A SOFTER VERSION OF AUSSIE RULES
We met Joe Duffy and his young son, Gary in the Hogan Stand at Dublin’s Croke Park, one clear autumn afternoon in 1977. The occasion was a Gaelic Football match […]
Category Archives: Travel
MEMORIES OF ‘CHANG’ IN LYON
TRAVEL The first time I knew of the French city of Lyon was November 11, 1972 when Australia and Great Britain met in the final of the rugby league World […]
IT’S NOT THAT BAD, LADS (AND LASSES)
TRAVEL A week in Leeds! The 44 people who had signed up for my 1994 Kangaroo rugby league supporters’ tour were horrified, when I first raised the prospect. ‘Leeds? It’s […]
A GRAND PUB CRAWL
TRAVEL “It sounds like a glorified pub crawl to me,” said my mate, Andrew Varley as I contemplated the 234km Grand Union Canal, tow path walk in England – from […]
LIKE A LAMB TO THE SLAUGHTER
TRAVEL VALENTINE LAMB looked me in the eye and said: “I can probably spare time for one Guinness. I have a paper to get out”. Val was editor of the […]
SPA TOWN TO A SPANKING
TRAVEL CELEBRATED spa town, Harrogate one night; former coal mining borough, Leigh in Greater Manchester the next. Such is the lot of rugby league writer based in northern England. It […]
NOT SO MERRY IN DERRY
TRAVEL “Please don’t sneeze, mate,” I said to myself, as the young British soldier pointed his revolver at my head. It was Derry (or Londonderry, depending on your preference), November […]
WHAT MIGHT HAVE BEEN
TRAVEL Noted sports trainer, Jack Hartigan was keen to prepare Jon Ricketts for the 1949 Stawell Gift. Now, I should point out that Jack was my uncle, and Jon my […]
SACRE ‘BLUE’ IN BORDEAUX
Travel Twice my waiter asked if I really wanted my steak blue. It was Bordeaux, October 2011, and the reputation of Australians/Kiwis/Englanders had preceded me. Most, it seemed, liked their […]
LET’S GO TO PUB, LUV
Travel “What could be more romantic?”, I said to my wife, Marie, as she contemplated a wedding anniversary lunch with me; a fellow rugby league writer; a rugby league fan/war […]
IS IT RICKETY GATE OR RICKETY KATE?
Travel My wife’s maiden name is Donnelly, so it seemed only right that we should visit the Donnelly River region during our motoring trip around South West Australia in January, […]
A LOT TO LIKE ABOUT THIS TOWN
Villeneuve-sur-Lot is a town synonymous with prunes and rugby league, not necessarily in that order. It has been a home away from home for my wife, Marie and I on […]
DON’T SKIP THIS ISLAND
DON’T SKIP THIS ISLAND Kangaroo Island – surely one or two nights would be enough. How wrong my wife, Marie and I were, when in November, 2005, we booked in […]
THE TRACKS OF MY YEARS
TRAVEL The Milford Track walk was magnificent, but there is an Australian walking destination, which I prefer. At the risk of receiving derisive messages from my Kiwi friends, let me […]
KANGAROOS ON TOUR UNDER BENNETT
TRAVEL Phil ‘Gus’ Gould had a heart scare and Tonie Carroll was called a traitor. What a start it was to my 2004 Tri-Nations Test rugby league campaign, as a […]
MAD BUTCHER, GREAT MATE
The ‘Mad Butcher’ Sir Peter Leitch, is one of my favorite people, not just because of his great work for rugby league, but also because of his generous, outgoing, and […]
DANISH LADS ON SONG
What could go wrong? The singing from the cellar bar in down town Copenhagen, Denmark, sounded like a bunch of footy fans enjoying a few beers before a match. So […]
RUGBY LEAGUE VIOLENCE AT TWICKENHAM
Testicle grabbing and hand stomping. It was all part of the England v Australia World Cup rugby league match at London’s Twickenham Stadium on October 28, 2000. It was the […]
AND STILL THEY COME!
People watching can be the best form of entertainment, and it’s often free. Rarely have I enjoyed a night of people watching more than an unexpected bonanza in a bar/tabac […]
IT’S THE THOUGHT THAT COUNTS
Rocket fuel! That best described the liqueur I shouted 43 fellow Australians (and one Welshman), in a posh Strasbourg restaurant, one October night in 1994. My intentions were good. My […]
