Edinburgh~The First 10 years solo: Rugby,Dancing,Trees,Rugby,Dancing etc.

Firstly, I must thank Jamie of Scottish Rugby who came up

with the dates I went to see a game at Murrayfield. Without

the info in his E, the rugby bit from 2009 to 2016 would have

been impossible guesswork. So:

Cheers, Jamie :-D Tapadh leat & thank you.

IRO some of the dancing, thanks also to Steve from the Scots

Music Group, Sylvia from Trinity Dancers, Ian from Dunedin
Dancers, & Margaret from the Gardens Scottish Country
Dancing organisation.

I also have a thing about trees, so thanks to Ugne from the

Botanical Gardens for providing other info I used.

Thank you, All  :-)

One other thing:
You will notice frequent changes of font & big spaces here &
there. This started happening when zoo, NZ, Aus & French game
photos disappeared during the 'creative process' (harhar ;-p) at the
end of March.
Since then the font changed size throughout, & the text
sometimes wraps & sometimes doesn't. It's been quite a
palaver to make sure it's all readable %\
I've proofed it today, & it looks OK on Preview, so, here's
hoping it all ends up where you are looking the same as
it did just before I clicked on Publish

       
2008
On April 12th 2008, I stopped doing martial arts. I'd been at it
most nights & weekends for years, so it left a large hole. 
The following week, I took up rugby & ballroom dancing. You
might say this was a bit from the sublime to the ridiculous?, but 
between them they satisfied my need for the aesthetic & the 
athletic. I'd had both doing MA for >30 years.
I trained with the Fylde girls on a Sunday morning, did ballroom 
& Latin on Tuesday & Thursday evenings, & trained at 
Fleetwood RUFC on Wednesdays.
As I joined at the back end of the rugby season, I had only
1 game - on the wing vs Stockport, before rugby training
stopped for the summer at Fleetwood. Training at Fylde 
kept going, tho., & we were occasionally trained by the 1st
team coach, Mark Nelson - AKA Nelly.
I also continued waltzing & rumbaing etc through that
summer.
In August I had a birthday jolly round the top of Scotland
& finally arrived in Wester Ross.
I was driving south along Poolewe bay when I saw a sign 
for a ceilidh at 8 that evening. Having been caught by the 
differences near Oban in 2003, I stopped at the Community 
Centre to ask: Dancing ceilidh or Concert ceilidh?
It was a dancing one with the music provided by local 
teenagers.
Having done the usual DWS, Canadian Barn Dance,
Britannia 2-step, etc. before the 1/2 time break, after
home-made cakes & brews, I subsequently danced
the Eightsome Reel for the 1st time, & did my 
longest (yet) Orcadian Strip the Willow. 
As I wrote in my Journal at the time, it lasted >15min. &
there were 32 couples dancing. There were so many that
we were dancing in the vestibule at the bottom end.
However, as it wasn't Edinburgh, it doesn't really belong
in here!
But it's dancing, so it does ;-)
  

2008 Autumn Tests~ South Africa

I'd been visiting Edinburgh with Rob since 2000(ish?), but after

April 2008, we were no longer an item, & I went up for the

rugby that November in the car, with Jonny (step-son).
There was a game vs NZ earlier in the month, but the only
tickets were in the gods, so we went up for the South Africa
one.

I picked him up in St Annes early doors, & we drove up in

the Hyundai, getting a flat somewhere up the A702.

Happily Jonny was able to change the tyre for me ~ it saved

me kneeling in the muck in my Clark (Modern) kilt ;-)

I was also wearing the 2007 RWC top I'd got the previous year,

It had long sleeves, so was good to wear, weather-wise.

I'd also bought a virtually new sheepskin coat from Armstrongs

in Grassmarket during our 2007 trip up for the RWC. That was
definitely a boon during Edinburgh snowfalls & windy
afternoons sitting in the stands at Murrayfield.

We parked west of the stadium & followed the crowds in.

Chris Paterson scored 2 out of 2 penalties before he came off

injured.
Dan Parks missed 2 penalties, & the score was 6-32.  

It was a bit of a whitewash :-(

It was a miserable drive back in the rain & bits of November

fog.

Back in those days, I remember Chris Cusiter playing

scrum-half, Sean Lamont with his bleached-blond hair-do
on the wing, Kelly Brown & Jim Hamilton in the pack, &
Ross Ford being relatively new on the scene in the front
row.

John Barclay, the current Captain, was another relative

newbie & played where he does now ~ in the pack.

There are so many names, & they were all great :-)

  

2008-9: Hogmanay dancing in Pitlochry

Not wanting to be at home on my 1st solo birthday for 14

years, I'd done a mega tour of the top end of Scotland
in August 2008 - see above about the Poolewe bit.
For a similar reason, I went to Italy for Christmas, came
home for a day, & then went north in the car for a
Hogmanay in Pitlochry.

I had a great time, & danced 4 times in 3 days, these

being at the practice ceilidh on the 30th, at the Hogmanay

Ball (till the lights went out at 0315), in the car park before

breakfast the next morning while my Carmichael's Ceilidh

CD was playing on the car stereo, & on Pitlochry High St.
at the New Year's Day party that afternoon.

Awesome :-D

I wasn't on-line in those days, but wrote a Journal about my

Italian Xmas & Scottish New Year.
I'd attach a link, but I'm a technosaurus & don't know how!

2009 6-Nations~Italy

The Italy game was on Feb, 28th, & started at 3pm.

As was a Saturday & there was time to drive up & back
that day, I did.

I had opted for West stand: I wanted to be close to the tunnel.

While lurking before the game, I  managed to get Dan Parks'

sig on my ticket: he wasn't playing that day.

There was a pic of the signed ticket, but it disappeared into the ether???

Chris Paterson was playing, tho., & I had a look on Google. It said he

scored 1 conversion & 3 penalties in the 26-6 win.

Man of the Match - Simon Danielli
Pic fr the Daily Mail

I'd parked the car near the PO on Russell Rd., so it wasn't far

to walk after the game. However, I had to mind all the crowds

walking home down Murieston, & having gone right instead

of left at Gorgie Rd., I ended up on the A71 instead of the A702

Bugger :-/

Still, after a couple of stops for a dopio espresso, I got home

eventually, & at that point, I decided to let the train take the

strain.

  

July 2009: 4 Days of Dancing

I'd had leave to use up before the end of July, so decided to

see if there was any dancing on in/near Edinburgh that month.

It was Scotland Homecoming that year, someone had written a

Homecoming dance for RSCDS dancers, & there was a

dance on at a church on Shandwick Place as well as in Princes

St Gardens.

I also discovered there was a ceilidh at Linlithgow Palace on

the Wednesday evening.

I travelled up on the Monday morning, staying at Castle Rock

hostel, & it's right under the walls on Johnston Terrace. It's

wonderful to come out of the door & look up, & there're also

great views of the Edinburgh skyline out of the bathroom

windows - incl. St Giles, but, unfortunately, it's quite a walk (up
loadsa steps) from Waverley.

Unlike now ~ when I usually get off at Haymarket, I went as far

as Waverley that week, & hauled the frocks etc. up the

steps & wynds, up the Royal Mile, & down Johnstone
Terrace.

Dance 1 was that evening at Shandwick Place, &, respectably

dressed, I set off down Johnstone Terrace. I remember that it

was bloody windy - blowing my skirt & hair all over the place, &
thinking it wasn't very July-like!

At the RSCDS dance I did the new Homecoming dance & a

lot more I'd never done before. That wasn't hard ~ I'd only begun

Scottish Country Dancing (SCD) that March, so was a definite
newbie at it. Still, having danced since I was 2, I didn't make
any major faux pas!
I remember being quite surprised to see a lot of younger people
there. Back in Carleton & St Anne's, most of my fellow dancers
were retired & I was one of the youngest.

The next day I went along to the public dancing in Princes St

Gardens. These sessions have apparently been happening for

50 years or so.

Awesome dancing backdrop.

Pic courtesy of the Princes Street Gardens website

Please ignore the big gap above. No idea why it's there: It doesn't

show in edit mode??

On the Wednesday evening I caught a late afternoon train to

Linlithgow, wandered around the outside of the Palace (took

photos no longer with us), had some tea in a pub, & walked
back down to the Palace for the 7.30 start.

There was quite a queue, & the courtyard (where the dancing

would take place) was pretty full. Given it was a ceilidh & not

a Scottish Country Dance, I had shorts & trainers on, & I
distinctly remember the shorts were my favourite striped ones!

I also distinctly remember it was the 1st time I'd danced the

Black Mountain Reel, & that I didn't know what the hell

I was doing, where I was supposed to be going, & who

with.
Gawd! ! !

I'd come to call my SCD sessions my Dr Kawashima: he

of the Brain Training!

That was because to do SCD, you have to remember:

1: What you're doing ~ crossing & casting, setting & linking,

reels of 3 etc.

2: Where you're going when you do it, &

3: Who you're doing it with.

There are other things to remember, like: who is your 1st, 2nd,

3rd, & 4th corner?; & are you dancing Man or Lady?

Mostly the Gents don't have the latter problem, but The Reel of

the 51st Highland Division (more usually called The Reel of the

51st) was apparently devised in a German POW camp, &

the soldiers danced both sides. Here's a bit from Wiki:

One of the most popular Scottish country dances of all time, the Reel of
the 51st Highland Division is a modern Scottish country dance written
by Lieutenant J.E.M. ‘Jimmy’ Atkinson of the 7th Battalion The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders while in a POW camp during the
Second World War. Captured together with the vast majority of the
British 51st (Highland) Division during the Battle of Dunkirk in 1940,
Atkinson spent the rest of the war as a POW in Germany. His idea of a
reel with a Saint Andrew′s Cross in its key formation was intended to
symbolise Scotland and the Highland Division, in adversity.
Atkinson's letter home with instructions for the dance was intercepted
by the German security service, the Abwehr, who spent the rest of the
war trying to break the code. However, another version of the dance
reached Scotland where it was published while Atkinson was still a
POW and became instantly popular.
Also known as the Laufen Reel after Laufen Castle near Salzburg, the
51st Country Dance, the Reel of the 51st Highland Division, and St
Valery's Reel, it is often danced in a set composed entirely of men.

IRO Man or Lady, I still have that problem, & changed

sex 3 times during a new dance on Easter Saturday.
Oops!

Anyway, it was a good night back in July '09, & maybe I'll
do it again one day.

2009 Autumn Tests~Australia

The game started quite late, so I went up on the Saturday 
morning on a day return from Preston.

Chris Paterson was on the bench, & I saw him sitting just

above me to the left as the game started. So I nipped up the
stairs, tapped him on the shoulder, & said:

"Would you mind awfully if I took your photo?"  

Very polite, what? ;-)  

These days peeps just ask for a selfie with their heroes.

Anyway, he swivelled in his seat, & I got this pic:

Getting online that autumn prior to my NZ & Orang Utan

volunteering trip, I uploaded it as a test pic (see my very 1st
blog from Nov'9). Then I went to Granthams in town, got a
photo-stye copy of it, & sent it to him c/o the SRU at
Murrayfield, with a letter asking him to sign it for me.
After I'd been to NZ, KL & the rain-forest, I got home to see
he had.
Awesome :-D
Anyway, back to the Aus game . . .

Chris went on the pitch at some point, & these are

a few paras. from the BBC Sport pages about the game:

Scotland ended a 27-year losing streak against Australia as an

awesome defensive performance set up victory over the Wallabies

at Murrayfield. Australia dominated territory and possession but

it was 3-3 at the break as Scotland fly-half Phil Godman

cancelled out a Matt Giteau penalty. A Godman penalty and

Chris Paterson's sweetly struck drop-goal at 75 minutes saw

Scotland edge ahead. Although Ryan Cross went over for an

injury-time try, Giteau's missed conversion handed the Scots

victory when the ball drifted to the left of the posts as the

delirious Murrayfield crowd threatened to lift the roof off the

stadium.                 

So, Scotland beat Australia 9-8, & Chris scored the winning drop-goal.
Even more awesome :-D

Sorry about another bizarre gap :-/

Chris ended up being my favourite ever (so far) player, so
there will be more about him later.

Like I said, the game started quite late, & I was on the last
train out of Haymarket, so had to leg it down West Coates
through the happy crowds.
Well, the Scotland supporters were happy!

  

2010 6-Nations~England

I'd been in NZ & Malaysia since the Autumn Tests, & on return
had been told I could have a hip replacement. However, in
March 2010 I was still on the wait-list & still limping.

I'd come back from Malaysia on Feb 3rd, & I found out that I'd
been allocated a ticket for the Calcutta Cup. It would be the 1st
time I'd be there in person, but, unfortunately ~ at that late
stage, the only accom. left on the Saturday night (without
walking miles) was on West Coates at £100 a shot.
Eeek!
Good job it was just the 1 night, eh?! ! !

Nevertheless, I booked the other 2 nights at Castle Rock, &
went up on the train for the Bill McLaren memorial on the
Thursday (He'd died on Jan 19th).

Re the Calcutta Cup, here's what Google said:

The Calcutta Cup was donated to the Rugby Football Union in 1878
by the members of the short-lived Calcutta Rugby Club.
The members had decided to disband: the cup was crafted from
melted-down silver rupees which became available when the Club's
funds were withdrawn from the bank. The Cup is unique in that it
is competed for annually only by England and Scotland.
The first Calcutta Cup match was played in 1879 and, since that
time, over 100 matches have taken place.

This is some Wiki stuff about Bill McLaren:

McLaren was born in Hawick, in the Scottish Borders, in 1923. In his
teenage years, McLaren grew up to be a useful flank forward.  He
would later play for Hawick RFC.  In 1953, he made his national debut
for BBC Radio, covering Scotland's 12–0 loss to Wales. He switched to
television commentary six years later. McLaren was one of many
post-war commentators who progressed from commentating on BBC
Radio to BBC Television during the infancy of television broadcasting
in the UK.

Recognition of his services came in November 2001, when he became
the first non-international to be inducted into the International
Rugby Hall of Fame. He was awarded an MBE in 1992, an OBE in
1995 and a CBE in the 2003 honours list. A Facebook group, backed
by over 6,000 members, was campaigning to gain a knighthood for
McLaren.

During his final commentary, Wales v Scotland in 2002, the crowd
sang "For He's a Jolly Good Fellow" and one Welsh supporter
displayed a banner claiming "Bill McLaren is Welsh".

On 11 March 2010, thousands of people attended a memorial
celebration of Bill McLaren's life held at Murrayfield Stadium in the
week leading up to that year's Calcutta Cup match which was played
at the stadium. The event combined show reels of some of McLaren's
most famous moments and some of McLaren's favourite music
including a specially recorded performance of Caledonia by Dougie
MacLean and a performance by Ronnie Browne of The Corries.
Many notable names from rugby & broadcasting attended the event
with several sharing their own memories of Bill as a commentator,
teacher, friend and family member. Among those to speak were
McLaren's grandson Rory Lawson who competed for Scotland in the
Calcutta Cup two days later.

I love Caledonia, & got all weepy (as usual) hearing it.
Chris Paterson also spoke at the Memorial, & recalled Bill
handing out Hawick Balls whenever you met him. According to
Google, the 650 mourners at Bill's funeral were all given one.

Bill was reknowned for his commentaries, & here are some of
his more famous quotes from the Telegraph, some of which are
on my T-shirt (see below):

"He’s like a demented ferret up a wee drainpipe."

"He’s like a raging bull with a bad head."

"That one was a bit inebriated – just like one of my golf shots."

"He kicked that ball like it were three pounds o’ haggis."

"The All Blacks that day looked like great prophets of doom."

"My goodness, that wee ball’s gone so high there’ll be snow on it when

it comes down."

"He’s as quick as a trout up a burn."

"Those props are as cunning as a bag o’ weasels."

"A day out of Hawick is a day wasted."

"And it’s a try by Hika the hooker from Ngongotaha (Wales v New

Zealand 1980).

"I look at Colin Meads and see a great big sheep farmer who carried

the ball in his hands as though it was an orange pip."  

"I’ve hardly ever had to pay to get in (when talking about the best

thing in his view about 50 years of commentary at rugby matches)."

On Jonah Lomu: "I'm no hod carrier but I would be laying bricks

if he was running at me."

For those who don't know, Jonah was an amazing All Black,

big, fast, & with incredible agility.

Anyway, the Memorial was a mixture of joy & sadness, & I

was really glad I'd made the effort.

