Burf and Barb's Excellent Staycation - Pt 1

With summer finally shedding its heat on Auckland on Friday, what better than to get out and take advantage?

For some time the Okura walk off East Coast Bays Road between Long Bay and Silverdale has been a McConnell target and today was the day.

It was well worth it. What was truly impressive was the obvious care with which Auckland's City Council staff are attempting to stem the Kauri dieback disease and also the pest control through the walk.

The value in that was especially appreciated when walking on elevated duckboards through a section of the track which could best be described as 'Kauri Avenue'. It demonstrated the delicate environment in which these magnificent trees are flourishing, even in their relative youth, and by which they still manage to impress with their rigid growth to poke above the bush canopy.

Long may it continue and here's hoping all visitors perform the necessary shoewash before and after their walks, at the facility provided.

At low tide the end result is the chance to walk along the floor of the estuary taking in the brilliant birdlife and what is left of the Pohutukawa show, New Zealand's colourful Christmas tree.

A slip just before the estuary exit has prevented the track continuing through the bush, but the estuary walk is compensation enough and at its end, before heading sideways around the waterfront towards Stillwater and the exit to the track, there is a magnificent vista of the Hauraki Gulf looking along the Whangaparoa Peninsula with Great Barrier Island standing guard in the distance.

As for us we turned around and went back whence we had come thankful for the opportunity to enjoy the track in reverse mode.

And all within 10 minutes drive from home. Auckland continues to surprise. And if the weather continues its belated arrival for the holidays, who knows what might be next?

THE PASSING PARADE No.1

A random series on experiences and conversations in my journalism career. All the people involved were spoken to face-to-face in interviews but some extra material by way of background may have been added to round out the experience, especially when looking back a considerable number of years.

JAMES A MICHENER

It was one of those moments when opportunity jumped out of the pages of a newspaper. All newspaper offices hold exchange copies of other publications whether locally, nationally or internationally. Often on slow news days a perusal of other newspapers could provide an idea for a local angle to be developed.

On this occasion, in early 1976, it was a brief mention that James A. Michener would be returning to New Zealand as part of the American bi-centennial celebrations during which he would be giving some public lectures, mainly in Auckland and Wellington that caught the eye. But there was also a reference that he hoped to do some travel in the South Island.

As a young general reporter on The Southland Times, in my third year on the job, I recognised it might be worthwhile contacting the Department of Internal Affairs, the government organisation hosting the legendary writer. So I sent off a letter, duly receiving a reply that Michener would be in Invercargill and would be available for a chat.

Never had so much preparation been done for an interview. My first contact with the Michener method had been his book The Drifters which struck a chord, as it would for many who grew up through those memorable 1960s. I had also most recently completed Centennial, parts of Rascals in Paradise, and had consumed The Fires of Spring, The Bridges at Toko-ri, The Bridge at Andau, Kent State: What Happened and Why and A Michener Miscellany.

In most instances these were not small books but they had a captivating quality that got right inside the subject matter.

So the moment arrived, at Invercargill's Kelvin Hotel, right next door to The Southland Times as it happens. Introductions were duly made and the folder was opened with a set of questions laid out. First things first, what on Earth had made him come to Invercargill?  Having been born and bred in Southland there was an awareness that not a lot of interesting people tended to visit.

However, it turned out that during his youth when studying in Scotland on a scholarship, Michener had visited a town on the west coast of Scotland known as Oban, and he wanted to visit the other Oban that he was aware of, on Stewart Island, across Foveaux Strait from Bluff, just to the south of Invercargill.

"I'd sooner come to Invercargill than go to a tourist spot. It's not majestic, or a great centre, but I have always been interested in it," he said. "I'm a trained observer. I love the world, and I have an affinity for what is going on in it."

But with the niceties aside, it was into his writing and its development. His experience in naval aviation with the US Navy in World War Two first exposed him to the South Pacific and its stories, most notably represented through South Pacific which became a top flight Rogers and Hammerstein musical and film.

That was followed a semi-biographical novel titled The Fires of Spring. Hawaii became another movie from his books and then he spread his wings with books like Caravans and The Source.

And then, of course, The Drifters.

"Pamplona was where it all started. My wife and I would go there and sit in a public square for a while and then young kids would find out who I was and start talking to me and firing questions at me. We would talk and argue over points. I learned while I was talking with these youths."

