Volume  025

 DARTS  THAILAND

March 2009
 

ROB'S  REPORT  -  TEAM  THAILAND  IN  HK
by  ROB  "DRAGON"  HECKMAN

  
  Ok here it is, the long awaited happenings for Hong Kong and Team Thailand review! After many many hours of calls, emails back and forth between Asia Darts Assoc. in Hong Kong, Thai Darts Assoc. & liaisoning with my friend Johnny in Bangkok TEAM THAILAND became a reality!! I must give a special thanks to the TDA & Mr. Vichai for sending over Giffy, Nattakhom and Thanawat (Yong) to help me represent Thailand in the FIRST EVER showing of a Thai Team in the Asia Bullshooter! I must also thank Joseph Kwong & Chris Ngan of Asia Darts Assoc. for allowing this the Thai team to be formed and for helping to promote Thai Players in the International Darting World!

I had heard from Johnny in Bangkok that Yong and Giffy were excellent steel tip players and should have no problem with the transition to the electronic game. I had already had first hand knowledge of Nattakhom's abilities, since I had already met and played with him in Las Vegas last year at the Medalist World Championships. 		 
 
I must say this before I continue on....all the members of the Thai Team not only impressed me with their darting abilities, but also how they adapted to playing electronic darts! I have to take my hat off to Yong, Giffy and Nattakhom for handling the pressure of being the first Thai Team to enter in an International Bullshooter event. Kudos to you all, you represented yourself well and more importantly you represented THAILAND with your abilities and class act!		  
  .
There were a total of 14 talented International Teams! The day started out with a Round Robin format where the game was Double in/Double Out 501. Only the top two teams in each group made it into the Top 8 Knockout Bracket. We came out of our bracket in the #2 spot and played Team Philippines first. It was a very hard fought match, but in the end Tam Philippines won the last game and would eventually go on and win the International Team Event against Team Canada.		  
 

 
  Even though we didn't win, making the Final Top 8 was a feat in itself. The level of competition in this event was extremely tough to say the least. So Team Thailand can wave the Thai Flag with pride, as we represented Thailand extremely well. I know we took a lot of teams by surprise as they were not expecting such a talented team. For the first year, this was a great showing and I wouldn't put it past Team Thailand making it to the finals next year! Thank you Giffy, Yong and Nattakhom for coming to Hong Kong and playing your hearts out....you all deserve a round of applause!  
                   
 

 THAILAND'S  DARTS  CHALLENGE  ANSWERED  

 
 

DARTOID  vs  THE  LADIES

  
 

OUR CHALLENGE TO ALL WORLD CHAMPS
PUT  YOUR  REPUTATION  ON  THE  LINE
BUT - NOT ONE TOOK THE CALL
.
YET  -   ONE  DID
ONLY ONE  PERSON  WITH CONFIDENCE
ONLY ONE  PERSON  WITH THE GUTS
THE  ONE  AND  ONLY  DARTOID

  
  .
 Game on! Our good friend Paul Seigel (Dartiod) will be back for a visit in May and is the first and only darts celebrity to take on our Thailand International Darts Challenge - to take on any & all Lady Darters in Thailand. We all admire your courage Paul.

Moe's Angels were not a bit put off and wanted me to tell you "Bring it on and that you had better practice". The word has gotten around and  you are going to have yourself some fierce competitors this May.

KaptainX is working out a match format where all Ladies will have to meet our darts gladiator Dartoid at the board for at least one show-down. Format and venue details will be in next month's newsletter issue. All is set - start sharpening your darts ladies.		  
 

Paul's  Website    "Dartoid's  World"    CLICK  HERE

  

March's
Darter of the Month
Tantalizing
Miss Aor
Newly arrived & most welcome the tantalizing darts talent - Miss Aor. Not only is Aor the sectary for Moonshine's two darts teams but she leads a new coalition representing all darters to encourage darts bars with dirty walls to slap on a coat of new paint. No doubt - Aor's foremost challenge will be Mitch - but we darters feel that if her negation skills are anywhere near her darts skills we will be seeing some cleaner walls in our dart throw areas.

