It’s a challenging journey to Wembley.

Last weekend was round one of this year’s Rugby League Challenge Cup competition. At this stage amateur clubs fight it out before the professionals join in.Teams from several countries were competing, including Red Star of Belgrade.

 

I saw Normanton Knights host Edinburgh Eagles. It was probably the first time that Normanton and Edinburgh had competed against each other at any sport.

 

I assume that all readers are familiar with the city of Edinburgh but that Normanton is an unknown location. Normanton is a small town just east of Wakefield and a few miles south of Leeds. Its original prosperity was based on  rich coal seams that were mined for many years. It was also a major railway junction and its station used to have the fourth longest platform in the kingdom !

The town has a rich sporting heitage. Indeed local athletes have made played in international events. Les Cusworth who represented England at Rugby Union is a local lad. However the Normantonian who has made the biggest impact to world class sport was not an athlete. He is Dr. Alister MacKenzie. He was a physician who became an architect of golf courses. His most famous work is the Augusta National, home of The Masters.

Rugby League is the most popular sport in the area. Scores of professional players started their careers playing for amateur clubs in the town and surrounding villages. The finest of all being Neil Fox, an all time great who came from Sharlston.

 

On Saturday there was a good crowd to enjoy the sport. The Eagles went into an early lead but they could not match the power and experience of the Knights, who were comfortable winners and now prepare for the second round of the tournament.

Vienna.

So much culture and it shares its name with Rigsby’s cat

 

Take a walk through  history  and you too might have a dream of a better world.

 

 

Memphis has been an important city for the Civil Rights Movement, so much so that the National Civil Rights Museum is located here. Built around the Lorraine Motel it is a place that you must spend time if you visit the southern states. You will learn much about the slavery, segregation and inequality that is such an important aspect of not just the history but also of modern life in the USA.

 

 

Find out about Jim Crow Laws, Rosa Parks, Malcolm X and the long marches and demonstrations of the 1960s.

 

 

Of course the life of Dr. Martin Luther King is thoroughly documented in the exhibitions. Visitors leave in no doubt that his life and legacy has been more important than that of any President in modern times.

Even if time is tight, you must come here.

 

Elvis is great but I really like soul. Otis, Sam and Dave, Carla Thomas and my favourite band, Booker T and the MGs. I had waited a long time to visit the Stax Museum of American Soul so it was a very special day when I went there.

 

 

The original Stax recording studio was demolished years ago, however the museum is a faithful reproduction  built on the same site of the legendary converted small town cinema. Visitors can’t help but to get a feeling of what it was like to be in the studio and to live in the neighborhood where not only several  Stax artists were born but also Aretha Franklin. Amazing.

 

 

 

Apart from many musical artefacts and a studio set up for Booker T and the MGs, there is a lot of information about the influence of the church and the campaign for civil rights. Black and white musicians who had attended segregated schools came together to create memorable sounds.

 

 

 

Some of those guys are still around, such as David Porter, Eddie Floyd and Steve Cropper.

Drop by at Graceland and get close to music royalty.

 

For many people Memphis means Elvis. It is home of the King of Rock and Roll. A visit to Graceland is a must. It is an extraordinary place. Apart from a beautiful house there are acres of museums and tons of memorabilia.

 

 

 

The Memphis Recording Service was home to Sun Records. Located on Union Avenue, it is an essential venue for rockers to explore. Music created here exploded all over the world. Not just music created by Elvis, Scotty Moore, DJ Fontana and Bill Black but also Jerry Lee, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins. You feel the vibes when you enter the tiny recording studio. What a privilege to spend time in this wonderful space.

 

 

 

Who would have thought it?

 

 

 

While you are in town don’t forget to visit the Arcade Restaurant. Enjoy a coffee and a burger at the table where Elvis used to sit.

You will be rocked by this modern cradle of civilisation.

Memphis Tennessee. It’s not one of the biggest cities of the USA but it is one of the most influential. What has happened in Memphis has had a huge impact on modern culture and attitudes. During the last century it was an epicentre for changes in civil rights and music. The messages sent from this city spread far beyond the banks of the Mississippi. They were read and understood by people all over the world.

