Well, you can’t even to begin to imagine how proud I am of this.
First off, I was in the pitch team that pitched for the brief for the 2021/22 season ticket campaign at Whitespace.
Secondly, we won it.
Thirdly, I’m in the final film itself as “hats and scarves salesman”.
I am literally beside myself.
#GGTTH!
Those of you who, like me, support Hibernian; Edinburgh’s most stylish football team and forefathers of the rather more successful Celtic FC, will be feeling that slightly sick feeling after once again victory was the more likely, more deserved and more bearable outcome on Sunday afternoon at ‘Scotland’s National Stadium.’
But we were Hisbsed.
We snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Consequently, a petition has been set up by a Mr Rudolph Skakel on Change.com begging the Oxford English Dictionary to add ‘Hibsed’ to their content.
It has a smell of schadenfreude about it.
For the uninitiated, to be Hibsed means ‘to be ahead in your pursuit of something, only to mess it up before you cross the finish line’.
And we’ve been Hibsed many times. On Sunday particularly so, and Liam Fontaine, arguably the man of the match, must feel especially Hibsed as it was he who teed up the winning goal for a team that could best be described as diddy.
I mean, you could fit the population of Dingwall, from where they bide, into the back of a camper van and still have room for a couple of tents.
Many have argued that we shouldn’t be so down on ourselves because it was only the diddy cup we Hibsed. But we Hibsed it in 2004 against the mighty Ferranti Thistle playing under the pseudonym of Livingston (a town so small it has an Edinburgh postcode).
We Hibsed it every time in living memory that we played in Europe and we’ve Hibsed it so many times against the other team in Edinburgh that I’ve simply lost count.
By Thursday morning there’s every chance we’ll have Hibsed it against that other Highland League powerhouse, Inverness Caledonian Thistle, in the big cup (that we put that other team from Edinburgh out of a few weeks ago), and we’ve already Hibsed it in the Scottish Championship having been in a great position to overtake long term leaders Rangers just after Christmas.
So, go on, Mr Skakel. have you schadenfreudey moment. the awful truth is, you’re right.
Yesterday was yet another nightmare for Hibs fans. Despite being the better team we inexplicably lost the with of our last ten cup finals. The 12th of 15 in my life so far.
Arguably the man of the match Liam Fontaine had this to say after the game when he was involved in the losing goal.
It’s a sign of greatness in my eyes.
Articulate. Emotional. Great.
GGTTH.
Having thought about Calderwood’s signing of 31 year old “Junior” Agogo (he’s not THAT Junior at 31) for the Hibees I am wondering if it is worth a trip to Easter Road; if only to hear the Einstien Agogo riff when he scores.
I don’t think anything has put as much of a smile on my face , as a Hibby, for many a month. (Sorry; year.)
But you didn’t have to be an Einstien to work that out.
Not a bad vintage actually.
Work wise I was run off my feet once again and almost literally in December which proved to be extraordinarily challenging due to the shitness of the weather and the fact that I was researching all over the country. It was a real struggle, very stressful indeed.
Some great clients which include STV, Ampersand, Corporation Pop, 60 Watt, nmp and LA Media from last year. But added a few too including Gill’s Cruise Centre, Paligap, and The Usability Lab.
My golf stank pretty much from start to finish and I had a poor Arran and a poor St Andrews. However one highlight was an Eagle 3 on the par 5 second in the club championships first round. I won that but went out in round two. However Forty years of failing to Eagle were finally over. (Tom got about 6 last year alone).
Musically it was a big return to form after very poor shows in both 2008 and 2009.
I’ve already posted my tracks of the year elsewhere which will give you an idea of my top ten albums, but for the record, these are they…
I’m New Here by Gil Scott Heron
Band of Joy by Robert Plant
The Courage of Others by Midlake
Queen of Denmark by John Grant
The Suburbs by The Arcade Fire
Sky at Night by I am Kloot
Elektonische Music Experiment – German Rock and Electronic Music 1972 – 1983
Write About Love by Belle and Sebastian
The Lady Killer by Cee Lo Green
Seasons of my Soul by Rumer
My blog had a record year, just, with 340,000 hits, up 45,000 on last year and beating 2008 by only 1,000. As a result I hit the million mark last week and raised over £1,000 for St Columba’s Hospice in the process. Thanks to all who contributed.