                   

                   

                   

                   

INTERVIEW   WITH  GIFFY
  Giffy always brightens a room with her warm smile and bubbly personality. But when her foot hits the oche she's as businesslike and a serious and worthy darts adversary as you will find. Giffy is well-known in Thailand darts circles and with good reason - her darts do all the talking about how good her game is. Unlike so many players in our beloved sport of darts - you will never hear Giffy tell you how good her dart game used to be. On her best nights all she will say is - "I need more practice". It's our true delight to introduce you to "Thailand's Lady of Darts" - Giffy.
.		  
  DT) How and at what age did you get started playing darts?  GIFFY) I was 21 years old when I first threw a dart. I started playing in the Darts Centre on Soi 29 which unfortunately is no longer in existence today. Sulee and Yow - who played out of the Darts Centre -were two of the top female players in Thailand at that time. Both played on the Thai Women's National Darts Team. They gave me a lot of encouragement which developed my love of the game as well as a keen sense of competitiveness at the oche.

DT) Who has influenced you the most in your dart game?  GIFFY) Along with Sulee and Yow from the Darts Centre were Lek and Sombat. These players instilled in me the desire to play at my absolute best anytime I stepped up to the oche. This required a disciplined practice routine that they were willing to share with me. The desire to play well is the goal of all darts players however the example to work towards this goal was one that they taught me by example. My team mates have always had the most effect on my ability to play darts, urging me forward all the time, inspiring me to play better and better.
.		  
 

PROFILE
NAME - Pawadee Koasoy
NICKNAME - Giffy
AGE - 42
PLACE OF BIRTH - Nong Bua Lampoo
CURRENT HOMETOWN - Bangkok
DARTS USED - Puma's  Rob Heckman signature series darts
WEIGHT - 21 Grams
HEIGHT - 155 cm Centimeters
DT) What has been your most memorable win?  GIFFY) That would be a final match with Yow in a tournament at the Vincent Hotel on Soi 20 nearly twenty years ago. I was a relatively new player but was really on my game that night. This was memorable for me as it was my first tournament victory over one of my mentors. Soon afterward the Darts Centre closed down and I stopped playing for five years. After five years I got back into it and can say that today I play with more enthusiasm than ever.  
 
Nowadays a victory over a competitive team or a friend that takes the game seriously and of course any event that I'm fortunate enough to win a trophy is what I consider a memorable win.

DT) In how many different countries have you played darts?  GIFFY) I have played darts in Thailand, Malaysia & Hong Kong.

DT) Is there anything you see as unique about darts in Thailand?  GIFFY) Thailand seems to have less support for darts than other countries - certainly far less than in the past. Big companies are no longer supporting darts through sponsorship of darts events. Sadly the result is far fewer big darts tournaments and there is no longer a Thai Open to attract international players.

DT) You have been playing darts in Bangkok for quite a few years. What changes have you seen in the game over those years?  GIFFY) People in a bar - especially other darts players used to pay more attention to the game being played. But today in many league matches or local tournaments far less attention is paid to the game being played - sadly sometimes even the person (a darts player recording the game's stats) attention is elsewhere. With little attention to the game being played - those who have never played do not have the opportunity to watch darts - a game that they might find interesting and want to pick up. So the result is fewer people playing today.

DT) In general, how would you rate our dart venues, throw areas and overall atmosphere conducive to serious darts play?  GIFFY) Although most of our darts venues are small - more space should be set aside for the darts throw area. Busting down walls is not practical but sometimes it's as simple as the venue setting tables and chairs better to afford the player at the oche less interruption and distraction. No loud music. Sure we play in bars that will always have music but having to shout to the scorekeeper to ask where your dart has hit is a definite indicator that the music is too loud. More respect toward the rules. Simple darts etiquette is not so complicated - don't crowd the player at the oche - do your best to stay out of the shooter's line of sight and don't shout in the close area of a shooter at the oche.

