Scottish Football Reflects the Times.

 

I was watching a clip of the Heart of Midlothian scoring 90 goals against Hibernian.  I must point out these goals did not arrive in only one game.  The first clip came from one of our victories in 1959, before I had made it to the ground.  

Several things struck me as I watched these early games.  The goal celebrations were the most obvious.  A goal is scored, with ease against Hibernian, and the players 'jumped for joy,' congratulated the scorer and returned quickly to the centre circle to do it all again.  No sliding needlessly into the corner, no standing on the wall taking the glory.  No rolling about on the ground while other formed a horde about you.  Just get back and get on with the game.

The game was no less serious, the attitudes deep.  The joy of a  win and the despair of a loss great both ways, no less than today, and yet...  

People tackled harder in those days, yet there were less bookings and sending's off.  Both sides fought hard to win and yet there was less animosity.  Indeed, many who bought season tickets for Tynecastle to watch the Heart of Midlothian also took season tickets at Hibernian and watched the teams week about.  This is not possible today and many would not understand this anyway.  

Life has changed in the last 70 years.  Our attitudes to football reflect this.  It appears to be that attitudes have hardened somewhat, football success is more important than it ought to be, and this is reflected with many no longer watching great European games and preferring to watch teams further down the ladder where 'real football' can be seen.  This includes standing on a near empty terracing, banter between fans, and the occasional dog demanding attention, especially when eating the miserly pies that are on sale from the van on the corner.  

Football has got wealthier alongside the nations, neither have become better because of this.

Saturday Sloth

 

 

I started the new month in the normal way, seeking for what day this is, working out what the time was, seeking coffee, and then hobbling up to Sainsburys before either I was awake or the crowds had gathered.  At Sainsburys the crowds had gathered.  I filled my basket as quickly as possible, joined the shortest queue at the checkout, friendly crowd here, good young lady on till, and struggled home, huffing and puffing all the way.  

Another month has begun!

This is the fourth, and I still working through the second!  Now Spring clean time has arrived, but thankfully I canny be bothered.  So that is that!  

The constant bug over the past few months has been hanging around making life difficult again.  However, by remaining indoors for the past three weeks, only shopping took me out, has helped greatly. Indeed, this week I returned to exercise and housekeeping!  Both have been missing, and my mind is clearer than for a while.  However, I have been here before.  A virus is not a good thing, they come and go, wave after wave, but hopefully this one will clear off soon, I may even stop coughing for a while.

So, Saturday is football day, and to nobodys surprise the Heart of Midlothian threw it!  A good reason for depression.  It is strange how a simple game like football can mean so much.  We all know its only a game but winning and losing have an effect on the fan.  I cheered my self up by watching Motherwell roundly beat Hibernian in Leith.  That brought a smile.

Now I prepare for tomorrow, Palm Sunday, mostly by staring into space...

 

      My latest great niece. That cheers me up.

Frost, Bishop and a touch of Toby

It was one of those ridiculous winters morning today.  The sky was blue, the sun shone, and the streets were slippery with frost.  As I walked, tripping up several times and almost going flat out once, the pavements on one side were white while the frost on the telephone wires above slowly melted, dropping great blobs on heads of the few passers-by.  Everything ached, and as I rose that morning my one thought was "I wish it was Monday."  Then I can go back to bed, but not today.

 

Today the Bishop was preaching, so I was ordered there to take pictures.  

This once confused me as he is not the Bishop of Essex, just of Colchester.  But large counties have a Bishop and as many 'sufferagent Bishops as required, Essex has three.  The sbishops, as you may have noted, are strange people, this one however, has his good points.  For a start he knows God, though he does have a tendency to the 'Stonewall' nonsense.  I was glad he did not mention this today, I may have started something.  All went well, he spoke well, many pictures were taken, all smiled.

 

I then watched as the Heart of Midlothian strolled past the poor Hibs team.  This, as you know, is not unusual.  The best part was watching Toby Sibbick run up the park near the end of the game and chip the ball past the despairing goalkeeper.  Toby Sibbick, the new striker!  Another great performance from him, though the team was not playing to well once again.  Playing not to good we have beaten Aberdeen and Hibs.  All looks good so far.

Broken Cooker but not Broken Hearts

 

It's been all go!

Or rather, no go!

Everything is falling down around me again.

The preparation for monday has not ended, though much has now been done. 

Energy is abundant, until I start work, then it fades rather.  

Good Friday was a 'spiritual' day, lots of pondering and happiness indeed.

Friday night was time for Inverness v Kilmarnock where Killie could ensure promotion by winning.

They lost. 

However, disruptions for me are abounding.  Twice the picture failed for no good reason.  'Cannot play' or some such warning came up, then suddenly it returned.  Why?  No reason whatsoever.

