Filed under: golf
Scotsman Fantasy Golf is back at last. The winter has been so dull without it. Who cares who wins the Abu Dhabi open if there’s no fantasy Golf points at stake. It gets better and better every year and last time out Tom and I featured on the leader board throughout.
It’s great fun AND it’s free. All you have to do is buy The Scotsman on a Tuesday to get the password to find out how you’re doing.
You’ve got nine days to register.
I’m going to set up a mini league too so come on fellow bloggers, Think Hard about your team and register it in the Think Hard mini league. Click on the link here.
Filed under: sports
It has begun. The Hibee Hampden residency. Today, my great mate Will’s son, Mark, got me a ticket for the Cup Final next Sunday.
We are, it has to be said, quite excited.
The countdown starts here.
Filed under: Uncategorized
As Jeana knocked a hole in to a bottle of Ernest and Julio Gallo Chardonnay over dinner tonight she let on that Ernest had passed away during the week.
“He was 97.” She remarked.
Both sanguinely and languidely our 12 year old daughter Ria observed…
“Good age.”
Wiseness comes young.
Cliches even younger.
Frankly I thought it was a crap age. Three years off the telegramm.
I blame the wine.
Filed under: music
Now, I have a reputation for going a bit OTT sometimes about stuff and I have to say that my recent Mika review was too soon and too OTT. It will NOT be on my best albums of the year list (although Grace Kelly might yet make the songs list).
So I will restrain myself in reviewing the new Ardcade Fire Album. Suffice it say, on the first four listings it is better than Funeral. It is truly epic in its sound and scope. The track with the church organ is awesome. The introduction of Win Butler’s Mrs ( I assume) on vocals adds another welcome layer of texture and it is every bit as dramatic as its much lauded predecessor.
This band walks a truly unique path and, creates a new genre for popular music. When can you honestly remember, after all, the last time you heard a truly unique (in a good way) sound. Hunky Dory? Milk Eyed Mender?, Totalles Turn?, Funeral?
This album is very very good indeed and deserving of your £10 purchase fee. Get your arse down to yourr local music emporium and shell out.
That is an order.
Filed under: Uncategorized
Jeana, Cath and I took Ria up to Perth this morning to compete in her third competition.
It was rivetting.
Only there for 5 hours but Ria’s 46 seconds were great. Her best ever score and inches away from a merit prize.
Her team won Gold in their category though so that’s the first medal in her cabinet.
Well done Ria! We were all very proud!
Great building or what?
Last night Ria and I went to see The Kaiser Chiefs at The Carling Academy in Glasgow. My first time at that venue and I liked it. Big, friendly and jam packed with pretty good acoustics.
It was the second night of the Kaisers’ ‘residency’ and they looked like they were having fun. So, so support bands (one called Ricochet) and didn’t catch the other’s name. (Why, if you have an opportunity to impress 2,000 people that might then buy your record do you amble onto stage and mutter “we’re sfrwfgrs’s” and then fail to clarify this at a later stage. How about, as you go into you’re last number. You shout out clearly and pointedly “If you liked us we were the dilapidated warehouses (insert any other name you like here) If you didn’t we were the Kaiser Chiefs 
.”
Silly, silly boys.
Anyway, I digress. The Kaisers were outstanding. Full of energy, the frontman knows how to work an audience and loves a bit of swagger. The stand out song for me was ‘every day I love you less and less’ but the stand out moment came as I let Ria down my shoulders between songs…she inadvertantly knocked my glasses off and as I scrambled blindly on the floor the first chords of “I predict a riot” struck up. I kid you not!
Well, that focussed the mind. Amazingly the Red Sea parted and there they were lying on the floor to my right. (I’d been looking left.)
Pop them on.
Pogo.
Simple.
Filed under: golf
Played with my pals at Ratho Park last weekend and haven’t had a moment to gloat.
But I have now…
Had a look at this year v last year at same stage.
Last year (after 8 Rounds) 45 over par (to handicap)
(That’s a joke. Ed)
This year…6 under.
(Better!. Ed)
Perhaps this is it. The year I perform.
(You said that last year! Ed.)
Watch this space!
(You said that last year! Ed.)
No I didn’t I didn’t have a blog last year!
(But you said it to your mates! Ed.)
Shut up ED. Who do you think you are anyway?
(I’m not ED I’m THE Ed! Ed.)
Who cares, your just an interfering twat that’s spoiling my good news and high spirits. Anybody would think your name was Derrick Reid – the oilrig man. I feel really deflated now.
(Excellent. Job done. Feet back on ground! Ed.)
Filed under: work
Mike Coulter, my barmy web 2.0 buddy, just taught me how to link to his site (and anything you darn well like for that matter.) How cool is that. Just click on his name and you’ll see.
Filed under: movies
Had a good day today. Went to See Letters from Iwo Jima, with Jeana, which was certainly not your average Hollywood fare, but a bit overated (I’d give it 6 out of 10). It’s a thoughtful and strangely slowly paced movie for a war film (maybe there’s a bit of the old Terrence Mallicks in Clint Eastwood) and it was the right thing to do it all in Japanses and subtitle it. But certainly not a match for The Departed.
On the way home we had a beer at the new wine bar in the Village, the newly extended and refurbished Boat House, which was very pleasant then went home to a well hung ribeye steak , courtesy of our good friend Pete the Meat, so at least there was some well hung meat in our house today.