DT) What changes do you see that would improve the popularity and quality of darts in Thailand ?  GIFFY) Darts players other than the casual once-a-week player should want to improve their skill of the game. This requires practice - time by yourself on the board as well as getting together with someone with the same level of interest. I say this to everyone - especially myself . . . .

DT) Anything specific you'd like to say to dart players in Thailand and readers of DT?  GIFFY) I wish that everyone would pay more attention to the darts player at the oche and respect our sport of darts - common curiosity & respect simple darts etiquette. We need to have the spirit of being an athlete - darts is a sport. I wish that the people who read this column come out and play more darts!		  
 

 
 

BANGKOK  DART  LEAGUES

  
   TUESDAY -  LSDL

PLEASE  CLICK  ON  OUR  SPONSORS     

 


The LSDL Premier League has two more fixtures left to play, Vichai’s TDA lead the pack at week 8 having one game in hand and a 5 point clear lead over second place Domino Titans who are also 5 points clear of their closest rival Flaming Moes meaning season XVII’s 1st and 2nd place champions are already decided. Further down the table things are getting tight - Flaming Moes have four points, just one match point in front of TOT, seniors and Stone who have 3 points each.

The LSDL Fun League is approaching week 11 of Season XVII – Pel-I-Can at the top in Division One, 2 points in front of Aloha Bar in second – with an even spread throughout the table and 4 games left to play there may yet be some significant changes to come.

 

 
   
  .Flaming Moes new Fun league team have done well making their way up the table to third place in their first season with the league – Some unexpected results have left favorites Wabbilies and Lazy Pelican at the bottom of the table, however Lazy’s top player Allan is back on the block so things could be looking up for a team that normally sits at the top of the rankings. In center spot, The Ship Inn do well in their first season back in the back in league but they are only one point clear of New Cowboy Bar in 5th.

On’s Place have a firm lead In Division Two of the LSDL Fun league, 6 points up on 2nd place position with a +34 points diff. Moonshine have had a good season so far and are in 3rd place under Silver Dollar by points diff only, both teams have 9 points each however Moonshine have one game in hand. White Lightening have center table, again only by points diff to Sports Corner Bar. Down at lower end, Larry’s Loft are just a point above this seasons new venue - Corner Bar - and with a game in hand and 4 fixtures left to play Jayke expects to be getting promoted at the end of this season….More Next time!...KaptainX		  
                   
 

LSDL Premier League
CLICK  HERE

LSDL Premier League
CLICK  HERE

  
    THURSDAY - 7th  THAILAND  DARTS  LEAGUE  09       
  The current season just kicked off on March 19. We'll have the current standings here next month. League teams are:  
  Domino 1982
Domino Seniors
Domino Stone
D'Pelicans		 Flaming Moe's
GSB
The Other Darts
TOT		  
 

 
 

Point of contact for this league -
Dew at Domino Pub & Restaurant.
domino.1982@hotmail.com

  
 

PATTAYA  DART  LEAGUES

  
  Got an email from Lance in Pattaya who has a new website PattayaDarts.Com.  Great news for darts - finally some online information about the darts scene in Pattaya, including stats on Pattaya'a four leagues Tuesday - Wednesday - NernPlubWern & Mickey Mouse.

For as close as Pattaya and Bangkok are you'd think that there would be more contact but not so - that is until now. We've invited Lance to write a monthly update for us here which we hope will begin next month. Also hope to get some city vs. city competition going in the near future.		  
 

To visit the PattayaDarts.Com website  CLICK HERE  or on their banner.

  
 

 
  With our "technical difficulties" this month we are sad to say that we did not receive Steen's monthly update on the Patong Darts league. I'm sure that we'll have that back next month. However we did get an email from our friend David Brook and are happy to report his Island Lager Bar is now relocated & operational.