As it is I was already musing about another breakdown, the cooker.  The thermostat or whatever has failed.  It comes on, warms a wee bit and nothing else.  No grill at all, totally useless.

This with my niece on Monday approaching, looks like cold chicken for lunch!

Today saw me attend wearily to more items, the first job done, the second cleaning the broken cooker after fiddling with it for a while.  I had of course switched off the plug just in case.

After much failed engineering I gave up, switched on the kettle and it did not work! 

Thoughts of a new kettle, rushing about Tesco, faffing about once more.

Then I considered plugging the radio into the socket just to see what was what.

No radio sounded.

I wisely checked the main box, a switch was down, but not marked as to what it was.  I guessed it may help and returned indoors where the kettle now worked.

The cooker however, did not.

Enough now, that will have to wait until Tuesday.  The Hob works as does the microwave, but cooking plans have gone asunder.

 

 

Another Scottish Cup semi-final, another semi-final against the wee team Hibernian, another victory for the Heart of Midlothian!  This was of course not unexpected, History reveals the great gulf between the Heart of Midlothian and the wee team, just look at the record.

 

Edinburgh Derby

Games:  653
Heart of Midlothian wins:  286
Hibernian wins:   206
Drawn:    155
Abandoned when the Hibbys cried "It's ma ba," and went home while losing:  6.
 

Goal scored
Heart of Midlothian:  1102

Hibernian:   926

The 'Natural Order' prevails.

It was no surprise to find Hibernian players kicking Hearts men all over the pitch, this is what they usually do.  It was a surprise to see such an efficient referee allow them to remain on the pitch when other refs would have dismissed them!  However, inevitably Mr Newell got himself sent off for violent behaviour, something he knows all about.  

Once again the Heart of Midlothian approach a Scottish Cup Final.

Once again we have removed Hibernian from the game.

Once again the media will ignore us and talk about the sectarian Glasgow bigots.

Ah Well...

Sunday Spiel

A quite good day today.

I began the day by doing a bit of Trolling.  I went over to the Hibernian FC site on Twitter where they were parading the usual guff before todays Edinburgh football derby against the Heart of Midlothian, I thought I would troll.

Innocently I posted the Historical facts, all the important ones.

 

Since 1875.  651 Derbies.
Heart of Midlothian won: 286  Hibs 206 Draws 153
6 Abandonded when Hibs went homs in a huff.
Goals: Heart of Midlothian 1100  Hibs 925.

Natural order.

'Natural Order' is a term also used to troll Hibbys.  The number of games has obviously increased by one.  It goes without saying that soon I was inveloped by a crowd of Leith citizens wearing an affronted, sullen and resentful countenance.  I answered all their er, questions, by repeating the statistics for them, some found these unpalatable it appears.  

This did make me laugh.

By the time it came to leave for church I was heading towards a record response for a tweet.  Indeed, many happy Heart of Midlothian individuals also joined me in offering good wishes to the lower orders, but again the response was a wee bit disappointing.

I left them to it.     

With the big game kicking off at noon I wished to leave the church in good time to walk home.  As expected the meeting was slow.  A presentation to the vicar, a celebration for a couples 50th anniversary, then readings, and a sermon, longer than required I say (almost 25 minutes) followed by prayers, followed by slow communion.  After this I looked to the clock, but no, the kids then had something to say, the clock said 'too bad' and I slipped out and hobbled, faster than usual, up the road arriving with two minutes to spare before Kick Off.  Phew!

 

 

 

The great hope I had was that the Heart of Midlothian was easily deal with the foul few from the eastern side.  Had we lost it would not have been a happy time for me on Twitter, a few hundred 'BLOCK' cases might have been called for.  As it is just the residue remains after a 0-0 draw, the fault of a ref who did not help us.  Just why he is a referee I have never understood, he does not know the Laws, does not know the game, and just does not know.  I suspect he is one who votes Conservative.

Anyway, while grabbing poor nourishment for a Sunday I attempted to watch two other games, both English.  However, these mean little and the emotions of a derby day means English football is worthless.

 

Pikrepo

 

So, the day done I must away and attempt to work my way through the magazine pile that is awaiting my attention.  So much to read, magazines and books as well as online stuff, I just have not got the time.  Of course, I could just be getting slow...

Good News and Bad, for Some.

Another Edinburgh Derby, another Derby played at Hampden, another victory for the Heart of Midlothian.  Rain, storm, offside goals and dives for penalties did not cease the onward advance of the men in maroon.  

Indeed it was ever thus, since the first cup final between these two clubs, the Heart of Midlothian winning by 1 - 3 at Logie Green Road, and in all subsequent major semi and finals the Heart of Midlothian succeed.  The last final was in 2012 where the wee team bravely lasted until the end of the game, not counting the one sent off, and lost by 5 goals to 1.  Tee Hee, it is inevitable the Big Team will win such games.

