It’s been a whirlwind nine days for Alan Soutar since making his PDC World Darts Championship debut at Alexandra Palace.
Soutar jetted back from London to do a 30-hour stint across Christmas Eve and Christmas Day as a Dundee firefighter.
That came less than 24 hours after earning a £25,000 cheque for beating Mensur Suljovic in round two at Ally Pally.
Now the Arbroath ace is back in London, preparing to face Jose de Sousa in the last 32 on Wednesday.
𝐔𝐍𝐁𝐄𝐋𝐈𝐄𝐕𝐀𝐁𝐋𝐄! 🤯
Alan Soutar completes a stunning comeback with a magical 144 finish 💥
'Soots' survives EIGHT match darts as he recovers from 2-0 down to stun Mensur Suljovic 👏👏
📺 Sky Sports Darts
📱 Live blog: https://t.co/BakjvNVQgm
#️⃣ #LoveTheDarts pic.twitter.com/8RM5Br9A19— Sky Sports Darts (@SkySportsDarts) December 23, 2021
Courier Sport will be with him as he dares to dream about lifting the Sid Waddell Trophy on January 3.
No matter what, it will be an adventure.
And Alan “Soots” Soutar, in his own words, has completed his Ally Pally diary below:
Christmas Eve
6am – It’s less than 24 hours since I beat Mensur Suljovic and I’m up with my partner Amanda and step son Logan on an Uber to London Luton.
I need to get home quickly via Edinburgh to start my 14-hour shift at Dundee Kingsway East Fire Station.
2pm: We arrived back home to two very excited dogs – Disco and Tasha.
Our friends Allan and Leza Begg looked after them for us while we were in London.
We FaceTimed our dogs but nothing beats seeing them for real.
3.40pm – My accountant calls. I now need to register as a limited company for tax purposes. It’s an unexpected welcome bonus from doing well at darts.
4.40pm – I’ve got 25 minutes before my colleague Jamie Dean picks me up to start my shift. It’s just enough time to do a quick live BBC Radio Scotland interview before heading to Dundee.
5.30pm – My green watch team are set to start the shift after a bit of Ally Pally banter from amber watch.
My team haven’t forgotten about my WhatsApp promise to buy cakes or a curry, so I’m on takeaway duty for the ten people on my shift.
Before that arrives, I ask my colleagues who fancies a Twitter selfie.
Back to the real world 🚒🚨😭 @Big5SportsMana1 @MissionDarts @jambodean pic.twitter.com/kQFnB3ZFIs
— Alan Soutar (@soots180) December 24, 2021
My social media has gone mental since beating Mensur. I was trending at number one in the UK on Twitter after the game.
Almost 5,000 people like the photo of me with four brave colleagues.
Thankfully, there were no major fires on our watch so the shift passed without incident.
Christmas Day
8am – I’m home for a quick bacon roll before taking Tasha and Disco out for a walk with Amanda.
10.30am – I’ve had a call from the PDC PR Dave Allen. Sky Sports News want a Christmas Day interview with me so it’s back to my darts room to chat with presenter Tom White.
It’s normally only the Queen who addresses the nation at Christmas but I’ll take it!
I thought Fanboy G was maxed out but I lied! Merry Christmas! pic.twitter.com/x78KbiphIE
— G (@Ggersok) December 25, 2021
Tom turns the conversation to Arbroath FC. I’m happy to chat about the Championship leaders!
The support from the club has been phenomenal. They are doing our town proud on the park but are also lovely people.
Michael McKenna has been sensational but said on Twitter my 144 finish against Mensur was ‘different gravy.’
I also do an interview with Arbroath TV.
That’s the lads passing it back to me then 🎯………….Great Result again 🇱🇻 My turn Wednesday @Mikey_211991 @dgaston_1 😜🏴 pic.twitter.com/QGpMJV3aNm
— Alan Soutar (@soots180) December 26, 2021
6pm – It’s the start of a 16-hour Christmas Day nightshift.
I’ve been on the Sky Sports News loop all day in the fire station. I’ve had messages from firefighters all over the country.
Some have offered to cover my shifts for me to get back to Ally Pally!
Thankfully I have a brilliant team and very understanding boss.
10pm – We’ve had a few call outs but this is a three-pump house fire in Monifieth. We are called to confirm it’s a live fire.
Our senses are heightened. We immediately switch into a different mode. We start a briefing and everyone is ready to go into action.
There is quite a lot of smoke damage to a flat and adjoining corridors. But our swift intervention prevents it from spreading further. Thankfully there are no casualties.
12.30am – We arrive back at the station and have a lot of work to do to get the fire engine ‘call-out ready’ again.
After a fire you are full of adrenaline and it takes a while to calm down. It’s a job I’ve done for 17 years but one I rarely discuss the details of with Amanda.
Boxing Day
9.45am – Just 15 minutes before the end of my shift we have another call out. This time it’s a false alarm as we head out to check an NHS unit.
I finish late, at around 11 but don’t mind. We have to treat every call out seriously.
11.30 am – I’m on cooking duty to get a steak pie dinner sorted at home. It’s a chance to relax in the house.
I’ve spent less than 24 hours at home since getting back from London – just four hours sleep in my own bed.
December 27th
🗣 Alan Soutar immediate reaction to his stunning comeback " I was dead and buried. I felt lonely." @soots180 now has two nightshifts to get ready for and will need to call in a few favours as he's due to work @Big5SportsMana1
— Online Darts (@OfficialOLDarts) December 23, 2021
1am – I get to bed but I’m up soon to drive to Edinburgh Airport to head back to London on the 9.10am flight.
11.30am – I’m staying in a house close to Ally Pally. I get off at the Tube Station to bump into four guys dressed up in Christmas suits.
They are clearly on their way to the darts and they instantly recognise me, sing my name and ask for a selfie.
It’s mental. I’m in the middle of London and people want my picture.
6.30pm – It’s my final major darts practice session with the world number 10 Rob Cross. The standard is exceptionally high and he is in sensational form.
Rob is a brilliant guy and my practice games with him have made a huge difference. It’s time to relax and prepare to face The Special One, Jose de Sousa.
