Benjamin's blog

There and everywhere - a human's tale

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World Matchplay Darts - Blackpool

(26th July 2026)

I’d never been to Blackpool before, and though I’d heard tales, I like to make my own judgements; It’s not exactly Paris (tall metal landmark excepted), and while the seafront is beautiful, that’s about it. I managed some good runs along the shore but outside of that, I struggled for things to do. I had ample free time given the format of this tournament, so it was a tad frustrating, but not all trips can be winners. The job itself went smoothly – I had the cushiest role on our team by far, but this was in part because I was the senior op and therefore in a better position to leap into action should anything go awry. Thankfully, nothing did, so during matchplay I had even more free time that I couldn’t do anything with!

If you were wondering why everyone is waxing lyrical over teenage superstar Luke Littler, go find highlights of his week’s exploits; his performances were off the charts as he re-wrote the record books (again), registering the highest ever scoring average in this tournament’s history! I was laughing in disbelief during his demolition job in final as he hit ton-plus finishes and bullseyes at will – poor Gerwyn Price played to a fantastic standard, but unfortunately for him and every other professional darts player, ‘fantastic’ for mortal players is ‘approaching ‘sub-standard’ for this kid. Price gave one of the best runner-up speeches I’ve heard, joking that he hopes there isn’t a Littler 2.0 about to break through…I think the rest of the field may as well retire if that happens!

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Ireland v India T20Is - Belfast

(28th June 2026)

I spent the best part of a week in Northern Ireland’s capital to work on what was essentially the last remaining sport on my bingo card – from the ones that AE covers, at least – cricket! I know very little beyond the basics, and the only time I put any effort into furthering my knowledge on the sport was in preparation for my job interview 7 years ago when I tried (and failed) to learn the fielding positions…thankfully, it hasn’t held me back as an operator but with the majority of our workforce abroad at the FIFA World Cup, I was the best available option for a 2-match series in Belfast. I paired up with Tom, who was an operator for many years (with plenty of cricket experience) before moving across to an office role. I found us quite an amusing pairing to be thrust on a cricket OB together, but Tom’s time away from the keyboard wasn’t much of an obstacle and he was a great help whenever I needed him.

Tom took on scoring responsibilities so I didn’t have to worry about silly-mid-off-ducks and the like, but I still had plenty to keep me occupied; I was in the output role – a position most of our sports have – but cricket output is by far the most involved. The list of options and keyboard shortcuts would likely stretch from wicket to boundary, and for a first-time operator it can be overwhelming. Fortunately, whilst my cricket experience equates to 0, I have substantial experience as an operator, and I completed both matches with nary an issue.

I was immensely pleased (and relieved) to chalk up a solid couple of days on the keys. The unfamiliar surroundings contributed to my concentration levels remaining super-high, as did the irascible director who would snap whenever a graphic was half a second late appearing on his screen. He was teeing off at every department with similarly unwarranted ire, even those who, like me, were cricket first-timers. It was clear I’d get little sympathy by explaining this was my cricket debut, so I focussed on making sure not to give him a genuine reason to be upset.

Thankfully, Grumpy Gus was the exception to the rule; the executive producer who sat beside me for the duration was far more appreciative of my efforts and warmly thanked me when all was said and done. I received a congratulatory handshake from Tom who anointed me the new Vice-Head of AE Cricket, as well as a couple of ‘well done’ messages from colleagues. I’m feeling rather chuffed with my week’s work – almost as chuffed as Ireland will be with theirs – they deservedly defeated cricket heavyweights India for the first time in their history, and then repeated the feat two days later for a series sweep!

Coincidence?!

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Blitzing the sights, Belfast

(27th June 2026)

Sandwiched in between two cricket matches in Belfast (report to follow), I had a free day and sought to make thoroughly good use of it. With colleague Tom I headed towards the north coast and a cluster of spots I had earmarked: Giant’s Causeway was the headline act, but a strong supporting cast consisted of Rathlin Island, Old Bush Mills Distillery, and Antrim Coast & Glens Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (who named that last one?!).