Look at the overall record.

 

1896

 

Since the first meeting between these clubs at the East Meadow in Edinburgh on Christmas Day 1875, which the Heart of Midlothian won by one goal to nil, success has always been with the men in maroon.  So far some 651 game have been played between the sides, the Heart of Midlothian winning 286 Hibs 206, mostly with the help of biased referees.  6 games were abandoned, the Hibs went home when the could not take another beating, or complained it was 'too cold.'   The Hearts have scored some 1100 goals and with the help off dubious penalties and their friendly linesmen Hibs have accrued, what they say, is 924 goals.  Hmmm.  In simple terms what this means is that if Hibernian wish to win as many games as us it could take them 20 years to catch up, but as you realise, that will never happen.

 

The sad news regarding the passing of Sean Connery is not a surprise, he was 90.  However, he is without a doubt the best actor Scotland has produced and will forever be 'James Bond' to one and all. He went from a milk round, horse and cart and all, to 'Dr No' and Ursilla Andress.  Not bad for a milkman.  He delivered in Comley Bank for the 'St Cuthberts Dairy,' my dad did the same round for 'The Edinburgh & Dumfrieshire Dairy,' known as the 'Dummy.'  He went from that to the United Wire Works.'  It does not seen fair...

 

 

I will not mention this, just in case the folks in Taffs Well are listening....

Nothing Blog

It has been that sort of a week.
Nothing in the news bar election, which means Brexit.
No interesting items to read therein, just lies and more lies.
The football pages, the Edinburgh ones anyway, are full of lies re the new managers for Heart of Midlothian and Hibernian.  Names are plucked out of a hat, any unemployed manager is given a ring and asked if he is interested, a full declaration of his love for the club is then published.  Neither of the two clubs have any interest in these men, but anything is used to sell these days.  A Celtic coach has spent much time in the media, Hibernian did not contact him, they did not want him, most fans had never heard of him, but he was 'linked' to Hibs.  The Celtic fans, possibly Hibs ones also, clicked on the online story, wasting their time they read nothing but bull.  Story worked, nothing happened but such is the media today.

I have of course made use of Twitter, much better than facebook, to put right those who are wrong.  This does bring back various answers, educated ones from people in the know, far from educated ones from Rangers fans and gay boys.  Political ones are a dream, although so many comments appear to be 'bots' rather than real people.  
The disadvantage of Twitter is when someone posts a news item, say a football story, then everyone re-tweets this and soon the whole thing is dominated by one story, real or imagined, that never appears to end!  Nothing can stop this. 
At the moment Farage is dominating the page.  Quite why I know not, but there he is, constantly appearing again and again.  You would begin to imagine he has friends pushing this for him, surely not...?

  
This is nice.  
Press baron Lord Rothermere meets world leader.
Nice to see two men working for peace together.  How things have changed.  Today the 'Daily Mail,' the Lords publication, would be aghast at meeting such a man.  I suspect Adolf may feel similarly if he read the rag today...

On the genealogy trail I discovered one great granddad had a marvellous way in which to stop his wife nagging him.  He always had a way with women, however he did not reveal it to the wider public, well, not until the trial at any roads...

