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The History Behind The Game...
Dear Mr. Bristow,
In reply to your enquiry let me tell you about Outdoor
Darts.
About five years ago, I was persuaded to attend a
church fete at one of our local churches. The weather
was certainly not "church fete" weather. It was windy
with torrential rain. It was here that I first saw a
set of Outdoor Darts.
The gentleman trying desperately to raise money for
his church called them Lawn Darts. "Have a go!" he
said, "Four darts for 30p." He indicated for me to
throw them towards a target in the grass some yards
away.
I had a go. I got nowhere near to the target. I had
another go, and then, another. I was hooked.
I enquired about where I could obtain a set of these
darts. "No idea," was the reply. "I bought them for my
children in the 1960’s. They've been in the loft for
years!"
I took details of the manufacturer from the battered
box. Enquiries revealed that they had ceased to make
them some twenty years previously. I searched the
length and breadth of the country, advertised in
newspapers, all to no avail. I became very friendly
with the gentleman who owned the Outdoor Darts and he
allowed me to borrow them on numerous occasions.
When we held our Games Evening to raise money for our
own church, we had all the games you could think of.
Skittles, Croquet, Bowls, Golf games, French Boules,
Tennis balls into a Bucket, Marbles into a Goldfish
Bowl, Wellie Wanging, and many more. But the game that
everyone wanted to play was Outdoor Darts.
The competitiveness was infectious. Once you had a go,
you were back for more. I was constantly asked where I
got the darts from and could I get anymore. Visitors
to our house all wanted to play with the Outdoor
Darts. Our lawn is extremely well aerated.
One weekend, I visited one of my brothers at his
caravan, with his family. Other people joined us. We
played for about two hours.
"I’ll have a set of those," my brother said. "They
will save me a fortune. This is the longest that the
Kids have been away from the camp shop!"
It was decided, with the help of another brother (who
also can’t leave the darts alone) and a family friend
(who fortunately happens to be an Engineer) that we
would design and manufacture our own Outdoor Darts.
During my research, I came across various missiles
masquerading under the name of "Lawn Darts", made by
different manufacturers. None of which, to my
knowledge, are still operating. Some of these missiles
were either larger versions of darts usually thrown at
a dart board in a public house, or something that
resembled, "a six inch nail with a bit of a flight on
the end." Something very similar to this had actually
been banned in the United States of America.
The Outdoor Dart that I first saw, and which excited
me the most was the best foundation to base a new
design. However, that dart was made all in one piece,
and the wear and tear on the flight was considerable.
We set about designing a plastic flight using a
material that would be very hard wearing, and could,
if it did sustain damage, be replaced. After much
research and consideration, we decided the best option
was a flight made from recycled polypropylene,
incorporating a screw-in thread. Should the flight
ever become damaged at any time in the future, it
could be easily replaced, without the need to replace
the whole dart. Also, the weighted body could be
replaced with new designs for use on different
surfaces such as sand at the beach, Velcro for playing
the darts indoors, etc.
We designed the body out of brass for its ease of
machining, weight, corrosion resistance and good
looks. The Spigot is made out of stainless steel, for
its corrosion resistance, toughness, and again, good
looks.
Our Engineering friend had been a manufacturer in
Staffordshire for the last twenty years and persuaded
us to promote British manufacturing. I am delighted to
say that every component that goes into making up our
new Outdoor Darts is not only "Made in England" but
Made in Staffordshire, of which we are very proud.
Regards,
Cliff Dyer
Sales Director
Outdoor Darts Ltd
www.gardengamesuk.com |
