Tag Archives: Rugby

Simmo’s Six Nations Summary – Week Two-Threeish

Posted on by
2

In the week that brought us two swallow dives, a home side not turn up and the game of the tournament so far, it’s time for my look back over the weekend’s action.

To swallow dive or not to swallow dive?

I know it looks good and provides good pictures for the following day’s newspapers but I admit that I’m not a fan of Chris Ashton’s swallow dive. I just keep thinking ahead to the forthcoming Rugby World Cup, to the knockout stages, and Ashton sprinting to the line to score the match winning try with a few minutes to spare. He goes for the swallow dive, but this time he drops the ball, he knocks it on. It’s a decision that costs England’s campaign and constant chokers, New Zealand, end up winning the Webb Ellis Trophy for the second time since 1987.

I’m not a complete killjoy, honest, I like a good celebration and Gareth Thomas’s head tapping is one that always stands out when I think of try celebrations. I’d just rather they get the ball planted over the line first and then celebrate it!

Not like this one from the former London Irish back rower Juan Manuel Leguizamon:

Swallow Dive Fail

I guess this says that any showboating should be left to the backs?

Wherefore art thou Scotland?

I was impressed with Scotland in the first weekend of the Six Nations, so what happened to them last week?

I think Christine Lester says it all in her Scotland player ratings for The Rugby Blog. It was pretty much the same personnel but a stark contrast in performance. It’s frustrating, just when I was thinking “this Scotland side can beat Wales and do it well”, then don’t.

They took another step forward against France, unfortunately they took two back on Saturday evening. Lets hope that the changes, particularly in the kicking department with Ruaridh Jackson replacing Dan Parks at fly-half and some stability in the form over 100+ cap Chris Paterson coming in at fullback will help Scotland find that form of the France game in the first weekend.

True is it that we have seen better days from Ireland…

And if the penalty count against them wasn’t so high, I’m sure they would have beaten France. I felt that Ireland played the better rugby, it’s just that France’s discipline was tight unlike Ireland’s. I’m sure Declan Kidney has been working hard on the indiscipline this week, particularly at the breakdown. Other members of the media are saying that this current Irish side are getting older and that they’re towards the end of that “golden age” that included the 2009 Grand Slam. I don’t think so, I mean look at the England side that won the 2003 Rugby World Cup, everyone said that they were too old! And they’re giving younger players a chance too, I particularly like the look of the back row forward Sean O’Brien, he seems like a good future prospect.

Let’s not write off Ireland just yet, they’re still a really good side.

And finally…
I know it’s after Valentines Day but I’d really like a Chabal Bear:

Chabal Bear

Simmo’s Six Nations Summary – Week One

Posted on by
Reply

Can’t you tell I like alliteration?

It’s finally here, after the hype, expectation and some of the early mind games *cough* Warren Gatland *cough* the Six Nations started last Friday in Cardiff, starting with a bang.

Who would have expected before this weekend for England to have a shaky but positive start against Wales, for Ireland to scrape a win away in Rome and for France vs Scotland to be the best game of the weekend in terms of entertainment value.

“Tripgate”: Part Two
Once again in an England v Wales match there have been issues over a trip. Last year it was Alun Wyn Jones, this year it’s Jonathan Davies on Chris Ashton. Unlike AWJ, Davies was not sinbinned for it as referee, Alain Rolland, did not spot it, nor was he cited later on. Lucky boy! Other than that I felt that Davies did have a good game on Friday night, but I was more impressed with James Hook and hope he is given a chance at fly-half against Scotland on Saturday. When he moved to fly-half later on in the game he did inject a bit more pace and creativity in the backline, more so than Stephen Jones had done during the game.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CydQ3gEg8HI]

Dylan Hartley
Last time I saw Mr Hartley play he had a nightmare of a game for Northampton against the Leicester Tigers, particularly with his throwing into the line out. Last week he was also singled out for attention by Wales coach, Warren Gatland, who stated that “Kiwis have been known to crack under pressure and choke. I hope [Hartley] does so a week on Friday.” Thankfully Dylan Hartley proved his fellow countryman wrong, with excellent throwing into what was touted as being a weakened lineout due to the absences of Courtney Lawes and Tom Croft. His all round game was excellent, and if it wasn’t for the stand out performances from Toby Flood and Chris Ashton, he would have been a serious contender for man of the match.