I couldn’t make any detailed plans until the day before as it was unclear just how ‘free’ our day off would be, so sadly some of my ideas did not come to fruition; the distillery tours were full, as were the ferries to/from Rathlin Island – the latter was most disappointing since it was puffin season on the island. Unperturbed, Tom and I set off on a coastal drive, which included a quick clamber around Madman’s Window and an ice cream stop in the village of Cushendall. We then headed inland towards Old Bush Mills Distillery, which took us a little longer than it should have – once or twice we were focussed more on our shared music tastes than the route! Although the tours were full, we had a little mosey around the gift shop and shared a small tasting selection of 3 whiskeys; the accompanying leaflet claimed we should have tasted a variety of flavours ranging from Summer Fruits to Crème Brulee, but all I got was notes of Whiskey.

Next stop, Giant’s Causeway; we parked as near as possible and walked through a couple of fields until we reached the coastline and could see a strange arrangement of rocks far below. My initial reaction of “I thought it was bigger” was assuaged once we were down at sea level; it is a surreal spot, and we had another clamber around the hexagonal stones as we wondered how on earth something like this came into being. As it turns out, the answer is volcanic eruption + rapid cooling, but I prefer this commonly told myth:

An Irish giant named Fionn was challenged to a fight by a Scottish giant and built the causeway to connect their realms across the North Channel (there are matching stones in the Scottish Isles). However, upon realising how much bigger his opponent was, Fionn hid in a cradle and pretended to be a baby; when the Scotch giant saw the sizeable infant, he himself fled home thinking the baby’s dad must be an absolute monster! He destroyed the bridge so Fionn wouldn’t be able to follow him, leaving the remnants of the causeway on the shore.

We headed back towards Belfast, taking a quick look at Ess-Na-Crub Waterfall and the local red squirrels before completing a 9-hour day out. The trip flew by with such agreeable company – company that didn’t mind blasting out Green Day songs along the way!

[benjaminsblog]

LBTC – Mixed Doubles R1

(21st May 2026)

This season’s inter-club tournaments have officially kicked off with the start of the mixed doubles (MD) event; this one required a bit of a head start because the organisers needed to come up with a way of accommodating the lopsided number of women and men who entered:

Pairings are always drawn randomly in the MD, so Round 1 was formed of 4 matches. The 4 pairs who win advance to the next round together, whilst the 4 defeated women are given a stay of execution; they will be paired with one of the remaining 4 men awaiting a partner to even up the numbers. Added to those 8 pairings will be a further 7 pairs who are yet to play. That means R2 will be 15 pairs + 1 bye. At least, that's what I think is happening...my buddies and I all got severe headaches trying to figure it out! 

It means all the men get to play rather than turn away a third of them, and every lady gets to play twice, so I think everybody (except the men who lose in R1) wins. Having said that, I was one of the men drawn to play in R1, but I was paired with Jo, which I consider a good draw. I have been looking forward to defending my crown but was not expecting fate to award me another strong partner (my champion partner Catherine has not entered this year).

We faced off against Dorris and Phil (Dil) in what turned out to be a competitive match; Dorris, Jo and I often play together with Simon, so we are all very familiar with each other’s games. I’ve played Phil a few times at socials and felt Jo and I had enough to win. We did, but it took us three sets – Dil put up stubborn resistance and held their nerve to win the second set after we threatened a turnaround from 5-1 down. Phil was quite hard on himself but he played some good stuff, his lefty serves and groundstrokes often finding white paint. Dorris was very active at the net, but Jo and I had a bit more in the tank for the decider, triumphing 6-4, 3-6, 6-1.

