Leith's on the telly!

On Thursday 29th March my wee corner of the country will be on national television as Channel 4 screen Wedding Belles at 10pm.

Co-written by Irvine Welsh, author of Trainspotting, it is the story of a woman approaching her wedding day in Leith and the problems of her three friends. Of course, with it being Irvine Welsh it isn't going to be all sweetness and light. Look out for drug addiction, a boyfriend killed by a joyrider, a nurse selling viagra to residents in an old people's home and a kinky relationship with a Catholic priest.

Is it any good? Who knows. Despite being one of the most popular bloggers in Leith, Channel 4 didn't send me an advance copy to review (I know, it's a disgrace) so it may well turn out to be rubbish.

However even if it isn't great I can still watch it to see if it includes any of the bars and restaurants I frequent. At least this show was actually filmed in Leith unlike Trainspotting which was largely filmed in Glasgow of all places.

100th Post!

I did consider a few options for the 100th post but eventually I thought feck it, just do something lazy and self-indulgent. Plus I haven't embedded a video in my blog before so I thought I'd give it a go.

I have to say I'm not so much a fan of this band (I couldn't name one member of it) but more of a fan of the lead singer. She's smart, sexy, Scottish but of Italian descent and apparently has a soft spot for Celtic. In fact that last sentence has probably just summed up my ideal woman!

Anyhoo I found this video on YouTube and I think she looks absolutely stunning in it. It's obviously filmed on a French TV show and the little "merci" at the end of the song gets me every time.

If only I had a camera

Had to share this because even 2 days later it still makes me laugh.

I was in full old man mode on Saturday night. Out drinking with my brother we settled in the Old Dock Bar in Leith as we knew we'd probably get a seat to relax and knock back a few beers.

Anyhoo the Old Dock Bar, despite the smoking ban in Scotland, still has a cigarette machine. It is also next door to the far younger and trendier Bar Sirius which doesn't have a cigarette machine. As a result as the night wears on you get various people wandering in just to get a packet of cigarettes and heading straight back out again.

Now I'm not one to criticise the younger generation but if there's one fashion that really pisses me off it's the one where young guys wear their jeans half way down their arses (thankfully they still wear boxer shorts). Look you're not a big black gangsta rapper from East Side Los Angeles, you're a spotty wee skinny git from Leith.

One such guy saunters in about half 10, jeans half way down his arse and looking like a complete fud. He goes up to the cigarette machine and realises he'll need change. So he strolls over to the bar but with no bar staff about he leans over the bar to attract the attention of the barmaid at the far side of the bar.

And as he leans over his jeans fall down to his ankles. Priceless. It would only have been better if he'd smacked his head on the bar as he bent down quickly to pull his jeans back up.



On another topic this is my 99th post. I cant believe I've managed to stretch this drivel out for 99 posts so I'll need to come up with something decent for my 100th.

Happy Saint Patrick's Day

As a product of Irish immigration to Scotland I should really take this opportunity to wish all my readers a happy Saint Patrick’s Day today.

I must admit I’ll not be celebrating it by downing copious amounts of Guinness in a local bar. My pride in my background runs a lot deeper than that. Besides that’s what everyone else will probably be doing. It is a day when I do tend to think of my great-grandparents and the decisions they were forced into making when leaving their country in order to survive. I’ve often reflected with my old pal Ginkers (an Italian-Scot) that if our families had possessed a bit more money we could have been growing up in New York together.

However I digress. The Scotland of today is a lot different to the Scotland my great-grandparents landed in. Thankfully it is now very much a multicultural country and Edinburgh despite its reputation for aloofness is a great example of this mix. Some may see this as a dilution of the Scottishness of the capital but I think it is one of the city’s strengths and what can make it such a vibrant city at times. It is one of the reasons I enjoy living here so much. As I walk home down Leith Walk I pass Chinese supermarkets, Asian jewellers, Italian restaurants and Polish delicatessens.

