- and this was confirmed with 3 defeats from 4 singles- only Wally came up trumps with an emphatic win over shirtless Ryan. Mark, their best player, and new League Sec defeated Tim and then pointed out that our scoreboard is not up to spec- you can really go off people quite quickly ! Wally & Tim combined to win their pairs, but Ken & Monty were not at the races, and a 4-2 defeat was the end result. GG was seen at the pub, but didn't have the correct pass from his wife, so was unable to join in the fun.

The B team craftily left Dave, Stan & Roger behind, enabling them to field a strong team at The Portcullis- darts virgin Steve played well on debut, as did Motor Mouth, Charlie & Capt Kent, leaving Tony to be the token arse for the evening. Well done chaps- I take back everything I said about you!

Great Escape

2007-08-17T08:53:00.000Z

Yes Steve McQueen would have been proud of us ! Victory on Thursday against Goring, combined with The Queens nosediving 5-1 against the Dolly means we stay in Div 2. This is a good effort considering how bereft of good players we have been this Summer- Ken's been living in his tractor, Geoff's stuck to a saddle & Tim's been playing Cricket- so well done to Tony( who only lost once) & Wally for flying the flag, and to Monty & Dave for turning up ! I know CAT Mark thinks we're only "singing when we're winning", but I can assure him this is not the case- we have just been too busy here. Hopefully the posts will be more regular in Winter.

Finally I have some really sad news to pass on to you all, and it really breaks my heart to say unfortunately it doesn't look like we will be able to play at The Sprat this Winter 'cos I think they are still in Div 3

Bewitched !

2007-07-06T18:18:00.000Z

The away game at The Witch went t@ts up as we lost 2-4 with only Tony & Wally showing any fighting spirit. Ken was destroyed by The Asda man, who annoyingly tapped his back pocket every time he got a treble 20. Tim lost to their best player as usual, Monty was crap, and we never win the pairs, so that was that. Chin up !

QA pinch it on the doubles

2007-06-29T15:50:00.000Z

2-2 after the singles with victories for Wally & Tim, but a familiar tale in the doubles and a 2-4 loss resulted. Where are our players ? Apparently Ken is Tom Dick, Piglet has buggered off to Hong Kong, and Geoff is too busy for his mates at The Bear. I personally think the Summer League is too much, and we should have a break and stick to the Winter League- but that's just me being controversial. Please feel free to air your views.

Another Draw

2007-05-28T16:47:00.000Z

Done by the Dolly

2007-05-17T21:30:00.000Z

A 4-2 defeat at home is rather unpalatable, as Monty put it ! Only Wally managed to win his singles, and despite Tim & Piglet winning their doubles, Wally & Ken were unable to snatch the draw in the last match. Monty, it really wasn't helpful to shout "come on you Gooners" as Wally tried for a winning double -you twat ! Some tricky decisions for Capt Dave, as only Wally is performing consistently. Next week it's the long coach journey to Goring, so bring a book to read.

Smell those shirts

2007-05-11T07:06:00.000Z

Nearly but not quite. A 5-1 thrashing of the Oak was not quite sufficient to secure the coveted darts shirts. 6-0 was averted easily by a certain player losing 3-0. Apparently he was playing "their best player" so the rest of the team have forgiven him. Unfortunately for security reasons I can't name him on this blog, but I can suggest that you read an earlier blog, where he's mentioned for beating Ken 5-0. Well played everyone-we must up near the top of the table now ?

Tim

Town Arms taken apart

2007-05-04T07:19:00.000Z

A magnificent away win in Wallingford last night by our lads. Despite having to endure Wally's driving, the team arrived in good shape for this tricky game, with the sick bags untouched. Although Monty lost to Patrick, who must be their best player, the rest done good, and a 4-2 victory resulted. A pleasant evening & part of the morning followed, at The Bear, with a couple of momentous ladder matches being played out. I have promised Ken not too mention his 5-0 drubbing by yours truly, but it would appear that I was lying !
The Oak at home next week.

Draw at the Beerless CAT

2007-04-27T07:20:00.000Z

The Bear earned a hard fought draw away at The Coachmakers with Wally again proving to be our star player. Tim took their best player to the fifth leg, but couldn't pull off the victory, but Ken kept up his consistent scoring with another win, and Dave did likewise with another loss. The "girls" Monty & Tony, who were to scared too play singles, joined Wally & Ken in the pairs, and the spoils were fairly shared. Very hospitable people at the CAT, but next time I go out for the evening, I expect to be able to drink a pint of beer please !

Town Arms & Patrick away next week.

First Victory of the new season

2007-04-22T18:17:00.000Z

Nice work on Thursday night with a 4-2 victory over The Witch. Congrats to Wally for a handy "out" of 138 -now Spurs are out of every competition, he's promised to be here every week. At 3-2, it was left to Tim & Tony to read them the last rites in the pairs, with victory over "the destroyer" and his side kick. Jacko was left on the subs bench with his darts and gob not called upon this time.
Geoffrey is still awol- has he defected ? Any sightings- please let us know.
Not many games played yet on the "ladder" so lets see some action soon please.

Tim

Summer Darts starts April 12th

2007-03-25T17:40:00.001Z

The Summer season starts after Easter, with an away match at The Queens in Didcot. First half schedule is up on our website:
www.bear-at-home.co.uk/news.htm

Other teams in our league include The Oak, Town Arms, Goring Social Club, Waterwitch, Coachmakers & Dolphin. Sorry no Sprat this time round.