So, the title defence is up and running with Benjo (Ben+Jo) through to R2. Last year, I quickly realised Catherine and I were in with a strong shout of making the final but I am not quite as sure of a title run this time – I’ve made sure to book Finals Day off this year to avoid the drama of ’25, but I know there are a few very strong men’s players waiting in the wings for R2. However, that’s a problem for another day – who knows, perhaps we’ll play Dorris again!

N.B. The third match I had been hoping to play was a men’s doubles for the A Team; I was very keen to play with the big boys and get an idea of the difference in level between A and B, but my body was already giving me warning signs during yesterday’s match, so I reluctantly stepped down from that one.

[benjaminsblog]

LBB v Aylesbury B

(20th May 2026)

I’ve made the most of a very agreeable balance of work/time off to play boatloads of tennis lately, which has culminated in a potential three separate matches played in the next 24 hours – it remains to be seen if my arm makes it through all of them, but it has been wicked to get so much court time under my belt. Match #1 was tonight, with the other two due to be played tomorrow:

Tonight was my third match for the B Side, this time paired with Anand. We were presented with plenty of problems to solve, both from our opponents and the windy conditions – with the gusts blowing straight down the court, we had to play very differently at either end!

We started slowly against the first pair (Tom & David) but found our footing and took it in straight sets 6-4, 6-4. Tom had a powerful first serve but wasn’t landing many of them, and his second serve was bordering on pathetic; he handed us plenty of free points and more than one break thanks to his evident lack of confidence in his second serve – if I’d been his teammate, I might have suggested taking some spice off the first one, but I wasn’t, so I didn’t.

Neither Anand nor I played amazingly, but once we’d got our opponents pegged, we did enough. I came in clutch on a few deciding point deuces, particularly in one game following a handful of horror volleys where I made no mistake at the critical moment with an overhead smash, much to my – and Anand’s – relief!

The second pair (Billy & Matt) were unorthodox and therefore trickier to figure out. Billy especially took some getting used to – he was not built for movement but had bundles of power, his serving was good and he seemed happy to tee off on any groundstroke that came his way. In the opening game he sent a few howitzers past us, but it soon became clear that his strike rate could fluctuate wildly, and there were enough rogue shots being sprayed out of the court that we accepted the odd screamer would find its mark.

By the time we’d acclimatised to our opponents, we weren’t quite able to rescue the first set, but with a gameplan in place we came back to draw 3-6, 6-3. No deciding sets in this format, so we ended the night winning 3 out of 4 sets and helping the team to a hard-earned draw. We didn’t play very fluently in either match, but Anand and I agreed it was very satisfying to have solved the puzzles put before us and come away with some good results, especially that final set. I’ve drifted through plenty of matches in the past without thinking clearly about strategy, so it was great having Anand constantly suggesting tactical changeups throughout the evening.

One down, two to go…

[benjaminsblog]

Porsche Tennis Grand Prix, Stuttgart

(19th April 2026)

My second tennis trip of the year, and second new location! At first glance you might think Brisbane would double-bagel Stuttgart in terms of whereabouts and weather, but the latter put up a decent fight - there was plenty of green space to roam through, an eclectic choice of museums, and the rainfall was confined to a couple of days.

The workload was light, which afforded me ample time to explore; I clocked up some good mileage with my own two feet, maintaining my recent uptick in 5k runs (including a PB, thankyouverymuch) as well as several lengthy wanders around the city. I visited two museums during my stay, which could not have been more different:

The Porsche Museum was my first pick after a coin-flip; both Porsche’s and Mercedes’ HQs are in Stuttgart along with their respective museums – plus every other building seemed to bear one of their badges – so it felt appropriate to visit at least one of them. The layout of the museum was unsurprisingly efficient, leading museumgoers through the decades and the greatest hits from Porsche’s impressive portfolio. I was transfixed at the pristine condition of the vehicles, but I didn’t find it a particularly interesting experience – dull, dare I say – as there was very little to engage with beyond the numerous cars and their little placards.

