The news last week that up to 4,000 ‘bad’ pubs will close next year is of particular concern for those of us partial to chucking bits of metal inside licenced premises. For the 1,000 pubs that will spring up in their place will rarely contain a dart board – as illustrated recently by the ‘saving’ of the Wenlock Arms near Old Street.
My main dart-based project for 2013 was to revisit all the boozers listed in Capital Arrows, still the only guide to London’s dart pubs (etc, etc). So far I’ve been to just over half, so should be able to see most of the 109 in the main guide by Christmas – although fear, based on experiences so far this year, that numbers will have dropped beneath 100 by the time my ‘research’ is complete.
The long-term prognosis remains poor. London without darts pubs? Here’s hoping for a new project about London and darts that rekindles interest in the game in the capital… More soon.