Of the immigrant population the Irish are now well established in Scotland along with the Italians, the Chinese, the Indians and the Pakistanis. All have contributed immeasurably to the country with their willingness to work hard, integrate but still hold on to their unique culture. Again there will be some who will see this as a detriment to Scotland due to some warped sense of being Scottish but I think it is what makes us such a fascinating and great wee country.

The latest set of immigrants to make their mark in Edinburgh and Leith in particular are the Poles. They have shown all the attributes that the Irish did one hundred or so years ago when we arrived in Scotland. They are not only a credit to their native land but also to their adopted home so on this day I’d like to especially wish this group of immigrants a Happy Saint Patrick’s Day. I hope their stay in Scotland is as long as that of the Irish.

Sitemeter

About a month ago I finally decided to get Sitemeter installed on my blog after reading about it on the blogs of Spangly Princess and *(asterisk) - a blog about nowt.

I'm glad I did because it is a very interesting tool. Possibly most importantly it lets you see how many people visit your blog. As a blogger it can be quite disheartening when you put up an article that you've put a bit of thought into and 24 hours later there is still the dreaded "0 comments" at the bottom of it but Sitemeter can show that you've probably had at least 20 visits in that time. Perhaps you just have to accept that some people are quite happy to read your blog but dont feel like making a comment and to me that's fine. Although what is great is that Sitemeter allows a blogger to see a visitor's location and IP address so I can tell who is visiting on a regular basis without leaving a comment or someone who has left a comment once and is now constantly checking back.

The other great thing is that it tells you how visitors got to your blog. Sometimes it is through Google searches and phrases like "cheerio to 10 in a row", "McGeady turn", "Artur Boruc UK", "Leith Sopranos", and "Cheltenham today" have all directed internet searchers in the direction of my blog. It is also kinda strange but kinda cool to see that I have had visitors from outside the UK from places such as Melbourne, Auckland, Stockholm, Zagreb, New York, Kuwait, Dublin, New Brunswick (Canada) and Sao Paolo.

Other times it is through a link being on another blog so I must thank the aforementioned Spangly Princess and * as well as my old pal Ginkers for his blog and the Grappa Diaries. Not forgetting Bawbags and Flyingrodent (who I promise to link from my blog this weekend).

Thanks to Sitemeter I've also found another couple of blogs that have links to mine in their's. First there is The Scottish Blogging Roundup which does exactly as the title suggests then there is another called North To Leith which is the blog of the Scottish National Party candidate for Edinburgh North and Leith. Now both of these blogs (especially the SNP one) seem to be drawing 0 comments for their posts while a drunken eejit like me seems to at least get 4 or 5 per post.

So boys if you want a hint on how to get comments just comment on the behaviour of the Rangers travelling support. It always works for my blog and you should have plenty of material after their visit to Osasuna on Wednesday.

Memories

It is about this time every year that I feel very nostalgic and it is all thanks to the horse racing festival at Cheltenham that starts today.

I’m not a horse racing fan and not much of a gambler but the Cheltenham Festival sends my mind racing back to early spring in 1988 when I was in my first year at the University of Sunderland or, as it was then, Sunderland Polytechnic.

The reason for this is that on arriving in Sunderland I immediately fell in with the right crowd (some may say the wrong crowd but what do they know). Three lads who were there to run up debt, drink to excess and attend the occasional lecture to ensure the next grant cheque arrived. The highlight of our year was the Cheltenham Festival. Three days off lectures that were spent moving between the pub and the nearby Ladbrokes. Gambling has always seemed like quite a solo activity to me but the four of us turned it into a social event.

As the memories of that week return so they inspire other memories of my first year. Leaving the small south west Scotland town of Annan to live in the big city, arriving barely tipping nine stone on the scales and after eight months being close to ten and a half stone thanks to discovering the delights Newcastle Brown Ale, discovering that some English girls really like the Scottish accent :o) and I could buy beer for about 70p a pint in the Student Union bar. In the days before mobile phones and e-mails it is now kind of strange to think that me and my old pal Ginkers used to keep in touch by writing letters to each other.

Sadly the other three guys in this band of drunken brothers packed in their courses before the end of first year and I haven’t a clue where they are now. I, on the other hand, stayed on and blagged my way to a 2:2. I have loads of great memories from the following three years in Sunderland and friends that I still keep in touch with but there was something very special about that first year and those three great pals.