Later in the week, I stumbled upon the perfect antidote to that sterile experience, the SchweineMuseum – Pig Museum to you! It’s a surprisingly large two-floor exhibit, and each room is filled to the brim with every conceivable kind of piggy paraphernalia you could think of. I don’t know what possessed Erika Wilhelmer to start her collection, but it’s undeniably impressive, both in scale and silliness! I had a good few chuckles as I traversed each room, and more than one moment where I felt like I’d wandered into a serial killer’s mansion.

There was, bizarrely, a piece that both museums had on display; Porsche’s 917/20 (its 1971 Le Mans entrant) was initially considered a toughie to drive, or a ‘pig’, so it rocked up in pink livery outlining the various cuts of meat you’d find on its namesake! Unsurprisingly, a ‘Die Sau’ doppelganger made an appearance in the SchweineMuseum.

On the job front, my week of work went by without a worry. After some horribly long solo days, I was rewarded with two lightning-quick finals on the last day – dankeschon to Elena Rybakina in the singles and Nicole Melichar-Martinez & Liudmila Samsonova in the doubles (if you think those names are long, you should’ve seen the score bug onscreen!). The winning singles player receives – you guessed it – their very own Porsche, and Rybakina performed the traditional drive onto court in her new ride. She won this event two years ago when she didn’t have a driver’s licence, but she reassured everyone that she’d since passed her test – in her other Porsche!!!

[benjaminsblog]

Tour Championship, Manchester

(5th April 2026)

The last snooker event of the season (gosh, that came around quickly!) turned out to be a very good week; I was granted a travel day which meant I only had to walk 5 minutes to the venue the next morning rather than be up at the crack of dawn to drive 4 hours from HQ, Nicola and I were treated to some delightfully early finishes, and Mark Selby went out in his first match!

All of those positives kept me in a very good mood throughout the week, and an added benefit was that I could get a decent amount of exercise in; I would never normally dream of having time to do anything on a snooker job – I fully expect to be onsite from dusk ‘til dawn – but I managed to fit in four runs! I went for my first after travelling up on Saturday (casually clocking my 3rd best 5K time) and then went for another with Nicola a couple of days later. Other members of the crew got wind of our ‘run club’, which led to a couple more outings accompanied by Lewis and Katie (director and presenter respectively). I enjoyed running in a group for a change, and I’m a tad disappointed that the next snooker job isn’t until September – hopefully run club survives the summer and nobody forgets about the founding members…

Outside of Team GFX, there was no question who the performer of the week was – reigning world champion Zhao Xintong seems to be finding form at the perfect time to defend his title – he blew Chris Wakelin away in the QFs with 5 centuries, then handed John Higgins the heaviest defeat of his illustrious career with a 10-1 beatdown in the semis; Zhao was 9-0 up and could’ve/should’ve clinched the whitewash, but since he provided us with an absurdly early off-air time of 8pm, I found it in my heart to forgive him.

He faced world number 1 Judd Trump in the final, and we were granted another early out as Zhao ran out a comfortable 10-3 winner. What had promised to be an exciting final ended up being a complete non-contest as Trump didn’t play anywhere near his best; he’d been quite open about not playing well or feeling confident all week, which in my opinion isn’t something you should be broadcasting with a major final ahead of you and the World Championship looming large. Judging by his body language it didn’t take him long to look a beaten man, and Zhao steamrolled him without playing particularly well himself.

[benjaminsblog]

Torquay pt. 3

(24th March 2026)

Today’s outing took me to Dartmoor National Park, a huge, sprawling landscape made up of trails, hills, rocks, and ponies. The weather was far less sunny than the rest of the week had been, but I think the drizzly rain and dense fog only added to the environment. Visibility was very low at higher spots, and – much like Land’s End – I enjoyed the feeling of being the sole human for miles around.