Good Morning from soggy Patong......black skies...storm clouds...and pouring rain for 2 hours... Hope that makes you feel a bit better !!!  Anyway the new location is up and running, after a few teething problems....hope you will be able to visit us at some stage. New Bar location now open - Island Lager Bar, Units K28/29, The DJ Plaza, Prachanukhro Road, Patong, Phuket, Thailand - Near the beach.....just down from Coconut Village....opposite The Duang Jitt Resort.....  Have a good day ...hope to see you soon.. Cheers, David Brook
.		  
  Steen's "Patong Beach Dart Bar Map" is on our Dart Bar Index Page - check it out. It's a printable map that's great for new-comers to find all the darts action.  

HUA HIN  DARTS  LEAGUE
  Hope to have a monthly report back here. In the meantime - for the most up to date HHDL stats from Barry - check our forum under the HHDL category.  

The Hua Hin area
including Cha Am
is darts country.
12 active darts bars
a darts league
and regular
Monday and Friday
darts events.
  NOTE  For those with a slow internet speed you may have to refresh or reload this page to have all the images load. Sorry for the inconvenience.  
 

 
  On a dark and stormy February night, ok, it wasn’t stormy but I always wanted to use that line. It sounds better than, dark and hot, dark and humid or dark, hot and humid night. Question, why do they say dark and stormy night, isn’t night by definition dark? Any comments on this please email darkandstromy@who.cares.not.me.

Ok, enough of that on to the darts, 22 of Bangkok’s darting elite showed up to take part in the tournament. Oh, I should have said 21 because we had a visitor from Merry Old England also taking part. This was Mary, Tris’s mom. We now know the best dart player in that family and it is Mary. Not only did she do better than her son, she also picked her own name out of the bucket to win a bottle of fine vino. We hope to see Mary in upcoming events, you can leave your son at home!		  
  We had a good mixture of players from various bars around town. This included, Larry’s, Aloha, New Cowboy, Pelican, Bradman’s, Flaming Moes and of course the Moonshine. If I forgot anyone please email your response to the above email address. We had two Mr. Gigolo’s from the Pelican Ladies tournaments, CW and Adul. We also had three beautiful women from Flaming Moes, Sai, Sar and Tum, Thank you girls for putting some beauty into the tournament. We also had a Jayke look alike in the tournament. Gayle knowing that Jayke won’t be there got a Jayke cut for the night. Did anyone really miss Jayke? OK, guess I better tell you what happened in the tournament. Here we go!  
  .
In the preliminary round, 12 played for positions in the main draw, In the first match, Colin not is a charitable mood, beat Harry to send him to the losers bracket. In an all Kiwi affair Grant bet Gayle (Jayke’s look alike) to send her to the losers bracket. KaptainX and Adul, Tom and CW were up next with KaptainX and Tom going through to the winners bracket. Next up were Jued and Scott and Tum and David. Sorry to say Jued and Tum went down to the losers bracket. Tum and I played the longest game so far with both of us having trouble finding the double.

In the winners Bracket, Sai took on our visitor from England Mary and went down to defeat sending Mary through to the next round. The same can’t be said for her son Tris who crashed out to Colin, sending him to the loser’s bracket. In an all Pelican affair, Russel trashed Matt to send him to the loser’s bracket. Grant still savoring his victory over his wife sent Boggs reeling to the loser’s bracket. In the upset of the round saw Sar sent KaptainX to the loser’s bracket. In other matches, Scott beat Inge, David advanced with a victory over sweet Su and Tom being the Cade that he is sent La to the loser’s bracket. We were now down to eight in the winner’s bracket.
.		  

 

RUSSEL  &  MATT'S   FAMOUS    FILIPINO    PRE-GAME    TEQUILA  SHOT

  
  .
In the loser’s bracket round of 12, there were some good matches and a few upsets as well. To kick off the round, two of the beauties from Flaming Moe’s played each other, with Tum beating Sai to advance to the next round. In the upset of the round, La sent Harry home with a convincing win. Tris trying to keep up with Mom sent CW home with a lucky win. Adul trashed Boggs and Matt put an end to Jued’s night with some good darts. In the last game of the round saw KaptainX just barely squeezing past Gayle to advance to the next round. It should be noted that shortly after this tournament Gayle had her hair redone!