From that he developed the plot line of a story which caught the spirit of the youth of the age, unsettled and revolutionary as it may have been but also questioning and enquiring, an aspect that Michener appreciated – it was his own modus operandi.

Michener was also a patriot and at the time in the post-Watergate years he commented that while the US had enormous opportunities to accomplish good she contained within herself the seeds of her own destruction.

"This is more true now than when I wrote it. The day could well come when Japan could exist as a homogenous nation while the United States could have blown apart into four or five regions. [He wasn't far off the mark, replace Japan with China and you see his point.]

"We in the United States are a disparate society, with different religions and races. If everything goes bad we could fall apart," he said.

There were parallels in his observations of those days with modern America. He described the experience of Watergate which was notable for, as he put it, 'the actions of unelected men around the President, Richard Nixon' as being 'pretty frightening in a democracy'.

He hadn't been impressed by the influx of students into journalism courses as a result of it – that was leading to a lot of scandal-mongering as everyone tried to emulate Woodward and Bernstein, the journalists who broke the Watergate break-in.

His observations about a potential role for New Zealand in the future of the world were also interesting.

Keeping in mind the alarming rate at which the world population was increasing, he said Australia and New Zealand would have to deal in their own ways with the burgeoning population in Asia.

"It may be New Zealand's destiny to provide a surplus of educated people to emigrate overseas and pass on what they have learned," he said. New Zealand had a very good education system which produced an 'extraordinary' number of graduates who were literate compared to the US where people were leaving college unable to read or write.

Sadly our time was over at that point. Michener's wife Mari, and his Dept. Of Internal Affairs minder were conscious of the fact he had not long before suffered a heart attack and was on a prescribed programme which meant he had used up his time and would have to conclude the interview.

But the memory, as they say, lingers on. It was easy to understand why Michener had been able to relate to people of all ages in going about his work. His reasoned responses to questions, his friendliness and his basic class towards a young journalist setting out on the road was an example that has never been forgotten. Scouring through yesterday's newspapers from other regions had proven its worth yet again.

Conquerors of Time goes e-book

Conquerors of Time has become available as an e-book and is available at the link below.

http://www.amazon.com/Conquerors-of-Time-ebook/dp/B004TVO7S2

You don't have to have an e-book to read it as you can download a reader for your home computer, it's called Kindle for PC, if you do a web search.

Remember the review comments for the book:

1: Roberto Quercetani's Review of Conquerors of Time (Translation)

"In these days of hustle and bustle there is an element of great joy in seeing a book dedicated to great middle distance athletes of over 70 years ago, especially one that has on it’s cover a great picture of Luigi Beccali and Jack Lovelock in perfect unison at the head of the pack at the Universiade of Turin in 1933.

"This was an indeed a great era, one during which the Italian equalled the world record of 3’49’’2 in the 1500 events.

"One could think that the efforts of those athletes pales into insignificance when compared to those of today and that their achievements should be just an obsolete memory, but in sport as in life, every generation is judged by its achievements and this book pays tribute to great athletic achievements of the day.

"Lynn McConnell from New Zealand is a historic journalist who has a strong attraction to the era and to the small group of middle distance runners that dominated the 1500m/one mile events between 1932 and 1936.

"Jack Lovelock, a New Zealander, is the principle subject of the study as the era culminated in his victory in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and a world record of 3’47”8 ahead of the American Glenn Cunningham and our own Beccali.

"All the great races of the period are analysed with great attention to detail starting with Beccali’s victory in the Los Angeles games of 1932. The author has travelled the world and has contacted the descendants of his ‘heroes’ reconstructing in great detail the ‘entourage’ in which they lived and operated.

"To the most common names are added those of other great athletes of the age such as the Americans Bill Bonthron and Gene Venzke and the Englishmen Sydney Woodersoon and Jerry Cornes. The entire group is carefully dissected in splendid detail by the author.

"The men who ran in those days did so purely for enjoyment and National pride, but in doing so created history and in many cases formed great friendships that lasted for many years.

"Lovelock, who died tragically under a train in the New York Metro, is one of the athletes who have attracted the curiosity of historians - Of the books dedicated to him this is the most profound."

Athletics Weekly, Jan 21, 2010:

"Lynn McConnell brings alive a golden era in middle-distance running that few people today were around to witness. Conquerors of Time is the story of the race to win the 1936 Olympic 1500m title – a classic confrontation won by Jack Lovelock of New Zealand.

