Travelogue
Working in a Gold Mine in a Desert - 21 August 2022
I once worked in a gold mine in the middle of an Australian desert. To get there I flew to Adelaide from overseas with the intention of hitchhiking to Kalgoorlie, a mining town in Western Australia and base for many of the operators working in the mines that drive much of that state’s economy. I had done lots of hitchhiking before all around the world. I had hitchhiked around New Zealand, up and down the east coast of Australia and parts inland, in the Middle East, in the UK and in Ireland, around Europe, and in South America. I knew what I was doing and what to expect but to be fair the adventure of it had begun to wear off.To travel by road from Adelaide to Kalgoorlie is no mean feat. For a start it’s 2159kms across some of the flattest most monotonous landscape you’ll ever see, and aside from some very small towns (a generous term) but usually called roadhouses, there’s nothing out there. The road from Adelaide goes north for a while, then heads west along the Eyre Highway almost in a straight line and includes the longest straight in Australia, 145.6kms - before turning north again to the twin town of Kalgoorlie-Boulder. North of Adelaide you pass through Port Pirie home to one of the world’s largest lead smelters, which earns its Singaporean owners a fortune while local children are gifted high lead blood levels. Further north is Port Augusta, once a seaport but now a road and rail transport hub and named for the wife of the former state governor, and daughter of a
Kalgoorlie - Didyabringabeer - 29 June 2022
Once upon a time way out west, I went to Kalgoorlie by bus to work. Later I went back by rail for a visit. The town of about 30,000 is an isolated stop on the line across Western Australia where one stretch of railway runs completely straight for 478km – the longest straight stretch of rail line anywhere in the world. Kal’ to the locals, is over
Port Arthur and the Vandemonians of Tasmania - 28 May 2022
Tasmania was once called Van Diemen’s Land and is the world’s 26th largest island and Australia’s least populated state. From 1803 Britain settled the island as a penal colony, and almost wiped out the indigenous population in the process. Today Tasmania, or “Tassie” to use the colloquialism, is the most Anglophile Australian state, also having
The Great Brazilians Part 3 – Brito, Gérson, and Carlos Alberto - 30 April 2022
Back in the day before live television and videos, before satellites and the internet, before downloads and smartphones, growing up a sports fan was different. You read about it, you watched it live at the match if able, or some saw it on film at the movies or delayed on television at first in black and white, or you read about it and you
The Great Brazilians Part 2 - Tostão, Clodoaldo, Everaldo, and Wilson Piazza - 26 March 2022
Joy in football it has been said does not come from winning, but from being entertained, and from witnessing something special for at the heart of football’s great power of seduction is that there are certain sensations that are eternal. People often say that results are paramount and that ten years down the line, the only thing which will be
The Great Brazilians Part 1 - Félix, Jairzinho, Pelé and Rivellino - 19 February 2022
They say that falling in love is better than being in love as it can bring the wonder and excitement of discovery for the first time. When I was at school, I had a poster of the Brazilian football team on my wall taken in the Azteca Stadium before the 1970 World Cup final. The poster was produced by Adidas proud that most of the players chose to
Football and the Teams at Mexico 1970 - 4 December 2021
The 1970 World Cup in Mexico is widely thought of as the tournament against which all others are measured – a celebration of free-wheeling football where the winners Brazil triumphed with a team of sublime artists over the more disciplined, physically tactical Europeans who were represented in the Final by Italy with their pincer defensive
Mexico World Cup 1970 - 6 November 2021
Someone once said watching football is about bold, primary-colour emotions: the pursuit of joy and the endurance of pain. The ninth FIFA World Cup held in Mexico (31 May 1970 – 21 Jun 1970) had all these factors and is widely thought of as a seminal sporting event for lots of reasons; a World cup against which all others are measured. In many
Gérson and the 1970 Brazilians - 25 September 2021
Great football teams have many elements in common. They have timing, and the right balance of dedication, organisation, and a commitment to a common cause. Great teams like great players can marry inspiration with industry—they work hard. They also usually have an ability to make the difficult seem easy, like no effort at all because they always
