Le Tout P'ti FC

There's a better picture of the new stand at Linton Hotspur. Not bad at all.

Cross Borders first (I think) venture into the wonderful world of Hefeweizen. Pretty decent. Made a wee detour into Cornelius to stock up, was my first time in town for many months.

Good crowd again.

Feel strangely proud of this. Sod all to do with my work. I've just mentioned how much I like their whisky occasionally, and trailed sand from the beach into their cafe now and again. Definitely recommend this one though, a lovely whisky.

Love stopping there. Perfect setting.

First time for me at Lugar Boswell Thistle tonight, a visit from Muirkirk. Pretty easy six-nil win for Muirkirk (including a couple of cracking free kicks, and Christian Nade scoring for them). Lovely ground to spend a sunny summer's evening.

This thread is incredible / terrifying. Puts the Stockbridge floods into some perspective.

This is a worry. 454 at Ainslie Park tonight.

I'm with you! Lagavulin Warehouse tasting and Bunnahabhain Warehouse 9 tasting leave you worrying about driving a car four weeks later. That's my kind of whisky experience. Caol Ila also did amagnificent tasting in a wee room with church pews, where they were very generous with the samples. Recommend doing the Lagavulin tour with a very rich American couple on honeymoon, who crack open the 1966 cask for their tour buddies! That was 2011 so we were tasting the 45yo stuff. Basically if you get led into a darkened vault where you find yourself instinctively zipping your jacket up to combat the cold, you know they're about to break out the good stuff. Whereas the tastings held up in the visitors centre or some tweeded "library" are usually keek. But I'll give an exception here to Bruichladdich, who treat their guest in the visitors centre very well indeed.

Heriot-Watt University 2 Newburgh 1 HT. Game is zipping along at a fair pace, despite the temperature being 22oC at kick off. Home team took a two goal lead and were good value for it, Newburgh scored a free kick just at HT. Love the Oriam, the building looks amazing in this light.

Yes I have. It didn't have the ambience of say a Lagavulin or Bunnahabhain tour, and they weren't as forthcoming with the samples as I would have liked, but it was a good enough way to pass an hour or two. The good thing about Oban distillery is their shop. They have bottles from not just Oban but their sister distilleries (Lagavulin, Talisker, Cragganmote, Glenkinchie, Dalwhinnie). You might pick up something decent. Shop across the road (Oban Whisky & Fine Wines) is worth a look also.

Nationwide. My local Coop (Peeblesshire) was down to the bare bones yesterday (delivery didn't arrive to the shop), M&S this morning was a little bit better but still bare in places. Supply chains are knackered because of the "pingdemic" in England. Tesco sent hundreds of tonnes of food to waste last week because they just couldn't get their fresh products out to the shops. Funnily enough I need loo roll and can't find it for love nor money. Ah memories of March 2020. The beer cupboard here is well stocked so I'll soldier on!

And I'm home! 16.5 hours on the move today, and I wouldn't change a bit of it. Only two slight hiccups today, Glen Scotia distillery was closed by time I got to it after game so I couldn't get a dram to bring home, and I missed the 5pm Gigha ferry by a whisker (I had the wizard idea of getting a quick ferry over and back to break up my drive home). Reflecting on the game, I was quite impressed by Kilsyth, they were pretty ruthless. A lovely bit of skill on the left wing created the goal just on stroke of HT, which broke Campbeltown, and their defending in the second half wasn't the best. Kilsyth looked really fit and well organised. Suspect the Pupils will have better days ahead though, not every opponent will be as ruthless. The set up at Kintyre Park is perfectly fine for Tier 8, and plenty of potential to improve on it as they grow. The big banking along one side gives a great vantage point. The crowd has been announced as "over 200 and sold nearly 100 season tickets today" which is really impressive. Look forward to going back one day! Suspect my next trip will fit round a trip to Islay, but I wouldn't rule out doing the 400 mile day trip again. Recommended! A really fun trip, felt like a mini-holiday (as my sun burn attests). Also a wee word for the town itself. It gets a really bad rep, people say it's run down etc. I'd give it another go if you feel that way, my last visit there was in 2019 and plenty has changed for the better since, there was a definite bustle to the shopping street, lots of independent shops, plenty places to grab a bite to eat or a coffee - great to see a town centre on the up, let's celebrate that instead of putting them down. Some fantastic historic buildings in that town as well, it was great to wander round for a bit after the game.

Not a bad drive home. Taking me forever, I keep stopping. Still 90 miles to go!

Six. I'm starting to think the Campbeltown offside trap was designed by Baldrick.

Stuff the [emoji925]. Take a [emoji576] instead. Landing pad right next door to the park. Attached to the hospital, but I'm sure they'd let you bring a chinook in for a small fee. One nil to Kilsyth nearing HT. Campbeltown were playing a scarily high offside line for a while and Kilsyth burst through countless times. Should have been about 3-0 after 10 minutes. But Campbeltown have settled down a bit now, game is much more even. Had my pre match grub at the Black Sheep. As I left, I came upon a new restaurant called No.42 Main Street. Looks a proper foodie place, whole lobster etc. Fully expect Coogan and Brydon to pitch up with a film crew. No sign of Spiers.

Burned off.

The magnificent West Port Beach, about 10 minutes out of Campbeltown (just past the turn off for "Tangy"). Fog has suddenly set in pretty close to here, visibility down to about the length of a football pitch. Ulp! Even I would find it hilarious, after a near 200 mile drive and a 5am alarm call, if this match was postponed due to shan visibility. (I'm sure it will burn off, it's roasting.) Not to "fret" over the weather, the journey here has been magical. A road I know pretty well from my trips to Islay, but it never disappoints, and today I had it mostly to myself. Bliss.

Breakfast. This beats Harthill Services. A mere 75 miles to go. Easy peasy.

Is Graham Spiers going to Kintyre Park? I don't know, but let's start that rumour now. Look forward to reading the match report.

Rolling Palace II. Black Isle are making a series of IPA's. Same beer other than changing the hops. This one is Amarillo. I've also got Rolling Palace III (Idaho 7) and Rolling Palace IV (Azacca). The Azacca is apparently the Haitian god of agriculture, so there you go. Nicely done.

Excellent. I will hold the New York Times under my arm and stand beneath the station clock at noon.

Looking forward to my first trip to Kintyre Park on Saturday to see Campbeltown Pupils vs. Kilsyth Athletic. (Hopefully, no word yet on any ticketing or Covid restrictions etc.) Any recommendations for pre-match food very welcome. Thought I'd create a wee thread so we can share our tales of journeys along the A83, pictures of chippies in Inveraray, chance meetings with Paul McCartney at the Campbeltown Co-op, and such like. To those making the journey this season, enjoy the trip!

Easthouses Lily 2 Leith Athletic 5. Last of the pre season friendlies. First half was decent, game tapered out a bit. Crowd was 70 ish.

Made it over to Ferguson Park to see the second half of Whitehill Welfare v St Cuthbert Wanderers. Red card given to a visiting player, I completely missed whatever caused it.