I parked at the Haytor Visitor Centre car park and headed straight up the giant hill that was looming ahead of me in the mist; my calves almost immediately started to make their protests, but I relished the trek, and kept on relishing it as I meandered further on without particularly choosing a direction. I mostly kept to the well-trodden trails but was quite happy forging a new route through certain challenging areas – all part of the fun!

As I neared the car park from which I started, I reached a large patch of blackened earth and branches, which had clearly been blitzed by fire (may have been a controlled burn, not sure). There I found three white ponies sticking out like a sore thumb amidst the charred bushes, and stood admiring them for a little while. While I was watching two of them saunter off, the third silently appeared at my hip, and I gave him a little pat before he followed his companions. A nice note to end both the day’s and week’s adventures on!

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Torquay pt. 2

(23rd March 2026)

On my first full day, I confined myself to Torquay and the local coastline (though I still covered 12km on foot), before going further afield the following day. I headed for the Eden Project and its famous bubbled biomes built into a Cornish valley. It is home to numerous plants from all over the world that are able to flourish in the specific environments cultivated beneath the domes; the variety is astonishing and it’s quite bizarre wandering through a mini rainforest while still in the UK! There is plenty of additional flora dotted around outside, but perhaps it wasn’t the optimum time of year to see them all in full bloom. The biomes were certainly the stand out, and it was a very cool experience.

After whiling away a couple of hours in EP, I continued deeper into Cornwallian territory, until I quite literally ran out of road; I made it to the appropriately named Land’s End, the westernmost point in England. I had purposefully chosen today (Monday) to visit these two touristy spots in the hope that crowds would be smaller – they were, particularly at Land’s End, which was almost deserted and made me feel like the only person on earth. The views did not disappoint as I went for a lengthy walk along the cliffs and down onto Sennen Cove Beach. I sat on a rock watching the mid-afternoon sun bathe the sands in gorgeous golden light before heading back up the cliffs and heading home.

[benjaminsblog]

Torquay pt. 1

(21st March 2026)

Holiday time…again! I didn’t have quite so far to travel this time, as I drove a mere 4 hours south-west to Turkey Torquay, a small seaside town. This trip was instigated thanks to the timeshare apartment that my grandmother has down there – it’s a bit far for her these days, so I nobly took it upon myself to make use of the place for a week. I visited Torquay and that very apartment several times as a whippersnapper, though I estimate it’s been a good 20 years since I last darkened its door, so it felt like a nice mix of a trip down both memory lane and unchartered territory.

The drive was painless, but I still opted for a chilled first afternoon after getting reacquainted with my digs; I have plenty of things on my itinerary, so it made little sense to tire myself out on day 1. I went for a brisk walk into town and back, watched a few episodes of the great Fawlty Towers (the sitcom originates from John Cleese’s experience in a Torquay hotel), and had a suitably Fawlty dinner (duck was off). It’s 8pm at time of writing, but I’m already eyeing my bed – places to go, things to see starting tomorrow…

[benjaminsblog]

LBB v Linslade

(4th Feb 2026)

I suited up for my second match for the Men’s B team against our local rivals Linslade; they are very local – it is another club within walking distance that I considered joining when I first moved to Leighton Buzzard. It’s a running joke that Linslade are our bitter rivals, but the matches were played in great spirit – there was no danger of projectiles being thrown onto the courts (unless you count my racket once or twice).

I partnered Ross, while Grahame & Anand formed our other pair. I’d not spoken to Ross much before tonight, and, well, I still haven’t. He took some persistent cajoling to come out of his shell, and I like to think that my unrelenting positivity played a part in his strong performance, particularly in the second match we played. Unfortunately, it coincided with me playing like utter crap; I can’t remember the last time I served so poorly, and I stopped counting how many breaks/double faults I was coughing up in order to preserve what little optimism I had left.