The next day ~ Friday, I wandered around Edinburgh, did a few
charity shops, & noted a Physio's place near the theatre. I
noted it in case I ever needed one while I was up. My surgery
was scheduled for March 31st, & that weekend of the
Calcutta Cup I was limping badly, & I'd taken to calling myself
Hopalong Clarke after seeing myself in a 'selfie-vid' I'd taken
on the Coromandel Peninsula in Dec '9. ;-p

Despite the limp, I also walked out to the Meadowhall TKMaxx
& got a frock for SCD balls, & an amazing pair of
fluorescent orange trainers :-))

Changing into jeans back at Castle Rock, I went for a meal of
Haggis, Neaps & Tatties at The Last Drop down in
Grassmarket. The Castle Rock hostel offered a voucher for
10% off, so it was a no brainer!

I subsequently went there quite often, as, even without 10% off, it
was good value & they did a gravy with malt in it!

Scran eaten, I legged it over to Lauriston Place for a ceilidh.

I was in white jeans & my new orange trainers, & it was a nice
floor so the hip didn't give me much gyp. There was an unusual
mix of dances, & I remember there wasn't an Orcadian Strip
the Willow :-( ~ possibly because Ken Gourlay was having to
cater for tourists tasting a ceilidh rather than dyed-in-the-wool
dancers.
I also remember I danced a Virginia Reel & something birly
(that's a fast spinny move for those not in the know) with a
bloke in a kilt from Dundee.

Ceilidh over, I chose the steps up from Grassmarket, so was
nicely worn out by the time I got back to Castle Rock.

My GP had told me that, in order to come through hip
replacement surgery as well as possible, I should keep the
body weight down, & the bone density & muscle mass
up. So, I was doing as told, & walking, dancing & generally
exercising as much as I could so I'd be as fit as possible
when the time came to have my leg sawn off & become
bionic ;-p

The next day I needed to check-out of Castle Rock & turn up at
Cumberland House. It transpired my (expensive) room was
to the left of the front door & was a huge double with bay
windows. Most of the other guests were England supporters,
so you could say I was sleeping with the enemy ;-)

I spent the morning in the New Town, had Cullen Skink for
lunch, & went back to get ready for the games. After
watching some of the Ireland vs Wales game in the bar at
the hotel, it was a much shorter walk than usual to Murrayfield
where the game started at 1700.

Once there, I went to the SRU store under West Stand &
bought a T-Shirt with some of Bill McLaren's quotes on it.
I still have it.

Then I found my seat in West Stand before nipping off to the
area by the tunnel.
The teams were still warming up & milling around a bit, but I

managed one of Jonny Wilkinson running back in, but it has disappeared.

Anthems over, it was game on.

Chris wasn't playing, having been pinged by Wales earlier in

the Championship & getting a split kidney. I vaguely
remember he was doing touchline commentary for the BBC.
Poor Thom Evans had also been injured in the Cardiff game,
& was stretchered off with a neck injury, never to play
again :-(

You don't get like that with ponsy soccer. They fall over &
scream just because they get a tap on the shin.

Overpaid woosies!

The score ended up as 15-15, & here's what BBC Sport had

to say:

Dan Parks kicked the Scots into a 9-6 half-time lead with two
penalties and a drop-goal at Murrayfield. Three penalties from
Jonny Wilkinson, who then went off injured, made it 9-9 soon
after the restart.  Two penalties apiece from Toby Flood and
Parks ensured the sides could not be separated in a tense finale
which was the first draw between the two sides since 1989 but
the 18th overall - a record between two international teams - in
a series of contests stretching back to 1871.

After the game I spotted Chris Paterson walking up the steps
by the tunnel, so accosted him with:

"Hello, I'm the orang-utan lady"

Ahem!

It was another dumb blonde thing to say (even though I was
masquerading as a redhead at the time), but he remembered
who I was, & agreed to have a pic taken with me. Nathan
Hines was lurking nearby, & took it.

I was well chuffed :-D

Post game ~ me & Chris Paterson, taken by Nathan Hines

On the way back to the digs, there was a couple of guys on

pipes & drum playing for us all up on the embankment.
They were playing Flower of Scotland, & loads of people
walking past were joining in with the words :-) The photo I

took is another victim of the bugs somewhere behind this blog?

Back at Cumberland House, it was heaving with punters of all

colours watching the final game of the Championship from
Paris.
However, I had plans & don't like the French team much,
so went straight to my room.

I was due at a ceilidh at St Brides that evening, & my
(expensive ;-p ) room was on the ground floor. As I was
changing, my door popped open - a bloke had been leaning
on it. He apologised, but it was OK, I was decent!

I desperately wanted to share my Chris pic, so grabbed the
camera & stuck my head out. Standing between the bloke
& a blonde woman, I said "look at this" & showed them.

The woman then said "I know him well" stated his date of birth
& said she'd married him on blah blah blah :-0

Well, I was so gobsmacked I don't remember either date, &
must assume she was telling the truth. I gave her a potted
history of the pic that November & the Orang Utan story, so
she wouldn't think I was a groupie/stalker etc ;-)

At this point in time (June 2018), I still don't know if she was
having me on!

I walked to St Brides up Dalry Rd., danced everything ~ incl a
lovely long Orcadian Strip (it had become my favourite ceilidh
dance after going to Poolewe), & walked back. I might've
had a limp, but I wouldn't let it stop me dancing & walking :-))

Deciding to have a malt before bed, I went in the bar & got
chatting to 2 England supporters from Yorkshire. They were a
bit nonplussed about me having a Lancashire accent, wearing
a kilt & supporting Scotland, & I explained about the
Scottish ex.
They said it had been their 1st visit up to Edinburgh for the
Calcutta Cup, & that the atmosphere at Murrayfield
"kicked Twickenham into touch".

Rock on Scotland :-)

The next day was Mothers' Day, & I remember getting a Happy
Mothers' Day text from Jonny as I walked down West Coates
back to Waverley.
Kinda weirdly sweet: I'd been separated from his dad for nearly
2 years.

  

2010: St Andrews Summer School

There were photos from this week at the RSCDS Summer
School, but I didn't keep them.

Stoopid or what?
I'd had my hip replaced on March 31st, & by August I was
ready to dance again.

I went up to Edinburgh on the train on the Sunday, changed
for a train to Cupar, & then caught the bus to St Andrews.
I was there for the 2nd of the 3 summer schools they do
there every year.

Dancing classes took place every morning, & there was
normally extra practice during the afternoons for whatever
event was happening that evening.
I'd opted for the class one up from Beginner, & we had live
music on fiddle &/or accordion every time.
Brilliant :-)

During my meanderings around the city, I remember noticing
the famous club-house used in the Chariots of Fire film,
walking all over the sand dunes & beach, wandering
around the ruins of the cathedral & castle, & taking photos
of all sorts, including the famous St Rules Tower & the East
Tower.

Sadly, the photos are just memories now, but there're images
on-line if you ask Google nicely ;-)       

I also remember that during the 1st morning class we were
shown how to properly do a travelling step & that it was the
first time I'd crossed my ankles for years: due to the hip I'd
not been able to, & danced a bit like I'd lost my horse!
tbh ~ I still do a bit: I have my Dad's bandy legs!
Oops!
Thanks, Dad ;-)

All in all I had a good week of dancing, including a big ball at St
Salvators where I danced The Duke of Perth the 1st time. It
was my favourite SCD dance for a while :-)

With no car, I spent a lot of time when not at Summer School
wandering around the little city, & on the last day bought a
pair of dance shoes for a fiver. They were printed like leopard
skin & I still have them.
They've been the most comfortable pair of shoes I've ever
danced in, & I will be bereft when they wear out.

2010 Autumn Tests~New Zealand

Having fallen in love with New Zealand during my 2009 Lord of
the Rings location odyssey, I decided to make a weekend of it ~
travelling up on the Friday & staying at Castle Rock again.
I remember taking photos of the view of the castle looking up
from the front door of the hostel, but those (& many others of
various lovely buildings dotted around the city, like the Scott
Monument & Queen Mary's Bath House) have gone to lost
photo heaven.

The Scott Monument

Shame, had I known then that I would be blogging my trips now,
I would have saved them.

It was my 2nd AB game - the 1st having been during the 2007
RWC when Scotland were in the pool with NZ. That game
ended up  40-0 to the ABs, but as the other teams in the pool
lost by by between 50 & 95 points, the 40 point loss wasn't
too bad, I guess?

The Haka was Ka Mate lead by Hosea Gear.

The composer of Ka Mate was Te Rauparaha ~ a chieftain of
Ngāti Toa.
Google says the Treaty of Whaitangi contains promises about
Maori culture & that one of the promises is the recognition
that Māori have 'rangātiratanga' ~ meaning the greatest or
highest chieftainship over 'o ratou taonga katoa' or all of their
treasured things.

Here is a transcript of the haka:

Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!

Ka mate! Ka mate! Ka ora! Ka ora!

Tenei te tangata puhuru huru

Nana nei i tiki mai

Whakawhiti te ra

A upa ... ne! ka upa ... ne!

A upane kaupane whiti te ra!

& in English

I die! I die! I live! I live!

I die! I die! I live! I live!

This is the hairy man

Who fetched the Sun

And caused it to shine again

One upward step! Another upward step!

An upward step, another... the Sun shines!

So I think it is an affirmation of life, as much as an aggressive
challenge to the opposition as some perceive it to be.

Another article from Google says:

The descendants of Te Rauparaha, the Ngāti Toa tribe are the
guardians, or kaitiaki, of his creation. And as kaitiaki, the Ngāti Toa
tribe are obligated to do more than police the accuracy of any given
“Ka Mate” performance. They are required to protect, among other
things, the whakapapa, the korero, and the mauri that are embedded
in their taonga. “Ka Mate” has whakapapa because it brings the Ngāti
Toa tribe’s ancestors to life. It has korero because it speaks and tells
an important lesson. And it has mauri because it has its own life force.

I love it that the ABs perform Haka to honour the cultural
traditions of the Maori, & Ka Mate is only one of quite a few
I've seen & heard over the years at various events here & in
NZ. That said, it's probably the one that moves me the most,
even before I knew more about it.

Unfortunately, Scotland lost by the largest margin against the
ABs so far: 3-49.
A news report online says Chris Paterson made a try saving
tackle, so ~ if not for Chris, it would've been even worse!

After the game I went up to a pub on the Royal Mile, &
discovered Bunnahabhain: it's still my favourite malt, but
at least I know how to pronounce it now ;-)

Next morning it was more or less downhill back to Waverley, &
I got the train back home shortly after 1000. Way back then I
generally booked one home for about 10 or 11 in the morning
so I could have a slight lie-in, but still be out of the hostel before the
cleaners came round & all the breakfast was gone!

I had my 4th & final 2010 visit when I passed through
Edinburgh on the way up to Pitlochry for Hogmanay.  

As I said above, I'd 1st been to the Atholl Palace for Hogmanay
in 2008, but this Hogmanay trip the dancing didn't include the
car park before breakfast!
However, I still danced on the 30th at the 'practice ceilidh', on
the 31st at the Hogmanay Ball, & on Pitlochry High St
during the NYD party. The latter included an Orcadian strip
lasting about 10 minutes.

Brill :-D  

  

2011 6-Nations~Italy

This was the year of the RWC in NZ, & I was planning a trip -
see blogs already published.

Meanwhile, I got a ticket for the Italy game on Super Saturday~
March 19th. It was the 1st up with a 1430 kick-off, so I travelled
after work on the Friday & stayed 2 nights at my digs at the
West End hostel which was just across from Haymarket
station.
Although convenient, it was very noisy, & the managers
didn't seem bothered.

On Saturday morning I did my usual trawl of the Edinburgh
charity shops & Armstrongs in Old Town, & wandered back
down West Coates for the game.
The game ended up at 21-8: Chris kicking 3 penalties & a
conversion, which went with tries by Nick De Luca & Nikki
Walker.

Richie Gray in his blond days

Richie Gray was Man of the Match: he wore his hair blond in

those days, & (at 6'8"), it made him very easy to spot ;-)

With the game being early, there was a chance to dance in the
evening, & there was one with Trinity Dancers.

I'd googled the route before I left home, & it was about a 2 mile
walk from West End, crossing the Water Of Leith near
Randolph Crescent, & passing the Botanical Gardens.

I decided to walk there in the kilt & boots & pack my
infinitely crushable black frock in a ruckie. That frock's been a
boon over the years, & still survives being stuck in a ruckie
before coming out to dance :-)

Once at Edinburgh Academy Junior School, I changed into the
frock & ballet shoes & danced most dances. Again, there were
plenty I'd not heard of before, never mind danced, but I have a
good movement memory & can 'think ahead' & 'dance the now'
at the same time, so I wasn't the cause of any train wrecks!

I remember there were gorgeous meringues at 1/2 time, & I
also remember crossing the Water Of Leith on a different
bridge in Stockbridge on the way home & wondering where
the heck I was! On a plus note, the walk home introduced me
to a bit of Edinburgh I'd not seen before :-) ~ even if it was in
the dark.

As I mentioned, the West End hostel was very noisy & I was
up twice in the night to ask some Spanish visitors to "Callarse,
por favor. Es muy tarde".
They did, but not for long, so I wasn't chuffed :-/

I had a lazy late breakfast before going across the road to
Haymarket for my train.

2011: The Edinburgh 7s

At the end of May 2011 I went up again for a long weekend , &

joined the party when the Emirates 7s was at Murrayfield for

the final time.
During this trip I stayed at a new hostel on Shandwick Place
called Edinburgh Nights. It was managed by two Albanian
brothers who may've been twins, & who reminded me
of Daniel Craig.
I called them Daniel & Craig in my head for a couple of years
until I found out their real names were Albert & Nas ;-)

tbh - I don't remember much about the rugby that weekend,

other than thinking that covering the whole pitch with only 7 of

you must be absolutely totally & utterly exhausting, & also

that there were a lot of peeps in fancy dress.

It was very much Party Time :-D

While I was up, I decided to get myself a 2011 RWC Scotland
top for my trip to NZ that September. I figured the current 2007
RWC one was a bit ancient for such a special occasion.

2011: The Fringe & Dancing (etc. etc.)

I took my birthday week off & went north on the Sunday. I'd
discovered that Ken Gourlay had a dance every night at
Lauriston Hall  during the fringe, so I booked four ceilidhs for
Monday to Thursday.

On the Monday I visited Holyrood House & then went to
Dynamic Earth ~ what an awesome place: go & visit :-)  Even
the food is great, & I spent about 4 hours in there. I enjoyed it
even more than Te Papa in Wellington where I'd been in Dec'9.

On Tuesday I walked up to Arthur's Seat (again!) & had my
birthday lunch up there. I remember it being dull, cold, & very
crowded. I got a bit 'creative' on the way down & went off-piste
a bit, & also noticed the pink granite lion by sculptor Ronald
Rae was no longer in Holyrood Park.

Back in town, I met a friend from my Martial Arts days at the
Elephant House (of J K Rowling fame), & then went to the
museum ~ another great place :-)

I went there again on the Wednesday morning as I hadn't
managed to see everything I wanted to the previous afternoon,
then I finally went up Calton Hill.

I took photos of the city skyline & the architecture up there, &
was there for when the gun went off at the castle. Unfortunately,
those photos went to heaven as well :-(

Here's a bit from Google:

Calton Hill is one of Edinburgh's main hills, set right in the city
centre. It is unmistakable with its Athenian acropolis poking above
the skyline. The acropolis is in fact an unfinished monument -
originally called the "National Monument". Initiated in 1816, a year
after Napoleon's defeat at Waterloo, it was meant to be a replica of
the Parthenon in Athens, as a memorial to those who had died in
the Napoleonic Wars. The top of Calton hill is a usually quiet
place to come on any day, with its grassy slopes and panoramic
views of the city, including down the length of Princes street (the
main shopping thoroughfare) and Edinburgh Castle. There is a
good view North of the ruddy-coloured cliffs of Salisbury Crags,
Arthur's Seat, and the undulating slopes of Holyrood Park. There
is a path right round the edge of the hill and a jumble of historic
buildings and structures on top including, for star gazers, an
observatory. In fact, there are two observatories on Calton Hill:
the Old Observatory House, designed by New Town architect James
Craig in 1792; and the City Observatory, built in 1818, which has
exhibitions and viewings of the night sky. With its volcanic
rockbase, gorse-strewn hillface and windswept ruggedness, it
remains a rough gem.

I had my lunch up there sitting in the sun, & had a look at
Nelson's Monument where the 'Time-Ball' is.