Followed that up by sitting down to the final episode of a great TV quizshow, Poker Face which thankfully the annoying Canadian Geezer didn’t win. If you missed it watch the next series. Great fun.
Then watched this.
The first total lunar eclipse in 20 years, and not a cloud in the sky. Brilliant!
Finished the evening by falling asleep to the aforementioned, The Departed. A masterpiece and, no question, 2006’s movie of the year. The kids liked it too!
Filed under: Uncategorized
The aforementioned Mr Reid was, before his sex change, a Tennents Lager Lovely. This is not the best photo ever but if you screw your eyes up and look closely you’ll get the idea.
Have a look at www.cannyscot.com and browse First Lager Lovelies you’ll see more of Smudgerina (alias Susan). She’s particularly fetching in a tartan skirt…
Filed under: sports
Is this little puppy dog the third Proclaimer?
No he’s the boss of 1576.
Or is it a Jambo in distress?
(He’s not in a dress he’s in a football strip – Ed.)
My hat goes off to Mr David (Smudger) Reid for this unselfish act of ecumenism.
Filed under: Rants
Alert! Alert! Most of you who are reading this in ‘The Ferry’ will have shopped in Scotmid on the Loan. Most of you will have enjoyed the banter of a particularly diverse group of very good Scotmid staff. Most of you will have used the Post Office; at least occasionally.
I’ve shared that experience regularly; with the exception of the Post Office visits. When I have been to the PO, on the whole my experiences have been pretty positive. Nice bunch of ladies who work there.
Then there’s that bloke…he’s probably the post master.
Jeana has warned me about him. The man who spoils it all. ‘Cos that’s his job.
So, I’m in there today. 2.00 pm. It’s dead as a dodo. My car tax due is to be paid by midnight.
Before I leave the house I go through the routine.
MOT? Check!
Insurance proof? Check!
Cheque? Check!
I get there. My luck’s in, only a short queue and his cell is shut while he attends his negativity class. And there’s only three in the queue for the nice lady when…
KEBAMMMM. The shutter opens. He’s in the game.
Two to one against. I can get the nice lady.
He interrogates numero uno in the queue. Nice lady finishes with her customer. It’s 50/50 now.
tick tock tick tock
But disaster strikes…He’s finished first and the inevitable ensues…
It starts badly. I put my folder with my documentation on the scales on the counter top. He glowers at me. “Could you take that off the scales. People might need to use them.” Now this is patently true. It is a fact that someone MIGHT. But there’s nobody behind me in the queue. It is not a five ton weight sitting on his beloved scales; burning the motor out. IT IS 400 GRAMMES OF PAPER!
Still, I gather my resolve and proceed.
“6 month car tax please”. I say, unphased by this admittedly minor irritation.
The documentation is presented. The moment of spotting the flaw lightens his face almost imperceptibly as he says with a look of 10% smug, 20% smugger, 30% jobsworth, 40% asswipe and 30% selfishness. ” I cannae accept that – it’s your insurance schedule, not your certificate.”
He is triumphant!
It’s true, he was right. Factually correct. It is a SCHEDULE stating that I have purchased car insurance from SwiftCover from 7 Jan 2007 to 6 Jan 2008. It is not a certificate. I should be ashamed of myself.
Clearly he is being paid by the Post Office to find the flaws in people’s tax disc buying. Presumably buying a six month tax disc for a car that you own without the right documentation is a treasonable offence. Presumably there is an underground industry of people doing this linked to some terror cell. Presumably buying a tax disc without the right papers is a VERY dangerous thing.
Presumably.
It must be or why would he act like this?
And just to underline his point (and his sense of satisfaction in being able to point out this technicality) he writes a cross on the SORN declaration form at just the place where it OBVIOUSLY states that this is THE LAW! I am clearly a subordinate species.
Through gritted teeth and slammed doors I venture home to print out the “certificate” via SwiftCover’s excellent website.
Back to Scotmid. No queue. Choice of nice lady and you know who.
I choose him.
“There you go” I puff. I was in a hurry and the run from the car had pointed out my obvious physical ineptitude,. “the certificate”
He draws in his cheeks and studies said document (the one he had requested) for a moment before declaring it null and void.
“Did you get this posted to you?” He asks: sneaky as a sneakologist.
“No” I reply innocent as a sneakologist’s prey “I printed it off their website”
Faster than I can laugh at the plight of Heart of Midlothian he gleefully (although he made a practiced attempt to mask the glee) retorts;
“Ha ha ha you worthless tube” Actually he didn’t say that he actually said;
“Sorry then, I can’t take that. We can’t accept insurance forms over the internet.”
Now, this is just badness as I suggest to him.
“But you took it last year” I plea.
“Well I shouldn’t have” he unemotionally exonerates.
So, dear reader, should he be punished for his lack of attention to detail last year (by his employers) or for his being a c – sorry I can’t say it – to his customers this year?
Incidentally I went to another Post Office one hour later and was sold the above without a glimmer of doubt. So I challenged them on their sloppiness. It turned out that by the utter letter of the law South Queensferry’s citizen of the year MAY have had a point. But probably not. The guy didn’t have time to check the list of APPROVED online insurance providers. He was too busy looking after his customers but South Queensferry’s Mr Motivator could have.
But hey, life’s too short. I can blog. He can blog off.