Copycat Hypocrisy

Friday night, when Rangers James Tavernier went to take a 'throw in,' while playing Hibernian at the Hibs ground in Leith, a helpful young individual ran down the steps from amongst the home support, jumped the wall taking the security man by surprise, and helpfully kicked the ball at Mr Tavernier.  Mr Taverneir  was somewhat surprised by this, this was the first time anyone from the Hibernian persuasion had actually made an attempt to take the ball from him!  This individual was immediately restrained by the displeased security man and two keen constabuls and 'assisted from the ground.'  
Such things occur at football matches. 
The media immediately jumped into 'offended' mode. 
The cry was 'protect the ball players' from all side.  Ban the thug from football, jail him and throw the key away.  Set an example of Hibernian, close the ground, fine the club, hang the chairman!  All Scots papers, and one or two sections of the English media also, jumped in eyes closed with a froth of disgust at the horrid event.
None mentioned the sectarian singing emanating from the Rangers fans in the ground, none the broken seats thrown onto the pitch, none the coins and cup flung also in the direction of Hibs players.  The media you see make money, clickbait style, out of the Glasgow bigots.
Today the Glasgow press continue their one sided approach to the matter all the while ignoring the wrongs at their club.  Individual fans from both clubs, and others also, contribute a 'thoughtful' opinion on the deed while always ignoring their own sin and concentrating on the others.  
Thoughtful debate is not the correct term here.
Saturday arrives, somewhere in Birmingham tow local English sides meet in a 'derby' encounter.  The usual name calling and unhelpful suggestions are offered to either side by the supporters.  One of the Aston Villa team, the visiting side, went to take position and a copycat eejit ran onto the field and helpfully fetched him one across the back of the head.  The player helpfully fell down while others from both sides plus security came to his assistance.  In both cases the performance of the players was unharmed, Taverneir continued to blunder as he had done all game, the Villa player scored the winning goal.  Both the visiting individuals will appear in court, indeed the chap from Birmingham has just begun a 14 weeks imprisonment sentence, and will pay £100 compensation to the man he assaulted.  14 weeks sounds rather short, in wrath remember mercy but the type of individual who does this may well be used to prison and short sentences may not deter!  For this individual it will but what about others.  I await news of the Hibernian eejit.  
A third incident occurred at Arsenals large ground on Saturday when a like minded copycat squared up to a Manchester United player.  This did not wake the player up and led to this eejit being removed, I suspect his name will appear in the magistrates list shortly.
These three are like many noticed on the Essex Police Twitter account, they tend not to be the brightest, even though they often have decent jobs, their outlook on life is limited and with the chap of Hibernian persuasion I wonder of drugs played a part.  He did not look like he would one day appear on 'Mastermind' or reach a high level of intelectual ability.  He after all supports Hibernian and appears to be a fan of the 'trainspotting' generation.  Or does he?  Is he what is called a 'real fan' or just one who tags along with his mates because they go their and saw this as an excuse to keep in with them?   
After all we all do daft things when young...        
The copycat media have been joined by the copycat self important in football jumping in to condemn such actions.  It is head shaking all around, exaggerated claims that "Knives might be used next" and a wide variety of absurd answers to the question how to stop it, armed police  as one man suggested might be going to far at this juncture!  The great and the good condemn, but forget the many other incidents now forgotten that had less publicity as they were not in the public eye or involved smaller sides.  Glasgow clubs always offer a wide selection of offensive behaviour but rarely this appears in print.  The Birmingham featured clashes before the game but with no pictures we hear little.  Yet whenever a story fills the screen there is faux condemnation, 'tut tutting' aplenty and as always in the end nothing is done.  All clubs will improve security, all will say the right words and all others will then seek the next thing to be offended by.
Oh one other thing, if payers get into a 20 man stramash with fists flying and heads bumping why is this referred to as 'handbags?'  If clubs and players took some responsibility for their actions maybe we would not see these numpties clambering over the wall to attack players...just a thought.

Update:  Our hero in Leith has indeed made an appearance in court.  He has been banned from all football grounds in Scotland while he awaits the final sentence which will be handed down next month.  I hope he likes prison...
 

Sunday Thoughts..

Blethering this morning with two women, I was hoping to get a word in, the subject of counselling people came up.  One who was employed in similar business said that the biggest problem today was people being unwilling to 'take responsibility.'  I had to agree that she might be right here and wondered why?
Society, that means 'us' has brought us to this level from government legislation, teachers fancy ideology (often unwritten and confused) and parents who themselves refuse much responsibility and await others to take the blame or sort things out for them.
This is not new, Cain slew Abel and when asked about this did not take responsibility, he would have avoided such if he could but it was brought to his attention anyway.  People, including ourselves, are no different today.  However the social conventions that controlled us have been eroded by liberalism at every level.  The school pupil, sorry 'student' gets off with wrong doing with no punishment, the punishment for crime does not fit, politicians at all levels lie to us (see 'Brexit') and retain their positions, and the media leads us in celebrating badly behaved broken celebs and simplifying life into 'good and bad' with no moral base in between.
The result appears to be an attitude in many that when things go wrong it is not their fault it must be someone else who is responsible.  There is great difficulty in taking responsibility upon ourselves. 
Not everyone is thus imbued but there is that streak crying out throughout society and it continues to erode individuals life, sometimes with sad results.  
I of course am completely innocent.

The great thing this weekend is that the Heart of Midlothian remain top of the league.  Not only but also Hibernian, the wee team from Leith find themselves in second place and the even wee'er  team Livingstone are now third in the table.  The Glasgow media still speak of the blue and green bigots of course but the reality is their teams are guff and we know it.  
Things might change of course, their referees, SFA and media will do all they can to overthrow us but we can defeat them once again.

Snow Sunday

The walk to and from St P's this morning was enlightened by snow which began as I went down the road and thickened happily as I made my way back via the green bits.  Now it lies thick and unsettles those poor car drivers who have to struggle around in it.  The traffic was queuing up as I came home but none offered me a lift of course.  Hard hearted lot!

I fear this man found it all a wee bit confusing. Rain and seawater he understood but snow was a puzzle to him.  He and his mate sat there staring into the distance looking askance at the snowfall.  I hope he is not still there as he might be covered by now. 