Ross and I lost our first match 6-3, 6-3 to a pair of players who weren’t necessarily better than us, but certainly smarter. Our second match was much more enjoyable despite my struggles; we faced Gabriel and James, who played more conventionally than their teammates, and Ross & I were able to start playing some decent tennis. Everybody had their moments and played some highlight-reel shots, which we were all quick to applaud; I hit a delicious backhand slice down the line, whilst James successfully managed a ‘tweener, leading to them winning the point! Gabriel & James maintained a perpetual stream of praise and reassurance between the two of them, and I caught myself mutinously muttering that I wouldn’t have minded something similar coming my way. In fairness, there wasn’t much Ross could say when I decided to serve back-to-back double faults and hand over a tight first set 7-5.

Thankfully, Gabriel struggled almost as much as me on serve, and he did his best to cancel out my woeful display. He alternated between double-faulting and hitting unreachable second-serve aces, though he admitted he had as little control over them as we did! His first service game of the second set yielded countless break points, though he eventually escaped by hitting two more maddening aces. We managed to keep our noses in front with a couple of breaks (punctuated by my customary failure to hold my own serve), but on my second attempt I at last remembered how to serve, and we won the set 6-3.

As with the mixed doubles tie I played in last month, all matches are a maximum of two sets, so we shook hands after a hard-fought draw. It almost felt like a win to me after the evening’s difficulties, and I was relieved to contribute something tangible to the team’s efforts. Agonisingly, the overall result was 4-4 in sets, and Linslade edged us by two games! However, as far as the table is concerned, I believe the result remains a draw and both teams share the points; needless to say, I breathed a huge sigh of relief upon learning this news…

[benjaminsblog]

LBTC – South Beds Doubles

(25th Jan 2026)

I played my second match in LB colours, this time for our Mixed Doubles team v Flittick alongside Dorris, Tom and Karen. The format is an unusual one – two mixed matches are played, followed by a men’s and women’s doubles; each match is played over two sets, so it is possible to have a draw. The overall winner is decided by number of sets won, though I’m not sure what happens after that – does it go to games won, or is it a tie?!

There was an immediate delay to proceedings as one of our opposition hadn’t shown up; they’d forgotten about the match! A teammate got hold of them, but since it would be at least half an hour until they arrived, it was agreed that Flittick would forfeit a set and only play the second set of that particular matchup.

While Tom & Karen went off court for a cuppa, Dorris and I played our game against Alex and Anna – who looked about 10 years old but was easily Flittick’s best player! Nightmare visions of getting humbled by someone who’d not even made it to secondary school flashed into my mind, and we didn’t start particularly well, going 4-1 down. However, we dragged ourselves into it, fighting our way to a tie-break. We made an equally bad start in that, too, but once again battled back, finally snatching it 9-7! I was pumped to win a set that we’d had to work so hard for, and we took the second set with far less drama.

I then paired up with Tom against Alex and Robert. I was confident we would do the business in this matchup, and that was before Tom decided to play like a man possessed! He was buzzing around the net picking everything off and barely missed a shot – even when he lost his footing a couple of times on the greasy surface! He spearheaded us to a 6-0, 6-3 demolition job (and a 6-2 win overall) and I happily hailed him as MVP. He joked that he must have been inspired by his wife who came down to watch – I said she needs to come down more often…

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Melbourne pt. 4

(21st Jan 2026)

My last full day in Oz finally arrived, and after spending the first half of the day being an unapologetic couch bed potato, I headed back to Melbourne Park for a second dose of AO tennis. This time around, I had a night session ticket for Rod Laver Arena (their Centre Court), so by the time I entered the stadium at 6pm, the temperature was far more manageable than yesterday.

The schedule had a very Australian flavour to it, which felt appropriate:

First up, Australia’s biggest current star and world number 6 Alex de Minaur (ADM) faced Serbian player Hamad Medjedovic (Med). I hadn’t seen Med play before, but his first set display was very impressive; big serves, bruising groundstrokes, and delicate drop shots that even the speedy Demon couldn’t reach. Med was so effective that the crowd was largely kept quiet throughout the first set, and he claimed it (deservedly I’d say) in a tie break.

