Al the Tog’s Trip Down Under

I thought it was supposed to be a uniquely British habit - queuing. Maybe it was a hangover from the wartime queues for food rations, and more recently for petrol, but the British seem to have the patience and discipline needed to endure long queues. This patience was put to the test in the Chinese airports at Beijing and Shanghai, where we had to queue when we landed, only to be shepherded straight out to get on a plane to the next destination.

Travelling with the Barmy Army has taken it a step further. On Christmas Day, we had to queue for our barbeque (a good move as it turned out because we avoided a torrential downpour), then for our 4th Test match tickets, then for our “free” shirts and hats. On New Year’s Day, we had to go to the Coogee Oval where the Barmy Army was playing against the Fanatics in a charity match. This was the place where we could collect our 5th Test tickets, so we had to queue once again. The patience and resilience shown by all was truly wonderful to behold.

In between, we queued to get a good place to see the New Year fireworks at Sydney Harbour, and we have since queued for many other things. Now we’re about to get the bus to Sydney airport for the long journey home, with an overnight stop in Beijing - more queues await no doubt.

Just a quick note to say we’re here in Melbourne, just when it is having its coldest Christmas for 101 years!

Still, we’re not here for the weather, are we? We’re here for the cricket. And it was like watching a match at Old Trafford on a cold and wet summer’s day. Sorry, didn’t mean to mention the weather again so soon! England are playing up to their usual standard - 159 all out, with Australia on 372 for 7 at the end of the second day!

Never mind, we’ve recovered from the 40-hour journey now, and enjoying seeing Melbourne, with its rich variety of ethnic restaurants and excellent integrated transport system. The hotel is very convenient, being about 15 minutes walk from the ground, and has good facilities, including a gym, pool, sauna and hot tub.

That’s all for now - hopefully more soon, and some pictures with any luck.

The replacement air tickets arrived first thing this morning, so Big Al will be accompanying Al the Tog to the Land of Oz. More later, as I’ve now got to go and pack.

Barmy Army Travel have certainly worked some magic in getting travel packs out to 1600 travelling England supporters over the last week or so, a task made considerably harder by the late arrival of tickets from Air China and Emirates. But this doesn’t constitute a miracle, by any means. However, they have now gone beyond magic, by managing to replace Big Bro’s air ticket by another one for my son, Big Al. Hat’s off to Barmy Army Travel in recognition of a difficult job well done (assuming the tickets arrive tomorrow!)

So, does this make it a miracle? Perhaps not, but it’s a pretty good outcome, all the same.

I guess it was too much to ask! To score 550+ in the 4th innings at Perth was perhaps asking for more than a miracle!
OK, so we lost the third test and with it the Ashes series; the Aussies deserve the opportunity to savour their victory, having outplayed us in three tests. But that won’t put me off going to Melbourne and Sydney - you can’t stop me that easily.

It’s disappointing, yes, but not any great surprise. What would be a surprise is for Barmy Army Travel to persuade Air China to reissue Big Bro’s ticket to Big Al. One little miracle is all we need, Lord.

Miracle number 1

Since my brother pulled out of this trip with an ear infection just less than a week ago, I have been trying to field a substitute, and my preferred “12th man” is my 27-year old son, Alex (I’ll call him Big Al from now on, as he’s considerably taller than me). The effort so far has met with no success:

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Big Bro’ has an ear infection and has to see an ENT consultant. Unfortunately, the earliest date available is the day we were due to travel, so Big Bro’ has had to cancel his trip.

I’m hoping Barmy Army Travel will allow me to field a substitute. Given that they’ve not so far managed to send out the travel information, including flight tickets, there is hope yet.