Pic from Google Images

Here's another bit from Google about Nelson's Monument:

On top of the tower is a time ball, a large ball which was raised and
lowered to mark the time. It was installed in 1853 to act as a time
signal to the ships in Edinburgh's port of Leith, and to ships at the
anchorage in the Firth of Forth known as Leith Roads, allowing the
ships to set their chronometers. The time ball was the idea of Charles
Piazzi Smyth, the Astronomer Royal for Scotland, and was originally
triggered by a clock in the adjacent City Observatory, to which it was
connected by an underground wire. The mechanism was the work of
Maudslay, Sons & Field of Lambeth, who had previously
constructed the time ball mechanism for Greenwich Observatory.  
The installation was carried out by James Ritchie & Son
(Clockmakers) Ltd, who are still retained by City of Edinburgh
Council to maintain and operate the time ball.

The ball, constructed of wood and covered in zinc, and weighing 762
kilograms (1,680 lb), is raised just before 1 pm, and at precisely 1 pm,
is dropped from atop the mast. Later, in 1861, the One O'Clock Gun
was established at Edinburgh Castle to provide an audible signal
when fog obscured the time ball.
The time ball was operated for over 150 years, until it was damaged
by a storm in 2007. In 2009, as part of the restoration of the
monument, the time ball was removed, and the mechanism repaired.
The time ball was brought back into service on 24 September 2009.
The mechanism is now operated manually, based on the firing of the
One O'Clock Gun.

In the evenings at the Lauriston Hall ceilidhs we did the same
dances every night, which was a bit disappointing. The
musicians changed though, & it was good to dance to live
music rather than cassettes or CDs.

I left the ceilidh early on the Wednesday to go on a Ghost Walk.
After waiting in the rain at Mercat Cross, I eventually found out
it wasn't running due to the weather.

I still haven't been on one!

Good job I've got a Round Tuit! But the pic I took was another which

did the disappearimng act!

At some point that week I remember leaving Edinburgh Nights

& turning right in my florescent orange trainers & having peeps
stare at my feet.

They also stared at my hair!

I was trying out a new Mango hair colour ready for the NZ
RWC trip, & I guess they realised I liked orange ;-)

 

2011 Autumn Tests

There weren't any.

The 2011 RWC had been in NZ in September & October, & ~
as Max Boyce used to say: "I Know 'cos I Was There" :-)))

The saddest thing for me about the RWC, was that Chris
decided to hang up his boots & to retire from International
competition that December.
However, I met him again at the 2013 Edinburgh Kiltwalk, &
(as I said in the blog about it), I was chuffed he remembered
me :-D

2012 6-Nations~England

By this point I'd found out that if you book 12 weeks in advance,
train tickets can be really cheap, so ~ to save costs, I got a
ScotRail Club50 day-return from Carlisle on the Saturday for
£14, driving up there from Blackpool.

It was quite an early start, & I parked the car about 500yd from
the station down a side street. On the train there were quite a

lot of supporters from both sides going up.
When I got to the stadium on Feb 4th, the Red Hot Chilli Pipers
were the pre-match entertainment.

Awesome :-)

I think it was this trip anyway ~ I've defo seen them playing in
the middle of the pitch, but I've slept since ;-p

Sadly, Scotland lost 6-13, but, happily, they picked Dave
Denton as Man of the Match.
Unusual. MotM is usually a player from the winning team.

I discovered it was snowing when I got to Carlisle, &

consequently, it wasn't a particularly nice drive back down
the M6, but (as is the norm) there was no sign of snow
anywhere near Blackpool, so it could've been worse.
Back at work on the Monday I got the usual comments about
why I supported Scotland & not England when they kept
losing!
If you see me in person, you can ask me & I'll give you
a lot of reasons :-)

During the summer I went up to South Uist for the Ceolas - see
blogs. However, I went via Glasgow not Edinburgh, so it
doesn't really count, despite a week of dancing which included
classes in Step & Quadrilles.

2012: October Dancing

I wanted to do a few things in Edinburgh, so took 3 days off to
do them. One was to have concentrated Physio at the place on
Grindlay St. I'd seen a few years back.

I stayed at Edinburgh Nights, & had a session every morning
for 3 days. While wandering about the New Town one day, I
found the Lion of Scotland sitting in the sun in St Andrew Sq.
I was very happy to see him  :-D

I had 1st met Ronald Rae when at Cramond with Rob. He'd
been carving an elephant family out of a big chunk of granite,
& he'd mentioned the lion at Holyrood.
So when we'd finished our lunch in the Cramond Inn, I
persuaded Rob to drive up to Holyrood Park for a look.
The Lion was great, & I'd been disappointed not to see him
when I'd gone up Arthur in Aug'11.

But I'd now found him again, I said Hello & gave him a hug.

I also took a photo, but that seems to have gone to the photo
heaven as well.
Wot a bugger :-(

However, Ronald Rae's website has some impressive photos,
so here're a couple of the lovely lion.

The 1st is of the Lion & Ronald Rae at Holyrood Park.

Having a human next to him shows how big he is.

The 2nd shows the lion in St Andrew Sq., & in October
2012 I was so glad I'd found him again :-)  

I also did some SCD at St John's at the west end of Princes St. one
afternoon. A lady from Dunedin Dancers was running the class, & she
told me the club night was at Morningside on Wednesdays, so I caught a
bus out there, to find a very big class at the hall attached to the parish
church.

Very unusually, there were more men than ladies there, & I counted
22 out of 39 dancers were men.
Gosh!
It was the usual mix of a few dances I'd heard of with lots I'd never
danced before, so Dr Kawashima got a work-out ;-p

It was a lovely evening of dancing, & someone kindly gave me a lift
back to the top of Shandwick Place which saved me having to stand
at the bus stop in the rain.
Thank you, whoever you were :-)

2012 Autumn Tests~New Zealand

Even more in love with NZ since the RWC visit the previous
September, I went up on the Friday for the game vs the ABs,
staying with Daniel & Craig at Edinburgh Nights for the
weekend.
There was a Dunedin Dancers Dance on at South Hall on the
Saturday evening ~ their Annual Assembly, with music this year
by Jim Lindsay's band. I applied for a ticket to be picked up at
the door on the 10th.

There were a bunch of Kiwis staying at the hostel as well, & I
got called Auntie by one of them with Maori ancestry. He said it
was a term of respect, but it made me feel old!
Even my nieces & nephews have never called me Auntie!

There was a ceilidh on the Friday, & when I got back I went out to a
club on Cowgate with the Kiwis.
It was packed,& there wasn't much dancing happening, so I walked
back to Shandwick Place after about an hour.
The next day I shopped & mooched, but it was raining a bit, so I
went back early to get the frock on, & then caught a bus out to the
Uni venue at South Hall.
The dancing was great, & I only sat out a few, even though it was
the usual Edinburgh case of not knowing most of them.
There was a sit-down dinner, & I got chatting to peeps at my table,
& danced with them afterwards.
It wasn't too far to walk home, so I set off in the general direction
of the Meadows, but had only been walking 5 minutes or so before
some fellow Assemblyers passed by in their car & gave me a lift.
At this late stage, I have no idea what their names were, but thanks
anyway.
The game was a tea-time one on the Sunday so I mooched again

most of the day & made may way down West Coates with the
crowds in plenty of time to check out the Rugby stores, & get a hog
roast.
After the anthems & Piri Weepu had directed Ka Mate, it was game on.
Considering the ABs were World Champs after the 2011 RWC in NZ,
the score of 22-51 wasn't so bad.

I found a report which said Scotland were the only team to get 3 tries
vs the ABs since their loss against the Wallabies in August 2011, so
that was defo a positive :-).

Google tells me Tim Visser went over the whitewash twice, & Geoff
Cross also crossed (pun intended!). Greig punted 2 conversions & a
penalty over as well.

I dug this info up from the BBC Sport pages, but edited it a bit:

The All Blacks stretched their unbeaten run against Scotland to 29 Tests with a comfortable
win at Murrayfield, but the hosts can be proud of their efforts. Scotland wing Tim Visser
scored the first of his two tries early on as Andy Robinson's side made New Zealand sweat
for periods of the first half, but the All Blacks' superior cutting edge saw them kill the game
with three quick-fire tries before half-time.  Scotland, who have never beaten New Zealand
in 107 years of matches between the two countries, managing only two draws in that time,
became the first side to score three tries against the All Blacks in 2012. Scotland were ahead,
when Matt Scott intercepted a pass from Carter & giant Dutch-born winger Visser went
over again to score his third Test try. Scotland were a match for a disjointed New Zealand
outfit for the first half an hour and were level when Greig Laidlaw landed a penalty from
right in front. The game was effectively over as a contest when Hore went barrelling over just
before the break to make it three tries in eight minutes, although Scotland's spirit had not
been extinguished. Scott thought he had scored in added time only for the video referee to
rule he had not touched the ball down, but Scotland did get just reward for a period of
sustained pressure when Cross burrowed over to reduce the deficit to 34-17 at half-time.

It could've been a lot worse, eh?

It was another mad rush back to Haymarket for the last train home, & I
was miffed to find I had a bus to Preston from Carlisle :-(
Bloomin' Sunday train services

In those days I was normally still only doing one Autumn Test & one
6-Nations game, but that would change the following summer.

2013 6-Nations~Ireland

I went to Scotland 7 times this year ~ see below, but the 6 Nations
game vs Ireland was the 1st trip north on Feb 24th.

Because the game started at 1400, & there were no ceilidhs or
SCD events on that weekend, I took a day return up from Preston. At
only £14.50 for the return trip it was a bargain :-)

I was in West Stand again, & pleased to see a clean sheet of  4
penalties by Greig.

tbh, on paper, Ireland should have won, but Greig's boot secured
another home victory (Italy had been the 1st on Feb 9th).

Here's a Rugby World match report I was interested to find while
writing this blog:

On Sunday there were so many numbers being thrown around, but the shock of it all was that
it was Ireland, rather than Scotland, whose number was up.  Heads spun as percentages and
figures swirled. Scotland conceded 16 penalties, had 29% possession & made no linebreaks.
Ireland had 71% of the ball, only had to bend for 44 tackles and offered up four searing line
breaks.  Ireland were unquestionably on top, looking at the damned statistics, but still they
ended up losing 12-8.
It was a day to lock the boffins in the closet.
No bookie could have predicted the outcome of that RBS 6 Nations match based on ugly
maths.  Everything came down to something more pure; something the common fan &
experts alike pull out when they are at a loss to explain odds-defying results: Heart.
Scotland simply wanted to beat Ireland more than Ireland wanted not to be beaten, & despite
a spinning Craig Gilroy try, the Scots were not to be defeated.  
The broken remains of Kelly Brown’s face tells you that laying down human speed bumps
comes at the price of vanity.
However, the reward for such selflessness is great.  So for every knee-jarring jump for sloppy
Irish lineout ball that Jim Hamilton put in, for every hit Geoff Cross absorbed, it allowed
Scotland a chance to rebound.

Big Jim Hamilton was Man of the Match, & it was great to go
into work on Monday with another Scotland win to rub peeps'
noses in ;-)
I laid off John (from Eire), tho. He was dischuffed enough!

Above = Big Jim Hamilton on Lineout duty

That summer, the SRU came up with the season ticket plan, & I
applied for a Bronze one. I got a seat behind & slightly left of the
south posts on K row.
Having paid my money, I chose to go up as often as possible from
there on.
The 2nd Scotland trip that year was for the Cateran Trail followed
by the Edinburgh Kiltwalk on the 2nd weekend - both blogged.
Number 3 was to Annan to do the Riding of the Marches: also blogged.
Dancing in Perthshire, Angus & the Kingdom of Fife in August came
next ~ see that blog as well.

2013 Autumn Tests~South Africa

Although I had a Season Ticket, I didn't go to the Japan game
because I went to Pontins at Prestatyn in Wales for the weekend.
I'd won 3 nights in a prize draw, & a free weekend break isn't to

be sneezed at ~ even if it is at Pontins ;-), but I watched the guys
get a 42-17 in a pub on the seafront in Prestatyn.

I gave Chris from work my ticket, & he bought another for Jane.

I remember Chris telling me what Jane had said about one of the
Japanese players, when she & Chris met at 1/2 time. Apparently,
she'd said:

"He's a bit nippy"

Hehehe  :-))) Not very PC, but a funny pun all the same ;-p

The weekend following the Japan game was the game vs
South Africa on the Sunday: it was Scotland trip 5.

I got a train up to Haymarket on the 16th, arriving about 20 past 12.
Dumping my bags with Daniel & Craig, I wandered out to the
Old Town to do the usual charity shop trawl down Clerk St. etc.

I tend to walk everywhere in Edinburgh, though I'd not managed the
walk down to Leith at that point.

There was a ceilidh at Rudolph Steiner that evening & I walked
there & back from Edinburgh Nights as well as dancing nearly
everything. It was just under 2 miles each way.

A bloke called Gandolf (not Gandalf) did the calling, with Hud Yer
Wheesht playing for the dancing. It was in aid of Reforesting Scotland,
& I danced with ceilidh regulars I'd met before & since.

The game was on the Sunday, & the lads didn't manage to score.
It ended 0-28.

Bum :-(  

However, it was Jonny Gray's 1st senior international call-up, & he's
still heaving blokes off a ruck.

After the game, I walked back to Edinburgh Nights, picked up my
ruckie, & caught the last train home.

Unfortunately, the train turned into a bus for the Carlisle to Preston leg
again - such are the vagaries of Sunday train journeys!
At least there was a train from Preston to Blackpool North, so I wasn't
home much later than expected.

2013 Autumn Tests~Australia

My 6th 2013 trip to Scotland was for the Australia game on November
23rd, & I went up by train during the day on the Friday - there was a
ceilidh to go to that night in the Old Town. However, not realising I
would blog about it over 5 years later, I don't remember who played for
us, but it would've been a fun evening. I remember they played a
Canadian Barn Dance when I requested it - I like the hopping bit ;-p &
it ended with an Orcadian Strip.
Ceilidhs for ceilidh dancers usually do :-)

The game the following day was a late one with an 1800 kick-off, so I
had time for a walk down to Leith & back before continuing down
West Coates to Murrayfield.

In the crowds by the turnstiles I got a free Ginger Grouse hat, & wore
it to get my pic taken with Tommy Seymour ;-p

Hehe ;-)   

Not really!  I stood in a queue in the Grouse tent, & then in front of a
massive photo of Tommy while pretending to await a pass!

From the look of it, it would have been forward ;-p But you can't see:

Another gremlin got it! Good job, really. I look a bit of a nana ;-p

This what Wiki recently had on Tommy:

In April 2017 Seymour was named as one of two Scottish players selected for the initial
British and Irish Lions squad to tour New Zealand in June and July. While not featuring
in any of the test matches he appeared in four games on tour scoring one try against the
Highlanders and two tries against the Hurricanes. His three tries meant he was the
leading try scorer on tour.

Rock on, Tommy :-)
Hoggy was the other Scottish player on the Lions tour, but Greig, Finn
Russell & Alan Dell got a call up (eventually) as well - but I'm ahead
ahead of myself dot dot dot.

Back to 2013, & there was trouble at t'mill on the pitch.

Murrayfield got a dose of worms :-0

This is a bit of what Google gave me:

Ground staff at Murrayfield have been spraying the home of Scottish rugby with
garlic in a bid to eradicate a turf parasite. Nematodes are roundworms that damage
the grass root structure. The problem was indentified in September and Edinburgh's home
matches have gone ahead as scheduled. Director of management services Mark Laidlaw said:
"A soil examination in September revealed an excessive build up of nematodes, which have
caused significant root damage. The result is a shallow and weakened root network and,
though it continues to perform well in play, it can weaken under the significant pressure
exerted by scrums. We've worked with some of the leading experts in this area to examine
and treat one of the best surfaces in world rugby using natural remedies, including the
spraying of garlic, but it takes a number of weeks to eradicate the problem and then to
recover root strength. The ground staff will continue their efforts to develop and
consolidate the root structure and hope to return the pitch to the standard we all expect to
see at the national stadium.

Sitting in my seat behind the posts, the cutting-up was apparent, &
peeps with forks came on every now & then to try & tamp down
the sods.

The score was 15-21, & Greig got all Scotland's points.
As kick-off was at 1800, I was unable to dance that evening, even
though Dunedin Dancers had their annual Assembly ball ~ I hate
turning up late, & the Assembly was across the city at South
Hall again.

The following day I was up before all the bread & milk had gone
at breakfast, & walked to Edinburgh's Botanic Garden. I'd
walked past it a few times when going to dance with Trinity, but never
gone in.

It was great :-) & I got some good pics, so I originally let the pictures
tell the story  .   . .

However, these all disappeared, too  :-(

After wandering around the gardens for about an hour, I had a
bite & a brew East Gate coffee bar. Then I wandered about for
another hour or so before finishing my visit in the shop where I
bought an amazing lip balm which smelled of marmalade.
I got two for my Mum as well.

