Saving Grace

As part of our ongoing series of blogs from throughout the business, we’ll continue to bring you stories from colleagues who are doing their bit right across the operation, on how things have changed during the current crisis.

Today, we hear from Mortlake postman and darts extraordinaire, Dave Parletti, who along with Chelmsford postwoman Deta Hedman, was selected to play for England just as the pandemic arrived in the UK.

‘Unfortunately, the whole tour and my chance to play for England was cancelled,’ said Dave. ‘Naturally, I was gutted. I was so keen to play for my country again as this was my first opportunity to represent England in five years.

‘Since the lockdown began in March, my life as a professional darts player has been very different compared to last year, when I was taking part in the British Darts Organisation (BDO) tour and travelling around Europe most weekends.

‘Although I’ve not been able to leave home outside of work, I’m practising every day and I’ve also been playing in a few online competitions, which has been great fun. I got selected to take part in a darts live stream, which was amazing as I got to play with some of the best non-professionals in the field. At one point, they were the only live sport in the world!

‘Obviously the Covid-19 situation has been a very anxious time and like everyone else, I’ve been trying to keep my family safe by making sure I follow the guidelines as much as I possibly can, wearing PPE and showering as soon as I finish my day at work. My customers are very thankful for the work we’re all doing and have been taking the time to praise me. I’m lucky in that I have a close relationship with my customers as I’ve served many of them for 16 years now. Making them feel safe is very important to me.

‘I feel very grateful for the extra time this crisis has given me with my children, Grace and Louis, as this is one area that I really feel I missed out on while traveling so much with the BDO. I am hopeful that once the world returns to normal, I’ll be able to participate back in the Tour. But for now, the only “checkout” I’m taking out is leaving my office!’

Make sure you don’t miss out on any of the action by following Dave on Twitter: @parletti180.