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Charity Collections.

 

Everything has become so impersonal these days in all walks of life. This lifestyle change is even affecting the Pub life of darts players, because wherever you go the first thing you see as you approach the bar to get your drinks, are the “Charity Boxes.” They will be lined up on the bar waiting to accept peoples loose change that is handed back to them after they pay for their drinks. Now I am not saying that the collection boxes don’t raise appreciable amounts of money this way, just that there is no fun in it anymore.

When I was a young lad and first started playing darts in the pubs in my local town it was often the highlight of the evening when the “Salvation Army” came into the pub with their collection boxes selling "The War Cry". Everything seemed to stop and all eyes were turned on the “out of place” visitors dressed in their strict uniforms. The drinkers dived first one way and then the other in their efforts to avoid having the collection boxes shaken under their noses. Admittedly they only spent a few minutes in each pub as the “Sally Army” went round the town, but it was great fun while it lasted. It is a few years since I saw these collections taking place on a regular basis during a darts match.

“Meat Raffles” to raise money could also be a source of fun. One local club where I am a member used to have a very enthusiastic lady collector. A little later in the evening after a fair number of members had entered the club, she used to come selling raffle tickets for various prizes, the main one of which was a joint of meat. To say this lady took her role seriously is an understatement because she put her all into the task. She would not take “NO” for an answer. Most of the regulars were prepared for the event and had their pounds to hand so that there was no embarrassment, but some did not and that was when the fun began. The young lads were her favourite target, because the interrogation about how much money they had in their pockets inevitably ended up in a thorough search of their persons. It was great fun to see them squirming as they endured the trial of this middle aged lady putting her hands into all their pockets in her attempts to find some change and their efforts to save paying one pound for a ticket. On the other hand some of the randy, wily old men refused to pay just so that they would get searched!

Still there are the children in need collections that happen for a week or two once a year. I remember one year when I was at a darts match in Stafford one evening when a young lady walked into the pub with a large bucket for her collection. Now like most darters I was reluctant to chuck in a handful of coins although it was a worthy cause. The other players had managed to avoid the young woman and for some reason she made a beeline for me. After a long “discussion” about my finances or the lack of them she started ramming her hands into my pockets after the money she thought I had. However, a hand came out, not with loose change but my car keys! Then I started to panic! A demand for a “note” in exchange for the keys did not help! Of course my friends thought this was hilarious, but after some "heated discussion" she thought better of it and fled empty handed!

The “Personal” aspect of these collections was a great source of fun for many a dart player in the past and I think it is a shame that times are changing.

 

 

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