The heat was suffocating, it was 35° and city was heaving. On the long walk out of town some enterprising locals were selling water or cola to the increasingly dehydrated caravan of people. I passed a few, not willing to succumb to extortionate opportunism, but soon gave in.
I walked into an orange tree earlier that day. Caught between taking directions from a policeman and setting off in a new direction I’d overlooked the towering obstacle a yard in front of me. There’d been a spring in my step, I must have bounced into the bark. Trees are hard. I fell.
The return journey was made in the cool of the night. For the first few miles we were a uniformed flow of humanity but eventually the crowd thinned. We walked through residential streets with locals at their doors and windows. They applauded as we passed. Few of us are ever part of something substantial enough that uninvolved observers openly applaud you. Such memories endure.
I’d an early rise and a long drive with a full car ahead the next day. The bedroom was packed, floor space was given over to spare bedding, the hotels must have shipped mattresses in from a hundred kilometres radius, so with the others in the bar, I took myself off for a shower.
I met a German couple in the elevator. “Are you disappointed?” the woman asked. “No, we played well and were beaten by a good team.” It was the perfect answer. These people must have been horrified when they noticed the throng which would dominate their trip, but they’d become part of the story, part of the throng. The answer was honestly given, although disappointment would come later. I went on, “We lost a minor cup final nine years ago, that was real disappointment”.
I surprised myself by what my memory spontaneously threw up when asked about disappointment. Looking back now, that minor cup final is no more than a touchstone, and indicator of where we were before the Generation of Domination got underway. It’s lost its power to inflict negative emotion. If I met the German couple once more I could again tell them I wasn’t disappointed with that day in the blistering heat. It’s one of my proudest memories, and we soon learned we were beaten, narrowly, by a great team.
This, my friends in Celtic, is what you call a journey.
I spoke to fan liaison manager John Paul Taylor yesterday and mentioned I’d not renewed my season ticket yet. I promised him I would today and that I’d pass the message on. Deadline is tomorrow, after that people can ask for a move into your seat. Consider yourself reminded! We walk the next mile of the journey soon, with hope in our hearts, as always.
Many thanks to those who donated to Mary’s Meals yesterday, and to Magners. The money raised in one day alone will feed over 30 of the world’s poorest school children for a year.
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Brendan o Hara ( funny name fur an Snp Mp) secures debate on Trident…Flake that…Whit aboot the Gulls Brendan….
What was the reason for the clubs deciding to limit the number of tickets available to fans tonight?
Mon the Seagulls!!!
Good aim:-)
Weefra, Ive shot loadsa burds. Now dont read that in Frankey Howard kind of way.
Wouldnt kill a gull, but I once lent my gun to a guy who did. Funny story, if I see you on sunday I,ll tell ye.
Im a wildlife lover…….so a um
Matthewl1888
I like the behind the goal view it lets you see the whole play build up.
And they are a decent crowd in that area. Not too negative although there is one numpty who appears for the bigger games a few seats behind me who rips into al the players throughout the match – bit my tongue to date.
I Wanna Know about this Alka Seltser thing..Coz am Gonna go aw David Byrne oan these Dennistoun Gull bitches…Life During War Time..
ACGR
Lol :-))))
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
a ceiler gonof rust
22:19 on 21 May, 2015
MickTT, are you sure that wisnay a terodactyle that got you? Or a flying buffalo. That was a bit of a black cat story if ever I heard one.
Aye your gull was bigger than mine and had scoffed a vindaloo.
:_)
₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩
ABCD like you I love animals and a good old fashioned yarn….
I look forward to a yarn or two in the future.
I’m sure my seagull was carrying a bucket of seagull shit collected from all the Ayrshire hun seagulls for my benefit, it felt and looked like it..
Ayrshire is Green and White
craigellachie10
You’ve got those fans in all areas (the part timers), really annoys me at times, there was this one time I remember in particular because I found it pathetic, when Celtic went down to inter by 2 in the early minutes this man who you could just tell had not been to a game in god knows how long walked up and left then said “waste of time”
bgx
22:25 on 21 May, 2015
I Wanna Know about this Alka Seltser thing..Coz am Gonna go aw David Byrne oan these Dennistoun Gull bitches…Life During War Time..
₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩
Put one in a glass of water and then think about the consequences…
HH
As a fourteen year old and too young to have a conscience, I used to feed the birds, they would sit on the fence outside my bedroom window while I shot them with my .22 rifle.
This continued until the old bat down the close phoned the police on me, gun confiscated and a good slap from my ma. Thank feck my da didn’t find out.
