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123 May 21 '19
October 28 Welcome to the world of modern travel, where everything goes via the Middle East. Air Max Pas Cher Livraison Rapide . Even the route from Cape Town to Perth. On a map, it seems the best way to get from one to the other is along a straight line through the southern hemisphere. On an airline schedule, thats not possible. Instead, I will spend nine and a half hours going up to Dubai and then ten and a half hours going down. Add the changeover in Dubai and it means a full 24 hours of travel, and with the time differences, I will arrive two days after I left. Say what?October 29 I think today is Saturday but Im not really sure. I feel trapped in a time warp I dont understand.October 30 Touch down in Perth around 2am. Decide to normalise by sleeping and then force myself to get to the series launch around midday. Its a public event, at Elizabeth Quay, which is also set-up for Diwali festivities. A decent-sized group of people has come to see the Australian and South African teams, and the players are introduced individually. Most get a cheer - David Warner and Dale Steyn louder than the others - but when Dane Vilas walks out, there is complete silence. Poor guy.October 31 Welcome to the world of modern sports media, where the press conference is the most common method of communication. We have no fewer than nine interviews here. Australia put up six players in an open media session, South Africa three. Our heads are swimming with quotes. The most interesting things to come out of the day are Usman Khawajas views on diversity and the Australian fascination with Temba Bavuma. At 1.61 metres, Bavuma is among the shorter sportsmen around and has to field several questions about how he has adapted his technique to his height. Bavuma seems a bit bewildered by the attention but answers the questions as carefully as he can.November 1 The race that stops Australia will be run today, and though Im not in Melbourne, its still a big deal. Im familiar with showstoppers like this - we in South Africa have the Met in January and the Durban July (you know when) - but the Melbourne Cup is a little different. Across Australia, people dress up as though they are at the venue itself, and at 3pm Australian Eastern Standard Time, time stands still. I havent quite got used to the time zone yet, and around noon Im heading to the WACA, wondering why the streets are deserted. When I realise the gun is about to go, I get a move on and get there just in time to pop my head into the guards hut and see the end of the race.November 2 The day before a big Test series is a usually a frenzy of last-minute previews. We wind down with a traditional barbeque at a local journalists home. Our hosts daughter is doing a project on the Democratic Republic of Congo and I offer to help. How often do you go back to Africa? she asks me. I live there, I tell her, as her eyes widen in disbelief.November 3 South Africa stumble through the first day on a pitch with better bounce and carry than I have seen in months. Later we all stumble around on a walking tour, organised by Tourism Western Australia. The idea is to roam the laneways to discover how Perth is Melbournising, and stop at bars along the way. Our guide has the remarkable ability to talk to us while walking backwards. She doesnt lose her step once, not even on St Georges Terrace, said to be the windiest street in the southern hemisphere. At our second and last stop, our holiday-making UK colleague Andrew McGlashan joins us.November 4 Theres an awful feeling when Steyn goes down, clutching his shoulder, with a look on his face worse than when he left the field against India and England last summer. I suspect its serious but first need to turn attention to the remarkable comeback the rest of South Africas attack are staging. At the end of the day we discover Steyn will be out of action for at least six months.November 5 It is due to be 37 degrees today, so I choose a simple T-shirt-style dress to wear. When I arrive at the WACA, at the gate the media use (which is also the members gate), security staff stop me. My dress is too short. The members dress code dictates that dresses must sit no more than 5cm above the knee. Im quite sure mine is not shorter than that, but they disagree. After a protracted discussion - during which one woman is told she isnt allowed in because the straps on her top are too thin - I am admitted but told not to leave the press box through the day. Inevitably I have to and am warned a second time. Another journalist tweets about it and a social-media storm erupts.That evening I see Steyn waiting for an Uber in the city centre. He has just got off a train from visiting his uncle in a suburb about 40 minutes away. He admits his shoulder is very sore and says he is resigned to a lengthy period on the sidelines and that he is not going to try and rush back. He will leave Perth tomorrow night, so wont see the result, which looks headed South Africas way.November 6 I pick a dress that extends to my ankles today, but my colleague Melinda Farrell doesnt. She also bares her shoulders. She is reprimanded at the gate, and now that the rest of the press pack know about the issue, another social-media storm erupts. To the WACAs credit, their stadium manager visits us and apologises profusely. He assures us we both look fine.November 7 I wear pants today but am stopped at the gate yet again. No thongs allowed, says the staff member. I present the media argument again. I am let in. This time, both Melinda and I receive an email apology from the WACA CEO. She says the members code will be reviewed and the ground wants to bring about change. We didnt enjoy the attention over our choice of clothing but were pleased weve achieved something. South Africa have too - the series lead. Given how far they had fallen last summer, their dominance is unexpected.November 8 Hobart is the only destination on this tour that Ive not been to before, so I am particularly looking forward to being there. Its Australias second oldest city and one with an extensive convict history. Ive just finished reading Alex Haleys Roots, and I want to find something similar but Australian. Ive been recommended For the Term of his Natural Life by Marcus Clarke and I make it my mission to track it down - if I can ever feel my fingers again; its cold in Hobart. November 9 I was warned to expect less than summery conditions in Hobart but I didnt anticipate a wind so icy it threatens to freeze the blood in my veins. Not to make this all about my wardrobe but I need more clothes. Cricket Tasmanias digital-media manager, Michelle Cooling, offers to lend me some. Among them is a Hobart Hurricanes hoodie. Shes got a fan for life.November 