"The cast of athletes during the period was a who's who of milers. In addition to Lovelock, characters included: Glenn Cunningham, the world mile record holder from the United States; Luigi Beccali, the Italian who had won the 1932 Olympic 1500m gold; Jerry Cornes, the British runner-up in 1932; and Sydney Wooderson, the bespectacled hero of British athletics who would go on to break the world mile record in 1937.

"McConnell's book charts the progress of these runners, plus others, from the 1932 Games in Los Angeles to the Berlin Olympics itself. It also looks at what happened to them after their athletics careers were over.

"Such was the anticipation before the race in Berlin, the start was delayed slightly to allow Adolf Hitler to take his seat. The crowd was not disappointed either, as the race was won in style by Lovelock in a world record time.

"This is a terrifically researched book and a glowing endorsement has also been given by former AW editor Mel Whatman, who recently reviewed the book in Athletics International and wrote:

'Races at these distances are superbly reconstructed by Lynn McConnell, an award winning writer and editor from New Zealand who provides particularly acute insights into the career and personality of his compatriot thanks to reference to Lovelock's diaries.

'The other towering figures of that period are also well drawn and there is much for the enthusiast to savour in this 244-page paperback. It's a terrific, nostalgic story of the fascinating characters who contributed to an enchanting era in miling history.'"

Jamie McKay in The Southland Times, February 26, 2010:

"On a winning note, former Southland Times sports editor Lynn McConnell really has struck gold with his Jack Lovelock book Conquerors Of Time.

"As chronicled last week, the story revolves around the 1932-36 period and looks at the lives of Lovelock and his rivals for gold in the 1500m at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.

"His two main rivals were the Italian Luigi Beccali (who won gold at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932) and the superstar American Glenn Cunningham, whom many considered the favourite for Berlin.

"The chapter on Cunningham makes compelling reading. Growing up on a remote farm in Kansas, Cunningham triumphed over terrible childhood burns in 1917 that left one leg shorter than the other and took several years of constant self-massage before he was able to maintain balance, let alone run properly.

"He escaped another childhood brush with death by hanging on to a cow's tail in a snow blizzard (a practice he'd developed during his recovery process to help regain his balance), the family cow getting him home safely to the barn when he would have otherwise perished.

"Then in 1928, as his athletics career was starting to flourish, a high school baseball accident saw him ignore the ongoing pain of several loosened teeth.

"It was only when he undertook a medical for entry into the US Navy at the advent of World War II that the full extent of the injury was realised.

"His teeth were badly abscessed, the dentist saying with all that poison flowing into his system, it was a wonder he could walk during his athletic career, let alone run through the constant pain he'd wrongly associated to his legs.

"For the record, Cunningham finished second to Lovelock in Berlin with Beccali third. Sports historians will thoroughly enjoy Conquerors Of Time."

Conquerors of Time Review (4)

Jamie McKay in The Southland Times, February 26, 2010:

On a winning note, former Southland Times sports editor Lynn McConnell really has struck gold with his Jack Lovelock book Conquerors Of Time.
As chronicled last week, the story revolves around the 1932-36 period and looks at the lives of Lovelock and his rivals for gold in the 1500m at the 1936 Berlin Olympics.
His two main rivals were the Italian Luigi Beccali (who won gold at the Los Angeles Olympics in 1932) and the superstar American Glenn Cunningham, whom many considered the favourite for Berlin.
The chapter on Cunningham makes compelling reading. Growing up on a remote farm in Kansas, Cunningham triumphed over terrible childhood burns in 1917 that left one leg shorter than the other and took several years of constant self-massage before he was able to maintain balance, let alone run properly.
He escaped another childhood brush with death by hanging on to a cow's tail in a snow blizzard (a practice he'd developed during his recovery process to help regain his balance), the family cow getting him home safely to the barn when he would have otherwise perished.
Then in 1928, as his athletics career was starting to flourish, a high school baseball accident saw him ignore the ongoing pain of several loosened teeth.
It was only when he undertook a medical for entry into the US Navy at the advent of World War II that the full extent of the injury was realised.
His teeth were badly abscessed, the dentist saying with all that poison flowing into his system, it was a wonder he could walk during his athletic career, let alone run through the constant pain he'd wrongly associated to his legs.
For the record, Cunningham finished second to Lovelock in Berlin with Beccali third. Sports historians will thoroughly enjoy Conquerors Of Time.

