Sounds like a nice job? You must be joking. Get the true story from sports journalism’s equivalent of Victor Meldrew. Ever tried to get a phone call out of Nagpur? Make contact with the office from Norfolk Island? Trudged several miles up a Japanese mountain to watch Britain’s No 1 woman skier plough straight through the first gate? Attempted to write a semi-coherent report after a night out with Ian Botham? Nearly frozen to death at a cricket match in New Zealand? Been hi-jacked in Moscow by a drunken Russian?
It’s hell out there, says Martin, who makes out his case for a life of hardship, deprivation, and a breathless dedication to duty in the face of overwhelming odds. Frankly, however, we still think it reads more like the Life of Riley.