Luck of the Irish?
They’re the silent contenders for the Six Nations, all the talk has been about France and England. Yet with both sides having to visit the new Aviva Stadium during this year’s tournament, this could play into the hands of the Irish side.

However that home advantage could have meant nothing as they came out the better of a hard fought battle against Italy in Rome on Saturday. Despite the low scoreline it was a thrilling game and the Italians played really well. Yes there were slight issues but it’s the first weekend, it’s bound to happen, but there were still positives to take from the game. The pack was dominant and I think they were happy to have captain Sergio Parisse back to bolster the back row.

Ireland were typically Ireland: strong in the lineout and breakdown while being free flowing in the backs, and it was that combination that brought about the drop goal from Ronan O’Gara in the last moments of the game to seal the victory for the men in green.

Did the Italians deserve the victory more than Ireland? No, I don’t think so, both teams battled and did that well, yet Ireland have that experience that knows how to steal victory from the jaws of defeat. The Italians should be positive though ahead of their trip to Twickenham, I just hope that they haven’t peaked too soon.

A Tale of Two Attacks and Occasionally Absent Defence
As Italy nearly beat Ireland, could Scotland win in France for the first time in ages?

The beauty and frustration of the French rugby team is that you never know which side is going to turn up. We’d seen negative France towards the end of the Autumn Internationals when they got thumped against Australia. On Saturday we saw indications of the Grand Slam winning French, but also some from November.

Scotland had come into this year’s Six Nations as world beaters, having beaten South Africa late last year, but there were issues over whether their dominance in the forwards could be complimented by try scoring backs. They did show this on Saturday in what was the most flowing of the games this weekend.

Two of the French tries, the one from Imanol Harinordoquy and the beautiful passing sequence and support play that put Damien Traille under the posts showed us what we were missing from France in the Autumn, but the defence did fall asleep at times and Scotland capitalised on that as they scored three tries of their own.

I would love to see Scotland beat Wales this coming weekend, and I think they have the team to do so, they didn’t pull off an upset against France but they didn’t not show up either. As for Ireland against France, home advantage will be a major factor but as always with this French side – who knows which one will show up?

Australia: Sydney Part Two

Posted on by
Reply

Wednesday 21st July
A wet day as Evie and I headed out to do the Sydney Cricket Ground and Sydney Football Stadium tours. As soon as we bought an umbrella the rain stopped, sod’s law or what? Still we had a nose around the food market nearby, treating ourselves to crepes.

Evie and I were the only ones on the SCG/SFS tour so we got to go to places that the usual tour groups wouldn’t go on, such as the away dressing room, where we saw the “Honours Cupboard”. It was started by Geoff Marsh who got a king pair when playing there for Western Australia but since then it’s been used to document all batting and bowling achievements by visiting sides with the player signing next to his name afterwards.

Part of the Honours Cupboard at the SCG
Part of the Honurs Cupboard. Photo by Me.

The home dressing room was good too, with our guide explaining that the windows were tinted so the players can look out but the members can’t look in. Evie showed off her cricket knowledge by pointing out the “Matthew Hayden Door” after he accidentally smashed the glass in the door with his bat when getting out playing for Australia.

There’s also a brilliant quote from Don Bradman in there which he wrote early on in his career.

Quote by Don Bradman
“If it’s difficult, I’ll do it now. If it’s impossible, I’ll do it presently”

The SCG pitch is a complete circle and is used for the Sydney Swans AFL matches during the winter and the New South Wales Blues’s games in the summer. They share ground as the cricketers played Aussie Rules Football to keep fit during the winter.

We were able to walk over to the statue of Yabba, who lives in the Victor Trumper Stand. The statues around the ground are really good, in fact the one of Richie Benaud is where he used to park his car, nice memento there!

Richie Benaud

When we walked over to the Sydney Football Stadium one of the first people we saw was Australia Rugby World Cup winning captain John Eales! I would have loved to have met him and had my photo taken with him but he was working on a corporate day with a company so we couldn’t. I was still extremely excited to have seen him though, I mean he’s a rugby legend!

