Le Tout P'ti FC

He sure has, another belter!

Bonnyrigg Rose 1 Hibs 4. Attendance 2,400 at a spruced up New Dundas Park. Bit of a gala day occasion for the locals in Midlothian as the "big team" (for many) came to town. Hibs were very comfortable throughout, looking like a significantly better team than Killie yesterday. Bonnyrigg had some decent spells but will rue conceding a third goal immediately after scoring, just a few moments away from HT. Game disrupted twice due to spectators needing medical treatment. Hopefully just heat related and nothing too serious. Great to see David Marshall, who becomes the first international goalie to grace these parts since Henry Smith was at Whitehill Welfare. Bonnyrigg go on to host Falkirk on Wednesday.

Man of the match: Mark Weir.

Craig Telfer in a View from the Bins.

Montrose 0 Killie 3. Far too hot for football, as the three water breaks would attest. First half was atrocious, second half slightly better. Credit to the players for even taking to the field today, it was stifling way beyond the nominal temperature of 22oC.

Sure is, all going well I'll be at Montrose v Killie tomorrow. Just cruising into Ullapool now.

Excellent cover on the Hibs programme.

Week on Lewis coming to an end. Weather has been all the varieties of cool and windy you can think of, nobody knows how to use passing places, and I'm gasping for a decent cup of coffee, from anywhere. Otherwise it has been fun.

Out in the sticks where I live I don't even have glass recycling yet! (Or garden waste recycling, or a bus service...) Four mile drive to the nearest glass recycling point, which is invariably full to the brim as it seems to be emptied about once every month or so. Back on topic, currently drinking Highland Spring (sparkling), with the prospect of a beer or two later.

Nice wee tour of Abhainn Dearg distillery at Uig on Lewis. Distillery is currently out of production (since Covid lockdown) but awaiting some new parts to get them back up and running again. Warehouse is well stocked to tide them over. Took away drivers drams of a 10yo Sauternes cask 57%, and a 10yo Rioja cask 58% and a wee bottle for the collection at home. The drivers drams have been necked back at our digs tonight and have been absolutely delightful.

An article regarding the purchase of a cask of Ardbeg 1975 for £16m, or as I prefer to think of it, a mere £37k per bottle. The article explains well the rarity value of Ardbeg of this vintage, and mentions that £1m of the proceeds are being donated to the local community. I love Ardbeg, more so the location and the people at the distillery than the whisky itself to be honest, but this price tag could never sit well with my conscience. https://www.ft.com/content/9ef2353d-99d5-41de-ba21-e45df485495c

I was swithering over going to a game tonight, but the wind has turned into a fully fledged hoolie as the day has progressed and I thought that sitting on my decking with a beer watching the sea battering Pabaigh Mor would prove more entertaining, and so it has been. Lewis has been pretty spectacular, the main highlight thus far being finding out that one of the Callanish stones bears an uncanny resemblance to King Kong.

"We go again." Heading out for my first full week on Lewis & Harris since 2015. News of Britain's impending heatwave has not reached Ullapool, alas.

Breakfast Guinness from Jiggers in St Andrews. Last time I was here we arrived for a quick lunch, but ended up inside for about 12 hours. After a mammoth session we were completely smashed. Consequently the wedding which we were up for the next day was a painful experience. The Jiggers evening ended up in the company of a self purported Buddhist monk, who claimed to be a reformed gangster from New Jersey. Amazingly he claimed to have shot about 55 on the Old Course that day. His tales, of course, were complete fantasy, but entertaining nonetheless, particularly so as he was buying endless rounds for all and sundry using an enormous wedge of bank notes. Today I'm here for the one (and one only!) to break up a day of walking the Fife Coastal Path. Lots of 150th signs abound the municipal golf course, which presumably are in honour of Clyde FC?

I think Caol Ila 12 was my gateway drug to whisky, I remember being given one of those to try at a hotel when I was turning of age. Previously I'd only had rank blends like Bells or Grouse. That led me into Lagavulin 16 and then on it went. Still really enjoy a Caol Ila 12. Have visited the warehouse tour there and it was absolutely and unmistakably tremendous. Sitting in a dingy warehouse surrounded by Johnny Walker ephemera and drinking an endless range of decent drams. Would do again! View from the car park isn't too bad is it? Don't think I have any photos from inside because I think it's one of those distilleries that pretend a wee photo is an explosive device in the making. But the view from inside is extraordinary, huge floor to ceiling windows overlooking the sound from which the distillery is named.

It really was. Here's a photo somebody took from up the back. Gives a better idea of the size of the room. Excellent sound!

A new thing for me today. Admiral Fallow in Alloa Library, as part of Get it Loud in Libraries. Absolutely tremendous stuff. Quality music, lovely building, and me finding out there is more to Alloa than pie-on-a-roll at the Recs.

Campbeltown was a wee joke on my part. The nearest station must be Girvan? Although that being said, the Machrihanish to Campbeltown railway ran directly past Kintyre Park (until 1932). There's a nice wee path that takes you from the ground over to the town centre which follows the old railway line.

Well done to Campbeltown Pupils on achieving full membership of the WOSL. I read that they are making some ground improvements over the summer, including new loos. Will definitely be back across early this season.

Liking the photo of the Lumo train speeding past Dunbar. A ground I keep meaning to get to but have not managed yet. (There's a long list of such grounds, but I'm whittling them down.) In true Daniel Gray style, I do love a train journey where you can catch even a merest glimpse of a football ground. Especially if you can get a good view inside, of which Irvine Vics must be the pinnacle. Which grounds in Scotland can you get a decent glimpse of from a train? A pointless list compiled off the top of my head, where have I missed? Hearts Ross County St Mirren Arbroath Ayr Utd Hamilton Morton Raith Rovers Stranraer Banks O'Dee Clach Nairn County Berwick Cumbernauld Colts Edinburgh Uni Dunbar Utd Linlithgow Rose Luncarty Tynecastle FC Tweedmouth Auchinleck Campbeltown Pupils Greenock Irvine Vics Lanark Pollok Port Glasgow Saltcoats Troon

Easterhouse are in. Playing home games at Stepford, just off the Edinburgh Road and very close to Garrowhill Station.

My ticket is a bit like that, it says Rose.

Cloudy Brain Factory

Dunbar United have popped a 200 seater stand up in three days. In the right colours for QP too.

The Lost Final. Pat Nevin presenting a documentary on the 1982 U18 European Championship winning Scotland team. Enjoyable. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m0018mch/the-lost-final