AUTHOR’S RESPONSE

In reply to my review of ‘Bobby Dazzler’ that appeared in the February 2007 issue of Darts World magazine, Bobby wrote in the March issue:

‘My thanks to Patrick Chaplin – the newly graduated Professor of Darts – for an excellent review in last month’s Darts World, and my apologies for beating him in “A Leg with Bobby” during Lakeside.

If I had known he was going to be so kind I might have let him win (I did say MIGHT!).

There is also a funny and perceptive review by Dartoid (Paul Siegel) on the internet at www.dartoidsworld.com. His review is titled “That’s the Way to Write It!’, and I was touched when he said that the poem on the last page made him cry, because it’s always had that effect on me.

My old dad was as tough as old boots, but he did what he had to do and it shaped my life. His poem, “My Son Bob”, might not be the sort of poetry that the purists and the luvees pretend to like, but the words of Francis J. George (the old man), written over 30 years ago, are from the heart.

Despite all the nice things he said, Patrick Chaplin assumed that I “disliked” my dad. That is not true. Yes, he was hard and tough, but I never disliked him. I respected him and knew that he loved me through that one poem. That’s why it ends the book.

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THAT’S THE WAY TO VERSE IT!’

PC – In his response, Bobby refers to my “Leg with Bobby”, a one-sided darts match, which took place on the Lakeside world stage on Tuesday 9th January 2007. The photo shows Bobby, Ray Stubbs and me, posing just before ‘Bobby Dazzler’ took ‘Doctor Darts’ apart on the oche. (Photo courtesy of Chippix)

© 2007 Patrick Chaplin