Why do we have seasons?  Why did the good Lord not even things out a bit so we had more warm days and no snow days at all?  Why do the weather patterns change?  Where I sit was where the last ice age stopped some 8ooo years BC and man and beast then followed the green stuff that arose after the ice left and settled down.  All that ice melted creating the North Sea and since then the world has continued with the four seasons and a wide variety of changeable weather.  The snow reminds me we were threatened with Global Warming not so very long ago, is this still a possibility?  
It appears remote today.  Weather patterns do change the Sahara contains rock carvings that reveal how the whole area was once covered in vegetation, including Hippos and Lions and so on, today it is somewhat more arid.  The Sahara still creeps south each year, slowly but surely, will it ever stop?
I am not one to complain but while I enjoyed the walk home I would find it irksome if I had this for months on end.  There again hot sun for months on end also would be too much also.  

   
I managed, after much struggle, to find the Heart of Midlothian Scottish cup tie against the wee Hibernian team and must say how much I enjoyed this.  Not only did we play all the football and win the game by one mere goal but the banter with Hibs fans afterwards was excellent, none of them speak to me now!  I have not enjoyed a game so much in years and was totally exhausted by the end.  Not long after half time I began to wonder if a defibrillator might be required!  Justice was done and the Heart of Midlothian remain the big team in Edinburgh, as we all know.  I didn't need to shout at the referee in anger either, that shows how well he ran the game, apart from siding with them too often of course.

Having been at church for an enjoyable service this morning and then in Tynecastle via the laptop with almost 20,000 others I feel lonely now.  This place appears so quiet with the occasional passing vehicle and raindrops bouncing around here and there sweeping away the snow and leaving puddles for the workers early tomorrow.  There is little on telly, other football appears tame in comparison, the radio is not worth listening to tonight and even the late night dog walkers are staying inside.
Silence is a strange thing after noise.

 
Only one brave soul, or possibly daft soul, crossed the park when I was here.  A young female looking for friends I suspect and finding no-one about soon returned from whence she came and disappeared into the blizzard.  No dog walkers were to be seen.

Breathing

What a difference in life when you can breathe!  I slept for hours last night for the first time all week and even visited Sainsburys by 7:30 to avoid crowds and replenish stocks.  I have cleaned the mess and having fallen asleep since I now feel almost human again, almost.
This began a week on Thursday and only today, Saturday, is the worst past.  What a rotten week, it is easier to be ill than suffer Man Flu!  How lucky wimmen are in not getting it.

Having spent the midday watching Hibernian struggle at Hampden, I did not continue to send 'Tweets' to Hibbys asking if they had left by half time as always honest...well OK I did.  How lovely to spend the day breathing while watching football!  The dinner is burning slowly in the background just in time for the six O'clock game of BBC ALBA tonight.  Mince, to remind me of what it is like watching Hibs!

I have sent time listening to this great album for 1969. The Hippy influence at its height on here. Great stuff!  I still have this in the rack behind me, not that I think it playable now but it was a great album at the time.  The Moody Blues continued for many years and performed at Glastonbury in 2015 ( I didn't go).  There have been changes to the line up and occasional fall outs but even in their dotage some are still continuing to play on.  I suppose it keeps them alive though after 70 million album sales I doubt any of them need the money.   Amazing to think all these guys are in their mid 70's!
I am still 32.

I've Never Been so Happy!

 

I spent the night here.

This was not my intention earlier in the day but after last night's 'entertainment' I felt there was no longer any choice. 

We have had the misfortune of 'Brexit,' we have had the greater misfortune of Donald Trump and whatever that means, now the lowest point for a long time has arrived, a 3-1 defeat by the 'wee team.'. 

In all my 32 years I have never known a more humiliating experience than the one offered by the Heart of Midlothian during the Edinburgh Derby against the 'wee team' last night.  Defeats occur occasionally, usually the fault of cheating refs and diving Hibbys, rarely do the Heart of Midlothian get swept aside by the better team as they did last night.

Now as the European Championships take place on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at this time of year nobody is allowed to televise football games so as to protect the overpaid self important clubs involved in the Champs league.  This means I could not see the game live and had to rely on the wireless and the comments of the pundits.  However it was clear from this the display was awful.  How it looked to those paying through the nose for their tickets I would hate to say.

Losing 3-1 to the Hibs is not and never will be a good thing but to lose without a fight is terrible, a 'terrible' of frightening proportions.

Why did it happen?  

The new (and as we are constantly told 'young') manager wishes to play classy football.  To do this he has introduced players suitable for the performance of such football and at times this shows through.  However it becomes clear having watched one or two games recently that to succeed at such football a degree of strength is required, this was missing all too often, and not available last night is appears.  Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and others play the type of game we wish to play but add talented players who are strong characters and have the will to fight even against wee teams like the Hibs.  Often they encounter clubs who close them down, hassle them and give them no time on the ball but still produce the goods, this is a trick some of our players have yet to learn.

