'The Team For Me.'

Another book finished and I am glad to have read 'The Team for Me.'  Our friend Mike has put together several books, I am not jealous, and the latest one is a brave account of his fifty years following the Heart of Midlothian.  A jolly atmosphere filled book where all aspects of football fan, from the programme to the reception provided by Glasgow policemen finds a place.  Many times I knew I had been there, many times I understood how the author's emotions jangled, many times I understood why tears appeared, that comes from following a football team, especially this one!
However fans from all clubs will emote as they read.  The grounds change, the club names may be different and the league or division may be higher or lower but the situation in which a man's life is lifted to the heights or brought down to the depths depending on the result of a football game does not change.  This is a book for the 'real fan' not the one who changes scarves at the start of every season t follow the one seen on TV, this is a book the real fan can understand.  
As an example of that as I read I could not get out of my head sitting behind the goals at Love Street Paisley with the sleet in my face as we huddled together singing "We shall overcome" while the  Heart of Midlothian were losing three nil to a St Mirren side that were getting relegated and we scored the first goal two minutes in!  Thank you Danny Ferguson!  Bah!

At just after noon the boiler man arrived keen and willing (keen to be elsewhere and willing to find a reason to charge) and soon he had decided a new boiler was required.  As it happened the landlord, the daughter of the deceased man I knew, was in the building, not that she wished to see me of course, and he rushed off to discuss the deal.
I never saw him again!
An hour or so later a call from the plumbers announced the 5th of October would be a 'New Boiler Day' just in time for winter.  So this sounds very good indeed to me.  A Friday morning which tells me it will be working by noon so they can take the rest of the day off!  Fine with me, I shall run away for an hour or two and let them get on with it.