A BUILDER in Holsworthy has ‘hit the bullseye’ with his first published book.

Robert Field is celebrating the launch of ‘501’, his first published novel, which is set in the fictitious ‘George Inn’, a pub that could be situated in any town or city in the country,

501 explores what lies beneath the camaraderie of pub life and follows the life stories of the ladies’ darts team, ‘Six of the Best’.

The book weaves the narratives of Katy, Irish, Maggie, Lena, Scottie Dog and Pegs, who are all reaching a crux in their lives and the darts team is a constant they can rely on. The book tackles all manner of subjects including affairs, broken marriages, incest and sexual assault.

Mr Field was born into a large Catholic family in the Midlands in the late forties and his father, a war veteran, took agricultural work to provide housing — in the tied-cottage system — for the family. This way of life involved constant moves across the country that were mainly instigated by Mr Field’s mother who, because of her traveller roots, found it difficult to settle for any length of time.

The family were frequently on the breadline and at 15-years-old, and despite being an A student, Mr Field left school in order to relieve the financial pressure on his family. After working at various jobs he trained and qualified as a builder and, over the years, he has employed those skills in the UK and in Europe. Now happily married with three children, and four others by previous relationships, Mr Field still struggles with the restlessness instilled in him by his early life.

Mr Field originally wrote 501 as a six part TV series. He has a further back catalogue of four books under consideration by one of London’s top publishing houses.

Mr Field said: “High television ratings, £250,000 jackpots, thriving leagues and royal fans such as Prince Harry means darts is finally being taken seriously as a sport but it’s so much more that that to the people who play together in league and area teams.

“It’s community, it’s contact, it’s familiarity, it’s banter — but how well do you ever really know the people you play and practice with week in and out? This was my inspiration for 501.”