When we arrived at Cooktown it was another hot sunny day and I walked to the end of the jetty.  The sea was a brilliant blue.  About 20 yards out to sea, two large silver fish called Trevelly leaped out of the water, closely followed by a chasing porpoise.  The scene started to attract a small crowd and as the fish leaped into the air a sea eagle also gave chase, swooping down, trying to catch the fish.  At one moment, all four were in the air at the same time - two fish, one porpoise and one sea eagle.  It was one of those magical moments in nature.  None of the onlookers had a camera and perhaps it was meant to be that it should not be filmed but remain a remarkable memory.

I decided to stay in Cooktown for a day or two and left my companions to drive the hired jeep back to Port Douglas.  I found a bed at the Cooktown youth hostel and the next day I visited the Captain Cook museum.  Cooktown was originally established in 1873 as a port for the Palmer River gold fields.  It was named after Captain James Cook who repaired his boat there in 1770.  During the gold rush, Cooktown had a population of 60,000 people and boasted 94 hotels.  Today it is a pleasantly quiet town.  In the evening I fished of the jetty and caught a small Trevelly that I took back to the hostel and fried in butter for my tea - delicious.

The following evening I, along with a couple of other pommie tourists ventured into the local pub.  I’m not sure how it happened but the evening gradually turned into an international competition - England versus Australia.  The games?  Pool and darts.  First up was the pool.  We (the poms) were slaughtered.  I don’t think we won a single game.  Then it was time to try our hand at darts.  I had played a bit of darts on the back of my bedroom door but I wouldn’t call myself a darts player.  However, this night I could do no wrong.  We were playing the standard 501 where each player takes their score from 501.  The winner is the first player to reach zero by ending on a double.  I’m not sure if it was the Aussie lager or the weight of the darts but I played like I have never played before.  I soon worked my way through every darts player in the pub.  Finally the crowd started to get edgy.  Surely they couldn’t let this pommie beat them?
"Wait ‘til Jimmy finishes behind the bar," they jeered.

Jimmy was the barman and the best darts player in the area.  He could beat anyone.  I nervously sipped my lager.  I was going to have to play him.  After last orders had been taken and the last drinks had been poured, the owner locked the door of the pub and the crowd surrounded the darts board.  I took my darts and waited.  Jimmy emerged.  He wore a black sleeveless shirt, the type worn by professional darts players.  He didn’t say a word as the crowds parted like the Red Sea to let him through.  He was about six-foot three inches tall and nearly as wide.  He pulled from his pocket a box and removed a set of custom-made darts.  I felt like David as Goliath drew his sword.  Without a word he nodded and we each threw a dart nearest the bull’s-eye to see who would start.  It was to play first.  The crowds pressed in on each side and for the next few minutes time stood still.  It was me playing for England, the empire, hope-and-glory.  With my first three darts I scored 140; two treble twenties and a single twenty.  I don’t think I had ever scored 140 in my life!  The match lasted only a few rounds.  I didn’t score less than 100 on each turn and finished the game off with a direct dart straight into the required double.  I couldn’t believe it.  The crowd couldn’t believe it.  Jimmy couldn't believe it.  He stared at me, quietly put his darts back in his box and left the pub.  I exploded.  David had beaten Goliath.  My companions cheered and people clapped me on the back.  No one would believe that I was not a professional darts player however much I protested my innocence.  Of course, the next time I played darts I could barely hit the board.

To this day I cannot explain the happenings in that pub.  Even Moulder and Scully would have a difficult time explaining it and I half expect to see myself on an episode of the X-files.  However, in life we all have to face tough adversaries.  Sometimes they will be people, but often they will be more subtle but no less deadly - illness, bereavement, the pain caused by broken relationships with friends or family, loneliness – the list goes on.  One of the most remarkable things about the God of Jesus is that He knows what it is to suffer.  We have a suffering God.  Now I don’t know why there is so much pain and difficulty in the world, but I do know that God understands and promises to be there with us.  With God on our side, we will get through – we will win - no matter what the outcome.

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