That afternoon we went to Darling Harbour for lunch, going to the amazing and beautiful Chinese Gardens, where we were accompanied by a mother duck and her numerous ducklings as we ate. The thing about the Chinese Gardens is that even though it’s in the middle of a city it sounds really quiet, a bit like the canals around Brindleyplace in Birmingham.

The Chinese Gardens at Darling Harbour

Afterwards we had a wander around Paddy’s Markets and Market City before doing a loop on the monorail, which cost $4.50. We got off a stop early though as we wanted to have a look at Darling Harbour before getting the ferry back to Circular Quay, going under the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

That evening we stuck around Circular Quay as we hunted for somewhere to go and eat in The Rocks, which is one of the oldest parts of Sydney. We settled on The Australian Hotel where we each had a delicious pizza and I made Evie have a beer, she opted for the sweet tasting Beez Neez, while I had a Fat Yak, very nice.

Thursday 22nd July
Powerhouse day! Powerhouse is a museum round by Darling Harbour that specialises in art and design, very cool. They also had a special exhibit on the 1980s going on at the time, so Evie and I being 80s kids, just, we thought we’d have a look around.

One of my favourite parts was the Watt and Boulton Engine, which was originally from London. It was absolutely enormous and they’d got it working on the day we were there for the first time since February. It brought out the geek in me as not only because Watt and Boulton are Birmingham legends (Boulton was the name of one of the houses in my primary school’s house point system along with Chamberlain, Cadbury and Lucas) but also because I’d studied all about the developments in industry at the time of Watt and Boulton for my History GCSE.

We witnessed the chiming of the Strasburg Clock too, and I was amazed that the man who made it did so only from photos of the original clock.

There’s a good amount of experimental science activities such as making your own firework and working out which is the authentic lemon smell. I really enjoyed the transport and musical bits too, there’s a great collection of stuff.

We decided to do the 80s exhibit last, where I managed to beat Evie at Pacman! We both decided that it was nice to learn about the 80s retrospectively whereas a 90s exhibit would be one more of having actually experienced it. The music and TV areas were really good while we found the outfits hilarious. Towards the end there was also a section on how the 80s have influenced musical artists of now.

Friday 23rd July
Rugby day!

We took it easy in the morning, just going for brunch at City Extra on Circular Quay again. I was wearing my Leicester Tigers shirt, which got a few looks from some of the people walking past, a rugby tour from the Wirral noticed it too!

After the obligatory photos of Evie and I at the Sydney Opera House, which is such an amazing building, we walked over to the Harbour Bridge where we just chilled for a bit enjoying the view!

Me at Sydney Opera House

Later on we headed to the ANZ Stadium where we were going to watch the Bulldogs vs the Eels. It was a night of firsts: the first time I’d ever been to a rugby league match, the first time I’d seen some sport live at the ANZ and my first ever Aussie meatpie, which was delicious.

Being a union girl through and through I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the rugby league! I’d go and watch it again, definitely, but I wouldn’t actively seek it out, it’d just be an if I’m in the area where a game is being played sort of thing.

The Parramatta Eels won, which was who we were supporting, their fullback Jarryd Hayne is a brilliant player!

Saturday 24th July
Proper rugby day! Today we were going to see our first ever Shute Shield game: Sydney Uni vs Warringah.

The walk up to the university was really nice, the uni grounds are really pretty and we made our way to the ground in good time before the first grade match started. It was set to be a good match with it being 6th vs 7th and only the top 6 going through to the finals.

There were a few notable names playing for both sides, with Warringah sporting the likes of former Bath and England flanker Michael Lipman, ACT Brumbies fullback Pat McCabe and Evie’s favourite, the scrum half Josh Holmes. The home side had the likes of Julian Huxley – the former Brumbie who has successfully come back to playing at the top level after having a brain tumour, he’s also recently signed a contract with the new Super 15 side the Melbourne Rebels. Also in the line-up was Tim Davidson, who I recognised from his time playing for Leeds in the Guinness Premiership.

So much for a tight game, having got the try bonus point (which you get for scoring 4 or more tries) by half time, Sydney Uni won the game 49-12. It was a good game and fun to watch, sitting on the bank reminded me of being at Billesley Common watching Moseley play!

