Just landed in Dubai. I had quite an interesting flight from Paris. First I missed my original flight on the 27th, and took the same flight on the 28th. So, I'm reaching Auckland a day later than expected. Next, I let my curiosity get the best of me. If I had sat in my seat just one more hour, I would've reached Dubai without incident. But, there was a group travelling on the plane. They drank and sang from the back of the plane. Turned out to be the French Parliament's rugby team, which is made up of parliament members and rugby players. So, I went back there to find out more, see if there was a story, etc., and ended the flight with a senator in the French parliament propositioning me. He was incredulous when I ultimately refused. It's worrying when someone you see as a potential source and contact propositions you, especially when it is a person of authority and power. In this case, I was not writing a particular story, but I was scavenging for myself, or for my colleague who is now in Sydney, where the team will be playing. If I was actually writing the story, I would be in danger of losing my source for simply bruising his ego.
I think it's kind of hilarious that a subplot of the rugby World Cup is this tournament among parliamentary teams from France, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand and others. It's curious. First of all, they are old, and rugby is physically very challenging. And, secondly, why?
