DRUNKEN KIWI STEALS HEARTS AT WEMBLEY
It could have been an absolute disaster, but it had a happy ending. For the first and only time in my life, I sold a ticket to a scalper, outside […]
Category Archives: Travel
RING! RING! WHY DON’T YOU GIVE ME A CALL
“That’ll be the phone”, Rod Jennings said, barely able to suppress his laughter. There was a bloke, at the bar of the Swansea Rugby Union Social Club, who could perfectly […]
TOO LOOSE A TREK
It was the trip from hell, one which could have seen an entire Queensland sports team wiped out. It was 1989, and the Queensland Residents’ rugby league side was touring […]
KERRI-ANNE SHOWED THE WAY
My late sister, Kerri-Anne was the pioneer overseas adventurer in our family, and I owe her a lot. Her tales from Britain and Europe helped plant the seeds of travel […]
COMING THE RAW PRAWN AT WEYMOUTH
“A pint of real ale, please”. “Would you like a pint of prawns with that?” the barman at the Kings Arms Pub on the quayside at Weymouth in County Dorset, […]
THE LUCK OF THE IRISH
It was my lucky day. A pint of beer for a penny! My wife, Marie and I walked into the ‘Hooded Cloak’ pub in Macroom, Ireland, intent on one or […]
Dash it all
Whenever I see a dachshund, and they are back in fashion, the nightmares return. It was 1972, and I had arrived at my uncle, Bill Ricketts’ Kingaroy residence to stay […]
QUEENSLAND COUNTRY HOSPITALITY
By Steve Ricketts My father, Jon Ricketts had spoken often about the delights of “Yellow Belly”, or Golden Perch, a fresh water fish caught in western Queensland streams. He had […]
THERE’S NO SUCH THING AS AN OFF-SEASON
The last thing Australian rugby league captain, Cameron Smith wanted on Melbourne Cup day, 2012, was to be bothered by a league journo. But he tolerated my request for a […]
ROYAL PARKS ARE A GRAND VENUE
WHEN my wife, Marie and I lived in London in 1978, there was nothing better than to walk in Hyde Park or Kensington Gardens, the lungs of the English capital. […]