Fortunately for the home fans, ADM started to find his rhythm and Med couldn’t maintain his level; ADM is often cited as the fastest player on tour, and his relentless returning started to wear down his opponent’s body and spirit. As soon as ADM broke for the first time in the match (after 6 BPs in one game!), the writing was on the wall. Even a brief rain delay didn’t hold up ADM for long, as he lost fewer games in the next three sets combined than he did in the first!

The second home hope to take to the court was Priscilla Hon, up against American teenager Iva Jovic (who I’d briefly seen in the doubles yesterday). It wasn’t to be a double result for the Aussies - Hon was wayward but Jovic was very impressive - 70 minutes and 15 games later, it was done and dusted. It was her first match in this arena but she took to it like a clownfish to an anemone; I found it easy to support her as she was also dressed like one (bright orange outfit)!

Despite Jovic’s demolition job, the clock had already ticked past midnight, so as the remaining fans filed out I had one last look at the stadium and reflected on a thoroughly successful trip. I even indulged in a rare selfie before stepping out into the chilly night air and perfectly timing my arrival at the station to catch the last train home - argh, why do I feel like I should’ve saved that magic dust for the journey home tomorrow?!

[benjaminsblog]

Melbourne pt. 3

(20th Jan 2026)

Time for some tennis! With two days remaining on my trip, the focus is now firmly on the Australian Open. I had a ground pass today (to watch any court except the big two) and nearly had a heart attack when I saw the people literally queuing around the block to get in; thankfully, it progressed smoothly and I was in the grounds within 15 minutes.

Jodie invited herself along to come watch some tennis with me before her evening shift, so after a wander around we went into John Cain Arena to watch Aussie teen Maya Joint lose feebly to impressive Czech teenager Tereza Valentova. We then sat in a couple of deckchairs for a while (which were inexplicably hard to get out of), before going in search of more action. Our hope was to head into Kia Arena and watch the hugely popular soon-to-be-retired Gael Monfils, but I think half of Melbourne Park had the same idea; I took one look at the long lines forming at every entrance to the court in the baking sun and agreed with Jodie that it wasn’t worth heatstroke.

I was flagging quite a bit in the energy-sapping heat; there is no way in hell that the big screens’ claim of 22 degrees was remotely accurate – in fact hell would’ve likely been cooler – so we eventually found some cover on an outer court and a bit of doubles. We saw the opening exchanges of the established Scandy/Baltic duo Ulrikke Eikeri & Ingrid Neel take on American/Canadian up-and-comers Iva Jovic & Victoria Mboko (she of the magic Montreal run); it was shaping up to be a fun match but we spied a British player would be next on the neighbouring court, so we jumped ship to go cheer on Sonay Kartal in her match against Anna Kalinskaya.

Unfortunately, I was still finding it hard to remain lucid in the sweltering temperature; despite my best efforts, I couldn’t keep my eyes open and faded in and out of the first set (Jodie admitted afterwards that she was doing the same, so I didn’t feel quite so bad). We were both with it for the last few games as Kartal nearly snatched the set on her opponent’s serve, but it went to a tie break that Kalinskaya won.

I’d had enough by this point and Jodie had her shift to think about, so we left Kartal to it (she lost in straight sets while the young North American pair pulled off a surprise in the dubs). I bade Jodie goodbye and staggered back home via a tram, a train, and maybe a KFC.

[benjaminsblog]

Melbourne pt. 2

(19th Jan 2026)

I covered more serious mileage in the morning, starting from Fitzroy and working my way back into central Melbourne. I circled the impressive Royal Exhibition Building and the adjoining Carlton Gardens, then passed through Hosier Lane, where every available wall, door and window is plastered with street art, stickers and scrawled messages.