I spent last night, and rediscovered this morning, many needless abusive comments from people who's mental failings have caused them to support the Hibernian, these posted many comments on Twitter and elsewhere which did not enable my cardiac performance to remain normal.  It is too be hoped that those who post such needless and hurtful comments will contract Mumps in the next few days from their kids!

Oh and the trains had stopped by the time I got down there!  Bah!

Storm Doris!

Now who in their right mind would put a name to a storm?    

At the moment winds of around 30 to 60 mph are hurtling past the window.  Policemen are seen chasing their hats, trees falling over, roofs crashing through houses and the media inform us this is the fault of Storm Doris! Doris!!!  What a daft name to give a storm.  

Why do we need to give storms names?  Who decided this?  

Storms have blown across this land for thousands of years, always referred to as 'a storm' or 'strong winds' or just 'bad weather' yet to enable this enfeebled population to understand that a 'storm' is raging we now know it by a name, and not just a woman's name but we vary from a woman's name to a man's name time after time!  What a load of juvenile baloney.  

A storm is a storm, we need not know it's name as we cannot call the police and as them to catch 'Storm Doris' and not just because they are busy running after their hats either. 

Bah!!!

Look at that poor pigeon, he was swaying this way and that and now hours later he has gone and disappeared.  I suspect he will be in Harwich by now, walking back slowly as he canny fight Doris.

You of course will know the 'Nereids' were sea-nymphs according to ancient Greeks (and some young ones I believe).  Fifty daughters of Nereus and 'Gray eyed' Doris!   Doris was a popular name at one time and was indeed the name of Herod the Great's first wife.  He banished her along with Antipas his son for another and bumped that one, Mariamne, off after 'in house' lies and office politics from the women of the palace even though Josephus claims he actually loved her.

Doris is also the area of south eastern Turkey, then called Asia Minor, which the Greeks helped themselves to unasked in that English Imperialist style.  The area including Halinass Halingcar, Rhodes and Kos formed the 'Dorian League' and they became 'pillars' of the community (did you see what I did there?).  Not many women are called Doris today, fashion in names change as quick as a woman's mind...

What...oh!

Cup Final Day Again

Scotsman

What an interesting afternoon's football.  The Scottish League Cup Final and once again the wee team failed in a cup final, poor Hibernian built themselves up to expect a win and got beat with the winning goal coming in the last couple of minutes.  Oh dear oh dearie me.

Normally on such occasions, and there have been may, I would laugh at my Hibby friends, today however has been different.  I just could not laugh at a man who was so down he needs to be on suicide watch as the bus makes its long slow way back from Glasgow into Leith.

As a supporter of the Big Team, the Heart of Midlothian, I understand the emptiness, anger and confusion that follows a defeat in a major tournament, after all we have been there rather too often ourselves.  Indeed when I started to follow football the Heart of Midlothian won this cup themselves in 1962 ans we all expected this behaviour to continue, it didn't!  Indeed in spite of many attempts at both cups and the league itself we were bereft for many years.  Woe and dissolution are not unknown down Gorgie way.

It was one sunny afternoon while standing in Edinburgh's Princes Street waiting for the open top bus carrying the victorious Scottish Cup Winning Heart of Midlothian side of 1998 that our agony ended.  That day the thousands gathered knew only one phrase, "I've waited forty years for this!"  And many of us had!  Forty long despairing years and at last we broke through.  Indeed we have since won the cup a couple of times again and it has become a bit of a bore really.  The Heart of Midlothian of course won the Scottish Cup, the oldest football trophy in the whole world, poor Hibernian today failed to capture the League Cup, the second of the cup trophies one they have managed to win within living memory.  

The Scottish Cup Hibernian have indeed had their name carved on this prestigious trophy however the last time this occurred was in 1902 a day so long in the distant past that had any of the players survived until today they would be 114 years of age older than they were on that day.  Few if any have survived.  

Man has flown, even to the moon, discovered radio waves, television, microwaves, and fought two world wars and suffered severe depressions worldwide yet in all this Hibernians failure to win the Scottish Cup has been a failure they cannot endure.  Still across the city we find it a giggle.  

So my friend sleeping on the bus home, enduring bad dreams of loss and pain, will not have to endure my sniggers at his teams failure again.  My emotions were touched at his cry of "Doom, Doom!" All the way along the M8.  All is loss and his wife and child, who will suffer also as he is being raised in this sad support of Hibernian, will see their man reduced to a shattered shell yet again.  We all know what this pain is like, we have all been there, just be glad it is him and not us.Those horses will have clipped clopped back into the garage with the Hibs open top bus once again.