Now I just send Caesar out to battle with the magpies;)))
sixtaeseven – Gardez la Foi
21:37 on
21 May, 2015
Richard Wilson, BBC Scotland at Hampden
“Rangers had players with first-team experience in their line-up, with Fraser Aird,
*we article here which was a full page spread in the Toronto Star:
Like countless other Canadian-born kids with parents who hail from Europe, Fraser Aird inherited his favourite sports team.
Rangers FC was the choice in Aird’s Scarborough home, the inevitable byproduct of having both a father and a maternal grandpa who were longtime season ticket holders at Ibrox Stadium, the club’s Glasgow ground.
Growing up, it meant regular, early-morning outings to see Scottish Premier League games on satellite. There were live looks too, when the team made pre-season tours to Toronto. Annual conventions were also part of the mix, as his parents belonged to the North American Rangers Supporters Association.
But in addition to becoming a diehard Rangers fan, Fraser Aird also developed into a talented soccer player. So good, in fact, that the 16-year-old is off to Scotland Sunday after signing a professional contract with the club.
“It’s a childhood dream,” Aird says. “I’ve always wanted to do this.”
An attacking midfielder with speed and an eye for goal, Aird will initially join Rangers’ Under-17 side. But club officials expect him to move quickly to the Under-19s, which is the third squad behind the first team and reserves.
“He’s a talented footballer with good technical ability,” says Jim Sinclair, who as director of the Rangers’ Murray Park Academy oversees all club sides but the first team.
“He has a wee bit of the Scot in him. He’s gritty. He’s direct.”
But in addition to liking Aird’s playing style, Sinclair said by phone from Glasgow that the Rangers staff also feels he’s the type of person who will “relish the challenge and hard work ahead” in adjusting to life as a young pro.
“There’s no point in bringing him across such a distance and being unsure how resilient he’ll be,” Sinclair says.
Aird, a Grade 10 student at Albert Campbell Collegiate Institute in Scarborough, has already shown a fair measure of resiliency in pursuing an overseas soccer career. Rangers is the third club he’s been on trial with.
Thanks in part to the connections of Sanford Carabin, his agent and one-time coach, Aird had a trial in 2008 with Celtic FC, who’ve engaged Rangers in a century-old, cross-town rivalry that has sometimes blurred sports with religion (Celtic is known as a Catholic club, while Rangers has Protestant roots).
The trial at Celtic, and a first with Rangers last October, were funded by the Aird family. A 2009 trial with second-tier English side Burnley FC and a second trip to Rangers prior to the contract offer were paid for by the clubs.
“He’s got a chance that a million other kids would love,” says Bill Aird, 59, a transportation engineer with the City of Toronto. “Now, it’s up to him to make the most of it.”
Before immigrating to Canada in 1987, Bill Aird spent a half-dozen years attending every Rangers game, home and away, including European competitions. He says the prospect of his son playing for the club is “unbelievable, really.”
The elder Aird, a Protestant, insists he would have been thrilled if Fraser signed with any club, including Celtic, as this has always been about sports, not religion. The key is the young man gets to pursue his dream.
“I’m very proud of what he’s achieved,” says Bill Aird, who rarely misses one of Fraser’s games or practices. “The fact he’s going to Rangers is doubly good for me but as a family, we feel it’s an opportunity that he needs to take right now.
“We don’t want to look back a few years from now and say: ‘What if?’”
After two training stints with Rangers, Fraser Aird knows that’s where he wants to be. In addition to billeting with a family and continuing his high school education, he’ll train each day at the same facility as the club’s stars.
“It pushes you more because that’s what you want to achieve,” he says of watching the first team train, or lifting weights alongside its players.
Aird began playing at age 3 at North Scarborough Soccer Club, suiting up with older brother Cameron and other five-year-olds. He continued to play against older kids until joining the Markham Lightning in the 2008 season.
“He’s just clearly one step ahead of everybody at all times,” says Dino Cramarossa, who coached Aird for three seasons from 2008 to 2010, including 2009 when the Lightning won the league, playoff and Ontario Cup Under-14 titles before losing the national final in Nova Scotia on penalties.
“For most guys, the game speeds up when they get around the 18-yard box. For him, it slows down and that’s a gift.”
Cramarossa says Aird, who is 5-foot-8 and 145 pounds, is tremendously quick with the ball, and thrives on running at opponents and beating them one-on-one. He adds that Aird can not only score with both feet but is also mentally tough, very independent and “just hates to lose”.
“He’s got everything it takes,” Cramarossa says.
Fraser Aird knows there’s still a long way to go — and a lot of hard work to do — before he’s ready to trot out with the first team at Ibrox. But, in addition to being anxious to get his Rangers career started, he’s also looking forward to being a regular at the stadium, indulging his passion for the club as a fan.
