Australian ramblings

It has been a busy few months, hence the lack of posts on here. In March I headed back to Western Australia for a fortnight, this time with my dad for company. What a trip! A big thank you to Declan Kelly and all at 6PR for organising everything so efficiently.
We had some great days and nights in Perth, taking in Western Force rugby on our first afternoon and some fine cuisine courtesy of Howard Sattler and his father-in-law Lucky Kailis. Great hospitality that we look forward to returning some day soon.
It was also great fun to go back to Cannington dog track and hook up with some old mates, including my cousins Martin and Marcus Devitt who are now living the Aussie dream Dublin-style!
Another highlight was the time we spent in Margaret River with our friend Tom Galopoulos, who kindly invited us to his winery, Driftwood. On the drive south we stopped off at Mandurah and Bunbury before arriving at Caves Road. What a location. Absolutely stunning. Tom first planted vines there in 1988 and it has thrived ever since. Yassoo! As Tom would say!
The best tribute I can pay Margaret River is that we're planning to go back there for our family holiday next year. I'm just amazed more Australians don't go there and see it for themselves.
My good mate Stephen 'Millsy' Mills took us over to Kalgoorlie for one awesome Sunday. When it comes to tour guides, we were blessed to have had Tom and Millsy look after us.
Millsy arranged for us to go down the Barrick Kanowna Gold Mine and see how the miners actually go about extracting the minerals from that rich earth. We had the full kit on and by the time you have travelled a kilometre beneath the surface, the heat really gets to you. We spent about three hours at that location and it was fascinating stuff. Those lorries carry something like 67 tonnes each and the work goes on 365 days a year, 24 hours a day. Hard, hard graft and I was very glad to get back above the ground and get out of those overalls.
Next up was a bush tour where we saw the site of the original 'two-up school', basically an illegal gambling den where the miners and others used to go and bet their wages in the old days. The nearby cemetery has a list of names at the gate and I counted a good dozen Irish on there.
Also, better not forget the Broad Arrow Tavern, possibly the most bizarre pub I have ever set foot in. Wouldn't like to pick a fight in there, that's for sure! My dad thought it was superb and I did too. Real Outback characters. We loved it.
Millsy then took us off to Kalgoorlie racetrack where I was staggered to discover that one of the races on the card was the Enda Brady St Patrick's Day Maiden Stakes. A horse called Rocsamena won it, but I had backed another filly that looked lively in the parade ring beforehand but wasn't up to it at all. My dad kept up his winning streak, knocking in three winners out of four races.
I must also say a big thank you to all at the Celtic Club for making our afternoon there so very enjoyable. Plus, all at Oceanus on City Beach for what was a brilliant night.
We packed so much in during our trip, it's hard to know where to begin, but a massive thank you to Gary Rendall and all at 6PR, the Celtic Club, Ascot racecourse, Larry and Fionnuala Kelly, Western Force, Driftwood Wines, Oceanus, the team at Barrick Kanowna, the board of Kalgoorlie Boulder Racecourse and all at Cannington Dogs.
If I've left you out, you know I love you:0)

The haves . . . and Havant

The FA Cup annually throws up some unlikely heroes and over the past week we've had the pleasure of meeting this year's crop. Step forward Havant and Waterlooville FC.
They play in the Blue Square Conference South, five divisions below the Premier League and a whopping 123 league places away from their opponents in the 5th round, Liverpool.
On Wednesday night I travelled over to Thurrock FC to watch their game. It lasted all of 28 minutes. A floodlight failure resulted in it being abandoned. In a way, it made for a better story. If ever you needed to show the gulf between this lot and the millionaires from Anfield Road, this was it.
The team all have day jobs, ranging from binmen to van drivers and cabbies. It has been so long since I've interviewed footballers who enjoy talking about the game, are intrigued by the media spotlight, relish questions and generally don't mind the requests we make of them, that this was a real breath of fresh air.
The journey to Anfield on Saturday was a long one, but it was worth it. I could scarcely believe it when the visitors (colossal no-hopers according to the bookies) took the lead and then went in at half-time holding the Reds 2-2. I actually thought my producer was pulling my leg when he phoned through some of the goal details. We were live outside the famous Kop and it had gone very quiet. The only people smiling were Evertonians!
Premier League class and fitness told in the second half and it ended 5-2 to Liverpool, but the Hampshire non-leaguers had enjoyed the best day of their lives.
For so long we have waited for a story like this. The FA Cup, not so long ago, was in danger of becoming a competition that the big fish of the top flight were coming to regard as a nostalgic hindrance. Havant and Waterlooville, 12th in their part-time league, made everyone dream.
Their fairytale ended at Anfield, but the Cup is much richer for having known them. For a variety of reasons I was starting to fall out of love with professional football, but the odd story of these journeymen amateurs has rekindled an old flame and I'm glad I got to meet them for a small part of their story.

Tracking down Shane MacGowan

December has been an extremely busy month, what with the collapse of the Kieren Fallon trial, back-from-the-dead canoeist John Darwin and the appointment of Fabio Capello as England manager. I worked on all those stories over the past few weeks and then last night we interviewed Al Bangura, the Watford footballer who could be deported to Sierra Leone. Busy, busy, busy.
One interview this week that was fun setting up and doing was a chat with legendary singer/hellraiser Shane MacGowan. He turns 50 on Christmas Day and could even have a British number one because of the high number of downloads that Fairytale of New York is getting.
Finding Shane is never a straightforward task, but my information was good and lo and behold when we turned up he was where I was told he would be! A central London hotel was the venue and our interview touched on lots of different topics, including his view on a radio station censoring a few words in 'Fairytale', how he feels about being 50 next week and a singer he'd love to duet with in 2008 . . . . Amy Winehouse.
At the end of our interview with Shane who walks in, quite by chance, only Gerry Conlon from the Guildford 4 and Paddy Hill from the Birmingham 6. The two men said they owed Shane a debt of gratitude because The Pogues had written a song in the 80s about them and had been vocal supporters of the campaign to overturn their convictions. It was obvious there was a deep affection there.
Paddy Hill summed it up when he told me: "Every time I see Shane I wonder if I'll ever see him again! But he keeps going. In music people have to wait until they die before they get called a legend, but this man is a living legend."
The full interview will be broadcast on Christmas Day on Sky News to mark MacGowan turning 50. He says he'll be partying in Cork. I'm sure he will!
A few hours later I had a phone call from the hotel asking me to settle the bar bill Shane had run up! Some things never change I guess.