Sydney University Oval 1

That evening we went to see the band Kasabian play at Hordern Pavilion, which is just down the road from the SCG. Supporting them was Little Red, a band from Melbourne, who I really enjoyed. Kasabian were amazing, keeping the crowd engrossed throughout. We’d found a good spot at the front but to the side of the pit. They opened with Shoot the Runner and Underdog and closed with LSF – which the crowd kept singing as they headed out when the gig finished. It was one of those gigs that you really didn’t want to end.

Australia: Sydney Part One

Posted on by
Reply

Sunday 18th July
Having been woken at 5am on the train we eventually arrived at Sydney Central Station at 7.30 quite sleepy still! But we managed to dump our bags at our lodgings for the week: Springfield Lodge, which is between Potts Point and Kings Cross, before heading to the train station to go and explore.

We got a couple of weekly MyMulti passes which would give us unlimited travel on the buses, trains and ferries in Zones 1 and 2, which was all we needed. They were $48 each which isn’t too bad with the amount of times we were going to use it, it paid itself off very quickly over the week.

Our first stop was at Circular Quay, where the first thing you see as you get off the train is the magnificent Sydney Harbour Bridge. It looks amazing on television, it’s even better when you’re actually there! We had breakfast at the City Extra Cafe where the smoked salmon and scrambled eggs on toast seemed to wake me up just a bit! The pot of tea helped too.

The plan for the day was a quiet one, seeing as we had a long night of travelling and not very good sleep. We took the ferry over to Manly which was fun as you do get some of the best views of the harbour from it, cue many photos and everyone wanting to sit outside!

Sydney Opera House and Harbour Bridge

Manly Beach is gorgeous, it really is, and it was quite busy for a Sunday. There was an equal mix of surfers and beach dwellers, Evie and I falling into the latter category. We had a wander down the beach before looking through the craft market that they had on before lunching at Ocean Foods, which apparently is a Manly institution!

Monday 19th July
Today we went to the ANZ Stadium, or the Olympic Stadium, or the place where England won the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final. I like to refer to it as the last one, but it gets me a glare and sometimes a slap from Evie. We did the tour of the ground, accompanied by some New Zealanders and some Canadians, a very Commonwealth feel to it!

One thing that I really like about the ANZ is how adaptable the stadium is for the sports that it hosts. They can move both of the stands at the side closer in for rugby and football matches and then move them out for if the ground is hosting cricket or Aussie Rules Football, taking away and replacing the grass very easily, you’d never have thought they had moved!

The rugby posts were out so it was great to think back to certain events in November 2003, the tour guide pointed out the posts in question that Mr Wilkinson slotted that drop goal through, making me grin like the Cheshire Cat and Evie frown as she was there on that night.

The ANZ Stadium, Sydney

At pitch level they had one of the medal podiums from the 2000 Sydney Olympics so the obligatory cheesy snaps of us on the gold medal spots were taken! We also found out that the actor Russell Crowe had changing rooms made just for his NRL team the Rabbitohs, the other numerous home teams that play matches at the ANZ just have to make do with sharing the other home changing room, not at the same time though!

After the tour we decided to book tickets to see some action at the ANZ, in the form of the Canterbury Bulldogs vs the Parramatta Eels in the NRL. It would be my first ever rugby league match seen live, and not the last one on my trip!

Later that evening after a lovely meal at the Fountain Cafe we raided the English shop that we’d seen earlier for sweet treats, with me buying a can of Vimto, a bag of Quavers, some Refreshers and Bournville chocolate. Evie bought some Revels, which she had only started craving after Bill Bailey mentioned them in his gig in Brisbane!

Tuesday 20th July
We’re going to the zoo, zoo, zoo…

Yes Tuesday was all about going to the world famous Taronga Zoo, which you have to take the ferry to get to. You then have the option of going up to the top of the zoo by cable car or working your way around the zoo by foot from the bottom of it. We went for the cable car option. It cost $30 with my ISIC Card (well worth getting by the way).

We saw loads of animals (duh because it’s a zoo) including some very cute Tasmanian Devils. They’re cute but they look really strange, they were fun and playful anyway. In the night time area we played a game of “Spot the Possum” as well as there being a very inquisitive Quoll, it kept following us when we walked past its area!