I must get some more, sometime. It's a great smell to have
wafting up your nose off your top lip ;-)

I walked back in a meandering manner via Stockbridge & the
New Town before heading Haymarket way for the train.
It was at teatime, & thankfully, there was no bus this time :-)

A trip to the Borders for my Hogmanay dance fix made it No.7
since Ireland in February.

2014 6-Nations~England

The 1st game this year was vs England, & there were
ceilidhs on, so I took Friday afternoon off again & went
up for 2 nights.

Once more I stayed at Edinburgh Nights, but one of the lads
had gone back to Albania, & the other said he would be
following that summer. I still have no idea whether it was
Daniel, Craig, Albert or Nas who'd gone home!

The Friday ceilidh was at the Roxy, so it was a bit of a trek, but
not as far as Spylaw Rd. where I was due the following night.
Not knowing I would decide to blog about it 4 years later, I
now have no recollection, other than there were quite a few
Huge blokes in kilts who danced everything like me. They
also picked you up & turned you, rather than the usual spin
in the Orcadian.
I prefer spinning to being picked up like a doll ;-)

Saturday morning followed the usual pattern, & there was
loads of time: kick-off was at 1700.

I wandered down early to watch the game in Dublin on the big
screen, & to check out the bargains in the Scottish Rugby
Store tent. I picked up a turquoise kids (age 13!) hoodie for a
tenner. It had the Canterbury logo in yellow on the front, so it
was nice & bright: just what I like :-D  The sleeves are a tad
short ;-) ~ possibly due to it being for a kid, but I still have it, &
it went to NZ with me that November.

I remember the 2 seats left of me were occupied by 2 England
supporters, & the ones in front by 3 Glasgow Warriors fans.

A lot of the action took place at the far end, & the Scottish lads
kept standing up to see what was going on. At one point the
English bloke next to me said:

"Sit down, I paid a lot for this ticket", whereupon the Warrior fan
front of him turned round & gave him a mouthful.

I got that he was exasperated by the scoreline, but I said:

"Mind your language & sit down, it's only a game". It was quite
funny when he opened his mouth to give me some as well,
then saw I had the Saltire round my shoulders & was wearing
the 2011 Scotland RWC top & a kilt. He closed his mouth & sat
down. He didn't get up again - no real reason to really: Scotland
Scotland didn't score, & there was another nul point score-
line at 0-20 to England.

Plus, the nematodes were still giving some trouble. This is from
ESPN:

And while the Scottish Rugby Union has announced it is to replace the parasite-infested and
boggy playing surface at Murrayfield, it is clearly not fit for purpose in its current condition.
The dire state of the pitch was evident as early as the fifth minute when Farrell slipped on his
run-up to take a penalty and the kick drifted wide.

Maybe it was the nematodes? Maybe he just missed?
I went to a ceilidh at Rudolph Steiner again, this time straight
from the game, following the  crowds to Gorgie Rd., & then
through Slateford (rather circuitously) to Spylaw Rd.

The Belle Stars provided the music, Gandolph was
organising everyone again, & I danced with a few people I was
getting to recognise ~ clearly ceilidh keenies like me :-).
It had been snowing when I left after 11pm, so I stuck to
Polwarth Gardens, Granville Terrace & Gilmore Place
for a bit, & then did a zigzag back to the dorm via
Fountainbridge.
Despite all the walking that day, the ceilidh, the snow underfoot, &
not knowing precisely where I was going ;-), I made good time,
getting back to Shandwick Place in about 1/2 an hour.

My train was next day, but not till mid-afternoon, so I did my
usual charity shop trawl - once they'd opened at 11. I also
discovered Forest on the corner of Brougham St &
Lauriston Place. It's a veggie cafe, but they do amazing soup &
huge brews for not much dosh.

I go there nearly every visit now :-q

 

2014 6-Nations~France

The game v France was the next up. It was a month later on
March 8th, & I took another day's leave to travel up on the
Friday morning, getting in just after midday.

Various shopping & mooching occurred, & I ended up
spending the Friday night at the pictures at the Omni Centre.

The game was a late one again, so I walked out to TKMaxx, &
took the scenic route back via Abbey Hill & the Royal Mile.
As usual, it was heaving with the normal Edinburgh tourists*
augmented with lots of French fans.
* How come there are always so many Spanish in
Edinburgh??
Uh?
It's like being in Salamanca!
I made my way down West Coates to catch the Italy v Ireland
game on the big screens at Murrayfield before kick-off at 1700.

The France result was close at 17-19 :-/, but at least Scotland
got MotM in Dave Denton :-)

Post game, I went straight to a ceilidh at St Brides. It's only a
short walk from the stadium, & more or less on the way
home to Edinburgh Nights.
I danced everything (as usual) & asked random blokes &
ladies to dance with me (also as usual). No good sitting on my
bum just because I was on my ownsome ;-)

During the summer I decided to upgrade my ticket & go for the
Silver option. At 5 games it worked out at about £40 a game,
which I thought was fine ~ given the seat I got. It was on East
stand on the south end of E row. Being only 5 rows back meant I
could see the action along the touchline really well, & it was
slightly centre of the 10m line, so I was up close & personal
for lineouts & tries in that corner :-)

This summer was also significant for being the beginning of the
momentous 'Vern period', but I didn't know that then, & heard
the news just hoping that the lads would get more wins now
that they had a Kiwi coach.

I'd had 3 trips to NZ by then, & - as you may get from the blogs,

I was dead impressed with how rugby was such an integral
part of life there.

The smallest village had a set of posts, & seeing young lads
(& not so young, grey-bearded, men) walking around carrying
a rugby ball was far more common there, than seeing a
soccer ball being carried about here.

 

2014 Autumn Tests~Argentina

Having booked my trains & accom. for the Autumn Tests in the
summer, I was at Edinburgh Nights, but ~ despite now being
managed by 3 females, it wasn't as good as it had been in
the days of Daniel & Craig, so I decided to stay elsewhere
in the future.

Although Vern took the lads to the US, Canada & Argentina
to wins, & a loss in South Africa, his 1st home game was
the one against Argentina on November 8th.

It was a late start, & during the (by now) obligatory walk
around Old Town, I found a Clark tartan skirt in a 2nd hand
shop & bought it for Mum. It had pleats all round, was
made of wool, & looked unworn. It was £12. Now all I
needed to do was to find a matching top!

There were England, Wales & Ireland home games before
Scotland's game began at 1730, so I saw bits in pubs & on
the big screens before I got to my new seat.

It was great: Only 5 rows back from the pitch, & I made
friends with an Orkney couple to my right during the 5 games
on my ticket.

There were tries for the Gray brothers, & it was their 1st joint
cap for Scotland. Hoggy got his 7th for Scotland, & Sean
Maitland & Tommy went over the whitewash as well.
Greig & Duncan Weir added 16 points with their boots, &

Grieg got MotM. Here's a pic of him looking happy.

He's in his Gloucester kit, tho.

This is from Greig's Wiki page. Not showing him in action, but he is in pics I took this year - see below

As it was a 1730 kick off, I had a bit of a scramble to get all the
way over to Summerhall for a ceilidh afterwards. There was
obviously no time to change, & I was still in my kilt &
Scotland top, so I was blooming boiling after 2 dances ~
especially as the 2nd was a bit of a Dashing White Sergeant
marathon!

I'd bought a navy cashmere polo-neck from Cheshire Oaks in
2009 for the specific purpose of wearing it under short-sleeved
Scotland shirts. Sitting at Murrayfield in (possibly) snow, wind &
rain was a chilly occupation, so the cashmere kept me warm. It
still comes out every trip, but under the current (2015 RWC)
top I have, it's a tight fit - see below!

After the extended DWS I nipped down to the Ladies to take off
the polo & I was cooler after that. Having danced
everything possible ~ incl the polka at the end, I didn't even
need to put it back on for my walk across the Meadows &
up Lothian Rd., even though it was mid-November.

My train home was mid-afternoon, but it was raining 1st thing,
so I went & sat in Forest for a bit, then did the open charity
shops around Toll Cross. I had a bumper shop, & bought a
2nd-hand ski jacket for a fiver & a silk long dress by West
for £3  :-0.
Talk about a bargain!

Then I went back to Forest for some 'flup' soup before going
via Shandwick Place to pick up my ruckie for the walk to
Haymarket & my train.

When got into work on the Monday, I went online during lunch
to try & find another place to stay.
I discovered the Kinnaird Guesthouse, which was very
conveniently situated just up from Haymarket. It was about
twice as expensive as hostelling, but I'd not been impressed
with the new managers, so ~ although I'd booked the two
weekends at Edinburgh Nights during the summer, I rang to
cancel, having got a single at Kinnaird.

The next up was another New Zealand game, & because I
wanted Richie McCaw's autograph, my colleague, Stephen, did
me a colour print of my Oamaru Station photo & a photo
of Richie I got off Google Images for me to wave in front of
him at the tunnel the following Saturday.

A bit of back-story is now appropriate:

During my December 2009 NZ trip I'd bought an All Blacks top,
& paid for 7 to be put on the back. This was because ~
after my 1st ever game of rugby in Stockport in April 2008, the
coach had said I'd make a good Flanker.

I remember thinking at the time - what's a Flanker?

I'd looked it up at work the next day (I wasn't online at home in
those days), & thought Flanker sounded just my cup of tea,
as ~ although at 5'4" I wasn't very big, 33 years Martial Arts
training (including kickboxing at the World Championships in
1999, & 15 years of Ju Jitsu) meant I was physically
strong & not not afraid of contact. I was also quite quick
& usually got put on the wing at that point of my nascent
rugby career.

Fast forward to 2011:

While wearing the AB top when going to watch a RWC game in a pub in
Oamaru, I got called Richie by a couple of blokes at the bar. At
that point, I didn't really know who he was, but subsequently got to
know a lot more, & ended up thinking of him as Phwoar,
Phwoar McCaw.

Ahem ;-p

Well, I like tall & muscley, & he is both.

He wouldn't need a bag on his head either ;-p

You need to know that the above was in addition to my
admiration of him as an awesome AB number 7.  
Of course ;-)

Anyway .  . .

The blokes in Oamaru explained he was 'their boy', & it
transpired he was relatively local ~ having been born in
Oamaru & brought up in Kurow.

Hey ~ I went to Kurow in 2011 as well! :-)  

I didn't know until recently that Richie could've played for
Scotland: his Gran was from the Borders.

Gosh!

That would've been awesome, eh?!

OK, back to November '14.

 

2014 Autumn Tests~New Zealand

There was no dancing scheduled I could make that weekend.
Trinity had one, but kick-off on November 15th was at 1730:
too late to get the posh frock on & out to Arboretum Rd.

I still went up on the on the Friday, though, & got to Haymarket
at teatime. Like I said, Kinnaird was a short walk from the
station: Gmaps reckons it's less than 200 yards :-)

Next morning, I walked out to Stockbrige with Mum's skirt in
my little ruckie. I found a charity shop that had gorgeous
clothes in, played lovely music for you to browse by, &
which had a classy Christmassy jumper which went perfectly
with the tartan skirt.

Sorted :-)

Dropping my ruckie off at Kinnaird & changing into my match
watching kit (incl. aforementioned navy cashmere polo-neck), I
went down early to see some of the Wales-Fiji game.

I also went early to lurk by the tunnel to see Richie & wave
my photo & pen at him.

As it happened, he was being interviewed on the pitch when
I got there, & a few minutes later he came back towards the
tunnel.

Hanging over the wall & yelling his name I got lucky & he
came over. I don't know if he registered the Oamaru bit, but he
signed his name over the photo of himself, & here it is:

This time the AB's Haka was Kapa o Pango, specially created
for the ABs, & led by Liam Messam.

kia whakata hoki au i ahau
hi aue, hi

ko aotearoa e ngunguru nei

au! au! aue ha!

ko Kapa O e ngunguru nei

au! au! aue ha!

i ahaha

ka tu te ihiihi

ka tu te wanawana

ki runga i te rangi e tu iho nei, tu iho nei

ponga ra!

Kapa O Pango!

ponga ra!

Kapa O Pango!

aue hi!

Translated from the Maori:

Let me go back to my first gasp of breath. Let my life force return to the earth.

It is New Zealand that thunders now. And it is my time!  It is my moment!

The passion ignites! This defines us as the All Blacks. And it is my time! It is my moment!

The anticipation explodes! Feel the power. Our dominance rises. Our supremacy emerges
to be placed on high.

Silver fern!

All Blacks!

Silver fern!

All Blacks!

aue hi!

Wiki says the new haka was developed by Derek Lardelli of
Ngāti Porou by modifying the first verse of "Ko Niu Tirini"
which was the Haka used by the 1924 All Blacks.

According to an NZRU press release:

    Kapa o Pango has been over a year in the making, and was created in

      consultation with many experts in Māori culture. It will serve as a

      complement to "Ka Mate" rather than a replacement, to be used for

      'special occasions'."

I think it's great that the NZRU thought the AB's game v
Scotland was a special occasion :-)

Wiki also says the words to "Kapa o Pango" are more specific
to the rugby team than "Ka Mate", referring to the warriors in
black and the silver fern. The Haka concludes with what has
been interpreted as a "throat slitting" gesture that led to
accusations that "Kapa o Pango" encourages violence, and
sends the wrong message to All Blacks fans. However,
according to Derek Lardelli, the gesture represents "drawing
vital energy into the heart and lungs".

At the time I recognised it wasn't Ka Mate from the movements,
but I didn't know then which Haka it was.

Not that I heard much of it due to Loch Lomond being sung
over the top!

Thankfully, the game versus the ABs was a lot less 1-sided
than the one in 2010, & it looked like Verne's influence was
beginning to tell. I edited a bit of what the SRU website had to
say about the game:

Another tale of so near and yet so far... and there have been a few in the 109 year history of
matches between Scotland and New Zealand from a home perspective.  We can lament the
one that got away at BT Murrayfield this afternoon in front of an energised crowd of 66,004
but we must also acknowledge a performance over-flowing in resolve and bravery from
Vern Cotter’s charges.  Jonny Gray and Rob Harley put in a tireless shift and with captain
Greig Laidlaw continuing to prompt Scotland to be positive – even when deep in their own
22 – there was much to hearten Scotland supporters from tonight’s display.  
Cotter told scottishrugby.org: “I feel for the players. We always knew this game was going to
give us something and we have a lot of good things in the game to take away.
Vern was quoted as saying:
"The players’ effort, desire and determination on the field – as a coach you can’t ask for
anything more than that.”
Greig was Captain again, & kicked 11 of Scotland's 16 points.
Tommy got the try.

Tommy. Pic fr Scottish Rugby

Sadly, Greig missed a penalty late on. Had it gone over,
Scotland would have been in the lead, & with no further
AB points, they would have won.

Wow!

If only, eh?

Would have, would have.
Ah well.
Maybe next time?

At 16-24 it was damn sight better than 2010's 3-49.

As I didn't have a dance that evening, I had a night in with a
bottle of viognier in Room 4, & remember watching one of
my favourite NZ actors, Temuera Morrison, in a film with Ray
Winston  ~ Tracker.

Tea was a Thai takeaway from round the corner. Thai food
goes well with viognier ;-p

Five days later ~ on November 20th, I went to NZ again: see
NZ14 blogs.

 2015 6-Nations~Wales

I went up on Saturday the 14th, & the game v Wales was on
the Sunday. I remember getting a ScotRail Club55 ticket for
£19 return from Carlisle & having to take proof of age with me!
However, I'd learned my lesson & didn't drive up, & basically
booked a train from Preston which magically transformed into
my ScotRail train at Carlisle.
I didn't even have to get off :-)

This time I went AirBnB, staying with Becky & her lovely cat,
Hugo. Her house was up from the Cally on Ashley Terrace, so
a bit of a walk from Haymarket.

And uphill wheeling my suitcase :-(

The suitcase was due to a dance on the Saturday, so I needed extra
clothes. Plus, snow was forecast.

I called at a Jewellers on Dalry Rd. near Haymarket on the way
to Becky's. In 2009 I'd bought a pendant from him he'd
designed & made, & I wanted to see if he could copy
my gold Wado Ryu pendant in silver.

He could, & did, & I picked it up when I went up for the Italy
game a fortnight later.

I took my time walking up to Becky's, called in at all the charity
shops, & stopped for lunch on the way. I'd brought tea with me
- 2 chicken legs.

As I was staying in a new bit of the city, I checked with Becky
about routes into town ~ along the canal was best, apparently.
Then I went online for a bit before getting ready for the walk to
the Rudolph Steiner school.