I did two music quizzes (one in Edinburgh and one in Manchester) for NABS and these raised £3,500
The Hibees were a farce from year start to end and our Scottish cup hopes look less plausible than for a very long time. Looks like we’ll be going at least 110 years before winning it again.
Theatre again played a big part in my year.
My role as a director of The Lyceum developed and I thought Mark Thomson had a vintage year. Every show was a hit in some form or other and the highlights for me were The Beauty Queen of Leenane, Confessions of a Justified Sinner, The Price and The Importance of Being Earnest.
FCT had another good year, my first at the helm and I’d like to thank the fab committee for their support. Two great shows in Just So and Guys and Dolls and another ENDA award. Annie’s next but no decision yet on the festival. Our away day in October was deemed a great success.
Amy started at Uni and is working hard as she has done all year at Dakota. She bought a virtually new car herself ( a Toyota Yaris) and I was really proud of her for being so focussed to be able to do this. Ria is working hard at school and did really well in her standard grades. Tom isn’t and didn’t.
Tom’s golf continued to improve and his handicap went from 11 to 7.
Sadly Jeana’s blossoming work at Suntrap came to an end when the funding was pulled. She was devastated and I suspect still is.
We holidayed in California and it was a tram smash of a holiday from start to finish, summed up by this video…
http://www.youtube.com/v/E5lc8c9EsXg?version=3&rel=1&fs=1&showsearch=0&showinfo=1&iv_load_policy=1
In books I didn’t read much. I am enjoying Freedom by Jonathon Franzen but the best of the year was the Red Riding Quadrilogy by David Peace.
fantastic series of horrific police brutality .
And my movie of the year? Well, I saw over 20 movies at the flicks this year and a lot of real quality. But I plump for The Social Network. A Prophet was great as was Monsters and The Road, but David Fincher surpassed himself with an amazing script by Aoron Sorkin.
TV show of the year? No Question. Mad Men (we’re playing catch up and only nearing end of season two but it’s fabulous).
In reality TV The Apprentice continues to kick ass.
Digital gizmo of the year? My iPad… but also my Canon 450 D. An up and down year on the camera front but happy with my lot and looking for a Canon 5D Mk 1 and a new 28mm prime lens to move on a level in 2011.
Idiot of the Year? Won hands down by Nick Clegg. Only cos he sold his soul to the devil. But he was run close by those fools that lead our government. You know who they are. Tony Blair continued to make a right fucking dick of himself and the legacy of Kenny Macaskill is not away yet with Magrahi in the rudest of health.
Sadly I lost a number of friends during the year; Myles, Kathy and Jim, I’ll miss you all. God bless and love to all of your families.
Wife of the year? Jeana Gorman. 21st year running. How can she bear it?
Put it this way. I couldn’t live with me. Still.
And so to 2011.
My hopes?
Hibees win the Scottish Cup. (That’s just stupid. Ed.)
Tom gets down to a 4 handicap.
I win something, anything, at Golf.
The kids do well at school and uni.
I am healthy throughout. (And lose rather a lot of weight.)
Both Cath and Jean stay healthy too
The credit crunch doesn’t get worse again.
As the Hibees wobble the girls wibble.
Try dropping the second E mate.
Only kidding.
Door open for Hibs to finally breach the evil sisters. Please don’t drop the ball now boys.
No. This is not an optical illusion. A game in hand and only two points adrift of a Champion’s league spot more than half way through the season.
Oh yes, and Hearts were dumped out of the diddy cup too.
Oh yes, and Chelsea dropped two points against Hull.
Oh yes, and Celtic didn’t take Stokesy.
Sweeeet.
I’m off to bed.
Hibs go to Parkhead.