Tasmanian Devil at Taronga Zoo

When seeing the Wallabies, Kangaroos and Quokkas (which are fat little marsupials) it was a very open area, so open that an Emu walked behind me which spooked me a little!

We managed to catch the end of the elephant show after lunch where we saw the legend that is Mr Shuffles, the baby Elephant at Taronga, he even has his own Twitter account which is very amusing: @mistershuffles. There’s going to be a new baby calf due in November though, very exciting!

Mr Shuffles the Elephant

A lesson on seals happened later as we went to the seal show, where the keepers and seals were informing us about the differences between a sealion and a seal as well as displaying lots of tricks and conservation information.

I loved the Meerkats and the Mountain Sheep/Goat (I can’t remember!), one of the Meerkats was sunning itself against the heater for the whole time we were watching it, while the Mountain Sheep/Goat was very inquisitive as it kept following the birds about!

Meerkat enjoying the warm!

There was also a very strange mammal that smelled of popcorn, it’s called a Bintarong.

A great day was had by both of us, we spent ages at the zoo and we kept going back to our favourite bits: the red pandas in Evie’s case and the Tassie Devils for me!

Australia: History, Sport and Toy Story 3

Posted on by
3

On Tuesday I had a history lesson, two of them in fact. First there was the history of Australia, as we went out to the National Museum of Australia, which is by the lake. It’s a pretty amazing looking building, very funky!

We had a look around all the parts of the museum, from the animals, where there was a taxidermied kangaroo and other animals like a platypus. There was an interactive map of the growth of certain animals that had been introduced to the country. The rabbit one was alarming but I’m not surprised, given the term “at it like rabbits”. We were also quizzed on what is the highest point in Australia, my friend, Evie, said it was Mount Kosciuszko but it’s actually a point called Big Ben which is on Heard Island. Every day really is a school day!

I found the history of the Aborigines the most interesting part of it, bits about their culture and their struggle for acceptance in the modern society were really eye opening, especially as it all happened relatively recently with the apology and the protests and so on. It was really emotive stuff, finding out all about it. I also had no idea that the cricketer Jason Gillespie was of Aborigine descent!

They had a display about cricket, with various bits of memerobilia, including a pair of Rod Marsh’s wicketkeeping gloves – another pair of his is at the Australian Institute of Sport, they get around! Evie and I had a giggle at the knitted egg cosies, they looked so silly!

After the museum it was time for the history of Canberra, so we went to Regatta Point. A smaller but very informative exhibit, with lots of interactive bits and bobs, it was really interesting to find out about how the location for Canberra, the city’s design and its name were decided. They had suggestions of what Canberra could have been called, ones like Empire City and New London really amused me, but the area suits being called Canberra, I reckon.

I really like how Canberra isn’t like most other cities that I’ve been to. I really like the mix of the trees and almost country-esque setting combining with what would make a stereotypical city with the big buildings and so on. Plus Lake Burley-Griffin is amazing, Evie and I are going to hire some bikes towards the end of my trip and cycle round some of it. I like how the Governmental building are organised in a triangle, it’s easy to remember!

Yesterday afternoon we went over to the Australian Institute of Sport to do the tour there. They have some stunning statues outside the building, one of a gymnast and one of a wheel chair basketball player. Both of these were at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and were then moved to Canberra. Our tour guide was a very tall volleyball player called Jasper, who was only about 20! The students at the AIS can work in the shop, on the reception and on tours to earn a bit of extra money in their time there. Previous alumni includes Glenn McGrath and John Eales.

The first part of the tour was a fun part where we were able to have a look at some memerobilia and have a go at some of the sports there. In the cricketing section there was another pair of Rod Marsh’s gloves – I told you they get around, Dennis Lillee’s aluminium bat and some Don Bradman stuff. There was also an Australia rugby union shirt signed by the 2007 World Cup squad – cue a bit of teasing from me on how well Australia did at that tournament…

Evie and I had a go at an interactive throwing the cricket ball at the stumps – I was useless, Evie wasn’t: the cycling – which I was good at, and the basketball/wheelchair basketball – I was useless, Evie wasn’t. The basketball proved why I always play in defence!