 

Debating

This football lark is a funny old game right enough.  Two men sitting in different sides of the stadium see two completely different games.  Facts are blinded by bias.  Situations that are clear to one are disbelieved by the other simply because they wish it to be so.  Sadly this can continue for years into the future and no fact can ever cause this to cease.
Sunday was one such situation.  Hurrying home I switched on the Heart of Midlothian v Hibs derby in the Scottish Cup, a game we usually win, and sat back to enjoy another rollicking 4-0 victory.  This by half time was what I was expecting as we swept aside the wee teams puerile attempts at football in spite of the kicking they gave our better players and our manager deliberately giving Hibs a chance by playing two men who were not fully match fit.   The kicks led to three our our noble players being replaced as injury forced them from the field, brutal Hibs tactics continued unceasing to the end I must note.  The injuries and a rather strange desire to sit back and wait for full time led to Hibernian stealing two goals, one from a fluke of a header and the other while assaulting the goalkeeper, and this brought a great deal of rejoicing from the lower orders in the visitors stand.

Inevitably this led to wasting much time later that day attempting to transform the somewhat over the top reaction from the Leith faithful who saw a draw as a significant victory.  I suppose as a wee team a draw with a Big Team is indeed a victory and it was important for them to make the most of their temporary position.  However I fell it was my duty to keep them sane, a near impossible idea I realise.
Many rude and needless words flew from the enemy as they considered themselves victorious.  I have required to remind them of the proverb:-

Haughtiness leads to a fall

Pride leads to destruction.

They will not listen.  I indicated the fact that sitting in a stadium full to the brim was an unusual event for them and this may be playing on their minds, minds that are easily distracted,and the noise generated must have been an alien sound  for them, but they still would not listen, possibly they are deaf.
Reminding them of the overall statistics did not hinder the wee lads attempts at argument, facts as you know are not acceptable to them.  Indeed several clear penalties as well as the assault on the goalkeeper appear to have been missed by standards that Willie Collum would be proud off.  I suspect sitting in the 'Roseburn Bar' for an hour before the game might be at the root of their failure to accept facts.
Now the whole weary business must be done again in a week or so's time.  Once more our gallant boys will suffer bad decisions and many knocks as they continue our noble effort at football education in Leith.  Will they be grateful for this free lesson?  I somehow doubt it.  
Now I discover they are unable to show this game on live TV as it clashes with European games, have Hibernian deliberately chosen this date to stop people watching them humiliated I ask?
It's a disgrace!

The successful Hibernian team on the open top bus 

the last time they won the Scottish Cup!

Google Chrome Failure!

I have used Chrome for a while now as the main browser.  At first I used it because it loaded quicker than Firefox but as time passed it, like me, grew slower.  I have many links on there, too many I know as I have spent considerable time dumping many, yet others are important to keep. This linking was a simple straight forward system: a click on the star at the top brought up the choice of where to put it, I chose and it went in.  Simple.
Now however the geeks with nothing better to do than ruin everything with no thought or concern for people living in the real world have changed it, unasked and badly!  Now a click on the star brings up a slow colourful box telling you it has logged the link, but where?  It does offer a list of folders, if you click again, but only a handful, not all.  Yet another click opens out a list of links with a selection of folders at the left hand (and wrong) side.
This sounds simple but ALL my links now are found on this list, mixed up and disorganised, not in the appropriate file!  I am now supposed to spend all day fixing this because of some geek who has been smoking funny cigarettes?  It's a shambles, yet another example of the internet being run by people with no idea of the real world.  Why change a perfectly good system, why jazz something up that works?  Why not stick to reefers or go find a girlfriend? 
I have downloaded Opera once again to give it another go, would you believe they use the same system as Chrome!  Bah!
I have gone back to Firefox, they at least are more consumer friendly and less likely to be run by the CIA.

Just after noon, as I digested my lunchtime repast, I settled down to an afternoon of giggling.  This is not my normal procedure, usually it is nailbiting football stuff, however I watched Hibernian continue their dream of winning the Scottish Cup.  This is an item they have not had in their possession since 1902, and I need not remind you that man did not fly until 1903 and reached the moon in 1969 yet Hibs have still not yet won that gleaming silver trophy, the oldest football trophy in the world!  Today the sun shone on Leith Hampden as the Hibernian hammered the opponents Falkirk, a worthy team from the central belt, for the whole 90 minutes.  Hibs hit the post, made the goalkeeper work, huffed and puffed and inevitably Falkirk scored a goal!  Indeed it was the only goal and wee Falkirk go into yet another cup final, they won the cup last in 1957, and Hibernian and their fans, who managed to stay until the end this time, once again go home in tears.  A sad, sad situation.
It's a giggle for us though!    

