The mid-run treat of the views at the top of Mt Coot-tha. Time enough for a quick pic to prove I was there before the run back down. 

The first morning of an Ashes series is always filled with excitement. This time the adrenaline was flowing as we rushed to our seat to see the first ball. We left home at 8am to give ourselves time to enjoy the around the ground activities. We missed all of that and sat down at about 9:55. Just in time!

In the lead up to the Rugby League World Cup, a group of league players were arranged at Reddacliff Place.  This is the Australian representative. We saw these on the Thursday after a day at th cricket. The Semi Final (Australia vs Fiji) was on the Friday. 

And here are the clones for the other team (or at least those that fit in the pic)

Valentine Holmes streaks away for an intercept try just after half time on his way to a record 6 tries. Fiji went hard early and lead with a penalty goal. Australia were quick to take control once they had a sniff and ended up winning 54-6.

It was a fun family outing but we all went home tired, especially with three of us backing up from Day 1 of the Ashes the day before, and Alex arriving home from her Canberra school trip earlier in the afternoon. 

After a day at the cricket, and then the football, a third consecutive day of activities was too much. We ditched the idea of Carols under the Stars on the Saturday night. Fortunately they were on Sunday and we were still able to catch them!

I skipped work for half an hour and managed to snag a few snaps. The English players were quite good, but a few of the Australian players could do well to pay more attention to the fans. Josh Duggan didn’t even look up when he signed my poster.

Members Day at Suncorp Stadium and plenty of autographs to be had. Unfortunately this meant plenty of waiting. This is us waiting. 

Down in The Members Lounge, seeking the solace of the air conditioning, and we bumped into a few Broncos legends. I had to explain who Kevie Walters, Justin Hodges and Scott Prince were to James, but he was happy to get a photo and autograph from the old timers. 

Great chance to grace the playing surface of Lang Park and grab a selfie...

If he is going to achieve greatness here in later years, he has to learn to feel at home out in the middle. 

James wasn’t overly keen on getting photos during Members Day, but was happy to get a snap with his namesake, James Roberts. 

Back at the top of Mt Coot-Tha for a few more kilometres.