The rest of the tour was good, from the gymnastics hall being split in half – the guys on the right hand side, the girls on the left. The gym was HUGE and really warm, while the swimming pools were just completely state of the art, way better than what we have back at home! No wonder the Aussies are so good at the Olympics…

Evie and I decided to brunch this morning. We went to Kingston Grind, which is apparently really tough to get a table at and their coffee has had good reviews (not that I’d be drinking it as I can’t stand the stuff). We each had a big breakfast: sausage, Turkish bread toasted (we don’t have this back in England but it’s very nice), bacon, tomato, mushroom and eggs. It was so filling but I did miss having baked beans and brown sauce with it – you really can’t take the girl out of England! Oh and instead of coffee I had a lovely chocolate milkshake.

After brunch we got the bus into Civic where I had to cash some Traveler’s Cheques ahead of our trip which takes in Townsville, Brisbane, Byron Bay and Sydney, that killed some time ahead of our cinema trip to see Toy Story 3 in 3D. I wasn’t warned when buying popcorn that Aussies do not do sweet popcorn, just salted. The film was absolutely fantastic! I laughed, I cried, there were jokes old and new and it was such a good story line. In fact most of the audience was made up of people in their early 20s – we’ve been waiting 11 years for the film to come out! I’ll have to go and see it again definitely, it should still be running by the time I get back to England – it’s sad that most of you won’t get to see it at the cinema until the end of July!

I saw a nice piece of art, well I say art, it’s just a canvas with some of the places in Australia done prettily in the shop Typo for $40. I really want it, I think it’d look good in my room, it would just be a bugger to ship home! Will see if it’s there and possibly cheaper towards the end of my trip, then I might buy it…

Tomorrow Evie and I are off to Townsville in North Queensland to start a mini tour of the East Coast, taking in Brisbane, Byron Bay and Sydney as well.

It’ll be great to have some warmer weather!

Australia: Flights, Lost Luggage, Jet Lag and Canberra

Posted on by
Reply

I am here in Canberra! For those who don’t know it’s the capital of Australia and where my friend Evie lives! I’ll be staying here for the majority of my trip with her and her family.

Flights and Lost Luggage

But back we go to Thursday and leaving Heathrow, Terminal Four. I was flying out with Malaysia Airlines as not only were they cheap but I had heard good recommendations about them. The flights were so-so, I guess. The first one, the 12 hour one to Kuala Lumpur was horrible, I had a beef and carrot meal that really did not agree with me and I struggled to sleep on that leg, not nice at all.

The 5 hour stop over at Kuala Lumpur really dragged, I managed to get a shower at the Airside Transit Hotel though, which I really needed, it only cost 20 Ringget too, well worth it, not only because the long flights really dehydrate you but it allows you to freshen up too. I grabbed a Burger King meal too to get the horrible taste of the airline meal out of my mouth and had a wander around the terminal, it was so humid, even inside the building!

The second flight, the 8 hour one to Sydney was a bit better, I managed to sleep for about 5 hours of it which was good. Unfortunately the air hostess woke me up while I was in a deep sleep asking me if I wanted something to eat…

Having landed about 20 minutes early I made it through immigration only to find out that mine and a few others’s bags had not even got on the plane at Heathrow. So we had to fill in these forms and they’d get in touch when they had any news.

I met up with Evie, Alex and Alice in floods of tears and we drove to this shopping centre in an area beginning with “Rock” where I bought some PJs and stuff from Big W (which is like Walmart, I guess), putting it on the credit card which Mum and Dad said was for emergencies, and this definitely was one! Evie and I were then dropped off back at the airport where we had loads of time to kill before our coach to Canberra. We checked in at the baggage reclaim where they said that Malaysian Airlines were going to put our baggage on their next flight. They would then give one of us a call about delivering it to me.

Jet Lag!!!

I never feel travel sick but I did on the coach to Canberra, it was a 3 hour journey and I ended up sitting at the front with a bottle of water and my super cheap World Cup pillow because I felt that crap. I did get a phone call from Malaysian Airlines though who gave me a reference number and contact number and said they would call me tomorrow about my bag. I don’t even remember falling asleep for about half an hour towards the end of the journey! I was woken up towards the end and chatted to the girl sat next to me, a philosophy grad student from Ohio called Melissa who was returning to Canberra after seeing her boyfriend in Sydney.

