WIDE-OPEN PEOPLE IN A WIDE, OPEN COUNTRY
TRAVEL Dave Hadfield, one of England’s finest sports writers, was keen to explore the Australian ‘bush’, after covering the 2008 Rugby League Centenary World Cup ‘down under’, and the Four […]
Category Archives: Travel
RELATED TO A SWASHBUCKLER
TRAVEL ‘Errol Flynn Reserve’ was always going to be part of a walking tour of Hobart, Tasmania for my wife, Marie and I, given she is a distant relation of […]
BRITAIN TO BRITTANY TO GERMANY
TRAVEL Recently, a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20’, he said I should write a book. I’m not in […]
THE FIGHT FOR LIBERATION
TRAVEL A 2011 Rugby Union World Cup match between France and Wales was being played, but you wouldn’t have known it, as the people of Villeneuve-sur-Lot went about their daily […]
THIS WAS NO COMMON RIDING
TRAVEL Recently, a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20, he said I should write a book. I’m not in […]
A WEDDING IN THE PARK
TRAVEL Recently, a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20’, he said I should write a book. I’m not in […]
WHAT A LOAD OF TRIPE
TRAVEL Roanne was once a power house in rugby league, with the funds to buy rugby union superstars, such as Jean Barthe and Aldo Quaglio, both regarded as the best […]
WHITE CHRISTMAS IN TIPPERARY
TRAVEL Recently, a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20’, he said I should write a book. I’m not in […]
PREACHING RUGBY TREIZE IN PARIS
TRAVEL The cable TV channel in our Paris hotel advertised a France v Scotland rugby match. To fill in time, I stuck with the channel, and then to my delight, […]
NO FAIRY TALE END TO TOURNAMENT
TRAVEL Port Fairy in Victoria will never be associated with rugby league. But, when I hear any reference to the pretty seaside village, I immediately reflect on November 26, 2005, […]
ROME TO LONDON VIA TIPPERARY
TRAVEL Recently, a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20’, he said I should write a book. I’m not in […]
WILL BRITAIN’S PUBS SURVIVE CORONAVIRUS?
TRAVEL Some reports predict 30,000 pubs and restaurants in the UK, may not re-open at all, even if things return to ‘normal’. Before ‘the virus’, many pubs were closing, despite […]
GIVE ME MAD MONDAY, NOT MADMEN
TRAVEL The London bombings of July 7, 2005 sent shock waves through the Ricketts’ household at Tedman Street, Zillmere in Brisbane, given our two eldest children, Melanie and Damien lived […]
BLACKBALL – STAUNCHLY LABOR AND LEAGUE
TRAVEL The Paparoa Ranges near Blackball, on the West Coast of New Zealand’s South Island, provide any number of beautiful walks, including the country’s latest ‘Great Walk’. But, back in […]
IN LONDON WITH THE KANGAROOS
TRAVEL ‘Big Willie’ Mason was polite, as he declined my request for an interview, at London’s Heathrow Airport. “‘Sorry Steve. ‘Wayne’ has put me on a media ban,” he said. […]
QUEENSLAND’S GERMAN CONNECTIONS
TRAVEL The Cafe/Bar on Wittenbergplatz seemed a logical place for a drink and a spot of people watching in Berlin, in the autumn of 2002. First of all, it was […]
TRI-NATIONS TOUR WITH WAYNE BENNETT
TRAVEL Recently, a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20’, he said I should write a book. I’m not in […]
STOP LAUGHING. THIS IS SERIOUS
TRAVEL As the strippers did their thing in the Arncliffe pub in Sydney, there was an announcement from the Catholic priest next door, asking for a ute to be moved […]
2002 MY LAST SUPPORTERS’ TOUR
Recently a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20’, he said I should write a book. I’m not in the […]
TREATED LIKE VIPS IN FRANCE
TRAVEL Louis Bonnery was National Technical Director of the French Rugby League and coach of the National Universities Rugby League side when my Kangaroo Supporters’ Tour group arrived in his […]