Conquerors of Time Review (2)

Roberto Quercetani's Review of Conquerors of Time (Translation

In these days of hustle and bustle there is an element of great joy in seeing a book dedicated to great middle distance athletes of over 70 years ago, especially one that has on it’s cover a great picture of Luigi Beccali and Jack Lovelock in perfect unison at the head of the pack at the Universiade of Turin in 1933.

This was an indeed a great era, one during which the Italian equalled the world record of 3’49’’2 in the 1500 events.

One could think that the efforts of those athletes pales into insignificance when compared to those of today and that their achievements should be just an obsolete memory, but in sport as in life, every generation is judged by its achievements and this book pays tribute to great athletic achievements of the day.

Lynn McConnell from New Zealand is a historic journalist who has a strong attraction to the era and to the small group of middle distance runners that dominated the 1500m/one mile events between 1932 and 1936.

Jack Lovelock, a New Zealander, is the principle subject of the study as the era culminated in his victory in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games and a world record of 3’47”8 ahead of the American Glenn Cunningham and our own Beccali.

All the great races of the period are analysed with great attention to detail starting with Beccali’s victory in the Los Angeles games of 1932. The author has travelled the world and has contacted the descendants of his ‘heroes’ reconstructing in great detail the ‘entourage’ in which they lived and operated.

To the most common names are added those of other great athletes of the age such as the Americans Bill Bonthron and Gene Venzke and the Englishmen Sydney Woodersoon and Jerry Cornes. The entire group is carefully dissected in splendid detail by the author.

The men who ran in those days did so purely for enjoyment and National pride, but in doing so created history and in many cases formed great friendships that lasted for many years.

Lovelock, who died tragically under a train in the New York Metro, is one of the athletes who have attracted the curiosity of historians - Of the books dedicated to him this is the most profound.

Review of Conquerors of Time

BOOK REVIEW – New Zealand Herald (Friday, November 27, 2009)

Conquerors of Time
Lynn McConnell
Sports Books

www.sportsbooks.ltd.uk

What a great shame this book could not find a home in New Zealand.

Veteran sports journalist and prolific author Lynn McConnell (this is his 16th book) formulated the idea for this book as a repudiation of some theories posited in James McNeish's acclaimed novel Lovelock. However, his focus soon changed to the quality of the 1936 1500m final and in particular the quality of the field in what was the first competitive era of middle-distance running.

It is a book whose protagonist is a New Zealand hero, though it is not a New Zealand book as such, and perhaps that is what made potential publishing houses here fidgety. It certainly couldn't have been the quality.

This could be considered the mortar around the Lovelock foundation stones – The Legend of Lovelock (1964), by Norman Harris and As If Running on Air (2008), Lovelock's diaries edited by David Colquhoun – but Conquerors of Time is more than that also.

It is a fascinating study into a golden era of the mile and metric mile, perhaps, alongside the race for the four-minute mile, the golden era.

Lovelock is cast, not surprisingly, as the lead character, but rivals such as Italian Luigi Beccali, Brit Sydney Wooderson and Americans Glenn Cunningham, Bill Bonthron and Gene Venzke do not sit idly in the shadow of Jack's brilliance.

Each enjoys their time in the spotlight, with a number of classic races re-run with the focus on one athlete at a time. There were the Race of the Century series at Princeton, the AAA champs in Britain, the 1500m final in Los Angeles '32 and, of course, the 1936 Olympic final in Berlin.

This is meticulously researched, by the time you have finished there is nothing you will not know about the build-up to the great race. If you like athletics, you will love this. If you enjoy character studies into the men who became the first middle-distance track legends, there is plenty for your too.

One minor criticism is that there is perhaps too much verbatim drawing upon contemporary tracts.

- Dylan Cleaver

Tana Umaga tells it like it is

Sports autobiographies, and rugby versions especially, come and go at a great rate of knots in New Zealand but one that has made its mark is that of Tana Umaga, the recently-retired All Blacks captain.

Tana Umaga, Up Close, attracted a deal of post-release publicity for his disclosures on specific aspects of his career.

But it would be a great shame if this effort, written by Paul Thomas, was to escape the attention of those with an ounce of care about the game in New Zealand.

Having read the book, it is no surprise that those at the head of the game have not reacted as quickly as in the past over the failure of the All Blacks at the World Cup.