In the winner’s bracket round of 8, the results went mainly to form. Colin sent Tris’s mom Mary to the loser’s bracket with a convincing win. Scott being a male chauvinist pig sent the beautiful Sar to the loser’s bracket with a lucky win. The Moonshine traitor Tom defeated his old captain David in a very, very close match. At least that is the way I saw it. In the last match Grant again beat up on a beautiful lady to send Russel to the loser’s bracket. In the winner’s bracket we were now down to 4.		  
 
In the loser’s bracket first round of 8, there were again some upsets. Tum sent Tris back to the bar to cry on his Mom’s shoulder and in his beer with a convincing victory. Inge beat KaptainX in a very close match. In another all women’s affair, fair Su sent the alluring La out of the tournament in a very good match. In the last match of the round saw Matt defeat Mr. Gigolo Adul to advance to the next round.

In the loser’s bracket second round of 8, again we were entertained with some very good matches. The first match pitted Russel against Tum, with Russel advancing with a good win. Sorry Tum, thank you for helping with the scoring! David advanced with a hard fought victory over Inge. The fair Su sent the lovely Sar home in another very good match. In the final match, Mary sent Matt out the tournament with a hard fought victory. Well done Mary! Mary had to go back to the bar to console her son who was still crying in his beer.		  
  In the winner’s bracket round of 4, there were 2 fine matches played. Colin steamrolled past Scott and Grant sent Tom back to the loser’s bracket. In the loser’s bracket first round of 4 saw 1 lucky victory and another good ladies match. David managed to outlast Russel , who played the better darts but couldn’t close out the match. The fair Su beat Mary in a close match that sent Mary out the tournament. Thank you very much for playing Mary, hope to see you in future tournaments. Oh, her son was still crying in his beer! In the loser’s bracket second round or 4 saw David outlast Scott to advance and the Cade Tom sent the fair Su out of the tournament. We were now down to 4 players, David and Tom in the loser’s bracket and Colin and Grant in the winner’s bracket.

In the winner’s bracket, Colin and Grant locked horns in a titanic struggle that saw Colin advance sending Grant to play the winner of the Tom and David match. In a replay of an earlier match, we again saw Tom squeak through with a victory sending David out of the tournament in 4th place. This set up a rematch between Grant and Tom for the right to play Colin in the final.

The Tom and Grant rematch was played in some style with Tom exacting revenge for his earlier defeat by Grant to advance to the tournament final. Grant finished in 3rd place. Great tournament Grant.

In the Final undefeated Colin took on the once defeated Tom for all the glory. It was a fitting final played by two excellent darters. It was a close match but Colin was too much for Tom so finished the tournament undefeated and the champion for the night. Tom finished in second place. Well done to both of you.		  
  .
The lucky draws during the tournament were won by various people; various Moonshine drink vouchers were won by Tom, Harry, KaptainX, Tris, Adul, Russel, Grant, La and Colin. Bottles of wine were won by Mary (she picked out her own name, I’m not saying she looked but there might be something fishy about that), Scott and CW.

In the guess the darter competition, again the person with the most votes wasn’t the darter. It wasn’t KaptainX and it wasn’t Gayle even if she tried to look like the darter in question. Yes, the darter in question was none other than Jayke. Scott won another bottle of wine for guessing Jayke. Scott didn’t win the tournament, but went home with two bottles of wine, not bad Scott.		  

  The tournament winners were given the following prizes:
4th place - David a two hundred baht Moonshine voucher.
3rd place - Grant a two hundred baht Moonshine voucher and the 3rd place trophy.
2nd place - Tom a two hundred baht Moonshine voucher and the 2nd place trophy.
1st place - Colin a 3 hundred baht Moonshine voucher and the championship trophy.		  

