My day out last Sunday was not on the theme of travel, by the true sense of the word, but it was in essence a journey I’d never experienced before—to a live cricket match. Though if I’m to find a travel link, tenuously, if not amusingly, did you know that event ambassador, Shaun Tait, actually took the Cricket World Cup Trophy cage-diving with great white sharks off Port Lincoln recently? And I’m not codding ye there at all (yes, I fished hard for that pun—oh, and there goes another one!). I’m by no means a cricket aficionado, however I did gratefully accept a rare invitation to join Tourism Ireland to watch the Ireland vs Pakistan pool match during the ICC Cricket World Cup 2015 at The Adelaide Oval—from their corporate suite too. I mean… who wouldn’t? The fact alone that I’m half Irish means that my Roscommon and Meath-based family would drown me in a vat of poitín had I declined. The day turned out to be a thrill. Firstly, I crossed the River Torrens’ Riverbank Footbridge with a vibrant mix of smile-painted nationalities, flushing through like a healthy dose of colonic immigration. Arriving at the Fanzone on the oval’s Southern Plaza, I met with a group of Pakistani fans beating their drums, and an acrobat balancing upside down—on a fellow acrobat’s head! I’d witnessed similar shenanigans as a child, with the Irish side of my family during Guinness-fuelled nights in Castlerea pubs as I munched on Tayto crisps and hiccupped on red lemonade. So the day was sure to be good (to be sure!). Okay, so Australia were not playing on Sunday, but match fever was alive and batting. And Ireland had much to play for with St Patrick’s Day a mere 30 hours away. They hit a few boundaries, but not as frequently as I guess they’d hoped. Drama did climax during an appeal for Irish batsman William Porterfield to be called out. The sound bar projected on the review screen indicated contact, but it was so negligible that the umpire kept his decision to save Porterfield. The Pakistani supporters went from jubilation to disbelief… the luck of the Irish! And despite 140km/hour balls and a wicked spin by Shahid Afridi, Porterfield reached his half-century. Guitar riffs from U2 peppered the intervals and over-changes. Ireland kept losing batsmen, but Porterfield soldiered on, reaching 85 by the 30th over. From our side of the boundary, ears and tongues were equally stimulated as spinach, kumara and cheese frittatas and pecan chocolate brownies were circulated. At his dexterous century, Porterfield drew a standing ovation and eruptions of cheers from his Irish contingent. When he departed on 107 runs, Pakistan celebrated like it was a victory. À la Carte dinner arrived to the corporate suite’s finely-dressed tables. Chinking to Annie’s Lane Clare Valley Riesling (I know!), a roulade of chicken with goats curd preceded a buffet of tastebud-firing dishes. I sampled both the roasted lamb noisettes with minted beans, and the grilled barramundi on polenta, of course, reserving a space for the mini gourmet cakes and macarons. Dinner conversation revolved around fearless John Mooney, who took a potentially dangerous cricket ball to the collarbone. He bravely took the pain, eventually brushing it off with an Aussie salute as if it were a bush fly. What a man! Then Pakistan started batting and turning the screw. But nearing 8pm, at 22 overs, the Irish cheered at their first wicket, brilliantly caught by Thompson, who kept steady hands despite the crowd’s suspended breath resting on his shoulders as the ball fell from the sky. On the 24th over, Pakistani captain, Misbah-ul-Haq ran himself out, knocking his stumps and sending the bails flying and flashing. Pakistan hit one boundary after another: Sarfraz Ahmed piled on the runs… and the pressure on Ireland. Ireland scored some consolation wickets to the playing of U2’s Desire… sending Pakistan into Vertigo! It all finished in the 46th over, leading to a flurry of Pakistani flag-waving.