I was feeling okay by the time I got to Evie’s so I settled down, and met her parents and brother before watching the New Zealand v Wales rugby match – it was really strange watching it in the evening, I’m used to waking up first thing in the morning for it! We had a lovely home made Italian dinner, it beat me, I admit, I couldn’t finish it but it was very tasty. I watched the first half of the Australia v Ireland game before going to bed to crash, but it was only an hour’s kip so I got up and channel surfed and opened some Australia related presents that Evie bought me.

She got me some Canberra postcards (with international postage paid for), a soft toy wombat, who has the name Wally because I’m so original like that, an Aussie flag and temporary tattoos, a keyring with a koala on it and a couple of books: two copies of a picture book about Canberra, one for me, one for a gift for family (who wants it?), and a signed copy of The Complete Matthew Hayden Cookbook – the recipes look gorgeous in it, I can’t wait to try them!

Sunday: Canberra and Kangaroos
Having gone to bed at midnight on Sunday, I woke up at 9am feeling extremely refreshed! I also found out that my luggage was going to be dropped off between 2 and 6! Some Marmite on toast – it’s different to at home and it’s not Vegemite which is always good – and we headed into the centre of Canberra to the Civic Shopping Centre for some browsing and sales shopping as it’s the end of Australia’s financial year so there are lots of sales on.

We had a nice lunch at The Coffee Club before heading for a drive around Canberra. I love how green it is, it’s full of trees, reminds me of home and being in Moseley Bog. Some of the buildings were made in the 60s and 70s and they look strange, like the Central Library in Birmingham, but they seem to work in Canberra…

We went up to the Red Hill Lookout where you get a really good view of Canberra, you can see pretty much all of it from up there. We managed to see some wild Kangaroos too, about 5 of them!

Little did I know that I’d be having it for dinner later!

Oh and my luggage arrived, so relieved!

One BIG Adventure: Itinerary

Posted on by
4

It was about 2 months ago that I mentioned that I’m going to be spending this summer in Australia. A lot has happened since then planning wise, as I now have a rough itinerary!

Map of Australia
Image courtesy of Flickr user Marxchivist.

So here goes:

24th June: Fly out of Heathrow

26th June: Arrive at Sydney (after a stopover in Kuala Lumpur) at 8.00 to be greeted by my friends Evie, Alex and Alice. Go to Canberra with Evie.

27th June-1st July: Acclimatising, getting over jetlag, doing stuff, shouting at the football at about 4am as it will be the knock out stages of the Football World Cup

2nd-9th July: Fly to Townsville with Evie for a bit of Australia A (cricket) action, catching the sun as it will still be nice and warm up in Queensland and some touristy bits.

10th July-14th July: Go to Brisbane for a little more Australia A action, catching up with Evie’s friends, some more touristy bits. If England make the World Cup Final (it won’t happen but stranger things have happened) then I will have to watch that. Also planned is a trip to the Gold Coast!

15th July-17th July: Go to Byron Bay, leave on the 17th getting the overnight train to Sydney.

18th July-25th July: Sydney! Much planned like the Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, getting the ferry to Manly, going to the SCG (Sydney Cricket Ground) and the Olympic Stadium (where Jonny Wilkinson kicked THAT drop goal in November 2003). Going to see Kasabian on 24th July.

25th July-29th July: Back to Canberra, few days of resting after our epic East Coast trip!

30th July-1st Aug: Evie and I embark on one of our legendary rugby weekends in Melbourne consisting of plenty of banter, lots of red wine, and the small matter of Australia v New Zealand – *bounces excitedly about going to a Bledisloe Cup match* Oh and the tour that we’re going on gets us a free Wallabies shirt each (I didn’t say I was going to wear it) and the chance to meet the players – for my 18th Birthday Evie got a load of the players to sign my birthday card, best birthday card EVER.