It was less than 1/2 a mile from Becky's, as opposed to the
nearly 2 miles I'd done previously. Gandolph was MC - as
always, & the Belle Stars played for the dancing again.
There was a demo of Bollywood dancing as well, & also
a couple of extra performances while the Belle Stars had a
break.

As usual, I danced everything I could, & came across a couple
of new ceilidh dances while I was at it. It was nice to have only
a short walk back to bed, & while I had my pre-bed brew,
Hugo came for a cuddle.

Next morning I left the remains of my 2 chicken legs for him, &
Becky let me check out late & leave my wheelie there while I
went for a wander into the Old Town, lunched at Forest, & went
to the match.

The game was quite close at 23-26 with tries for Hoggy & Jon
Welsh (the Prop who'd come on in place of Geoff Cross), 3
penalties from Greig, & conversions by Greig & Finn.

Having walked back to Becky's & then to the station, I found it
was yet another Sunday bus to Preston from Carlisle :-/

 

2015 6-Nations~Italy

The next game on my season ticket was 2 weeks later on Feb
28th. It was a 1430 kick-off, & I decided to take leave again, go
up on the Friday & stay at Kinnaird. There was a Trinity
dance on, so I took a frock & 'posh' shoes up.
In the event, I could've left the shoes at home ~ see below!

The score was 19-22.
I wasn't chuffed, but at least Mark Bennett went over, & Greig's
boot never missed & stopped it being any worse. It was only
Italy's 2nd away win since 2007, also v Scotland  :-/

There was loads of time after the game to go back to Kinnaird,
change & make my way to Arboretum Rd., so I decided
to use the time to check out a part of Edinburgh I was less
familiar with.
The France/Wales game was due to start at 1800, so I put the
LBD in the ruckie with the ballet shoes, & set off walking,
with the idea I might catch a bit of it in a pub.

Then it started to rain, & not wanting to wear a wet frock ~
the ruckie isn't waterproof, I caught a bus on George St
instead.

It dropped me off on Ferry Rd, so I had a bit of tea & a malt in
Spiers Bar, watched some of the game at the Stade de France, &
walked round to Edinburgh Academy Junior School for 7.30. At
this point I was still in my kilt, Scotland top & hiking boots, so
had a sock-line round my ankles - not a good look ;-)
Therefore, it was a good job the LBD went to the floor.

At this point in time I haven't a clue what we danced, but I do
remember getting my hand squeezed every time I 'crossed'
with a gent!

Oooer!   
To this day I don't know if that was how they do it in Scotland,
but it felt like they were flirting - but in the most gentlemanly
way, obviously ;-)

Meringues were on offer again - great! And there was the
usual lovely selection of home-made cakes.
Smashing :-q

I left the frock on for the walk back - the rain had stopped & it
was a crisp night, but put the hiking boots back on - it was 2
miles( ish). It wouldn't be the only time I teamed an evening
dress with woolly socks & boots ;-p

Unfortunately, on the walk home I took a bit of a circuitous
route, wrongly going straight across Moray Place, Ainslie
Place & Randolph Cres. to end up on Queensferry St.
Then I compounded the error by turning onto Drumsheugh
Gardens & walking to the end of Chester St.
When I eventually got to Palmerston Place I realised (finally)
where I was, & took a left past St Mary's & back to
Morrison St.

Still, it wasn't so bad, as it made me aware of the lovely
squares & buildings there were in that part of the New Town
Town, & I would revisit in the daylight :-)

Next morning I did that revisit, beginning with a Hello to the Lion
in St Andrew Sq., before making my way out to Stockbridge &
back via the green places I passed in the dark the previous
night.

I remember noticing how loud the cars were in that area when
they passed.
It was due to the cobbled streets, possibly the originals from
the days it was constructed after King James gave way to  
William & Mary, Anne, & the Georges.

I had lunch in a Bistro somewhere in the area before going
back for my bag & the train home.

Back at work on the Monday further comments from my
English colleagues ensued, despite England going down 19-9
in Dublin.
John didn't comment, but we did have a chat about how well
Ireland were doing that year, having stuffed Italy 3-26, beaten
France 18-11, drawn 16-16 v Wales, & were coming
to Murrayfield on Super Saturday.

  

2015 6-Nations~Ireland

The 5th & final game of the tournament on March 21st ended
with the score 10-40.

This also meant Scotland ended up with the Wooden Spoon :-(
but there were positives:-

Hoggy was one of only five players who started in every game

of the Championship, & was selected for the 12-man shortlist

for player of the tournament.
So was his Glasgow Warriors club-mate, Jonny Gray.

Hoggy also made the most metres of the tournament at 442,
so with his try scoring & carrying skills, he was a threat
other teams would prefer didn't exist.

He still is, & is currently (June 2018) only 25, so there're a lot

of metres left in those legs :-)

Stuart Hogg driving through Ireland's Paul O'Connell & Cian Healy
Pic fr SportsJoe.ie

By this point I was as likely to do a day return as stay over,
because (if I booked 3 months in advance) I could get a day
return ticket from Preston for less than £20. So I did.

At some point I had applied for 4 RWC matches, & found out
I'd got them all, so during June & July I booked my trains
across to Leeds & up to Newcastle, & my AirBnBs for the
trip down to Cardiff & up in Newcastle ~ where I had 2 games
at St James' Park.

 

RWC 2015 Warm-ups

That summer I also got myself a 2015 RWC top, ordering it
over the phone. I remember having a discussion with a girl at
the Murrayfield SRU store, & she'd said they were neat.
She didn't mean tidy, but small, so I ordered a Medium to be on
the safe side.

Good job I did, as when I tried it on before the Italy warm-up
game, even the Medium was tight, so goodness knows which
Scotland team members could get in the Small??

This year, there would be no Autumn Tests due to the RWC
south of the border, so my Season Ticket included the warm-
up game v Italy on August 29th.

Before that I went across to Dublin for the game v Ireland
which ended up reasonably close at 28-22.

Jane & Chris had decided to get a Season Ticket that year
as well, & we all went up together for the Italy game: Jane
driving.

I showed them where to park on Russell Rd., & we were there
in time to walk from there to The Last Drop in Grassmarket for
H, N &T & a couple of malts, then we walked back down
West Coates via Princes St.

It was a great, confidence building, warm-up game ~ especially
after the loss in February, & it was a bit of a try-fest for
Scotland, with Sean Lamont & Tim Visser getting 2 each,
John Barclay & Mark Bennett getting 1 each, Finn converting
Tim's 2nd, & Greig doing the honours otherwise.
It was Sean's 96th cap, & Ali Dickinson was MotM.

Ali Dickinson: from an Edinburgh Rugby article

Here's some stuff from the BBC at the time:

Scotland's Alasdair Dickinson is in the form of his life.  He is Vern Cotter's premier loosehead
and, at 31, is firmly within the age bracket where props are reckoned to produce their finest
rugby.  Barring a lightning strike, a shark attack, or an impromptu and injurious five-a-side
football match, he is nothing short of a veritable shoo-in.  "I've got to earn my place just as
much as anyone else," he insists. "It's a waiting game. Vern keeps his cards pretty close to
his chest." The 48-7 pummelling dealt by the Scots dosed a modicum of vengeance for
Italy's Murrayfield raid six months ago, when the Azzurri ground their hosts into the turf
with a ferocious forward bludgeoning.
It was looking hopeful for the RWC :-))

   

2015 RWC

Clearly, this next bit is not about Edinburgh, & no dancing was
involved either, but it's my chance to record my adventures for
RWC15.
RWC19 will be a much bigger adventure, & will get a
blog all to itself (eventually, as usual ;-p)
The 1st of the 4 games I had tickets for was the Wales vs
Uruguay game at the Millennium in Cardiff on September 20th.  
I'd never been there for a game, & was looking forward to
hearing the Welsh fans in full voice.

I drove down via Worcester the day before, & while I had my
tea in a pub, watched Japan beat SA.
What a outcome that was!

The next day, I continued my drive down to Cardiff & Howard
let me park the car in his drive &amp drove me into town.
Wales won 54-9, & I got to hear the Wales fans giving it some
welly, singing wise ;-)

During the week I took superflexi & went home early on the
Wednesday to watch Scotland play Japan on the telly. That
score was 45-10, so maybe the ease of the victory caused
them to come out of the gates slowly at the next game in Leeds
on the 27th?

It was on a Sunday again, & I got a train to Leeds only to find it
was a 2 mile walk to Elland Rd.
Bum.
Anyway, I timed it just right, arriving just as the Scotland Team
bus arrived, so I waved my Saltire, & got a wave back from
the big man, Ross. :-D

Ross looking awesome in the RWC 2015 kit No idea where I got this from. Sorry

Scotland got a great win in the end at 39-16, but it was very
tense for us fans at half-time with Scotland down 6 to 13.

However, it appears stern Vern had Words during the break, &
they were brilliant in the 2nd half.

A BBC report of the game said of the 2nd half resurgence:

Key to all of this were Cotter's half-time replacements. Nel and Alasdair Dickinson
replaced the toiling Ryan Grant and Jon Welsh and quickly Scotland's dominance was
established. Nel, in particular, was pivotal. He not only sorted out the scrum, but he
carried ball and also scored.  Immense.

Hoggy was MotM, & the game left Scotland at the top of the
Pool B table  :-))

I was glued to the telly the following Saturday for the game vs
South Africa, but the top spot was taken by SA after their 34-16
win :-/

My last 2 tickets were for 2 games at St James' Park in
Newcastle, & I went up by train via Carlisle for the weekend.

I got there early afternoon to find I had a 50 minute trek out to
Heaton where my digs were. Once there, I grabbed a bit of
food & a brew, & changed into black jeans & my ABs
no. 7 shirt for the NZ vs Tonga game.
Then I trekked all the way back into town again~ another 2
miles - give or take a couple of hundred yards.

I got 2 Haka for the price of one, & this time NZ did Ka Mate led
by Liam Messam, & Tonga did their Sipi Tau.
This is something from ESPN about it:

"The Sipi Tau has always changed in terms of the lyrics. It's not universal like the haka,
where all teams use Ka Mate everywhere. For Tonga, it's always been different hakas used
before games; ones that have been made up at the last minute and changed slightly all
the time."

"What ends up happening is that management will say, 'Oh, we don't want these words
in the haka, can you adjust it a bit?' It's still a war dance but most of it is just declaring
God's strength over Tonga and repeating the motto of Tonga, which is 'Guard in Tonga
my inheritance'. "

tbh I don't remember much about the game, but it ended 47-9
to the ABs
Quelle surprise!
Not ;-p

I did get a chance to watch Phwoar Phwoar in action tho., so
that was an extra bonus ;-)

Trek 3 back to the digs ensued, via a kebab & chips from a
takeaway in Heaton. I'd be pretty fit after all this RWC walking
to matches malarkey, despite kebabs & chips ;-)

Next morning, I took a walk alongside the Tyne on Hadrian's
Wall Path, & went under the Tyne Bridge & as far as the
tidal basin before heading away from the river & back towards
the city centre. Then I sat near a statue near the station for a
sarnie before making my way to St James' Park via the RWC
Fanzone.
Despite the long walk of over 4 miles, I was in plenty of time to
see the lads warm-up, & was well impressed by their flexibility,
despite their beef-cake bods ;-).

I remember standing a couple of steps up on the East Stand
tier while Richie was doing his warm-up workout, & noticing
he was still taller than me! After a bit Hoggy came over to do a
bit as well, & the Security Guard let me go down the steps &
get his sig on my ticket :-)

I kept it for a couple of years, but eventually gave it to Rob in
his Xmas card last year.

I was in the corner in Leazes, & only 9 rows back, so I was in a
prime site for seeing Grieg go over near the end.

Greig's try celebration

And I got to see Samoa's version of a Haka, the Siva Tau :-)

It was a tight game, & might have ended differently had Samoa
not given away a shedload of penalties, 5 of which Grieg
punted over.

A PinInterest pic showing Greig tee-ing up during the Samoa game

It ended up 36-33, &  got Scotland into the 1/4s as a result.

Awesome :-))

St James' Park is right in the middle of the city, & has steepish
high sides, so I guess that contributed to the game being the
loudest game I've ever attended. Like I said, my seat was
metres away from where Grieg burrowed over the line in
minute 74. It was So loud, I could barely even hear myself
screaming :-0
Apparently, during this game Greig scored 26 points: the most

he'd scored in a single Test for Scotland. Plus Tommy had

scored in his last four Tests.

John Hardie was MotM.

John Hardie about to touch down

So Scotland got into the 1/4s & played Australia.

Everyone probably knows all about what happened near the
end, & how Scotland lost out to a place in the Semis due
to a questionable decision by Ref., Craig Joubert.

He hasn't been my flavour of the month ever since!

TalkSport pic of Greig & Finn consoling each other after the game

  

2016 6-Nations~England

I went up with Chris & Jane on Feb.6th, but they supported
England this time.
Boo Hiss ;-)

We parked in Russell Rd again, & had a spot of lunch before
going to Murrayfield.
Once there I got a saltire & a thistle on my face, & Chris took a

a selfie of us just before the anthems :-)

Chris & me at Murrayfield

Greig got all Scotland's points in a game which ended 9-15. I
think the picture below - a frame grab Chris got off the telly, was
during one of his kicks?

Chris is behind the woman with pink hair, & I'm behind him.Jane is on Chris' left. I think we're watching a ball go over the posts?

I missed the France game because I was in NZ on my 'Bucket
List' trip, but the score was 29-18, & I remember talking to an
England fan in Hanmer Springs that weekend about the result ~
See blog: that was a wrinkly skin day ;-p

2016 Autumn Tests~ Australia
There were only 2 Autumn Tests on the Season Ticket because it
covered the 3 games home games for the 6-Nations.

I went up on the 11th & made a weekend of the 1st Test which

was on the 12th.
I had booked an AirBnB with Christiann who lived off Gorgie Rd.
I had arranged to meet him at his workplace, the Ghillie Dhu at the
top of Shandwick Place, so I walked there from Haymarket & it
turned out he was the Manager.

The front entrance of the Ghillie Dhu. Photo AAA

He let me leave my ruckie behind the bar & I had a wander up Lothian
Rd. before joining him back at the Ghillie Dhu to get the bus to his
place.
It was a flat at the top of a tenement & very chic. He said I would have
the run of the place from Saturday morning as he was off to Dublin for
the weekend. He had also arranged for me to attend the ceilidh at the
Ghillie Dhu, so that was a freebie dance: I had another ceilidh
scheduled, but it was further off & not free, so the one at the
Ghillie Dhu got my vote.
After changing & getting a bit of tea, I walked back down Gorgie &
Dalry, picked up the ticket Christiann had arranged for me, & went
to hit the dance floor. Unfortunately, it was very packed with most
peeps not knowing what to do.
Nevertheless, I dragged a few blokes onto the floor for the usual DWS,
Barn Dance, Virginia Reel etc. & asked for a Canadian & got one :-D
I dragged the best of the blokes - a Frenchman, back up for an
Eightsome Reel. Fortunately, there were 3 couples & me who knew
what to do, so it ended up OK, despite him looking a bit like a rabbit
in the head-lights most of the way through ;-p
After the Eightsome, the band started replaying the dances we'd
already done: possibly for the new influx of 'happy' revellers who
weren't there at 1900?
It was even more crowded, many were quite 'exuberant' on account of
the happy juice they'd drunk, & it wasn't really fun any more, so I
walked/ran back to Christiann's in a light rain, & was in bed shortly
after midnight.
The game was an afternoon one, so I walked out to Old Town & back
in plenty of time for kick-off at 1430.
I had new neighbours this year. This time, 2 girls who were Warriors
supporters. They had definite 'views' about some of the players, & it
was funny to hear them shout comments about someone's bottom

et al ;-) They were definitely fans of Huw's various bits & pieces 
& were ecstatic when he crossed twice.

As well as Huw getting 2 tries, Jonny Gray went over, & Greig got 2
conversions & a penalty in the very narrow 22-23 loss. One of his
kicks didn't go over, & as it would've put Scotland ahead, it may be
the tension affected his legs?
Been there, done that, in international competition.
I was so disappointed for him :-(
It was a good game, nevertheless, & it was great Scotland were
getting tries on a regular basis. In the days of Chris Paterson, it
seemed it was often just his kicks which put Scotland on the
scoreboard.
I had planned to dance with Trinity that evening, but I'd had a detour
via the big Gorgie Sainsburys on the way back to Christiann's &
bought some steak & a bottle. By the time I reached the apartment
& had cooked & eaten it, I decided not to walk all the way out to
Arboretum Rd.
Or get a bus.
I was so used to walking everywhere, I had no idea which buses would
take me out there, so I had a night in in front of Christiann's telly &
watched Strictly instead.
Well, it was dancing!
My train home next day was 1615, so I had a lazy morning & a trip
along Rose & Thistle ~ visiting the Lion while I was down that way.
In the square there was a stall selling things like fried sweetbreads, so
I sampled a bit. The 1st time I had eaten them was when skiing in
Romania in 1976.

