February 3rd, 2016. The day my world as it was up to the point fell apart. One of my best friends, Aidan Ward, died. Hours later, my mother went into hospital for surgery which turned life as we knew it upside down for our entire family.
Little was it realised, though, that Aidan’s passing was only the beginning of an implosion of people who were central to my very enjoyment of life being given one-way tickets to the lodgings up above. A trend that is still devastatingly in progress today.
Just weeks after Aidan, the referees in the sky were short of official team lists and so sent out the call for Pat ‘Spoggy’ Kelly, then President of St Peter’s GAA Club in Dunboyne.
Like all those who left us, ‘Spoggy’ is never far from my thoughts. They couldn’t be, owing to the beautiful words pennef by Charlie Walls in The Big Tree and immortalised by Mick McAuley, Aidan Hayes, Martin Regan and Sean Henry: We drink to those who are here today, and remember those who are gone.
Only yours truly could manage to think about ‘Spoggy whilst watching the Word Darts Championship. But then, any time his beloved party piece The Oldest Swinger In Town is encountered, who else could one think of?
Now, the old hit for The Bards wasn’t in fact heard in this instance, but, seeing 66-year-old Paul Lim not only still competing at the highest level but doing so efficiently and effectively enough to send the very talented Luke Humphreys crashing out at the first hurdle. Not only that, but the oldest dart slinger in town pulled off the unlikely having been 2-0 down early on.
Elsewhere on the first Friday night’s fare, the admirably consistent but annoyingly tempestuous James Wade displayed the quality which many believe could see him progress all the way to the Final when clinically eliminating Callan Rydz 3-0.
Lim was undoubtedly the headline act on the night however, but mention was also be afforded to the man long referred to as Big John Henderson. The Highlander is still a fair unit, but is as trim and keen as at any time since I’ve become properly attuned to the darting scene. He took a while to settle into the match but when that did happen the Scot showed enough form to suggest he could be hanging around the Palace in the dying embers of the year.
Another who turned his match around – and his entire career it seems – was Dirk Van Duijvenbode who came from 2-0 to overcome the commendably noteworthy challenge presented by recently crowned World Youth Champion Bradley Brooks.
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