We get a caning.
Celtic have 95% possesion. (Or so you’d believe listening to the commentary; when in actual fact they have 52%)
They have 16 corners.
We have 2.
They have endless chances. We have next to none (or so you’d believe listening to the commentary; when in actual fact they have only a few more than us. Well, 9.)
They go one up in 4 minutes then miss and miss and miss.
We break away and score.
We break away and score (again)
In the 92nd minute.
We win.
(The Jambos get murdered 3 – 0 at home.)
Thank you for that.
And so, we approach Christmas.
Hibs sit within touching distance of the top of the league. Of course all will be nought should tRangers take the spoils on the 27th – but the fact remains that John Hughes has made a transformation at Easter Road. The big difference is not losing to the likes of Hamilton (apart from Hamilton) having raised our game the week before against the Old Firm and Hearts (we lost to Celtic and only drew with Rangers and Hearts).
Hibs aren’t even playing that well. But what we are witnessing is a remarkable manager in his element.
Why is he remarkable? Because he has done what others couldn’t; strung results together, brought the changing room together, got great performances out of mercurial talent (Zemmama specifically) and made good signings (Stack, Millar and Stokes).
He has a good team, which is astonishing in itself given the transfer activity at the slope, but needs must and Petrie has done a great job in steadying the ship and now, hopefully, the club will continue to invest sensibly on the pitch (see Stokes for evidence).
I am, once again, proud to be a Hibby (I always was actually) and look forward to the second part of the season with anticipation.
OK, the league and cup double may only be a dream, but it is NOT an impossibility.
Thank you John Hughes. You are a magician and everyone who follows Hibs owes you a great deal.
I am told very few teams have had a double hit in the Soccer AM Crossbar Challenge. But then, very few teams are Hibernian FC.
Hearts may have had the opportunity, but they’ve all been suspended.
Bring on the Jambos. Managed from hell.
Gradually Petrie is being vindicated, as I have mostly supported. (He’s had some amazing transfer deals – Whittaker, Brown and Fletcher in particular.)
Intake of breath…we have a team. Have you seen Liam Miller? Wotherspoon? Zemmama (on form)?
It’s actually quite exciting.
And Hearts still bottom.
Bliss.
I was just talking to Lee, my Hearts fan colleague, about how nice it was to see Hibs joint top of the league and Hearts joint bottom and he went and got all upset, libelous about Yogi and basically acted like you’d expect a Hearts fan to act when his team is £30 odd million in debt and joint bottom of the league.
He had to revert to boasting about the fact that they were top of the crap teams last year. And then he had the audacity to slag Hibs for being one down at half time against St Mirren. As if it mattered what the score was at half time. I don’t actually ever recall points being awarded for first half performances do you?
Starting in 2020. 118 years since Hibs last won the Scottish Cup.
It seems that Hibs have done a deal with 118 118, the telephone directory people, for them to sponsor our shirt.
The deal is certain to kick in in ten years time.
Don’t cry for me argy bargy.
It makes me laugh till I spew reading the angst emanating from Ibrox about Kris Boyd being sold. What? The family jewels sold off to a bigger and richer club, (Birmingham City) just when they were doing well.
Well, now you know how it feels!
Thomson, Miller, Whittaker, Murray and, over the fence, Caldwell, Killen, Riordan, Brown and that’s probably not all of them that have been ripped out of Easter Road in the last few years and it’s no different at Hearts or Dundee Utd.
Shadenfruede?
You bet.
(Oh and I believe they’re after Andy Driver at Hearts. Bloody hypocrites.)
I have so many mixed feelings about the Hibees that I wouldn’t know where to start listing them.
They beat Celtic today, fair and square. They must be a good team then. So how come they lost to Inverness, and drew with Aberdeen, St Mirren and Falkirk. It’s ridiculous and neverending. It shows a total sign of lack of commitment because clearly the squad has the ability, but not the focus.
It totally hacks me off.
So we beat Celtic, so what?
However ,we did score a quite extraordinary goal which got the commentators all frothy at the mouth.