  The players would like to thank the management and the staff of the Moonshine for hosting the tournament. As usual the food was great and plentiful. The Moonshine management would like to thank all the participants for taking time out of there busy schedule to attend the event. Mitch and Wasana would like to invite you all back to the next tournament in April. - -  David  
 
 
 

501  DOUBLE  ELIMINATION  KNOCKOUT
  Saturday - 25 APRIL - 8 PM
"300 Baht buy in - all buy in going toward players bar bill"
FREE  FOOD  &  PRIZES
TROPHIES TO BE AWARDED
.
Moonshine  Pub - Sukhumvit Soi 22 - Bangkok

  

SOFT  TIP  SUNDAYS  AT  BOURBON  STREET
  Talked to Doug Harrison - owner of  Bourbon Street  and he's interested in holding a weekly tournament. Bourbon Street has three Medalist soft tip dart boards. Weekly tournaments will begin at 4 PM which seemed to suit all attending when we had a group getting our need ranking to participate in the Asian Medalist Tournament that was to be held in Bangkok last December but cancelled due to the airport closure.

Doug plans to have a THB 500 Plus payout. For those unfamiliar with this system - this means Bourbon Street will put 500 Baht toward the payoff "plus" all entry fees of players competing with all going toward the winner's purse. If this kicks off before the release of next month's newsletter we'll have an announcement on the forum. Looking forward to this and hope to see more of you steel-tipper out on Sunday to see the soft tip alternative which proved most enjoyable to us steel-tipper who gave it a try. - - Johnny		  
 
 
   EDITORS NOTE  - Knockout Events are run by bars and not in any way governed by the LSDL (Lower Sukhumvit Darts League). Although KaptainX and I are both committee members on the LSDL our promotion of knockout events is on behalf of Darts Thailand. Notifying us of your darts event allows better organization in scheduling so as not to have two events on the same night. Our new darts events calendar link can be found on the main page. And remember - the earlier you notify us about your event the better we can promote it. - -  Johnny  
 


.
JAYKE'S  TAKE

Darts Thailand - Jaykes Take

  
  The jigsaw puzzles I enjoy least every month is trying to work out what Jayke sends for this article. Jakye continues to try and help out by designing a layout. This installment had text from a right hand column mixed with text from the left. I gave up and forwarded the puzzle to KaptainX who was able to untangle this by downloading Jayke's text in a series of different programs.  
  To make our job easier Jake sends a separate email with "numbered" attached photos that are to be put into the article where indicated. This month's article he sent ten photos (4 -3- 5 - 6 - no number - 8 - 10 - 10 - 9 - 9) - two photos numbered 9 and two numbered 10 and the article calling for photos 1 - 2 & 11. Jayke claims he sent out what was needed and the foul-up must be a result of email cyberspace. As it is already so late in the month we regret that we won't have Jayke's article this issue. We're sure to have it back next month as we've provided Jayke with paper and a box of crayons for the text and have asked Pookie to assist him with his numbering. - -  Johnny  

We have a new monthly feature "Darts of Yesteryear" thanks to Peter Rushby - DT's recently appointed "Official Historian".

A special DT welcome to Peter bringing not only his darts experience but also for having the rare foresight of saving Thailand darts memorabilia & photos and being willing to share with all of us. We'll have more of Peter's photos and memorabilia in upcoming issues. If there are others reading this with such treasures that you'd like to share with all readers please contact us.

Peter today - photo left - at a recent darts event to raise money for a local charity in UK. Being the first article in a new serious - we've asked Peter to introduce himself.		  
  PETER) I have actually never lived in Thailand, or played in a darts league, but have been a regular visitor since 1980 and played in all the Thailand Open competitions, from 1984 to 1991, I often played as part of the 4-man team (3 local Thai players 1 Brit) and always played in the singles event with mixed fortunes until 1987 when I won this event, the first non Asian to win, and 3 years before the great John Lowe repeated this feat. I would be pleased to do a feature on the Thai Open " looking back" and use the material that I have with me. My favourite darts bar would have to be the Old Other Office on Patpong 2 also the Darts Centre on Sukhumvit, Top players of the time, Thailand's Nikki Virachkul, Lek Klepdee, Sombat Singhkawat, Sutat o Bowman - - Singapore's Paul Lim - -Sweden's Stefan Lord - - Japan's Oguma and Wattana - - Lady champions, Yow Marsden (Thai) and Japan's Yoko Koyama.
 