2016 Autumn Tests~ Argentina

There was a ceilidh on at Summerhall on the Saturday, so I booked
a night at Argyle Backpackers, just off The Meadows.
I'd booked my train 12 weeks beforehand: not knowing then I would
find a ceilidh to go to that weekend, so it was a bit of a trek from
Haymarket. However, it would only be a short walk after the ceilidh
finished.
After check-in I walked down to Leith with the stones I'd scavenged
off the beach in Cyprus in October. There was a lapidary there, & I
wanted to see if they could do anything with them. In the event, I
left them there & awaited an E about them.
I had time to walk back up Leith Walk before heading out to
Murrayfield for the 1700 kick-off
It was Greig's boot which scored most of the points in the 19-16 win,
but Sean Maitland banged one down too. I remember watching
Greig's final kick after full time, & being relieved he punted it over
the bar :-)
Here's a bit of what the SRU said:
It was Scotland’s third win in succession against a team ranked above 
them in the world rankings and where in Rugby World Cup 2011 or here 
at BT Murrayfield in 2009, they could not find a way to bludgeon past 
Argentina, they did today, and how sweet to be there to see it. 
Speaking after the match, Scotland Head Coach Vern Cotter said: 
"Greig led the boys and got the win in the 83rd minute, I think we can 
take some really good things from the game and find out a bit more 
about ourselves."

It was Marcus Bradbury's 1st cap & Jonny was MotM.

Jonny Gray being congratulated
No idea where this is from. Sorry

After the game I made my way back across town as fast as
possible & joined in the ceilidh at Summerhall. There were less
of the regulars there, & seemingly a lot more students. It was a
4-piece band, but I don't remember who they were.
I danced all but one, incl the final polka with a guy in a black kilt
& ghillie shirt.
It was good to dance a polka as woman!
It was only 5 minutes back to Argyle, & it was a quiet & well run
hostel, so I had a good night's kip after all the walking & dancing.
Next day I had a 1615 train home, so there was no rush, & I walked
back to Haymarket via Clerk & Nicholson St. Passing Oxfam I saw
a CD about music from St Kilda, so went in for a look.
As I was booked on a ketch due to sail out to St Kilda that July, it
seemed like an omen, so I bought one.
Here's a bit off the net about it:
It all began when Trevor Morrison sat down at the piano in Edinburgh's Silverlea Care Home 10 years ago and began to play.

Trevor Morrison

The magic did not go unnoticed.  The tunes were simple, naive even, but memorable and with an extraordinary emotional depth.  As a 10-year-old child on the west coast island of Bute during World War Two, Trevor had been taught piano by a former resident of St Kilda.  His teacher had left the remote archipelago in the outer Hebrides when they were evacuated in 1930.  Somehow, a lifetime later and in failing health, Trevor managed to remember the tunes his teacher had shown him.  Stuart McKenzie, who had been volunteering in the care home, offered to record them.

"He played the most astonishing tunes. They were so different. Complicated, but simple," Mr McKenzie says.

Mr McKenzie says the 10-year journey from making a recording for an old man in a care home, to seeing the album come to fruition has been an amazing process.  He says: "It's a wonderful thing to be able to do and it certainly took a lot of pressure off Trevor trying to remember them. At the end of it he said he was so glad to have got them down so he could start thinking about other things."  The last permanent residents of St Kilda left the archipelago in 1930, but it remains an icon of a long-lost way of life and the islands have just celebrated their 30th anniversary of being a World Heritage Site.  Now - thanks to a care home volunteer armed with a computer and a £3 microphone, plus the remarkable memory of Trevor Morrison - there's one more link back to that long lost way of life.

When I heard it at home I was transfixed. What an amazing & transcendental CD.

2017 6-Nations~Ireland

I'd got extra tickets for Irish colleague, John, & his partner, &
SCD friend, Alan, & his daughter, from the SRU in the Autumn, &
because I'd not been able to find any dancing that weekend, & the
game started at 1425, I decided to get a day return & met the other
4 at the Haymarket Costa before the game.
It meant a fairly early start to get in at quarter past midday at Haymarket.
I was keeping costs down: I had a 10 day holiday in July ~ cruising the
Hebrides on the Bessie Ellen, & a trip to Sicily in September where
I would cruise the Aeolians for a week followed by a 3-day horse ride
around Etna.
Therefore, annual leave & £££ were under scrutiny!

Having grabbed brews at Costa, we all walked down West Coates
together. It was pretty busy with Irish fans from across the water as
well as ones like John & Alan who lived in England.
John & Sandra were up in the gods somewhere on West, & the others
were on a lower tier, also on West, so we split up in time for the
anthems, & met up again after the game.
I didn't take any photos, but Alan sent me a couple he'd taken.

Alan took this of the Ireland team arriving down Roseburn

And this from his seat in West Stand before kick-off.

John & Alan may not agree, but I thought it was a great game. It was the 1st game of round 1, & Scotland got off to a brilliant start with a 27-22 win with Greig doing a great job as Captain again.
Hoggy scored 2 tries ~ becoming Scotland's highest 6-Nations try scorer, & Alex Dunbar got another after receiving a sneaky ball from Ross. 
Greig converted all 3 & got 2 penalties over as well.

Greig clearing the ball after a ruck Pic fr Daily Record

This is what the web has to say:

Even if this does prove to be the most competitive Six Nations in history, we can consider ourselves lucky indeed if there is another contest quite like this.  Scotland have just their second win on the opening weekend thanks to two late Greig Laidlaw penalties, after the hosts produced a breathtaking first half and withstood a colossal Ireland fightback to prevail.  Trailing 21-8 at the interval, Ireland blasted their way back into the lead with tries from Iain Henderson and Paddy Jackson, whose conversion had edged the visitors a point in front in the final quarter.  Scotland have had enough of near misses, however.  After another one against Australia in the autumn, they refused to buckle here.  Their heroes were plentiful – Hamish Watson was monumental before he went off injured, while Stuart Hogg lit up a first-half performance for the ages and Jonny Gray would still be out there tackling tomorrow if he was asked.

Hoggy's 1st try, eluding 2 men in green
Pic fr BT Sport

Greig was awesome with his right foot, Hoggy got MotM, &
Scotland got the Centenary Quaich back.
It was packed walking back to Haymarket, but we all re-congregated at
Costa before going our respective ways.

2017 6-Nations~Wales

I made a 1-night weekend of it for the Wales game on Feb.25th as
there was a ceilidh on at St Brides after the game. 

Despite the shortened visit to Edinburgh, I had a great day out on the
Saturday & was very happy to see another home win at 29-13.
John Barclay wore the Captain's hat in Greig's absence, having been
appointed to direct matters on the pitch when Greig's ankle caused his
early disappearance in France.
The tries were from Tommy & big Tim, & Finn had an awesome game,
kicking all 5 penalties & both conversions, & ending up with MotM.

Finn
Pic possibly fr Sports Mole?

I've thought Finn looks like a cute kid since I first saw him, but despite
his boyish grin, he's clearly got a core of steel.
I also got this off his Wiki page which I can entirely relate to, having
worked with horses across several winters.
On rainy days it could be pretty miserable. . . . It could be tough but I enjoyed it. I'd be making windowsills, door frames, fire places – even building walls. But compared to playing rugby, it's night and day. If I ever have a bad day at training, I think back to what it was like working in that cold shed.
As I said above, Greig wasn't playing: he'd mangled his ankle 1/2
way through the 1st half v France on the 12th, so Ali Price had his 1st
start at No 9.

It was the 1st time Scotland had beaten Wales since 2007, & the 
win took them to 5th in World rankings.
Awesome :-D
The ceilidh was at St Brides off Dalry, so I had time to stay & cheer 
the lads round the pitch afterwards. 
No photos, tho.
The ceilidh was great as well - Da Hooley were playing :-)
As usual I danced just about everything (missing out the Gay Gordons - I don't really like it - it's a bit boring), Da Hooley played a Canadian, & finished with a crazy Orcadian.
Brilliant. 
Even the drinks are cheap there, & there's free water ~ not that
expensive stuff in bottles, but ordinary stuff from an urn.
Next day I did Leith again, & the usual Lothian Rd & Old Town trawl,
before heading for my pre-tea-time train.
  

2017 6-Nations~Italy

I did another day return on March 18th, driving to Preston at silly
o'clock to arrive in time for the 1230 start.
It was a Super Saturday game, & Scotland's was 1st up ~ hence the
drive to Preston at 0630!
It was also Vern's last game as Head Coach :-(
He had done a great job with the team, & they were
getting more tries, giving less penalties away, & were
headed up the world rankings.
The result was even better than the 2015 warm up, & Italy didn't
manage to score in the 29-0 match. Greig wasn't playing: he was
still recovering from his ankle injury, & would be out for a while, so
John Barclay was Captain again.
Finn, Matt, Tim & Tommy all got tries, with Finn converting 3 of them.
Hoggy also put a boot to the ball very early on & opened the scoring.
Finn was MotM again.
Wiki says it was the first time in the history of the 6-Nations that
Scotland had managed to keep their opponents scoreless.
As a result of his performance throughout this year's 5 games,
Hoggy was named player of the championship, & he continued to be
be a certainly for the Lions' 15 spot that summer.
This was Vern's last game in charge, & there was an interview with
him after the game. The stadium was pretty noisy, so I heard virtually
none of it, but here is an excerpt from a report by Tom English of
BBC Scotland.

He didn't quite crack, but Stern Vern wasn't so firm out there in the middle
on the full-time whistle

As he took to the microphone against a backdrop of Murrayfield emptying its appreciation
on top of his head, les yeux de glace - the eyes of ice - were beginning to melt. He took one
question and was gone. Two questions might have been too much even for one as tough as
him.     
It was, in truth, an extraordinary end-game for Vern Cotter. Not the match - a solid but
unspectacular bonus-point victory - but the aftermath of the match, the way the crowd
responded to him. He had to be coaxed into walking around the pitch with his players.
From the back of the west stand his discomfort was clear when the man on the PA system
piped up: 'Let's hear it for Big Vern!'    He hung around the back of the procession as a
reluctant, and slightly embarrassed, participant but these moments would have been
special to him.
No question.
He spoke about it later. Said it was a privilege to be in this job for three years. Said it was a
lovely way to sign off, strolling around the stadium with his Saltire-waving daughter at his
side, sure in the knowledge that no matter what results the later kick-offs brought, this was
a season that brought respectability and hope back to the national team after pretty much
17 years of cowering behind the couch.  
This wasn't the way Scott Johnson bowed out or the way Andy Robinson left or the way
Frank Hadden departed. It was a different galaxy compared to the last day of Matt
Williams, which, let's face it, was a national day of celebration for anybody who cared
about the fortunes of the team.
It's worth remembering what it was like this time 3 years ago. The 2014 championship
was the last before Cotter arrived - and it was grim. Scotland won one game, in the 79th
minute in Rome, and lost the other four. It wouldn't have been so miserable had the
other four been contests, but they weren't.  Ireland had the game won before the
hour-mark. France won late on despite having precious little ball and Wales won 51-3
after Stuart Hogg was shown the red card. Scotland scored a mere 47 points in five games.
They scored just 4 tries. Their points difference was minus 91. They were international
no-marks. Disregarded also-rans. They ranked 10 in the world but now they rank fifth.
As Twickenham illustrated in horrendous technicolour, they still have a way to go, but a lot
has changed on Cotter's watch and that's why he got such an ovation on Saturday. We've
all been around the block in the rugby world and it's hard to remember an international
coach bowing out the way Cotter bowed out. Normally, they slip out the back door,
unwanted and out of time.
This was unique.
This was a coach being love-bombed out the door, everybody clapping and cheering and
asking each other, 'Why's he leaving? What did we do wrong?'    
Why's he leaving?
Well, he doesn't want to, that's for sure. He wanted to stay, wanted to keep building, wanted
to immerse himself further in the project. Circumstance intervened. The SRU feared - and
they were right to fear - that Gregor Townsend, the country's one world-class homegrown
coach, was going to be lost to England or France and the aesthetic of seeing him vanish with
an unknown return date was something they couldn't tolerate. Cotter was a victim of that,
not that he sees himself that way. He knows the way of the world. He accepted it and moved
on. Sport doesn't tend to do amicable divorces. It doesn't do classy departures, but this was
one. And even though the final-day drama of this Six Nations Championship lay in the
'Mousetrap' Test in Paris and the great ambush in Dublin, the scenes in Murrayfield were
wonderful.
If you could have been at the press conference, it was priceless. There we were, trying to
press Cotter's buttons, trying to bring him to a profound place where he would tear-up a little
as he recounted his odyssey in Scotland. He gave a little, but not a lot. For the most part he
was heroically deadpan, a tour-de-force of sternness.   He wanted to keep it real, he wanted
to talk about the Test against Italy, how it wasn't perfect, but how he admired his players'
maturity in working through the tough spots and getting the result they needed. He was
asked about legacy, but he wasn't going there. At a guess, he'd have thought it cringe-making
to talk about himself in this scenario. Cotter's great strength as a rugby coach is in building
a culture, not in talking about building a culture. He does it and doesn't see the point in
revelling in it. He's a rugby man, not a show man. Scotland's loss is Montpellier's gain.
Joe Schmidt is a go-to man for insight on Cotter. The Ireland coach, and fellow Kiwi, is a
great mate of Cotter's. Theirs is a friendship forged in the French championship at
Clermont, where they worked and worked and worked and finally succeeded and won the
league title for the first time in the club's history. Cotter was head coach, Schmidt was his
assistant. Bearing in mind that Schmidt is generally considered Ireland's greatest ever
national coach, these are the kinds of things he says about his old mate.
"I learned so many things from him, just about being decisive, just about trying to grow the
key leaders. I just found that he had a real ability to crystallise messages and deliver them.
That rugby intellect was something else. It's probably hard to specify and quantify because a
lot of it is almost by osmosis. You pick things up and you probably don't specifically say, 'Oh,
I learned that today'. I absorbed a lot from VC."
 These Scotland players would know the truth of Schmidt's message. They absorbed a lot,
too. At the news conference, there were further attempts to tempt him out of his shell and
spill the beans about what it all meant to him. He kept it to praise of the players and
appreciation of the chance he'd been given in working with them. Then he was away,
through the door, down the corridor, into the changing room and back to a group of players
who will probably spend the rest of their careers repeating that line from Joe Schmidt:
"I absorbed a lot from VC."

I stayed to cheer & wave my saltire as Vern & the players walked
round the pitch, then I legged it as quick as the crowds allowed, taking the
path along the tramway in an attempt to get back to the station without
ducking & diving through the fans down Roseburn & West Coates.

2017 Autumn Tests~Samoa

The line between Blackpool & Preston was closed for nearly 6
months while they electrified the line, so I had a day return from
Preston: driving the car there to avoid the 'bus back from
Preston palaver' late on that evening.

The train arrived a a busy Haymarket at 1215, so I had a
couple of hours to walk via Dalry Rd. & do my usual search
for bargains in the charity shops.
I found a brown silk skirt for a fiver: It would be great to dance
in :-)
As it was silk I could roll it up & stuff it in a bumbag. I had 2 :
mostly with food in for the journeys up & back.

At the stadium I found the new '1 bag' policy in effect, so hid the
spare bum bag with food & skirt in beneath my coat - it was a
sunny afternoon & it was round my waist, & got through OK.
I was still in my Season Ticket seat 5 rows back, & took a few
photos with my mob. before & during the game.
Shame they're a bit dark.
I need to remember to take the Lumix!

The anthems from my seat

5 rows back from the try line

I had moved my ticket left & closer to the steps this year: it was a
cunning plan to make it easier for the loo at 1/2 time & a faster
exit back to Haymarket. It could take 20 minutes just to get out
of the stadium & onto Roseburn.
It turned out to be a great game with Samoa's haka to start, &
tries from Hoggy, Huw, Stuart, Alec, & Peter.

Just after Hoggy's try at 1433

Finn converted 3 of 5, & Peter converted his own. Finn got 2
penalties over as well.
Jamie Bhatti, George Turner, Chris Harris & Darryl Marfo got
their 1st caps. It seemed that Gregor was giving as many as
possible a chance to wear the jersey & show what they were
made of.