I can see the sun setting behind the trees leaving a delightful colour in the sky.  I must point out to my weaker readers that when I say the sun is 'setting behind the trees' I don't mean the sun is setting behind the trees, I mean I can see the sun setting and trees are in between me and him, I hope you understand.  If the sun set behind the trees every night there would be no room for the rest of us by the end of the week!  The car park over there only holds about twenty cars.
Anyway now that I have cleared that up I wish I had been able to take the camera out there and attempt a photo but as I am sitting in bed I canny be bothered.  So lean out the window and suffer the cold air for a moment and then back inside.  How brave!  
Was it worth it?  No!
Actually it was worth it.  The picture may not be great but looking at the sky always is.  We change, circumstances change but once the gray clouds have gone the sky changes delightfully according to the position of the sun, time of day and stuff floating about the heavens.  The colours are magnificent and even run down dreary places, such as Leith will be tonight, are made glorious by the glint in the sky above.  When feeling down I suggest you look up, it makes the heart glad.  

 
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Saturday Cogitating

I thought I was in Edinburgh when I awoke this morning, the rain was hammering down.  This continued until nearly four in the afternoon trapping decent people indoors, me too.  There was no choice but to do all those things left undone all Christmas/New Year week(s) but sadly I failed to do them.  I tried Oh I tried but by the time a small breakfast had finished it was time to prepare the early lunch before the Edinburgh Derby at 12:45.  So there was little space left to touch the things that have been untouched for too long. Anyway it is Saturday and such things should be done midweek when the building is quiet and I disturb none.  So I left them untouched.

The Edinburgh Derby, the most important football match since time began (time began on Christmas Day 1875 when the Heart of Midlothian defeated Hibernians (as they were then known) by one goal to nil as you know) takes place four time a season at the moment and the Heart of Midlothian are of course totally dominant in this fixture.  Easily worried wimps however have begun to fear that the revival amongst Hibernian (as they are now known) may lead to a historic defeat for the Heart of Midlothian. Such types are usually found among the younger element.  I was not born the last time the Heart of Midlothian lost this game.  Indeed this time the forces of wickedness put their thuggery to good use to obtain a draw, one goal each.  Totally undeserved as but for the brutal tackling of their ape like defenders we would have won as easily as usual.  Once again the Hibs manager claimed "We were the better team, we should have had a penalty," just like he did last time and all Hibs managers have claimed since 1875, which was surprising as penalties did not exist then.  So I watched this and attempted to watch an English game but they have no meaning after such an important event.

The rain dispersed at four and I ventured out into the dismal streets.  The market was closed and the stalls all packed up.  Business must have been bad as even my 'desperate for every penny' veg stall had almost completely packed away his goods.  Nothing remained but damp streets and rare soggy shoppers squelching their way homewards.  

I  sought a picture but found few.  Taking one I discovered a woman getting out of her car just below the shot I was taking, she very suspicious that I was photographing her!  How self obsessed are these women?  At your age dearie? Pah!  However I moved elsewhere before she started screaming.  I have not forgotten the last time and honest I did not realise her window was open officer!  

My diet has meant desperation to lose weight, today I realised I was not eating enough and have stuffed myself with carbohydrates (I canny spell 'chips') and Sticky Toffee pudding to make myself feel better.

I now feel sick.

Also on the agenda is a review of the budget.  Having been extremely poor for a while, I have moved from pauperism into poverty now, it became noticeable that I was spending just too freely.  Where once I shopped careful of every penny now I was losing control and spending with too little care.  It is time for a rethink.  However it is noticeable that while the supermarkets claim people are spending less I find prices have risen considerably in the past two years alone. No wonder some find themselves using 'foodbanks.'  In spite of fiddling the books in good Conservative style the Tesco's of this world have been losing cash while overcharging the rest of us and claiming we are saving money!  My budget review is nearly done, a walk round the grasping supermarkets once more is required to reign in the spending totally.  (I wonder if I can save enough for a new camera....?)  Look, greed appears again!  Tsk!  

Around me are piled lots of books and papers, none of which are completed or ever likely to be completed.  My life is always unfinished, should I compose a symphony perhaps?  Now I have decided to review the budget maybe I should review these undone things that need done and complete the half read books. There are several language books, Russian, so old it is all Communist in style, Latin, two at least, and English which is too complicated for me learning it as a foreign language.  A pile to my right concern the local scene, all pinched acquired from the museum and unread as we worked through the Great War, that is also unfinished and the names list is not yet completed, I have only got to 'R' jings! On top of all this lies that layer of dust that has to be dealt with also.  I wonder where that comes from, I only removed it a month or so ago.  

Considering all that has made me weary, I reckon the best thing to do is to lie down for a while and see if it is all different tomorrow, I'm sure it will be....

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