Darts in Dublin 2013
Go Swimming...
The title is no hint at those players who turned belly-up on the first evening of the World Grand Prix.
It refers to the fact that Dublin is a town by the sea though when you are in the city the only thing that reminds you of it is the usually strong wind. And yet near Connolly station the docklands begin - today some are new residential quarters. And when you take the DART from Connolly (some kind of city railway though far less fast than a dart) - whatever direction - you first pass the docklands and then soon arrive at the sea at least when you travel to Bray, I've not been yet in Malahide.
The region on the way to Bray is often called "Dublin's Riviera"and is some kind of posh neighborhood. In Sandycove years ago there existed some kind of lido with a sandy beach and when you walk to the end of the bay you can still find a public bathing beach and when I walked by on Monday around noon several undaunted swimmers were in the water. It looked some used their lunch break to take a quick swim. I've no idea what temperature the water has got, but I read it's never more the 15 degrees Celsius.
> When you now walk around the rocks at the end of the beach you'll find there just across the James Joyce Tower another, very special bathing place. The Forty Feet Pool. The name has nothing to do with the depth of the water it comes from a regiment which was once stationed here to guard the coast. The pool is rather spartan, only rocks and a small changing hut. Originally the pool was only a bathing place for male nudists but in the last century women managed to get allowed to play their as well and today nude bathing is forbidden there. The pool is used throughout the year - even in winter swimmers jump into the icy water. It opens at six in the morning and when it's still dark at the time people use their flashlights. On this Monday there were quite a few swimmers around.
So should someone among Dublin's visitors want to go swimming - it really is possible there and to be sure it will be a very special and unforgettable experience.
This year the Gran Prix takes place in another building on the ground of the City West hotel than last year. As an official told me last year was an exception as the convention centre couldn't be used. This venue is a lot bigger and the press room is upstairs on second floor and I did a lot of stair climbing on the two evenings I watched the Grand Prix. The venue was not really crowded the first evening but it will be crowded nearer the weekend. The press room is comparatively small but there is never that much "press" in Dublin anyway. On the first evening there were a lot of problems with the internet connection and I decided to do my updates after the matches in my hotel room though that meant I would have to stay up late.
All in all I enjoyed this short first round matches, they were varied, sometimes surprising and all the players looked well prepared for the Double-In. Terry Jenkins was one of the players who turned belly-up on the evening despite his absolutely sure Double-In. He seemed to have lost the Double-Out completely and to the delight of the home crowd his Irish opponent Connie Finnan progressed to the second round. Another phenomenon was Gary Anderson. While during the Players Championships he once again stumbled over his double trouble he hit both the double-in and the double-out on that evening. Peter Wright - at the weekend really strong - had his problems with the World Grand Prix stage - a little bit strange as well - might be lack of experience with this special tournament. The second Irish player on the first day - Michael Mansell - frightened Simon Whitlock and the Australian was almost eliminated - might be some kind of home advantage for the Irish?
I was glad that I stayed in the hotel nearby that night - such a short way "home" is an advantage, even when the corridors seemed endless.