James McCarthy - Hamilton Academical FC

I travelled up to Scotland on Friday morning to interview Hamilton Academical midfielder James McCarthy. He has just turned 17 and is being chased by all the top clubs in Europe, from Real Madrid to Barcelona, from Liverpool to Chelsea.
The really good news(for me anyway) is that James has already been capped at under-17 and under-18 level internationally by the Republic of Ireland. His club future is up for discussion, but his international career will be with Ireland.
Hamilton's ground is New Douglas Park and the welcome was superb. We had been there a matter of minutes and the kettle was on. Steaming hot tea, a good chat with manager Billy Reid and then an introduction to the young man who has the tabloids and the web footy forums buzzing.
Hamilton's hospitality was first class, a very friendly family-orientated club. I wish them well for the rest of the season. They are top of the Scottish First Division, despite a 1-0 defeat at Dundee on Saturday.
As for James, well he's a class act on and off the pitch. He has already spent time training with Liverpool, who subsequently bid for his services. He's pushing on now for his 50th senior appearance with the Accies. Chances are they'll win promotion to the SPL next season. Good luck to them. I hope they and McCarthy have a big future.
English clubs, in the Premier League at any rate, could learn from the way they welcome visitors. I'll watch the transfer window with interest in January.

Glasgow 2014

Great fun in Glasgow today as the city won the right to host the 2014 Commonwealth Games. I got the first flight up from Heathrow and headed straight to the Old Fruit Market on Albion Street where a massive party was planned (if the result was the right one).
There was a marvellous mix of people present, from politicians to musicians and famous Scots sportsmen and women. I had a chat live with TV star Carol Smillie and Celtic FC chief executive Peter Lawell, then we went live with Yvonne Murray, one of the most talented middle distance runners Britain has ever produced. From the world of music we chatted to Amy Macdonald and then to Ricky Ross from Deacon Blue.
When the announcement came through that Glasgow had won, the crowd erupted and you can guess the tune that came belting out of the speakers . . . . . The Proclaimers have a lot to answer for!
Then it was over to Hampden Park for a quick live and away back to the airport. With London hosting the Olympics in 2012 and Glasgow holding the Commonwealth Games in 2014, it promises to be a great decade for British sport. There is talk already of England going for the Rugby World Cup in 2015 and we know that the country wants the football world cup in 2018. So much to look forward to. Bring it on!

Harry and the Hen Harriers

A long day yesterday and a lot of time in the car. More than six hours in total driving up and back to the Royal estate at Sandringham. Norfolk is a county I know very little about so it was good to get the chance to take a look around.
Police had questioned Prince Harry and a mate after two rare hen harriers were blasted out of the sky last Wednesday. The incident took place on the fringes of the estate at a very picturesque place called Dersingham Bog.
Cameraman Steve Kelly and myself hiked our way down to it and we were glad we did. Stunning scenery, well worth the effort. There was so much woodland in the area that it would be fairly easy to shoot birds without anyone ever seeing you. Quite an isolated place too.
Harry told the police that he had no information that could help them. I just find it sad that someone would wipe out 10% of England's population of these creatures with two pulls of a trigger.
Wonder who did it?

Ineptitude personified

It has taken a while, but the FAI finally sacked Stephen Staunton this week. A fine footballer in his day, but positively the worst manager Ireland has ever had the misfortune to employ.
He should never have been appointed in the first place, of course, though what we are left with now thanks to him is carnage.
Cyprus took four points from us in the Euro 2008 qualifiers and we were most fortunate to beat San Marino in February, yet this poor deluded chancer was still convinced he could do a job.
I was there on the night we got a winner five minutes into injury time at San Marino and saw how our players celebrated as if they had just taken the lead against Italy or Brazil. Pathetic. I was so annnoyed I wore the home team's blue jersey that evening.
Our team of overpaid muppets hadn't quite realised that the opposition would be back at work in the morning, delivering letters, teaching children. Proper jobs just like the fans who spend hard earned cash to follow their heroes.
But under Staunton's reign we came to understand that we were all wrong and that he was right. San Marino, he told us, would give people a tough time in this group. Germany promptly went there and won 13-0.
The past two years with Ireland have been like watching the build-up to a car crash. You know it's going to happen, you know it's unavoidable and you know what the end result will be.
The problem is most of us knew this would happen from day one. For a start, he had no qualifications at all in managerial terms. With all due respect to Walsall FC, being one of their coaches does not mean you are qualified to manage Ireland.
Anyway, he's gone now, so good riddance. Fan forums are abuzz with names who are supposed to be in the frame for the job. The same old bunch really. I can't say I'm enthralled at the prospect of another have-a-go Irish ex-player hero.
Louis Van Gaal or Steve Coppell would be my pick. Deep down I have a feeling the FAI will appoint David O'Leary. The good thing is . . . . he has actually managed before! At least that is a start in the right direction.