Umaga was not especially enamoured of the style of coaching contender Robbie Deans, who was tied up with the John Mitchell coaching era which ended in the 20003 World Cup disappointments.

Umaga said that it was tough at the time because players didn't know where they stood with the coaches.

"Despite being a senior player, I got no feedback at all - just, 'No, you're not in this week.' That was pretty typical of the Mitchell/Deans man-management style, which wasn't what I was used to," he said.

Being a non-Crusader also made life difficult in that Crusader dominated era.

"Mitchell and Deans had a core group of players whom they valued and listened to, and it didn't include me," he said.

Umaga's attitude was just to play harder and prove they needed him, which is pretty much the way he approached most aspects of his career.

But he had no sympathy for the pair when they lost their places after the 2003 World Cup.

"I didn't feel sorry for them because I remembered the contemptuous way they cast aside experienced and valuable players. I'm a big believer in karma and that was certainly a case of what goes around, comes around," he said.

Umaga also left no doubts about his feelings with the coaching panel of Graham Henry, Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith.

Their set-up was the best he had come across, he said.

Umaga said he supported the concept of conditioning.

"We needed to be innovative because the way we've gone about it for the last four World Cups hasn't worked, but, for whatever reason, the rationale for the rotation system and the conditioning programme hasn't been accepted by some critics.

"Criticism is one thing, but some people seem to be itching for the opportunity to say, 'I told you so', which is a sad indictment," he said.

Umaga was also strong on the point that the transition from Super 14 to All Blacks is tough on players, especially mentally.

While his book was produced before this year's World Cup debacle the points he makes about the state of the game are interesting and concisely put.

Adding lustre to his story is the Samoan connection and its place in the New Zealand game. It is a healthy reminder of the changing face of sport in this country.

Umaga may be off coaching in France but it is very difficult to imagine that his connection with top level rugby in New Zealand is finishing. A coaching career is not beyond the realms of possibility and if it proves half as interesting as his book then All Blacks rugby will still have plenty to offer.

Tana Umaga - Up Close with Paul Thomas. Hodder Moa. Price $49.99

Stewart leaves no stone unturned

Sir Jackie Stewart has been a survivor, when many of his closest friends among the motor racing fraternity were not.

It has taken him a long time to commit the thoughts about his career to paper, and at times it must have been an emotional exercise to complete.

Young men with lifetimes ahead of them, crashed throughout the heydays of motor sport, but even from his earliest days as a champion grand prix driver, Stewart was unhappy with the lack of safety provisions on the world's motor racing circuit.

In but one of several eye-opening features of his recently released book Winning Is Not Everything, Stewart outlines the antagonism he struck, not only from race track owners and promoters but from within the driving ranks.

It took rare fortitude to keep up the battle but a whole new generation of drivers can thank Stewart and those few who supported his stance for the greater safety among grands prix in the modern era.

How typical that those who stood to profit most from the efforts of the drivers should show the greatest resistance to understanding the need for some effort to be made towards driver safety.

That Stewart showed the resilience to emerge from the controversial era with life and reputation intact is hardly surprising when this book is viewed in its entirety.

The first point Stewart makes is about his dyslexia, which went unobserved until his son was tested for it. Perhaps because he included it first, he makes it one of the most crucial aspects of his life.

The problem led to him suffering from not only his school classmates, but also from his teachers, when he was unable to read. Clearly it became a driving force as he sought to establish himself in the world, initially as a trapshooter who just failed to make Britain's 1960 Olympic Games team, but latterly as a driver.

His subsequent success and a mixture of lucky breaks and considered thinking saw him claim the world drivers' championship three times. He later became a successful team owner and a media figure, especially in United States coverage of motorsport, and businessman.

The tale he has provided, which also includes a DVD of career highlights, is an enthralling story, chockful of the sort of attention to detail that clearly marked his driving career, and anecdote and name-dropping that demonstrates an engaging personality.

Stewart's has clearly been a life fully lived, representing as it does a triumph over the odds which denied him many friends at a time in life when those friendships should be one of the most satisfying parts of his life.

But in taking the lessons from those losses and applying them to the sport that nurtured him, Stewart has created an example of selflessness and fortitude that exceeds his achievements on the track.

Any professional sportsman, or person who claims to have an understanding of sport, must surely benefit from reading this story of professionalism at the cutting edge of competition.