“It’ll be fun. I’ll sit there and watch and think: ‘One day, that could be me.’”
Bgx,
Sorry to be a nuisance but his name is Brendan O’Hara.
Micktt
22 28
Do you start rifting.:0)
Weefra
Great to read your good news.
Now hopefully your only pains in the wotzits will be us lot!
I’ll go easy with the hug on Sunday!
HH jamesgang
PS sorry pal, I dinnae like seagulls either!
CanWeStillBeFhriendsCSC
HH jamesgang
Micktt…Does it blow them up!
Captain Beefheart Aint that what i said?…
jamesgang
Thank you so much for that. Yer Swindon buddy knows what I went through, he is a cracker. :-))). Hugs to a minimum on Sunday. Lol. Cheers kiddo.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
matthewl1888
22:27 on 21 May, 2015
craigellachie10
You’ve got those fans in all areas (the part timers), really annoys me at times, there was this one time I remember in particular because I found it pathetic, when Celtic went down to inter by 2 in the early minutes this man who you could just tell had not been to a game in god knows how long walked up and left then said “waste of time”
——–
That may have been ACGR. A gull-worrying part timer of a fan who missed games recently cos he was in Oz…..shabby excuse.
And watch out for his creepy acolyte on here.
;-)))
HH jamesgang
Tontine Tim
“For most guys, the game speeds up when they get around the 18-yard box. For him, it slows down and that’s a gift.”
Aye, I’m usually knackered and slowing down if I reach the opposition penalty box with the ball too. Never heard it called a gift though.
Once had a thing for a rather delectable young Polish women. Despite some pleasant social interactions, I was too shy to ask her out. However I knew which bus sbe waited for. Eventually I got the cojones to ask her out. Planned everything. Combed hair etc. Crossed the road to see her… A feckin seagull shat on me. Ran back to a shop toilet to clean myself and to wish death upon all seagulls. Went back and she sweetly declined my invite out as she had a boyfriend (despite my useless Polish mate assuring that she didn’t. His scouting skills rivalled whoever signed Bangura).
I hate seagulls. More than I hate Mo Johnston l..
If you had to confide in someone then old Bobbio is your Bhoy.
I’d trust him him with my life. Mibbee only cos my mrs has me insured tae bu&&ery!!
HH jamesgang
jamesgang
HH
Sftb
They’re shouting ‘git’ not ‘gift’
You deaf as well as auld n slow!!
;-))
HH jamesgang
Bgx, gonna remember the apostrophe? Please. Please.
BGX @ 21:59
You may think it is cool to control Gulls by hitting them with a car while oncoming traffic is on one side of you and school children are walking on the path to the other side as I witnessed this week. I didn’t find that cool or clever. I am also aware to the proven links of animal abuse and family abuse. I don’t find domestic abuse, nor elder, child or animal abuse cool either.
Captain Beefheart..I Hate Seagulls more than you hate the seagulls that you hate more than you hate mo johnston…Makes Sense to me..# AlkaThemGulls….Wont be any in my street soon…
jamesgang
nuffin to add to that. Well said wee mhan. Lol.
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
Captain beefheart…Will Do…
bgx
22:36 on 21 May, 2015
Micktt…Does it blow them up!
₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩₩
Dunno but I was told it does….! I wouldn’t try it though, not on a seagull….A hun that’s different..!
Ayrshire is Green and White
matthewl1888
Right back atcha buddy.
Welcome to CQN. A grand old place to be…..
HH jamesgang
Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Weefra HH praying to Wee Oscar.
BGX, I’ve seen some sicko stuff done to seagulls. The second worst was the baking soda wrapped in bread. That blows them up. The worst was on a fishing trip on the Clyde when I got stuck with a bunch of senior managers (I was in my apprenticeship).
Fishing was crap so one of the sicko’s decided to show us the old “turn the seagull inside out trick”. A decent sized bit of fish as bait, 30 yards of 30lb mono and a poly bag. Fill the bag with water and leave it in the water. Leave the bait close to the bag. Seagull takes the fish, takes off and 30 yards later you can guess the rest.
I was less than impressed.
Well done the Bhoys tonight against The Rangers.
Some pics from the celebrations here and also a tip for the club on how to handle matches against them in the reporting…
Youth Cup Final – Celtic 5 – 2 The Rangers….http://www.cqnmagazine.com/?p=5408
Morrisey,
Best not read what Shaun Ryder and co used to do to gulls.
Boom!
May the seagulls rise and pluck your eyes and the water crush your shell,
And the natural gas will burn your ass and blow you all to hell.
Morrisey the 23rd…Yeah ok…You dressed that up well, say that for you, endangering children plus child abuse linked to the injury of 2 Gulls…Good for you…