It turns out 61 is a prime number

Apparently the theme for a 61st wedding anniversary is a plane wood tree, but I couldn't come up with an appropriate title incorporating that fact, so I settled with the wee fact - hitherto unknown to me - that 61 is a prime number.

Have I previously mentioned on the blog that I was for about 15 minutes in my youth a 'Mathlete'? Yep, I represented the school and everything. We got to the quarter final one year, before getting knocked out by Watford Grammar School. Funnily enough, one of the reasons for my early aptitude for Maths was Darts. It really did help with my numeracy. However, my primary thanks for actually being half-decent at Maths as a kid was my teacher in my final year at primary school. That teacher's name was Mr Lowde. It was also his final year of teaching after a lifetime in the classroom. (He served in the RAF during World War Two as a young man.) It would be fair to say that he was the most important teacher in my life during all my years in education. If I wasn't for him, I probably wouldn't have gone to university. Funny the stuff you remember when you're trying to come up with blurb to accompany your 180s.

With regards to this 180, I love the grouping, and there was only an 18 minute gap between this 180 and number 60 ('Diamond Life'). For those 18 minutes I was actually on fire, and I had one of those moments of (darting) clarity where I realised this is how I should throw all the time. The problem is that it never lasts. I can actually walk you through - or more importantly - talk you through how I can get the best out of my game but I can't sustain it for any half-decent length of time. It' something I should work on. Maybe muscle memory will eventually lock in. If it does, my game will definitely improve by 3 or 4 points, and those 3 or 4 points can make all the difference at the level I'm playing at.

61/50

Diamond Life

 Just want to post the 180. Not quips, no family drama . . . little or no recollection of the 180 itself.

60/50

Instant Karma's going to get you . . .

I think I b*rnt down an orphanage in a previous life.

"The Name of the Game"

A 180 at a local Luck of the Draw. Sadly, it wasn't during an actual match. Just a practice session.

Equally sad, is that I played actual garbage during the event itself. Got down to the last 7 from 27 entrants, but this was more from luck than design. My only half-decent performance was during a Cricket doubles game with J.F., where the gamesmanship from one of the opponents was off the chart. I'd played him in league darts on Monday nights in the past but I don't remember him previously playing these tricks to fuck with my head. A strange occurrence, but we won in the end. Snatching victory from the jaws of defeat, and all that jazz.

59/60

This Is The End (2013)

 

"I don't want to be associated with his awful fucking laugh"

A direct quote.

I won't say which son said it, but if you know, you know . . . etc, etc (in a la-di-dah posh English accent.)

58/50

Extra, Extras

Trying to get the wee yin into Extras. No go . . .   it's not working.

Opted for a coked up Michael Cera and an apocalyptic Los Angeles instead. A movie education has to start somewhere.

57/50

The Anderson tape

Nice to get my 56th 180 of 2026. April's been a good month for me. Maybe if I continue in the same vein, I can hit some targets for the rest of the year.

I've actually thrown for - maybe - six 180s today but this is the only one that has stuck. Funnily enough, about five minutes after this 180 I nearly replicated this Gary Anderson incident from 2015.  A crumb of comfort is that one T20 stayed in the board. The other two dropped to the floor.

56/50

Sally & Bob

Half-watching a series of Taskmaster that I've previously watched. I need noise in my life when throwing darts and this series just came on. Davies, Phillips and Mortimer will appreciate their 0.0004 cent royalty checks. (American money, American spellings.)

55/50

Hunting High and Low*

Another 180 whilst practicing before a league match. It's never an indication that I'm going to play well on the actual night itself (I was okay, as it goes).

Sadly, we lost the match 15-12. Even sadder is that I came home with those stickers still in my pocket. I need to sort that.

54/50

*Another song title as a post title. This time to give a clue as to where I was actually playing. Pretty straightforward, to be honest. When you get it, it will be an 'A-ha' moment for you.