 

 

 

Memphis grew rich as a huge trading post for cotton that was cultivated by slave Americans. The descendants of those slaves have used their voices to educate and entertain us all and to make our world a better place.

 

 

 

Visit Memphis. Find out about its past, meet its people, try some fried chicken, stroll down Beale Street and  take a trip along the Mississippi.

Mercury levels rise in this cauldron.

 

It was Saturday afternoon so I wanted to see a game. Prague is home to several football clubs. Sparta, Slavia and Dukla are well known for their impact in European competitions. The game that I saw was Bohemians Prague 1905 hosting Lieberec.

Bohemians are one of the most popular clubs in the Czech Republic. However compared to the English Premier League the Czech Fortuna Liga is not very wealthy.Inevitably its best players move to richer clubs in other countries.

The crowd for the match that I attended was only 3000. Mind you, what the audience lacked in numbers it made up for in noise. The fans sang and chanted for the whole of the game. The atmosphere was warmed up by the lighting of flares and the waving of huge flags and banners.

 

 

 

The fans are very proud of their club and of its history. Those of a certain age will be familiar with the Bohemians club chairman and finest ever player. He is Antonia Panenka who scored a famous penalty for Czechoslovakia in the 1976 Nations Cup Final against West Germany. He managed to make Sepp Maier look foolish and not many players ever did that.

 

 

At the game I met Ota. He is from Mongolia and he is a massive football fan. He has visited many of the top clubs in Europe. Also there were Adam, Matyaj, Honza and Alice. Alice’s boyfriend Matej plays for Bohemians. Perhaps one day he might play for Leeds United in the Premier League.

Sadly the game was scoreless but I still had a great time.

Rocky produces a knock out night.

It’s great to keep up with sport at home. Lots of bars show live action from from Europe and the USA.

Rocky O’Reillys along Stepanska is a great place for a catch up. Lots of beers and an extensive menu. I had a great evening watching Liverpool play Manchester United followed by live NFL action.

There was a good crowd in there including David and Nathalie from Ottawa.

I hope that you both arrived home safely and thanks for your company.

 

and all the others who did not make it.

 

The Czech Republic is only 25 years old. It, along with Slovakia, was created from the division of Czechoslovakia in 1993.

Czechoslovakia only existed for 75 years. It became independent from the Austro Hungarian Empire at the end of World War 1. At first it was a relatively prosperous nation but following the Munich Agreement of 1938 it was trapped in the middle of the conflicts between global superpowers.

At first its citizens suffered the misery and horrors of life under Nazi occupation and then from 1945 the oppression of communism.

The Jewish Museum of Prague is a collection of 8 sites that you can visit. It includes the Old Jewish Cemetery, the Ceremonial Hall and several synagogues including the Spanish Synagogue. All of the sites provide information about the history of the Jewish community in Prague and of course the Holocaust.

 

 

 

The newly refurbished Museum of Communism gives an insight into what Czech society life was like under the communist regime.

 

 

 

It is hard to appreciate how people coped and survived living under such tyranny. People must have spent their lives in fear. Imagine not knowing if the person stood next to you in the bread queue is a member of the Gestapo or whether the person staring at you on the bus is an officer of the Secret Police. Thousands were jailed, tortured and executed.

 

 

 

Around the city are several memorials to the victims of life under occupation. I remember well the invasion by armies of the Soviet Bloc in 1968. I wanted to see the tributes to Jan Palach and Jan Zajic in Wenceslas Square and also to those who died defending the radio station on Vinohradska.

 

The hundreds of bars and restaurants that can be found in the city offer good value. A simple meal with beer can be bought for around £10. Meals are often simple but wholesome with lots of pork and beef on the menus. Prague might not be so well known for its vegetarian fayre but it can be found . As for beer? Well there is lots of it with many local craft beers available. Beer is very delicious, extremely quaffable and cheaper than in the UK. Be ready to detox when you go home.

 

The Grand Majestic Plaza Hotel is one of scores of hotels that provide excellent accommodation at very reasonable cost. A warm welcome, a hearty breakfast and a comfortable room in the heart of this gorgeous city.

 

 

What more could you want?