The Lions 22 Queensland Reds 12

Round two of The Lions' Australia tour got underway at the Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane last night.  The Reds, led by Quade Cooper, came at The Lions hard from the off.  The Lions weatherered the initial storm.  After a try from Ben Youngs and penalties from Owen Farrell, it was 13 - 7 to The Lions at half-time.  But just when it seemed The Lions would pull clear, The Reds got back into the game.  It started to rain in the second half which became scrappy.  In the end The Lions held on to win 22 - 12, but it wasn't a vintage performance.  Sam Warburton (capt) went off towards the end, and YIC wondered if he was struggling with his injured knee - time will tell.

 

Next stop is Newcastle (AUS).  We shall see how it compares to the UK version.

Chris & Catherine - pre match drinks

at the Suncorp Stadium

Angie & Ron - fellow fans

The Lions kick off the match

The Lions 69 Western Force 17

The Lions' tour of Australia kicked off with a convincing win against The Western Force.  At the Patersons Stadium, "The Force" were depleted by injuries and international call-ups, but still put up a spirited performance.  They kept it close for 30 mins, but in the end the Lions' back division started to find time and space and ran in 9 tries.  Sexton had a fine game, opening the scoring with a try under the posts; O'Driscoll got a brace of tries (one right in front of YIC); and Halfpenny kicked all his goals. 

Interesting fact for the day courtesy of Matthew from Zagreb - Justin Tipuric's (Wales) parents come from Croatia.  You heard it here first. 

Lions' scrum



Lions attack

 

at the Patersons Stadium



with Matthew, Croatia supporter





Australia Arrival

Sail & Anchor, Fremantle

St Mary's Cathedral, Perth

Your International Correspondent has arrived in Perth, Australia.   It's sunny and spring-like by day, slightly chilly by night.  He has been found time for a visit to Fremantle where he sampled the delights of The Sail & Anchor and Little Creatures microbreweries.  In case any readers are concerned that YIC might be straying from the straight and narrow, he can reassure them that:

• beer is expensive here at 9.50AUD a pint - so YIC's wallet applies plenty of restraint
• he has been to mass to confess his sins at St Mary's Catholic cathedral

It's the first game tonight when the Lions take on the Western Force.  The home side have included a lot of new players, so let's hope the Lions score lots of points.

no wrecks and nobody drownded

YC has just spent the first week of his holiday sailing on the Norfolk Broads on the fine craft Stella Genesta.  Haunts visited included Brundall, Berney, and Breydon Water.  It was an enjoyable cruise with some good sailing.  Stella didn't ago aground once.  There were no wrecks and nobody drownded, in fact nothing to laugh at all (except when Rev T nearly sailed up the leeward bank on a beam wind whilst admiring his flags). 

YC is off to Australia tomorrow.  As John Telfer points out, this is the land of "cold and fizzy lager".  However YC would like to reassure JT that he has contingency plans.  Namely:

1. Jonathan Winterton is taking him on a tour of Gorleston's finest real ale houses this evening.
2. There is good beer in Australia if you look hard enough (and YC will be unstinting in his research).

Watch this space.

sailing down Rockland Dyke

fellrunning and rugby

The weather wasn't great on Saturday.  In fact it was absolutely hosing it down for most of the day.   For those fellrunning, this meant:

Old County Tops - a tough 37 mile day on the fells, with navigation at a premium in freezing conditions.  Paul Myers and Nick Wild braved the elements to notch up another successful completion of the race.

Bob Graham Round - an even tougher 42 Lakeland tops, 70 odd miles, and 30,000 ft of climbing.  John Telfer, ably supported by his family and NFR, made it round in 25.5 hours.  Although he couldn't manage to dip under the magical 24 hours, this was still a magnificent achievement in absolutely appalling weather.  JT had shown his commitment by giving up beer for the past 3 weeks (greater love hath no man).  However readers will be relieved to hear that JT has now had his tea...

YC would have liked to have been present at both events, but his dodgy calf is still giving him gyp.  So fellrunning has been replaced by swimming and cycling.  But there is a bright side.  YC can still drink beer (hurrah) and is off to follow the Lions on their tour of Australia.  This means: 6 weeks off work, unstinting research into the quality of Australian ale, and lots of entertaining rugby.  Readers will, of course, be able to read all about it on Birtley News.  Double hurrah.




The Old Man And The Sea

...is a book by Ernest Hemingway.  It's not, contrary to popular rumours, about the adventures of Rev T or even Old Salt on the foaming deep.  Rather it's about an old fisherman from Havana and the huge fish he catches.  At just under 100 pages, it can be read in almost one sitting.  YC had one false start at reading it.  But on the second attempt thoroughly enjoyed it and read it from cover to cover.

For those looking for some more short classic novels, YC recommends:

• Breakfast at Tiffany's by Truman Capote - a cracking short story, but not with the happy ending that appears in the film version.
• The Great Gatsby by F Scott Fitzgerald - another entertaining read about Jay Gatsby and his pursuit of Daisy.  Read it before you see the forthcoming film.
• The Uncommon Reader by Alan Bennett - an amusing tale about The Queen taking up reading late in life with the assistance of her amanuensis Norman.  It's worth it just for the line: Her Majesty - "We're going to Wales in a few weeks' time."  Norman - "Bad luck, ma'am". 

Green Wyvern May Day Cruise

May Day!  YC has been down to the Norfolk Broads for a long weekend on the fine craft Stella Genesta.  The weather finally obliged with sunshine and wind.  Stella is 100 years old, so we celebrated in style with a champagne party on the Saturday night.  Not to be outdone, James Duff has been in Singapore and thought it diplomatic to sample the local waters there.

Can any sharp eyed reader identify the location of the new banner photo?

Stella party at Beauchamp

Shruff and Puck at Berney

Singapore Slings

sailing down Long Galley