 

                   
   NEW FORUM CATEGORY  - DT now has "Contact Darters From Yesteryear" category added on our  forum. Lost contact with someone you knew from darts here years ago? Post a message and maybe they or someone they know will see your message and make contact.  

 

GUESS  WHO  THE  DART  PLAYER  IS ?

  
  NEW  PHOTO NOW ON FORUM  Guess the dart player. Can't be all too difficult to identify a darts player that you know from their photo - can it?  Hmm, how about if that photo is a "few" years old. Look for a new category on our forum "Guess The Dart Player".

The first go at this proved to be a great hit at at the Christmas Knockout. A lot of people especially the girls that don't use internet had a great time with the guess the darter photos that we had printed for the night. Groups in discussion closely studying the photo and scanning the Moonshine Pub trying to identify the darter from his older photos. With this in mind we will try and release the online version in conjunction with a darts event so all will have a chance to participate.

Only photos posted by KaptainX (KaptainX) will be actual photos of darters that you know. I can only guess how many erroneous photos Jayke will be posting. If you are one of the regulars - full time or regular visitor -  basically any darter known by our Bangkok darts community please email us your old photo and any hints you may want to give. - -  Johnny		  
  .KaptainX@dartsthailand.com johnny@dartsthailand.com  

THAILAND  DARTS  PROMOTER  /  PLAYER  PASSES  AWAY

 

Kenneth  C  Ywin  Jr   Veteran  Journalist  Dies - 06 March 2009

  
  .
THE NATION NEWSPAPER  Veteran journalist Kenneth C Ywin Jr passed away yesterday in Sukhumvit Hospital after complications resulting from kidney failure and diabetes. He was 62 years old. He is survived by his daughter, Boomboom; sisters Jennifer Beatson and Patricia Curney and brothers Geoffrey and Michael.
.
Kenneth started working at The Nation in 1971 as a proof-reader and later became a sub-editor and writer, the last of which positions he loved the most. In an article written for The Nation's special 25th-anniversary publication, he said: "I was a proof-reader in my early 20s and eager to become a famous writer." He worked with many great editors in the 1970s and moved with The Nation from the Talat Noi offices to the present Nation Tower complex on Bang Na-Trat Road. As he put it, "In the last 25 years, we have moved seven times, and there have been six coups d'้tat."
.
Kenneth's colourful movie reviews and feature stories gained a lot of fans, and he can be considered someone who helped promote the Thai film industry in recent decades. Apart from his devotion to writing, he gave his time to working for the Bangkok Darts League, where his last position was president. He helped organise tournaments and wrote a weekly column on darts for both English-language newspapers. Friends were things that Kenneth never lacked, and his circle was diverse, including former world darts champion John Lowe, film-maker Bhandit Rittakol and many business executives.		  
  Darts Thailand - Darts SuppliersFAQ - Where can I buy boards, darts and dart supplies? We have a page listing all known suppliers and some on-line darts suppliers. We only list on-line companies that our players actually use. If we've missed you and you sell darts supplies - contact us and we will add you to our list.  

Darts Thailand - Johnny "The Big Witkowski"

 EDITOR'S  NOTE

Just barely getting this issue out before the end of the month. Articles submitted late and then I experienced some technical difficulties with my email account. As Thailand continues to block unwanted websites their filters affect some perfectly innocent ones - such as Yahoo Email. I've learned that it was not just my computer or apartment building but a common problem throughout the country. Not being able to get at articles in my email delayed this issue even further. In the future please use my DT email account listed below.

If you're a darter traveling to Thailand by all means pack your darts. New to Thailand? Contact us and we'll point you in the direction of the nearest darts bar. Traveling in a group and want an impromptu darts match - no problem

-  - Johnny "The Big Witkowski"

 johnny@dartsthailand.com

     
 

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