DIARY UPDATE: Week 36, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 36 2020 MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 7 Instead of flying back into Brisbane today, following a six-week European adventure, my wife, Marie and I […]
Tag Archives: Marie ricketts
BREWING UP A STORM IN BLENHEIM
TRAVEL Think Marlborough in New Zealand, and wine is the first thing that comes to mind, most probably the ubiquitous sauvignon blanc. But the region, on the top of the […]
PAYING OUR RESPECTS IN FRANCE
TRAVEL 1998 When Rod Jennings found the grave of his uncle, killed in the trench warfare of World War 1, it was hard not to become emotional, as the former […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 35, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 35 2020 MONDAY, AUGUST 31 Former NRL referee, Tim Mander is electioneering at Airlie Beach Yacht Club, as Marie and I stop […]
MOTUEKA MEMORIES
TRAVEL Friday night, in any country town in Australia and New Zealand back in the 1960s and ’70s, was a time to dress up and impress, and perhaps do a […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 33, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 33 2020 MONDAY, AUGUST 17 My former ‘Telegraph’ and ‘Courier-Mail’ newspaper colleague Mark Oberhardt retires from mainstream journalism after an eternity in […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 32, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 32 2020 MONDAY AUGUST 10 Leeds’ rugby league coach, Richard Agar is worried the new rules will lead to a touch-and-pass type […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 31, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 31 2020 MONDAY, AUGUST 3 My beautiful, patient, largely understanding wife, Marie (nee Donnelly) turns 70. We enjoy a lovely night at […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 28, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 28 2020 TUESDAY, JULY 14 Legendary sports sponsor, Ron McConnell is feted at a lunch at Brisbane’s Pineapple Hotel, with most of […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 29, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 29 2020 MONDAY, JULY 20 North Queensland Cowboys’ coach, Paul Green, stands down from his post, effective immediately, with Josh Hannay to […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 30, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 30 2020 MONDAY, JULY 27 The Courier-Mail’s chief sports writer, Robert Craddock speculates on whether the Broncos will drop young forward, Andrew […]
ROOSTERS CROW AGAIN
TRAVEL “What a great spectacle,” commented a young Irish chap, as my wife, Marie and I made our way back to our Coogee Bay hotel, after the 2013 NRL grand […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 27, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 27 2020 MONDAY, JULY 6 Former Brisbane Souths’ rugby league forward, Eric Pappas doesn’t like the new look rugby league. “It is […]
THE HOME OF JOGGING
TRAVEL “Is there a Lion on the Loose?’ English cricket commentator, David Lloyd was heard to say, as he walked around Wellington’s impressive harbour, a few years back, his comment […]
PROUD EMMYLOU ON THE MURRAY
TRAVEL SONNY Bill Williams’ signing by the Roosters made headlines in areas where the two rugby codes are popular, but the news hardly even rated a mention in Echuca, Victoria, […]
RUGBY LEAGUE IN THE GIRONDE
TRAVEL Agricultural studies and rugby league were strange bedfellows at La Reole, in the Gironde-Aquitaine region of France, when my wife, Marie and I visited the riverside town in October, […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 24, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 24 2020 MONDAY, JUNE 15 It is disappointing to see the small amount of space which ‘The Courier-Mail’ devotes to the passing […]
FLASHBACK: November, 1975
FLASHBACK NOVEMBER 1975 Wales finished the 1975 Rugby League World Series with a flourish, defeating New Zealand and France within six days. The 25-24 win over the Kiwis, at the […]
DIARY UPDATE: Week 23, 2020
DIARY OF A RETIRED RUGBY LEAGUE WRITER WEEK 23 2020 MONDAY, JUNE 8 The Japanese flag flies from a house at up-market Ascot, here in Brisbane, as my wife, Marie […]
RIVER CRUISING AND FRENCH DRIVING
TRAVEL 2019 Recently – well, not that recently – a mate asked how many times I had been to Britain and/or Europe, and when I answered ’20’, he said I […]
