Top Gun Duzza’s pride for RAF niece
By Phil Lanning
GLEN DURRANT might be the current Unibet Premier League Top Gun but he’s even prouder of his high-flying RAF niece.
The Boro battler begins the defence of his crown on Easter Monday against Nathan Aspinall, who he beat in last year’s final in Milton Keynes.
But Duzza, 50, admits that his family have even more pride in young mum-of-three Zara who is currently based out in the Falklands.
Plucky Zara, pictured below, is a RAF logistics mover and held a darts event on the islands and was even seen recently on a beach surrounded by penguins – joking that they are the latest fans to be p-p-p-p-picked-up by Durrant.
He revealed: “I am very proud of what she is doing. She had a big Ally Pally night out last week. That went down really well.
“She loves her darts and will often send me a message. It looked a great night, everyone was singing and shouting. Darts MC John McDonald sent a message. They had a fantastic night.
“She has been dealing with penguins, I thought that was hilarious, the videos are brilliant. There were a few jokes about them being my latest fans.
“She is passing through but it’s months rather than days and weeks. The whole family are very proud. She is from that old cliché, that old council estate in Grangetown, Middlesbrough and we are very proud of people that go on and do really well for themselves.
“She has made a massive commitment, she has three children. She is doing absolutely brilliant. They are with the father. That is how tough it is. Thank God for technology like Zoom and FaceTime.
“It must have been a really tough decision when you sign up for your country, you will have to make tough decisions.
“I know she was living in Cyprus for a bit, the kids were living out there and had a fantastic experience living out there. Her next placement was the Falklands and the decision was for the father to look after the children. She is home quite soon.
“My brother Bob (Robert) is a major in the army as well. She is not the only one in the family. Zara was doing whatever was she doing and made the brave decision to into the forces and I must admit I follow her career just as much as she follows mine.
“It puts things into perspective. Why do I beat myself if I have hit a big five? Why do I beat myself when I have family members who are being furloughed, family members out in the Falklands, not seeing the kids? That’s a winners’ mentality sometimes, you can be so focused on your whole sport and whole life. Sometimes you need reminding there are bigger fish out there.
“Zara is big on Twitter. I haven’t seen her for a while, I hardly see any of the family right now. I do speak with Zara, she is in the top three of my supporters. The whole family are proud of her.”
Main image by Taylor Lanning.