So sadly, Ireland didn’t walk away a winner. But the win for me was a deeper understanding of Aussie sporting religion, and a crash-course in cricketing lingo. I now know: 1) that the players don’t actually physically field in slips; 2) that you don’t need Wi-Fi for a googly; and 3) why they rub their balls! Being appropriately educated in the terminology now, it’s thanks to Tourism Ireland from me for the opportunity, as cricket has certainly bowled this maiden over (I know, I’m sorry). So good luck to Pakistan on Friday, when they bat it out with Australia. I’m not sure if either team need to be wished luck. Or perhaps they both do? Sláinte! It’s that multicultural fiesta during Adelaide’s Mad March that makes your muscles ache like they’ve never ached before. It’s where your larynx discovers your lungs. It’s where your every orifice gets covered in dust. And where memories are moulded from emotions you never knew you could feel when a new band, often one you’ve never heard of before, becomes the number one play on your iPhone. Believe the hype - WOMADelaide is addictive! From the first: “One two…one two…,” mike test to epic performances by global bands, musicians, singers, dancers and performers – and from the inspirational Artists in Conversation and Planet Talks to chef-led Taste the World workshops, WOMADelaide 2015 was an around-the-world marathon in four days. And despite a record 95,000 electrically charged festivalgoers buzzing about Adelaide’s Botanic Park over the long weekend, the grounds never felt crowded. I joined the audience at the ‘How Sustainable is Your Diet?’ Planet Talks workshop. On the panel were: Dr Evangeline Mantzioris, UniSA’s expert in nutrition and Louisa Rose, winemaker at Yalumba (voted best winemaker in Australia). And cooking live was celebrity chef: Simon Bryant. Bryant cooked MSC-certified Coorong yellow-eye mullet and green beans with his homegrown tomatoes, local organic eggs, caperberries, Kangaroo Island salt and mountain pepper. Knobby club rush created a bed upon which he smoked the fish, which was finished in a desert lime dressing. “We can all do better when choosing our ingredients,” said Bryant, as the fish sizzled away. “Legumes and lentils are nitrogen-based, and are a cover crop, which is kind to the soil. And caperberries are grown in dried-out Murraylands. They actually grow in the worst conditions, so capers can do no wrong environmentally!” Bryant also asked us to be ethically aware when cooking with native foods. In some cases, despite us thinking we are doing the right thing by eating healthy, it can lead to uncontrolled harvesting. In 2013 quinoa hit a popularity high in the Western world, leading to a price spike in South America, rendering it unaffordable for many locals. Dr Mantzioris, said: “Both in terms of food nutrition and sustainability, it’s what you do for the majority of the time that counts.” She added: “Did you know that each cup of coffee we’ve enjoyed has used 150 litres of water during production!” The audience gasped in sync. Bryant then added: “What we buy is a political choice!” He advised us to limit animal source protein, especially beef, goat and lamb, which emit high levels of methane (cattle alone contribute 15% of global CO2 emissions: five times more than air travel, and twice that of the Internet). He reminded us that pigs and chickens are gentler on the land, as are olive and canola oil (cold-pressed only). And the take-home message from Bryant was: “Feel grateful for food. Enjoy it, but be responsible!” I took note and lunched at Jock Zonfrillo’s pop-up restaurant: ‘Street in the Park’. Zonfrillo runs Adelaide’s Orana and Street ADL restaurants. On his menu here were dishes inspired by street food of the countries that this year’s WOMAD artists hail from. I chose the Senegalese chicken mafé, stewed in mixed vegetables and spices, and garnished with a chicken’s foot (it’s all about being open-minded at WOMADelaide!).
Then there were the musical geniuses. I joined the blues-loving herds heading to a unique act. Lit by late afternoon sun, Australia’s quirkiest artist, C.W. Stoneking, swooned the crowd. He performed: On a Desert Isle, The Zombie, and Jungle Swing. It felt like America’s auld deep south, but on the shores of Hawaii! Youssou N’Dour and his band, Super Etoile de Dakar, sent shivers down every spine. And mania set in when Neneh Cherry joined him to sing the duo’s famous 1994 hit: 7 Seconds. I also claimed my spot for Traditional Irish band, The Gloaming. And the second that Martin Hayes put bow to fiddle, smiles as wide as the Emerald isle itself painted the audience. The group serenaded us through adagios and crescendos, with the virtuoso pianist, Thomas Bartlett, skilfully fluttering his keys, re-inventing the millennial music of Ireland for a contemporary market. Toes tapped, heads nodded and hands smacked knees throughout the seated performance. But it was Song 44, with lyrics heart-touchingly delivered by the silken voice of Iarla Ó Lionaird, that muted mouths and moistened eyes. Infectious joy and jubilation continued as I strolled between century-old Moreton Bay figs, eucalypts and pines in this most handsome park—until the clouds puffed over. There were pink clouds, blue clouds, green, yellow and orange, exploding in the air. I’d walked straight into Artonik’s The Colour of Time parade. A locomotive chain of people snaked through the grounds, dancing to celebrate a depiction of India’s Holi festival, throwing their coloured gulal powder to the wind, painting people and their clothes into graffiti-like artworks.
And keep a lookout online for my full article on WOMADelaide 2015, which will soon appear on Our Planet Travel.
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