Try 2! & Stuart McInally's 1st

Stuart got 2 of Scotland's tries, & I managed to get a pic
through the celebratory arms at his try #1!
Stuart was also Man of the Match, & I got this pic from Rugby
World:

Stuart McInally celebrates scoring the second of 2 tries

Sadly, the defence wasn't great - Samoa got 5 tries :-/, so it
ended up tighter than I would've liked with the 2 games coming
up over the next couple of weeks against major teams.
I didn't hang around for the walkabout, but headed back with

the crowds back to Haymarket, via the tramway path again.
When I found my seat on the train it was across from a couple
who had a 'bit of a domestic' during the bit between Lockerbie
& Carlisle!
I kept my face in my sudoku & tried not to listen ;-p
Otherwise, the trip back was uneventful until I got to Preston &
found I had a parking ticket ~ I'd had 1 wheel on the double
yellows on West Cliff Terrace.

Bum!

2017 Autumn Tests~New Zealand

I took the Friday afternoon off & went up to dance with the
Linlithgow Scottish Country Dance club that evening. There
was a live band, & their Treasurer, David, had said I'd be
welcome to join them for some dancing.

It turned out to be a bit of an adventure!
I was at Kinnaird for the weekend - room 4 again, so I quickly
checked in & changed (screwupable black frock again ;-p ).
Then I headed back to Haymarket for my train to Linlithgow.

On leaving the station I followed my Gmap map by street-light,
but St Margaret's Hall wasn't signed on street, so I asked a
passer-by who sent me further along the road.
The instructions took me into the countryside where there were
no more street lights, so I retraced & eventually got there
just before kick-off.

It was busy, & I only sat out 1 dance, despite never having
heard of nearly half of the dances on the programme. I'd only
ever danced about 5 of the others as well, so Dr Kawashima
got a work-out :-p
There was also nice food at 1/2 time (incl. gorgeous home-
made cakes ;-q), & I got introduced to everyone as
coming from Blackpool to watch Scotland play New Zealand.
I was asked if I thought we would have a home win.
Of course, I said I hope so!
In the 2nd half there was a dance I'd never heard of (I think
there was a Margaret in the title), & of the 8 people in the
set, only 3 knew what to do. Therefore, it ended up being a
fairly major train-wreck. However, the band played it twice,
& we were slightly better the 2nd time round :-)

It was a lovely evening of dance, & with Kinnaird being only
200m or so from Haymarket, not too far to walk with tired feet in
my heels going up for midnight :-)

The next morning I opted for bacon & beans, & with the
game at 1715, went out to the zoo.

I walked from Kinnaird, & it turned out to be quite a trek up
Corstophine Rd ~ just over 2 miles.
I was quite excited as it would be my 1st look at pandas in
the flesh.
Brilliant :-D
I would also see koalas for the 1st time, as well as loads of
large, small, cute & interesting primates.
I saw meercats & flamingoes, a humongous rhino, & visited the
tigers & zebras.
I took pictures of them all with the mob, & put them on this
blog along with the photos I took during the exceedingly
exciting game.
Unfortunately, due to the chromebook problems I've had during the
entire process of writing this blog, they disappeared, & I have
no record of either my 1st visit to Edinburgh Zoo in >20 years
of trips, or of that momentous game.
Here's some of of a BBC Sport report about the game:
This was always going to be a momentous occasion but the emotion was ratcheted up further when former Scotland lock Doddie Weir and his three sons brought out the match ball before kick-off, Murrayfield rising as one to greet the former Lion, who has motor neurone disease.

It was a searing moment and it lent Murrayfield a power that Scotland fed off. There was a ferocity about Gregor Townsend's team, an accuracy in possession and a tempo that denied New Zealand the kind of easy ball they've been used to when they come here.  The visitors conceded five penalties in the first 20 minutes and seven in the first 30. Scotland competed brilliantly at the breakdown, Hamish Watson and John Barclay frustrating the All Blacks and refusing to let them to settle into their murderous rhythm.  Finn Russell put Scotland ahead with the boot and that lead stayed intact through two dangerous bouts of New Zealand pressure, the first ending not with the breakthrough try that looked as if it was imminent but with a Barrett forward pass to Ryan Crotty, and the second when Scotland survived a New Zealand scrum five metres from their line.  By then, flanker Watson - who had been playing outstandingly - had become the first of the casualties and was replaced by Luke Hamilton on debut.  The injuries were mounting for the hosts, Zander Fagerson joining Watson in the treatment room, and the replacement Hamilton following too. Remarkably, with a makeshift front-row of Jamie Bhatti, George Turner and Simon Berghan, and a hooker playing open-side, Scotland were still alive.  George Turner, the hooker, had come on for Hamilton, with Stuart McInally reverting to his old position in the back row, as Townsend patched his team together in the hope of keeping the game alive. They were immense against the odds.  The hope appeared to die when the All Blacks kicked for home, Williams delivering a magnificent offload to McKenzie, who cut a beautiful angle and put Barrett away to touch down.  The gap was 12 points with the conversion but still Scotland came again, New Zealand cynically killing ball in their own 22 and getting a second yellow for their trouble, Wyatt Crockett the culprit. The thunder carried on to the death with New Zealand unable to shake off the Scots. Hogg, magnificent all day, put through a gorgeously weighted grubber up the right wing and Tommy Seymour got to it first to unload to centre Jones, who ran away to score.  There were three minutes left when Russell walloped over the conversion to put Scotland within a converted try of one of the greatest days in their rugby history.  Hogg then went on an arcing run into the New Zealand 22 and in that moment you believed, for a second, that the miracle was about to happen.  But Barrett had sensed the danger and had the pace to cover across. Hogg's attempted pass bobbled forward in was the final play of a brilliant but agonising day.
The NZ Herald said:
Scotland may not have won but they played most of the rugby and were probably the better team.
So close it was heartbreaking, but Gregor could be so proud of the lads.

Gregor Townsend.  Looking happy

Jonny got his 3rd try for Scotland, Huw banged one down, & Finn converted both & kicked one of the penalties on offer. The game was Byron McGuigan's & Luke Hamilton's international debut, & it was a bit of a baptism of fire for them!
The score was 17-22, & I stayed on afterwards to cheer all my heroes after their epic attempt.
Despite the loss, Hoggy was Man of the Match. 
If not for Barratt's tackle at the end, I think he would have been Man of the Century! 
Flag waving & cheering over, I hurried back to Kinnaird to get changed for the ceilidh.
However, by the time I got there through the crowds it was virtually 8 o'clock, & it'd be nearly 9 before I'd changed & got across town, so I decided to go round the corner for a Thai takeaway instead & watch telly.
More beans & bacon next morning was followed by a major walkabout in New & Old Town. I found a bottle green silk vest in a charity shop on Nicholson St for only £1 before going to the workshop run by Dunedin Dancers and New Scotland (the Uni's SCD club) at Teviot Row House in the afternoon. 
I made my way to Bristo Sq. just before 1, & had a bit of lunch & a sit down for an hour at the student union ~ what a great building :-), before the workshop in the Debating Hall. There were a few people there I recognised from dancing with Trinity & Dunedin over the years, some students from New Scotland, & yours truly. We did dances from the 1st Dunedin book, but I can't recall all the names. One was about Highland Midges, one was called Two Roses - a strathspey, & one was a Really complicated one about Christmas. We danced for close on 2 hours, so I guess I covered an extra mile or so dancing. 
My train was at 1656, so after walking back to Haymarket,  I grabbed a bite at the M&S for my tea.
At Preston, I had to get the 'rail replacement bus service', & on turning right in Preston, someone's bag fell out of the luggage hold. By the time the driver managed to turn round & go back for it, someone was walking off with it! They sensibly ran off when the owner crossed the road.
That was all the entertainment there was on the way home, but I'd had plenty over the weekend :-D
When I googled my circular route from Kinnaird &, around town, back to Haymarket & back from the station in Blackpool, it turned out I'd done >10 miles that day + the dancing.
    
 2017 Autumn Tests~Australia
The game began at 1430 & I took another day return up, finding a
safer place to park this time ;-p
On the way up I could hear fellow passengers discussing last week's
game & what may happen that afternoon.
After my usual look for bargains at the stadium rugby store (there had
been none since the turquoise hoody, but I always check!), I got to my
seat to see Hoggy limping off. He had injured himself in the warm up.
Gollygosh. That wasn't good :-(
Consequently, Sean moved into the 15 spot, & Byron came off the
bench onto the wing,.
Phil Burleigh got his 1st call-up & would no doubt've been dead
chuffed to play in Scotland's 1st victory over the Aussies for 8 years.
It was another awesome, try-fest .game, with Byron justifying his
starting spot with 2 tries.
Others were scored by Ali, Sean, Jonny, Huw & Stuart, & I was
chuffed for Captain John when he went over as well. Especially after
his heroics the week before.

John celebrates his try v Australia.
Pic by the telegraph

Greig was still on the injured list, so Ali was at number 9 & also went
over just before 1/2 time. Had Finn's boot done the 100%, the score
would've been even better, but he converted 5 of the 8, & kicked 2
penalties as well.
There was so much happening I only took 3 photos: I didn't want to
miss anything. The lads were on fire :-)
This report is from The Independent online:
Majestic and utterly dominant in all phases of the game, this record win over a Southern Hemisphere nation felt like a genuine coming of age. Gregor Townsend’s Scotland scored an incredible eight tries and played with an invention, verve and ambition which swept the Wallabies off their feet. By the end, the men from Down Under were run ragged and barely holding it together.
Australia could have argued that the red card for Sekope Kepu moments before half-time with the Wallabies leading swayed the game, but Wallaby coach Michael Chieka acknowledged that Scotland have become such strong finishers that it simply added to the margin of Scotland’s victory. 
Even before the prop’s early bath Scotland were demonstrating the qualities which would see them romp home. Up front their forwards dominated the collisions, produced a remarkably effective driving maul and more than held their own at the set-piece. Behind the scrum the Scotland backs played an expansive, ambitious game when they had the ball and defended with huge linespeed and aggression when they didn’t.
“The game was such an open game that there were always going to be some tired bodies in the second half,” said Townsend. “As 14 rather than 15, their bodies were going to be more tired, and when the game became less structured it really suited us because the defence became disjointed and we’ve got some really good ball players that managed to get on the ball in the second half.”
It says much that Scotland achieved all this without Stuart Hogg, who withdrew from the starting line-up moments before the kick-off after damaging his hip in the warm-up. Yet his absence was barely noticed, with debutant Byron McGuigan, pulled into the starting line-up less than ten minutes before kick-off, scoring a brace of tries and ending the day as man of the match. 
Hamish Watson was immense at the breakdown, while captain John Barclay and the outstanding Stuart McInally carried with huge conviction.
Once Scotland got their hands on the ball, they looked like a different side. Finn Russell opened their account with a penalty and moments later they pulled further ahead when the linespeed of their backs caused Kurtley Beale to throw a pass to no-one on halfway. McGuigan was already at top speed and hacked ahead, the ball skewing off the outside of his boot and wrongfooting Reece Hodge as McGuigan touched down.
By the final whistle Scotland and Murrayfield were in full cry, with the final try neatly encapsulating the game. Russell kicked a neat grubber through, and as it looked as if McGuigan would win the race to touch it down, Beale flipped it into touch and was yellow-carded. It made no difference though: Scotland simply won the resulting lineout and drove McInally over.
They were simply irresistible.

Man of The Match ~ No need to say who :-)

Gregor & John with the glass trophy. Pic PinInterest

It was another dash to the station after I'd done my stint at cheering & saltire waving, & there were queues all all over the place. It had been a packed stadium!

The train was also packed, & due to some supporters walking to

Waverley & getting on there, it was standing room only at

Haymarket.

I had a reserved seat, but couldn't reach it in the crush, so

didn't sit down for more than an hour.

There  was a great party atmosphere with singing & joke telling - as only the Scottish can :-), & there were photos of the jam-packed, sardines-style, train journey, but they went the way of the zoo & NZ match photos, & the 3 I'd taken during the Aus game :-/

With 3 wins at home at 6-Nations in 2017, & 2 in the Autumn Tests, I was hopeful for another good season next year.
My season ticket would include the French game & the Calcutta Cup, & I was already excited :-D

2018 6-Nations~France

There had been a bit of a shock (to say the least!) when
Scotland went down 34-7 in Cardiff in game 1, & (as I
don't like the French side), I was hoping for a much better
result vs France on Feb.11th.

I did a day return from Preston, having checked out a safer
place to park following my parking ticket in November, &
I had 6 Reeces peanut butter cups, 2 bananas, a punnet each
of cherry tomatoes & radishes, & a can of Kiwi & Lime
cider in 2 bum-bags. Most of that got eaten on the journey up:
I'm not much one to eat at silly o'clock in the morning unless
I'm going skiing or similar & need the energy.

The train arrived into a heaving Haymarket & I set off for
Murrayfield up Dalry Rd. & the usual charity shops. Mind you,
I was thinking that if I found something nice to dance in, it would have
to be silk again so I could roll it up & stuff it in a bum-bag: The
1-bag rule was in force again.
At the turnstile, I had 1 bum-bag in view, but the girl on
checking duty wanted to look inside. When she saw my
little flask (containing the last of the Bunnahabain I'd
treated myself to a few Christmasses ago). She said I
couldn't take it inside.
Well, I wasn't about to chuck it, so I stepped out of the queue, &
necked it instead. There were only a few mouthfuls left, but
with those in a fairly empty stomach, I needed to eat
something ASAP!
A venison burger later I found my seat, & figuratively crossed
my fingers for a good win.
The game started at 1500, & there was a shock in the 3rd
minute when Teddy Thomas got an intercept & scored.
Eeek!

The offending Frenchman!

Ultimately, Sean (Maitland) & Huw went over for Scotland (as
did Teddy again), but it was Greig's unbelievably accurate
kicking which won the game. That, & his control of events
once Gregor put him in at 10 in place of Finn.

It was another nail-biting afternoon, & I did take photos, but like
I explained above, I had techy problems with my chromebook
after I uploaded them from my mob, & they have all
disappeared :-(

Anyway, this is an edited (by me) report from the Telegraph:

Welcome to the Greig Laidlaw show. Twenty-two points from his boot and no misses
speaks volumes but it  doesn’t say it all. This was a remarkable tour de force for which
Laidlaw’s man of the match award scarcely seems adequate because rarely has a match
at this level been so dominated by one player, especially one who hasn’t started a Test
for a year. After France scored a worryingly soft try within three minutes of the restart,
this match could easily have run away from a nervous Scotland side which looked
palpably short of confidence after last week’s defeat in Cardiff.

Yet Scotland eventually ground out a win that was a testament to their strength of
character, and while several Scotland players had their best matches for a while –
Jonny Gray, Grant Gilchrist, Simon Berghan, Huw Jones and Ryan Wilson were all
outstanding – a vast amount of the credit for that has to go to Laidlaw’s tactical
acumen.

His stamp was all over this game, whether it was his tactical direction from scrum-half,
the box kicks which turned France, the way he took over at stand-off when another
Finn Russell horror show looked like costing Scotland dear, or the way he kept his head
and kept banging over penalties to drag Scotland into the box seat after they had looked
perilously close to losing when trailing by six points at half-time.  The most remarkable
feat of the 32-year-old Borderer’s afternoon was reprising his role as a stand-off.
Laidlaw last started a Test at No. 10 against Tonga in 2012 under Andy Robinson, but
after he moved there on 64 minutes he displayed a hard-nosed pragmatism that saw
Scotland edge a match which they desperately needed to win but which had seemed out
of their grasp for so long.
“Greig played well,” said Townsend afterwards. “People probably don’t pick up a lot of
what Greig does outside of his passing and kicking, such as managing the team. Greig
and Ryan Wilson had a big influence on how the team responded to errors, and he
made some really good decisions.”

Awesome :-)

I got this off the net as well:
Greig David Laidlaw - a British & Irish Lions in 2017 and nephew of Scotland’s
legendary scrum half, Roy Laidlaw - has made the most appearances as Scotland
captain, equalling David Sole's record (25) on the same day he marked a half
century of appearances for his country - a feat he surpassed in the last game of the
2016 Six Nations championship.

Laidlaw is also third on Scotland's all-time points list, overtaking Dan Parks' haul of
266 and Andy Irvine's 273 with a 14-point contribution to Scotland's 41-31 win against
Argentina in the opening viagogo Autumn Test of 2014.

It was in the year leading up to the competition – starting 12 of Scotland’s 14 Tests,
coupled with his imperious performances throughout the Rugby World Cup 2015 –
that Laidlaw also earned recognition with nomination for World Rugby's Player of
the Year award.

