Round 1 North Melbourne v Essendon At three-quarter time, Essendon were four goals in front and looking good. I had to remind myself there were more important things in life than football. It’s only footy. It’s only footy. Breathe Breathe – like in birth classes. I was preparing for defeat. I find [Read more]
Deeper Water
March 13, 2012 by 32 Comments
by Andrew Starkie Growing up in the south-west, Labour Day weekend used to signal the end of summer. The first icy rains and wind would sweep up from the Southern Ocean, turning the camping grounds at the Port Fairy Folk Festival into a sodden, bleak mess. This long weekend, Linda and I put the [Read more]
Tamworth 2
March 4, 2012 by 2 Comments
by Andrew Starkie Our hostess has her head on the counter and appears to have nodded off. Suddenly alert, she grimaces, runs her hand through her bed hair and focuses bloodshot eyes. Sorry darls… I’m a bit hungover…where was I? That’s right, here’s your key. Towels are in your room.
Resumption of Play
December 31, 2011 by 9 Comments
Rahul Dravid and Gautum Gambhir are in the tunnel, waiting for the resumption after Lunch, Day 4, Boxing Day Test. They’re early and await the umpires to emerge from another tunnel further along the boundary. India is 1/24, chasing 292 for victory. Opener, Gambhir is on 6 runs; Dravid, 5. Both men are [Read more]
The Best at What They Do
December 15, 2011 by 4 Comments
I didn’t have a ticket for Rod Laver Arena so only caught a glimpse before security chased me out. Just a few moments, but they were enough. I saw McEnroe play and I’ve never forgotten it. McEnroe glided to his left. He was in position, two metres behind the baseline, in plenty of time. [Read more]
Queenstown
December 5, 2011 by 11 Comments
by Andrew Starkie In the late ’70s mum and dad took my sisters and I on a road trip around Tasmania. It was deep Winter and the roads were hilly, winding and wet. I was car sick for two weeks. I recall moments like framed snapshots. Slipping on snow and ice on Mount [Read more]
Cup Day
November 2, 2011 by 2 Comments
by Andrew Starkie The Retreat beer garden roared when they jumped in the Cup. Stubbies saluted the air. Smoke from the bbq clouded the TV screen. By the time the field had gone past the post for the first time, some had returned to their huddles and beers. The rockerbilly band were [Read more]
Grand Final Week
October 7, 2011 by 5 Comments
Ellie and Luke had their ear plugs in and portable TVs on before I had pulled out of the driveway, Monday morning, grand final week. High School Musical. I attempted conversation. So, who’s going to win the grand final? Geelong, said Luke, 8. Collingwood, said Ellie, 10. Why? Dunno. Dunno. What about the Brownlow? Judd. [Read more]
Homeground
September 7, 2011 by 1 Comment
By Andrew Starkie In September, 1991, favourites Old Collegians Warriors lost the Warrnambool and District Football League Grand Final to the Merrivale Tigers. Earlier this year, the drink company, Gatorade approached media personality, Dave Hughes, to be the ‘face’ of their marketing campaign,’Gatorade Replay’, which offers amateur sporting teams the opportunity [Read more]
The Krakouers
August 18, 2011 by 19 Comments
In 1982, I was in Grade 6 at St. Pius X West Warrnambool and obsessed with the Krakouer brothers. I kept scrapbooks of newspaper clippings that said ‘BLACK MAGIC!’ and ‘KRAKOUER MAGIC!’ I wrote ‘JIM 3 KRAKOUER’ and ‘PHIL 8 KRAKOUER’ all over my books and pencil case. I sat in the filtered sun in [Read more]
Gutted
July 10, 2011 by 9 Comments
Collingwood versus North Melbourne Sunday July 10 MCG Poolside, Borneo, club sandwich, beer. Have just listened to the game via the internet. My companion, Handsome Joe, international playboy and Magpie lover, is grinning from ear to ear. I am shattered. Not being at the ‘G is no consolation. One [Read more]
Labuan Island
July 8, 2011 by Leave a Comment
The morning is humid and busy in Labuan. Fishing and cargo boats cut in and out of the small harbour while street vendors sell their wares on noisy corners. Footpath cafes buzz with local gossip and laughter. A kindly, old taxi driver motions me over to where he is sheltering under a tree. He tells [Read more]
Kota Kinabalu
July 3, 2011 by 2 Comments
It’s late Sunday afternoon and I haven’t slept since Friday night. I flew out of Tullamarine midnight Saturday and landed in Kota Kinabalu, via Kuala Lumpar, 10 am this morning local time. I’m surviving on a mixture of adrenaline that accompanies arriving in a new place, some chicken and rice concoction I found in this [Read more]
Susie Q Ramadan – a boxing story
May 24, 2011 by 6 Comments
by Andrew Starkie The Reggio Calabria Club sits in a slight depression beside the buzzing freeway. It is West Brunswick in Melbourne’s north. On this Sunday afternoon in early May, the car park is full and the shiny main entrance beckons patrons through to the restaurant. Most are passing by , instead entering a plain [Read more]
Only one thing going for him
April 30, 2011 by 5 Comments
It’s Sunday evening and the dining room at the Missionaries of Charity Men’s Refuge and Soup Kitchen, Fitzroy, is almost empty. The men have eaten, scraped their plates in the bin and headed into the night. I’ve mopped the floor and piled the chairs, but one man is hanging around. He’s new, I haven’t seen [Read more]
KICK TO KICK
April 20, 2011 by 19 Comments
Let’s try and get to ten in a row without hitting the ground. OK! One. Two. Three. Use your opposite side. Guide the ball down with your left hand. Head over the ball. Better. Six. Seven. Take the ball in your hands. Nine. Ten. Good! Keep going! It’s Tuesday before Easter at Mum and Dad’s [Read more]
I’m sick of footy
March 26, 2011 by 20 Comments
I’m sick of footy. I’m tired of 24 hour, 365 days a year media saturation. Hirdy on the front page in January. Fev playing the pokies in February. Ricky Nixon and a teenage girl. Sordid, seedy, eploitive, embarrassing, boring. I don’t need to hear and read about that stuff. I don’t frigging care about [Read more]
TAMWORTH
January 31, 2011 by 4 Comments
The Kamilaori nation, the original inhabitants of the Tamworth region, a vast flood plain beneath the Great Dividing and New England Ranges in Northern NSW, was a collection of independent tribes that shared language and customs, including ritualised physical movement that paid deference to the Dreamtime. This movement was guided by a loud beat created [Read more]
Andrew Starkie’s Ashes Diary (13)
January 7, 2011 by 1 Comment
ASHES DIARY Entry 13 Thursday January 6, 2011 With Walkman in ear, I went for a stroll around the quiet, sunny streets of Reservoir during the morning session, day 4. Lawn mowers grumbled and old ladies waited for the bus. The singlet wearing Italian from up the road proudly gave me a few apricots from [Read more]
Andrew Starkie’s Ashes Diary (12)
January 4, 2011 by Leave a Comment
ASHES DIARY Entry 12 Tuesday, 4 January, 2011 Australia’s first innings in Sydney was fairly typical of its performances during this Ashes series. Hughes and Watson’s opening partnership should have been a solid foundation. Johnson and Hilfenhaus’ rewarded swinging at the end either saved or provided further embarrassment for teammates sitting in the dressing room. [Read more]
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