1st Aug-7th Aug: I’m actually going to go backpacker-style for this. Following my friend Larina’s great time in Melbourne by hostelling recently I’ve decided that I want to hostel too! I have YHA (Youth Hostel Association) Membership so I can get a discount at the Melbourne Metro hostel ($182 for the time I’m there compared to $203 without the membership), or there’s the NOMADs option which Larina went for which has more Brits and costs $210 for my duration.

8th-14th Aug: Fly to Brisbane to spend some time with my Dad’s cousin, David, and his wife, Claire. Only his parents have been over to see them previously so this is a first for the family having someone else come over!

15th Aug: Fly back to Canberra

18th Aug: My birthday! Doing stuff with Evie then.

19th Aug-2nd Sept: I don’t have much planned for then, was planning on sticking close to Canberra and Sydney but if anyone else has any bright ideas for something I could do in that time then comment on the post!

3rd Sept: Fly home from Sydney

4th Sept: Arrive at Heathrow (after another stopover at Kuala Lumpur) fairly early in the morning

Twestivals and jargon

Posted on by
Reply

This Thursday sees the annual Brum Twestival take place at Poppy Red in the city centre. Each year the Twestival aims to raise lots of money for a different charity. This year the proceeds of the event will go towards Concern Worldwide, who raise money to help those in poverty, particularly children, get a decent education.

As this year’s theme is education, the Brum Twestival team have come up with an idea called Brumabilities.

These are short online guides on pretty much anything, in the aim of collecting up knowledge to share with everyone, whether its how to make pancakes to my contribution which is an amusing (well I hope you find it funny) guide to some of the jargon that you might hear at a rugby match…

Backs: They wear the numbers from 9 to 15 on the back of their shirts. They’re the ones who run fast, kick a fair bit and turn out to be the best commentators because nobody else can get a word in edge ways. They’re also the ones most likely to have a celebrity girlfriend. See Gavin Henson.

Forwards: They wear 1 to 8 on their shirts. They go in the scrums (see later), line outs (see later) and do all the hard work while the backs take all the credit. They can do more than just talk, they write too, or if they’re freakishly tall they have credits in the Harry Potter movies for being Hagrid’s body double if you’re the 6ft 10in tall Martin Bayfield.

Scrum: When the forwards get together in some weird 3-2-3 formation on either side, and then merge and push against each other to try and get the ball that one of the backs puts in for fun. This is how cauliflower ears are formed. You don’t want them, they’re ick.

The scrum
Photo taken at England v Barbarians 2009 by Rachel Simmonite

Line Out: Like a throw-in in football only the forwards (I told you they do all the work) lift each other up and try to catch it. This is where being freakishly tall helps. Having strong team mates helps as well.

Ruck: When a player is tackled they go on the ground. The players (usually the forwards) then compete for the ball by going over that player to protect it from the opposition. This is a ruck. You don’t want to be stuck at the bottom of one of these, it hurts.

Maul: This is when players compete for the ball when the ball isn’t on the ground. Like when one of the freakishly tall ones catches the ball from the line out, they can keep it and then their team mates and opposition push against each other once more like a scrum but less organized. Can happen pretty much anywhere on the pitch.

Try: This is worth 5 points. It happens when the ball is grounded on or over the try line, but the player must be in control of the ball for it to count. This is then followed by the Conversion, which is worth 2 points and is a kick at goal from in line with where the try was scored, this is usually done by one of the backs.

Sin-bin: Not actually a bin, but it should be. You go to this if you’ve been particularly naughty and the ref’s spotted it – remember that if the ref doesn’t spot it then it’s legal.

Drop Goal: What Jonny Wilkinson scored to win the Rugby World Cup.

To see more from BrumAbility check out the Tumblr page

When is something not new?

Posted on by
Reply

I recently won a pair of tickets to see Saracens play South Africa at Wembley Stadium. My second thought after “Woo hoo I’m going to the rugby” was “Woo hoo I’m going to the New Wembley”.

Now the “new” Wembley has been open for 2 years now, is it still classed as new then in building terms? I mean is a tree still “new” at 50 years because that’s relatively young in tree years?

I remember when the local radio station BRMB went through a big change and the display in the car was “New BRMB” and it stuck around for ages until one day it just went, it stopped being new. Who decided that?

Should there be a length on how long something is “new” for? Should it differ depending on the average life of these things, such as buildings and trees.