Leading by example, he bowed out of the RWC in the quarter-finals as the leading point-
scorer with 79, 26 of them – including a crucial late try – coming in the 36-33 win over
Samoa that booked his side’s place in the last eight.
Laidlaw's metronomic kicking continued the following year, in the 2016 RBS 6 Nations,
and saw him finish as second-top points scorer; his man-of-the-match winning
contribution of 19 helping him on the way to a championship total of 62, that saw him
pass the 500 point mark in the last game against Ireland.

This is Greig on the attack. Or maybe defence?
Depends how near whose Try-line it was, I guess!?

He may be only 5' 9", but he has the heart of a giant

As it said in the report, another outcome that day was Greig
had his 60th cap & went over the 600 points for Scotland.
What it doesn't say that, after appearing for the Lions in in NZ
in 2017, Greig broke his fibula at Clermont in October & hadn't
played in a top flight game since.
I think that makes it even more obvious he is a big man in a
little body, & I think he's brill :-)

Despite the heart-in-the-mouth Teddy moments, it was a great

game for Scotland, & was really exciting.
After another dash to Haymarket via the tram track, Platform 4
was packed with peeps headed home towards Glasgow &
south.
When it came, the train was fairly crowded, but not as bad as the one home from the Aus game, & with a reserved seat I had a comfortable ride home. 
The buses between Blackpool & Preston were still running, but I trotted off down the hill to my car instead.
   

 2018 6-Nations~England

On the Friday I went up for the weekend by train, taking my
small green wheelie full of DVDs I no longer wanted. There
was a place in the New Town which bought them, & as I
very rarely went into town in Blackpool, I decided to take
them up to Edinburgh & do it there.
I travelled up in time to check in at Kinnaird, put on the
glad rags, & catch the train out to Linlithgow.

I knew where it was now, & got there in time to grab a seat,
put on my ballet shoes, & check out what the 1st dance was.
What a surprise - never heard of it ;-)
That never stops me dancing, tho, & I stood up to find a
partner. She didn't know it either, but it was an easy one so
there wasn't a problem.

There were about 18 dances on the programme, & could've
done 5 of them without a walk through. I hadn't even heard of 11
of the dances, but fortunately have a good movement memory, s
o a walk through &/or a watch usually means I manage
without causing a train-wreck.

Most of the time anyway ;-p
As they had in November, they made a bit of a fuss about the
fact that I was from Blackpool, but I also saw a lady there who
lives in Edinburgh, but regularly dances in Preston when she
comes down to visit her daughter. Her husband was there as
well. He's built a bit like a prop!

There were lovely home made cakes again, & plenty of brews,
& despite not knowing most of the programme, danced
everything.
The train back to Haymarket was quiet, but didn't stop, so I
was back at Kinnaird just after 2330.

Saturday

More bacon & beans, then I trundled the wheelie of DVDs
down to Rose St. However, they needed something with my
address on in order to set up an account there. Erm?
This I didn't have, so I carried on across North Bridge, green
wheelie full of DVDs in tow :-/

I checked out the charity shops for stone eggs & other
items of interest, & at Age UK found what looked like a
horn cup for 50p. I decided to buy it & check out the real
stuff in a shop on North Bridge on my way back.

There was a tea & antique shop called Anteaques down
near Armstrongs on Clerk St., so I stopped for a brew. While
checking out the antiques I found a lovely little malachite egg.
It was a bit dear for a tenner, but it would go well in my green
& black lounge.
I had a souchong brew & discovered the bloke in charge was
from Cannes & called Basil.
Unfortunately, from that point my brain kept doing the " Basil ! ! "
thing Sybil did in Fawlty Towers.
Oops ;-D

Basil brewing up & malachite egg

Egg & souchong

I took a circuitous route back to Kinnaird, timing it so I could

watch the 1st half of the Ireland/Wales game on the telly in my
room, before changing into the kilt & Scotland top & setting off
for Murrayfield by way of the usual charity shops on Dalry Rd.
This was just in case I found a stone egg or something in silk.

On arrival at the stadium, getting through the turnstiles was
less of a problem as I had hidden the malt flask in the bum bag
under my flag, & did the previously successful hiding of the
food in pockets.

The teams were warming up when I got to my seat, & having
watched the TV prog on the following Monday evening, I know
even Andy Nichol wasn't particularly hopeful of a win vs Eddie
Jones' very successful England side.
In hindsight that Monday evening, I was quite funny to listen to
the pundits giving forth about the upcoming game ;-))
But I'm ahead of myself.

Post anthems (I sang both again), the anticipation from both sets 
of supporters was palpable!

The game begins

Scotland on the attack

It wasn't long before the 1st shock occurred, & Greig punted a penalty over at 2 minutes. 12 minutes later Huw scored, & Greig converted. We were all ecstatic!

We celebrate when Huw scores his 1st

Farrell had got a penalty over, but Scotland were in the lead with tails up, & despite another Farrell penalty, the lads pushed & pushed ending up leading 22-6 at 1/2 time following another try from Huw & one from Sean.

He'd already punted a penalty & converted Huw's, but now Greig gets ready to convert Sean Maitland's try

If you blow this up really big, you can see the ball hidden amongst the crowd on West Stand. Unfortunately, it didn't go over

There was a bit of a comeback early in the 2nd half when
Farrell got a try & converted it, but England didn't score again,
& Finn got another penalty lateish on.
Apparently there was a bit of 'handbags at dawn' in the tunnel
before the game, & the occasional flare-up on the pitch, but
Nigel Owens was in charge, & he doesn't put up with any
rubbish like that :-)
It was a really good game, & it was totally awesome to get a win
against England.
While writing this I found a bit on the web about Dave Denton
which raised a smile:

England has changed David Denton, and not just because he now sports a metrosexual
man bun. “My cousin gave me pelters and I’ve had a lot of stick from the family,” he laughs.
“It’s like Marmite except not many people love it; most hate it. For me it’s a bit of a change,
a bit of a laugh, but everyone else thinks it’s a bit shit.”  

I agree about the Marmite: not keen myself, but it's not about
hairdos, but about the rugby, so he can have french plaits with
ribbons in for all I care.

The team celebrate at the final whistle ~ Dave Denton & Sean Maitland go for a hug .  . .

& the rest of us go bananas

Lap of honour: Ali Price is no. 21

Finn got MotM this time. He had a much better game than he
had against the French.

Grant Gilchrist & Dave Denton (+ man-bun ;-p) on the left

It was so exciting I could hardly remember a thing to write
about, but I got some stuff off the net, incl. this report from the
NZ Herald. After all, they know their rugby down there!

Scotland stun England in Six Nations

Scotland ended England's Grand Slam hopes in Six Nations rugby by winning 25-13 at
Murrayfield this morning (NZT) for a first victory over its fierce rival in a decade.  
Consigning England to only a second loss in 26 games under coach Eddie Jones, the
Scots finally lived up to their hype by blowing away their neighbors in the first half
and scoring three tries in the process — two of them by center Huw Jones.
England came out for the second half 22-6 down — its largest halftime deficit in 136
meetings against Scotland — and scored its only try almost immediately through
center Owen Farrell.  It didn't spark a comeback, though. The Scots' defending was
brilliant, they dominated the breakdown, and England's chances all but ended when
replacement Sam Underhill was sin-binned for a no-arms tackle in the 66th, when the
score was 22-13. Finn Russell knocked over the penalty and the party could start in
earnest in a fevered atmosphere at Murrayfield.
"They were too good for us," Jones said. Scotland's last win over England in the Calcutta
Cup was 15-9 in the 2008 Six Nations. They relied on penalties that day but this was a
different story altogether.  Jones, a star in the making, kicked forward and gathered to
ground in the 15th minute for Scotland's first home try against the English since 2004.
His other try might end up being the best of the tournament, breaking through a tackle
just inside England's half and running 50 meters before bursting through two defenders
to score.

According to the official website, J K Rowling was tweeting
throughout the match, posting stuff for her non-rugby followers.
She's well keen on Scottish rugby, apparently.

Clearly, we are two ladies of like mind :-D

There was a lot of other stuff on the web, & no apologies for
including this from The Telegraph which I edited a bit:
The ruins of England's Grand Slam ambitions lay scattered across the Murrayfield turf.
There will be shivers of apprehension on the World Cup front too for this showed that
England are fallible, particularly at the breakdown where they were wholly eclipsed, a
masterclass from the John Barclay-led Scotland exposing their limitations. They played 
with the zest and inventiveness that had troubled New Zealand and Australia in November. 
Scotland went missing at the start of the championship but have rediscovered that bracing 
identity. This was their sixth championship victory in a row at Murrayfield. They travel to 
Ireland next.
Flaky Finn or Fabulous Finn – which was it to be? The question had been posed throughout 
the build-up and there was a resounding answer. Russell ruled the roost. 
It was a seminal performance, replete with daring and perception. It was no surprise that 
Scotland played with huge heart but it was the clinical precision of their play that was so 
marked.
Finn ended up as MotM.
As I mentioned above, the pundits hadn't expected England to
lose, so it was big news.
Post game, nearly all the Scotland fans hung around until the
team did their lap, & some girls near me got Huw to come over
the barrier for a selfie, so I leaned over it & nabbed a quick
one while he was still about.

Good looking lad, up close, eh? Shame it's blurred, but I didn't have much time!

I don't think I'll Ever forget that game

You can imagine the atmosphere on the way home. I walked with the happy crowds via Murieston on the way back, getting a takeaway at Hay Sushi on Dalry Rd. for tea.
Back at Kinnaird, I ate the Japanese food on the bed, then changed for my ceilidh at St Brides.

Jeans & trainers on, I walked the short distance from Kinnaird up Dalry Rd., & joined the crowd waiting for the Matthew McLennan Band to start.

Unusually, I danced the Gay Gordons, but not unusually I got a variety of chaps up to shake a leg - always on the lookout for a decent (& brave) dancer to do the Orcadian with ;-p.
Given my extended walkabout in the morning, dragging a wheelie full of DVDs!, I sat out a couple while I got a brew & a glass of red. Like I said before, the drinks are cheap & the brews nice & strong at St Brides, & it's always a great night out.
I found a bloke to brave the Orcadian Strip, & we all managed 2 full transits down the set before the band called it a night.
I was ready for bed when I got there: it had been quite a day :-D

Sunday

I had bacon & beans again, plus 5 pieces of toast with honey: a
big breakfast for me. Then, leaving wheelie at Kinnaird for a
rest (hehe), I took my laptop for a walk to Nicholson St by way of
The Meadows & a bit of off-road near the Crags.

The Meadows at 5 to 10 on the Sunday after Scotland beat England :-)

At this point I'd had thoughts about an Edninburgh blog, so I made notes on a bit of newspaper I had with me when I stopped for a brew 1/2 way through the morning.
I don't usually buy newspapers, but a colleague gives me the puzzle pages from his, & I keep them for train journeys & the like.

Great old buildings with an awesome view on the edge of The Meadows

The traditional embracing the modern

The guy was playing a violin. Lovely music for a lovely morning

Steps up from the Skelf bike-park
You can see the top of the crags

The Crags in Holyrood Park

I found a lovely purple stone in the grass on The Meadows, & it went in the bum-bag. 

Note to self: stop collecting stones, your house will sink ;-)



Leaving The Meadows via Boroughlough, I meandered along & across Clerk St & to Bowton before finding a bike park with access to Holyrood Park under the Crags.




After a short walk in the mud, I took a left through a load of flats, & passed a couple of blokes sitting on the steps in the sun.
We had a brief chat about the win over England, & then he noticed my accent. He became less friendly, & asked why I was wearing a kilt!
I gave him a potted version of the reason, & left him chuntering.

Still in a bit of an adventurous mood I went down an alley off Pleasance which came out on Richmond Place: quite a handy short-cut.
Back on Nicholson St. I checked out a few charity shops before getting a brew at Dai Pan, which was offering free cake with a coffee.

Looking along Queens Drive in the park to Dynamic Earth-the
white bit, with the Palace of Holyrood & the Forth estuary in the distance

Unfortunately, it the coffee came cold :-(
I had asked for coffee with cold milk amp; I guess she
translated into Asian in a literal manner!). At least the cold
coffee came with a choice of free cake.

I had chocolate tiffin, but was still relatively full of the bacon,
beans & 5 slices, so saved 1/2 for the train.

Across the road was the BHF charity shop where I'd seen a
bag which might fit my chromebook in, but it was too small, so
I headed towards North Bridge to check out horn cups.
On the way I went into a gift shop to look at kilt pins & Julio
Iglesias was singling Bailando, so I stayed for a singalong, &
danced in my head while I pretended to browse :-)

At the horn shop, the bloke let me have a look at their selection of
horn mugs & tankards, & one cup slightly bigger than
the one I bought yesterday at Oxfam for 50p was £14.99 :-0

So, it looked like I'd bagged a bargain, & at least it helped
offset the tenner on the egg ;-)

Back up High St, & down to Armstrongs on Grassmarket
was followed by a rather circuitous route to Fountainbridge with
the intention of avoiding going down (to Haymarket) & then
having to go up Dalry Rd.

The plan was to check out Sainsbury at Gorgie for a bottle of
Bunnahabain ~ according to Sainsbury Online, they stocked it.

They didn't, so I bought an interesting-sounding Speyside
instead for £19. As it was on offer at less than 1/2 the price of
Bunnahabain, I figured that if it was gopping it wouldn't matter
too much. Also bought 2 bottles of yummy mango lassi for the
train.

An extended late lunch in the Sainsbury cafe with an awesome
bacon baguette & a pot of tea followed, while I read the
(Scottish) Times someone had left. Sadly, they hadn't left the
sports pages.
There were a couple of old ladies biding their time as well, so I
checked the Roseburn route would be the shortest option back
to Haymarket.

They said it was.

I set off back about 1610, & got back to Kinnaird about 40
min. later. It was a bit of a crush getting my malt & lassi in
the ruckie with my green boots & 2 pairs of shoes, but at
least the Samsung nestled into the washing in the green
wheelie.

At this point I had over an hour & a half to fill before the train
home, so I went next door to the Jolly Botanist for a kiwi & lime
Old Mout & some net-time ~ I wanted to see how far I'd
walked since 10 am.

Gmaps said I did 7.5 miles, so I guess that would help to offset 2
lots of bacon, & the Reeses peanut butter cups I'd bought in
the Tesco at Roseburn ;-q

I left the Jolly Botanist with 25 min to walk the 200m to the
station, & spent the wait in the Pumpkin, fairly certain
I wouldn't have to stand up all the way to Lockerbie like I
had in November.
I didn't, & had a relaxed trip back after all the walking & dancing
that weekend.
So that's about it for the 1st decade. I wonder if I'll be here
again in 2028?

To end with, here's a bit about Hoggy. He's been a major asset to the 
team since he got his 1st cap, but he hasn't been featured much in 
this blog. So, here's a bit I got from his player biography on the 
SRU website:

Hoggy was one of seven players to feature in all tests at the 2018 NatWest 6 Nations
and gained the most metres over the championship, covering 479 metres. He scored
his 18th try for Scotland against Italy in the final round of the championship to help
secure Scotland a 3rd place finish.

The final thing to say is that this blog took weeks & weeks
& weeks to write.
Initially, this Chromebook persisted in turning itself off.
Sometimes it restarted spontaneously, but 4 days before I went
to Cuba it refused to turn on, & only re-set when Shane ~ the
guy who looks after my PC, pressed the on/off button when I took
it to him on my return.
It did it again in the middle of May, & despite my pressing
& holding the off button many times over several days, it
refused to turn off, & refused to do anything else either.
Talk about weird :-/
I took it to Shane again, & his 'magic finger' did the trick.
Like I said ~ weird.
Because of the various software & hardware problems, I ended up
deciding to copy the text & photos to another application - year
by year. Then I deleted the blog, switched off Blogger, & tried to
recreate it by copying all the stuff back in.
However, something about the coding behind it all caused the
text to change its mind about whether or not it would wrap, the
font to change size, & it did bizarre things with the photos,
leaving big gaps all around many of them which I can't get rid of.
During the 'problems' Blogger/the Chromebook had managed to
lose the text I'd written & photos from my zoo trip, the 2017 NZ &
Aus games, & the French 6-Nations '18 game I'd uploaded
from my mobile. Unfortunately, by the time I realised that all
those pics (& text) had vanished from the blog, I had deleted the
images from my mob :-(
So I have no photo recollections from those amazing games
in November '17, & the equally exciting game in Feb '18.
Still, as I say, I know (what happened), coz I wuz there!
Having persevered, here we are, more than 3 months later.
I hope you enjoyed it :-)

OAO