Hawk89

You didn't go to Marr in the early-mid 00s did you? If not, I'm worried there are a number of wannabe paramedic PE teachers running around Ayrshire.

All the hallmarks of 2-0 Arbroath.

Cheers for the steers above, when looking at dates for coming home it appears Emirates still do the layover option at no extra fee. Looks like Jordan would probably be the best fit then for being able to see something whilst also recharging the batteries.

Rinsing the bookies with Shankland anytime, Ayr win was the moment we jumped the shark (on the field) for me.

Wondering if anyone has been out to Dubai recently? I'm travelling over to Nepal with work for a week or two early next year (Feb/Mar) and was looking at options for a stopover on the way home. Weighing up two very different options: 3 nights in Dubai with my feet up or 3 nights in Jordan (the country) with a trip down to Petra. Will be on my own and my wife has zero interest in Petra so it feels like a good opportunity to bounce in on the way back. The main questions are: Is Dubai eye wateringly expensive or can it be done in a budget friendly way? I've had a look at hotels and they are very much on par price wise, just not sure about "living" costs whilst there.

If you are going direct to NYC then it is probably worth just grinning and bearing the utterly erratic immigration queue going direct from Edinburgh unless there is an incredible deal available elsewhere. If you are connecting to go else where in the US that is where I could absolutely see the benefit of minimising hassle by bouncing through Ireland (as typically you would be looking at a hub anyway given the dearth of direct options). One thing to look out for with KLM is sometimes they bounce you into Schiphol then you have another short haul leg over to CDG before connecting with the long haul flight. I'm not sure if that is down to airline or airport capacity these days.

Sadly not, every time I've looked the Aer Lingus prices are through the roof. Can you do it with any of the US carriers via Dublin?

Have to say I was quite impressed with the hard product on offer from Delta (both international and domestic) this time around. They are still running their ageing 767-300s into Edinburgh which are slated to be retired in 2025. Some airlines (looking at you BA) would let aircraft like this age and just carry out reactive maintenance. Delta however, have refurbed them all over the past couple of years to ensure the product is still fairly fresh and modern. You can see a marked difference between the speed of the IFE systems on the 767 and their 737MAX aircraft, but it still comes with all the same features (bar Live TV). For 6hrs between EDI-JFK the product is absolutely fine and the flights seem to leave/arrive early most days. I reckon if we are doing America again (before 2025) we'd look to book this route over what would normally be my preferred option of KLM from Glasgow as the seat config on this aircraft type is also great if travelling as a couple (2-3-2). They'll likely replace this route with an A321NEO or 787 which means you'll always be stuck in a 3 sadly. The only downside of the flight times on the way home is that it leaves JFK just after 10pm, they then run a full meal service for about 90 minutes before dimming the cabin lights, they bring the lights back up again about 90 minutes before landing to serve breakfast. On a 6hr flight you don't get alot of rest. On the domestic leg between Tampa-JFK the 737Max had the added benefit of live TV (there were about 15-20 channels) so it was great being able to watch some college football on the way South and basketball on the homeward leg. Inflight service on both legs was brilliant and the crews very attentive. Inflight Wifi is free for messaging services (text only, no images or gifs etc), and like most carriers you'll need a mortgage if you want one of their paid packages.

First time going through Edinburgh for a few years just there, was actually quite impressed with how seamless it is these days. It may have been luck of the draw, but Saturday morning around 9am there was barely a queue for security. Between Check-in and getting to airside we were 15 minutes tops, did have the pleasure of seeing someone come through the fast track with their wife who had a face like thunder when she saw no wait at all for us non-paying peasants. Things have certainly changed for the better as well airside, last time I went through the Wetherspoons was basically a cupboard with some tables rammed into it and there wasn't really much else. Coming back in, again we were maybe luck as the Delta flight gets in surrounded by domestic services at that time of the day we were through passport control in no time. One thing that was annoying however, is that American passport holders can also use the E-gates. Seems a little unfair given we have to wait in that f****** immigration queue at JFK for a minimum of 60 minutes (worst has been 3hrs) each time we go. I'd personally make it reciprocal and put the worst tempered border force staff on it they can find.

The vlogger that pished himself in front of his kid not so long ago after a few to many beers.

Who would play Bullen?

FFS Halloween isn't until tomorrow.

I'd rather keep them in the wind and rain if possible.

Could it be the case that we retain capacity given the new stand will adhere to far more stringent modern building and safety standards? I'm sure I've read a few times over the past 10-15 years about our capacity being slightly reduced when we've gone through the licencing process with the council.

It will be interesting to see how the seating splits the crowd once the dust settles. Would assume the new stand will be very busy the first few games, but there will always be people who have always sat/stood in the same place etc.

Totally agree the Friday night finale is a horrible idea, makes it a total pain for anyone with commitments on a Friday that then faces an away tie. (Inverness last season for example). It is clearly only there for the benefit of BBC Scotland rather than the fans.

Nice to see a few of the vloggers we regularly watch listed here. I quite like Noel Philips but, agree he can be a bit distant/stand offish, his friend Josh Cahill is alot better at the "people" side of it. He also has some sort of beef with Sam Chui, as he's mentioned in a couple of his videos about not wanting to trigger the Sam Chui defence league. On the more destination travel front we watch a fair bit of Bald & Bankrupt (seems very good at connecting with locals) and Backpacker Ben (has worked with Callum Abroad) for the more extreme travel stuff and Walk with me Tim for the places we're actually likely to visit. For our Florida research we've been churning through the Explorcation and Tampa Aerial Media vids content. Notable mentions to Steve Marsh and Planes, Trains and Everything as well as Scottish vloggers. Have started watching the Jet Lag guys off the recommendation on here, so far so good.

I see there are already a couple of call offs (Montrose / St Johnstone). St Johnstone calling off for supporter safety and not wanting to add additional strain to the emergency services. Would imagine given the flooding there will be alot of resource being pulled from all over the country to support.

Think we've seen it somewhere, as I remember seeing something similar (without the sponsor) to that when they did the last push to get people to join the AU500 club so they could have their names on it.

Have the Metal plan as it pretty much covers itself with the way I use it, not sure if other plans also get access to their smart delay feature. Basically you just fire your flight details in and if there is a delay of over an hour they give you free lounge access.

Out of interest @Loonytoons do you find the headlight dust covers constantly vibrating themselves off? I had a '68 plate 1.6T which had a knack of doing that. The dealer refused to accept it was a design fault the third time I was in with it because they had came off and disappeared. The spring clips as well for changing the bulbs were an absolute pain in the arse and very easy to break (luckily never managed to break one but have read plenty of accounts of it on the Astra K fourms).

Haven't had the joys of Edinburgh Airport since 2018, which is maybe a blessing in itself. We are due to flyout to America at the start of November, I was wondering what the lounges are like? I have 3 choices between the 2 Aspire Lounges (Gate 4 and 16) and Plaza, has anyone used these and are they worth the money? Can get access for £20 via my Revlout card, so wondered if it would be a nice perk given we are flying on my wives birthday. No idea which group of gates Delta typically go from as it seems a bit of a lottery when I've been checking.

Far too sensible viewpoint for Scottish football. They'll wait till 1pm to do any pitch inspection to ensure as many away fans as possible have set off.

I think Shankland suffers from that move to Belgium, if he had been at a team that weren't a total bin fire he would probably get more of a look in. The fact he's playing for Hearts and not either of the OF or an English Tier 1-2 club will go against him perception wise, he will be one of those guys that gets chucked on in friendlies / dead rubbers or if we have a major injury crisis unless he gets a move to a bigger club.

Forgot how tall he is