10 Still havent managed to get to a bookshop but I am enjoying learning about the local food. Melinda takes me to Mures, a seafood establishment on the harbour, where we splash out on all the regions delicacies. Oysters done four ways, scallops, white fish, even a dessert of chocolate tarts. Its definitely among the best meals Ive ever eaten.November 11 A cannon being towed by a Ute rolls past on my morning run, headed to the Anzac Parade. Its Remembrance Day. The colonial history is more marked here than anywhere else in Australia Ive seen, especially in the architecture. The Queen Victoria Clock Tower, now home to the General Post Office, was built by public subscription and has become one of my favourite landmarks.November 12 Theres no rain yet but Australia are drowned anyway. Vernon Philander rolls back the years and takes 5 for 21. Its an even better performance than on his debut. After suffering torn ankle ligaments last season, he seems to have regained confidence and become even better than what we thought was his best. As I leave the ground, I see the Australian team bus, driven by Nathan Lyon, pull up next to Philander, who is walking to the South African bus. Lyon rolls down the window and congratulates Philander. Sportsmanship is still alive.November 13 The expected rain is finally here, and as the day progresses, it only gets heavier. When we arrive at the ground, the teams have not even turned up. We know its only a matter of time before play is called off. It happens at 2pm. I squeeze in a trip to the Hobart Book Shop and pick up a copy of Clarkes book. Im reminded that this time last year I was in Bangalore, covering the washout that was AB de Villiers 100th Test. Nothing lasts forever, even cold November rain. Chaussure Air Max Pas Cher . Tuesdays surgery at Atlantas Piedmont Hospital was performed by Dr. Xavier Duralde and Hawks team physician Dr. Michael Bernot. Air Max Pas Cher France . Numbers Game examines the deal that sees Michael Del Zotto and Kevin Klein switch places. The Predators Get: D Michael Del Zotto. http://www.airmaxpascherfrance.fr/ . -- Washington Redskins tight end Fred Davis was charged Thursday with driving while intoxicated, a day after he was suspended for an NFL substance-abuse policy violation. DOHA, Qatar -- IOC President Thomas Bach defended his handling of the Russian doping scandal, attacked critics of the Rio de Janeiro Olympics and claimed no cities would have bid for the 2024 Games without his Agenda 2020 reform program.In a speech to the general assembly of the Association of National Olympic Committees on Tuesday, Bach appeared determined to counter the negative public perception surrounding the Olympic movement following a turbulent year of doping crises, the troubled buildup to Rio and continuing concerns over the costs of hosting the games.Bach cited media headlines in the months ahead of the Rio Games about security, water quality, the Zika virus and allegations of state-sponsored doping in Russia. Citing Donald Trumps victory in the U.S. presidential election last week, Bach said the Rio Games were a case study in the difference between published opinion and public opinion and between perception and reality.Bach said the Rio Games were a great success, citing record global television viewership and social media interest, though he made no mention of the empty seats and organizational glitches that also affected the event. Bach said the success of the games was a miracle in light of the severe recession and political turmoil that Brazil has been going through.He also went to great lengths to defend the International Olympic Committees decision not to impose a total ban on Russia from the games, saying he has received support from dozens of world leaders on the issue.The World Anti-Doping Agency had called for the complete ban following a report by investigator Richard McLaren that detailed systematic, state-assisted doping in Russia. The IOC instead allowed international sports federations to decide which Russian athletes could compete.Bach said he has met with many heads of state and government since the games and all backed the IOCs position.They appreciated and acknowledged we did not take a political decision but we took a decision that took in the interest of sport and respected justice for clean athletes and protecting the clean athletes worldwide, he said. To see this acknowledgement and this appreciation by so many political leaders was a confirmation of our decision and is a great encouragement for all of us.McLarens finall report is due out next month and will focus on allegations of Russian doping and manipulation of samples at the 2014 Winter Games in Sochi. Achat Air Max Pas Cher. Two IOC commissions are also looking into the allegations, which could lead to calls for sanctions on Russia for the 2018 Winter Games in Pyeongchang, South Korea.Bach said once the investigations and hearings are completed, the IOC will take the necessary measures and all the sanctions because if only part of this would be true, it would be an unprecedented attack on the integrity on the Olympic Games and on the Olympic competitions.On a separate issue, Bach said no cities would have come forward as candidates to host the 2024 Summer Games had the IOC not passed his Olympic Agenda 2020 project, which aims to reduce the cost of hosting the games and insists on maximum use of existing and temporary facilities.Several cities pulled out of bidding for the 2022 Winter Games over financial and political concerns. Last month, Rome withdrew from the 2024 race because of opposition from the citys new mayor. That decision leaves Los Angeles, Paris and Budapest, Hungary, as candidates.Without `Olympic Agenda 2020, we would have had zero candidates, Bach said. There would have been none. All of the candidates who you will see now and the others who were in the race or considering in the race, they can confirm this to you. They told us this.Bach also said that high-ranking Olympic official Patrick Hickey, who was arrested during the Rio Games on ticket scalping charges, deserves the presumption of innocence pending the resolution of his case. Hickey, who is not permitted to leave Brazil, has temporarily stepped down as a member of the IOC executive board and president of the European Olympic Committees.Bach said Hickeys arrest shows Olympic officials are not immune and must obey the laws and rules in other countries.What was in the past something that just concerned us in an organization is now concerning the rules and the laws of a country, Bach said. These laws of the country we have to respect, and each and every one of you has to take them into consideration when acting accordingly. ' ' '
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