I crossed the road and poked my head into the ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image) for my second museum trip of my holiday – who’d have thought?! I confess my curiosity had been piqued by the video game poster in the window, but the permanent exhibit was by far the better experience. It is a walk-through history of moving images, from shadow puppets up to present-day technology, and I could have easily spent longer in there.

A little later, Jodie and I reunited and made good on our deal to revisit Yo-Chi (the crazy ice cream chain). I had a little taste of the ‘Ube’ flavour (a bright purple yam) but stuck with a more traditional mix of strawberry and peach (strong Petits Filous vibes). We sat outside with tennis on a screen in the background as we nattered and enjoyed our ice cream, before Jodie had to leave for work (heh, unlucky).

I came back to my motel with the intention of a little rest before leaving for some food; I very nearly succumbed to comfort and stayed in, but I pushed myself out the door as 9pm approached. I found a pizza place where I had their modest beer garden all to myself, before moseying on round the corner to the Atrium Bar in the Crown Hotel for a couple of cocktails. I even went to the effort of wearing a collared shirt in case there was some level of smartness required, but I needn’t have worried; I greatly enjoyed my Flamingo (pictured) but quickly gave up on the Plantation Punch – too many passion fruit pips for me!

[benjaminsblog]

Melbourne pt. 1

(18th Jan 2026)

My overnight journey from Sydney went surprisingly smoothly, even with a derailment along the line meaning a transfer to a replacement coach service midway through. There was markedly more legroom than I’d have been afforded on a standard economy flight, so even though I was ‘trapped’ in the window seat, I was comfortable. After a spot of reading, I slept most of the way to Albury, where I sleepily stumbled onto the coach and resume heavy napping.

I arrived at Southern Cross Station at 8am and after dropping my luggage somewhere safe, went on a mahoosive walkabout. Melbourne is the only stop on my hols where I don’t have a relative to supply me with free bed & board, so I had a whole morning/afternoon to fill before I could check into to my accommodation. I headed for Alexandra Park, a huge, sprawling space full of greenery and scenery. I walked in a leisurely, semi-aimless manner around the park, passing through the Royal Botanic Gardens and stopping off at Cook’s Cottage; it’s the old family home of Captain James Cook – no relation (that I know of) – but for blog purposes, it was cool to see my ancestral home was being so well looked after!

2 hours and 10km later, I decided I’d done enough walking in the baking sun and took a train to my motel lodgings out from the centre of Melbourne. I made one last effort to cross the freeway and get a few supplies, then for the rest of the day refused to lift a finger for anything more physical than writing a blog entry.

[benjaminsblog]

Sydney pt. 3

(17th Jan 2026)

My final day in Sydney was a relatively chilled one. Lauren took me to Bunnings - a large hardware store - to sample another piece of local cuisine: a ‘saussie snag’ (Australian for ‘sausage buttie’)! She says it was a ‘niche’ Australian experience, and while it was rather basic as snags go, it was a bit of fun.

We then went for an impromptu walk across Harbour Bridge to the observatory and around The Rocks, an area with plenty of nice looking bars and restaurants. Lauren said she would’ve brought me here for a drink at some point, but the floating behemoths A.K.A. cruise ships sitting in the bay spoiled removed any semblance of a view.

After a brief breather, Lauren took me to the famous Bondi Beach along with another of her friends, Genevieve. Our luck with the weather had finally run out, but it was another nice thing to tick off my Sydney Bingo Card - though I will say I always thought it was bigger. We sat in the RSL club across the road (a country club type place that supports veterans) and had some lunch; Lauren had already decided I was having a chicken parma parmi (chicken + ham + cheese + tomato sauce); she chose well, and I somehow managed to finish the huge portion I was given.

The filling food took any remaining wind out of our sails, so we drove back and rested until it was time for me to say goodbye. I thanked Lauren for being a 5-star host/tour guide/chef and boarded an overnight train to Melbourne in the hope that I’d manage a decent amount of sleep during the 11-hour journey.

Fingers crossed my luggage makes it to Melbourne this time!