It was more goalkeeping cock up than striking brilliance, but here it is anyway.
John Rankin, enjoy your moment in the sun.
Oh, and if you think that’s bad. Try this…
Same comment applies.
We beat Celtic (last year), lose to all the fodder around us and finish nowhere. Helped along the way by a Boruc calamity.
We’ll probably sign him one day.
Oh well, might as well be totally rubbish at everything.
As a Scottish foootball fan one has two options: support the Old Firm (either half will do) or follow your heart and stay local.
I chose that route and support Hibernian FC.
When it comes to your country the choice is rather more restricted. Therefore I support Scotland.
Today I watched my country play Macedonia in what was a very important game. What I witnessed was what I see week in week out from my club team. Complacency.
Scotland, in the first half, against a team ranked 50 or so places behind them in the FIFA rankings were out-fought, out-thought and out-bothered. Scotland didn’t give a damn. It was a really disappointing thing to see, post Euro 2008 badluckness. Sure, it was a different thing in the second half, when it was a race against time.
‘It was too hot’ they’ll say. But it was the Macedonians who were most suffering at the end. So that is no excuse.
I think the comparison to being a Hibs fan is very relevant here. Week in, week out Hibs fail to beat the rank and file (like St Mirren, say) but come the glamour tie all the stops are pulled out (The Old Firm and Hearts).
Scotland can turn it on, big style, against France, Italy and, no doubt, the Dutch but an eminently beatable Macedonian team screwed it for us once again for lack of application.
By the way, I hate, naye loathe, Skopje. I slept in the train station overnight there in 1983 and it was full of idiots. 30 degree heat all night and folk pacing about in leather studs and chains. I honestly don’t know how I got out of there alive.
Messi; very, very Messi.
Not a particularly good European campaign for the Hibees this summer. Three defeats, no goals scored, a veritable humping from a merely warming up Barcelona under the inspired leadership of Messi. Yes, it was, very Messi indeed.
Mixu was at least honest enough to admit that Hibs were given a real lesson. I wonder if we are about to see the start of the implications of selling 11 or so internationals over the last three years.
Anyway at least the Jambos were happy. Gives them five minutes free from contemplation about how their team can survive until the end of the season.
I pity them, I really do.
Although it pains me to say so. This is very funny.
Click here.
So, having just regaled you with both hope and pessimism, and having shared Mixu’s glorious hatrick against the Jambos…
Oh you missed it?
Here it is again then.
He only goes and gets Deano to score his first ever hatrick against the hapless Caley Thistle
Nice start Mixu. Let’s hope it’s not just beginner’s luck.
That’s the old gag and phoenetic translation of Hibees’ new manager’s name; Mixu Paatelainen. But I tell you what, new manager or not, I’d not be rushing to bet on Hibs putting Inverness Caley Thistle out of the cup this afternoon. I hope these are non-prophetic words. But time will tell.
Prediction?
Hibs 1 Thistle 1
Replay
Thistle 2 Hibs 0
Will Thistle win the cup? Will they buggery.
We wept when Murray went to Rangers.
We sighed as O’Connor headed to Moscow
We groaned as Caldwell went to Celtic
We swore when Riordan went to Celtic too.
We moaned when Brown went to Celtic an a’.
We shrieked when Killen followed the flock to Celtic .
We despaired when Thomson went to Rangers.
We couldn’t believe it when Whittaker followed him.
We smiled though when Stewart went back to Hearts.
We grimaced when Sproule schlepped off somewhere that I can’t recall.
And then we huffed when Mowbray took off to WBA…
So there was only one thing for it.
Kick the lot of their arses.
Rangers…easy
Celtic… peasy
Hearts… Japanesy
We’re unbeaten nine league games into the season.
We’ve got no more debt.
We’re about to build a new stand.
Rob Petrie and JC Walk on water and here’s the proof if proof is needed.
OK, Celtic’s lucky victory (once again) against Gretna has slightly distorted the above. But it’s staying right here…
gibberish 