Cheers

Tim

End of season notes

2007-02-27T21:46:00.000Z

I thought you all did very well, in our first season, apart from Dave Latimer of course, who was rubbish. Looking forward to the Darts Dinner, when the B Team will be humiliated again.

Ciao

Vital Game

2007-02-09T09:42:00.000Z

It is looking very tight at the top of Division 2, and a good victory is required v Town Arms next Thursday to give us any chance of promotion. Good Luck chaps !

Come on The B's !

2007-02-07T20:40:00.000Z

The A team have a bye this week, so lets get behind the B team who have a chance of victory against Goring. Unfortunately Jacko can't make it, so we will need someone to replace him- I nominate Kathy, as the second noisiest person in the pub. If the B team lodge an official complaint against us, then we know we've had a good evening

I think we might win 4-2- let me know your opinions please. Le Crunch, is back from a layoff and is fired up like Jonny Wilkinson, and I'm sure he will inspire the team to a famous victory. Food laid on for both B & A team- but sorry no small oily fish this week.

Here we go again........................

2007-01-26T15:43:00.000Z

A familiar tale methinks. Geoff, Wally & Tim notched good victories to secure an unassailable 3-0 lead at half time, and an excited Kathy was busy measuring everyone up for their shirts. She seemed to take an age over Geoff's vital statistics, and it soon transpired that he had "hard" nipples, and may require a specially adapted shirt to accommodate them ( a bra ?). Anyway this proved a slight distraction for XXXL Kenny, and he lost the vital 4th singles. The Pairs are a forgone conclusion these days, so we had to share the spoils with the Cholsey Oiks. Special mention for their crinkle cut chip, which was tricky to share out amongst 10 people.
Also, we must record Sir Geoff's 180 for the second week running, but a shame he can't transfer some skill to the pairs match, for which I hold Brakespeare responsible.
Did we miss the Team Psycho ? Well, I conducted a straw poll in the pub, and the majority said yes, the evening wasn't the same without him, even if the result would have been. Dave, I thought your comments were a bit harsh !
So bring on S.Prat & Co next week- I can smell victory, or is it Twiglet's aftershave ?

Another draw, and the shirts are still on hold

2007-01-19T09:27:00.000Z

It might be good for the pools coupon, but we are getting rather bored of drawing. Yet another match that was in the bag at 3-1, after the singles, ends up shared thanks to our woeful pairs play. Some might say we should have been 4-0 up before the pairs, and this is a fair cop. Massive apologies from The Landlord, who it's fair to say, was shite at darts, but quite good at poker. However, we surely should be able to muster a point from our pairs matches. Poor old Jacko, let down again by another useless partner. Geoff "180" Goddard looked hot in his singles, but lost the plot in the pairs. Dave & Wiglet similarly failed to raise even a wimper as they lost 2-0.

However, lets finish with some positives:

Ken looked gutsy(isn't he always) as he clawed his way back from the precipice.
Wally was well pumped up, and blew his opponent away 3-0
Geoff not only registered a maximum, but finished clinically too.
We took 2 FREE pints each off the B team

Red Lion away next week

Cheers

Plough scrape a draw

2007-01-15T08:58:00.000Z

Table toppers The Plough visited the Bear for this potentially vital match. At 3-0 up we looked home & hosed, although to be fair Ken & Wally had to fight tooth & nail with the Plough women ! Tim, played badly ( yes I was shocked to hear that ) & lost out to their best player, so it was left to our "under performing" pairs to get that last point, required for victory. They performed to their usual standard, and we lost both comfortably. Thanks to Kath for entertaining us all with her inability to work her laptop, Dave for yet another Captain's example, Piglet for being shite again, & Jacko for... well for being Jacko. Congrats to Geoff, who was our man of the match this week. The Pairs players seem intent on ensuring "no shirts" this season ? We entertain the Dolphin on Thursday.
News reaches us of The B teams first victory, a 5-1 crushing of the Mischief in Blewbury. Celebrations were well under way before they admitted the pub was closed for a refurb, and Dave became the first player in the history of the league to lose a walkover.
A bientot mes amis

Bear A rout Shoes

2007-01-08T15:19:00.000Z

Happy New Year !
A great start to 2007 from The Bear A team with a 5-1 thrashing, handed out to the Four Horseshoes away. All 4 singles games were won without fuss, and without Geoff, including a Bull finish from yours truly. Jacko & Piglet decided they didn't want the team shirts on offer for a whitewash, so contrived to lose their doubles game, by playing shite; I'm personally very grateful to them for saving me the expense. The Plough are up next, and the offer still stands; 6-0 and you get the shirts. The good news is we are at home on Thursday, and therefore the toilets are:-
a) inside b) clean c) equipped with running water.
Isn't it great to be in the 21st century ? Seriously thanks to Phil, the new landlord, and his staff for being so hospitable, and for providing us with wet wipes. I have made a note of those who declined to use them!
It was reassuring to return to The Bear last week and discover The B Team made a similar start to their campaign with a 5-1 of their own- or rather a 1-5 ! Congrats to Pete for stopping the dreaded whitewash. Captain Ian has promised to motivate the team by taking them for a drive in his bus before the game; they'll be so pleased to be alive that they will play magnificently.