Perhaps I should head into town at lunchtime for a pint and a fiver on Hardy Eustace in the Champion Hurdle.

Wanted - a 30 goal per season striker.

Celtic 0 Rangers 1.

Just so I can avoid the accusation of "only blog when you're winning" but forgive me this will be a short one.

Losing is bad enough but when we should have been about 4-0 up by half time it is even worse. The priority for the summer has to be a 30 goal a season striker. Up until now we've got away with not having one but it cost us today.

We could also have done with a referee who couldn't spot a blatant foul in the build up to the Rangers goal but could easily spot every minor infingement by a Celtic player every time the ball went into the Rangers box. In keeping with the theme of this season we also had a good claim for a penalty turned down.

And of course the whole game was played out to the usual sickening chants from the away support. The press in Scotland quite rightly gave a lot of coverage to racist chants at a recent Motherwell game. I look forward to them applying the same condemnation tomorrow. Somehow I doubt it. It is to the credit of the Celtic fans that we never rose to the bait.

Gutted...........

........But immensely proud of my team as over 180 minutes of football they matched AC Milan, probably the best side in Europe of the past five years. Only tired legs and the ability of Kaka, one of the finest midfielders in the world, were the differences between the two sides in the San Siro last night as Milan won 1-0 in extra time to end our Champions League dream.

If only Stephen McManus and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink hadn’t been required to play with injuries. If only the referee had given us one of the two penalty claims we had. If only we had a striker capable of sniffing out a wee half chance. If only Nakamura was still on the field when we got that direct free-kick in the last minute of extra time.

If only, if only…………..

But this morning is a time for looking at the positives and there are many.

We have a fantastic goalkeeper who gets better the bigger the game is. Hopefully he will be at Celtic Park for a number of years but at least if anyone wants him in the summer it will take big money.

We still have a young team that is learning. Look at the spine of the team last night. Darren O’Dea at 19 has barely played a handful of games yet he was arguably Celtic’s man of the match in the centre of defence. Evander Sno in midfield, another 19 year old, who we plucked from Holland for less than Kaka’s weekly wage. Just off the front line was 20 year old Aiden McGeady who turned in a magnificent performance until tiredness got to him. An absolute star in the making.

We also have a manager who is learning. Only 18 months ago we suffered a nightmare in Bratislava and now we are beating the likes of Manchester United and Benfica and giving Milan one hell of a game in their own backyard. He has instilled an amazing spirit in the team. The next step is to give us the technical ability to compliment it.

And finally we have the fans. Thousands again travelled and were a credit to the club with their constant support. Sadly one lost his life in a traffic accident the night before the game. One day we will get a team to match that support.

As a start please give us a class central midfielder to replace Neil Lennon and a partner for Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink in the summer.

Onwards and upwards Celtic!

One step closer

Celtic are now only nine points away from retaining the Scottish Premier League title after a 2-1 win over Dunfermline at Celtic Park.

The win was a lot easier than the scoreline suggests as along with the goals from Kenny Miller and Jan Vennegoor of Hesselink, Celtic also hit the post and the bar. Kenny Miller also had what looked like a perfectly legitimate goal ruled out for offside. However this was no surprise given the abysmal display by the match officials. An absolutely horrendous tackle in the opening minutes on Shunsuke Nakamura went unpunished and this gave Dunfermline the freedom to hack, kick and elbow their way through the next 90 minutes. I know they are bottom of the league and battling for every point but it really is not enjoyable to watch a side resort to these tactics or for a referee to give them the leeway to do it.

The other talking point of Saturday's game was the weather. Is there another country in the world where a game can take place in glorious sunshine, torrential rain, hailstones, strong wind then sunshine again?

Celtic now have a big week coming up with a visit to Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday followed by the visit of Rangers next Sunday. A score draw followed by a win would do very nicely.

Putting the customer first?

Negotiations between Sky and Virgin Media breakdown.

I'll admit I'm not much of a TV viewer these days. The promised land of digital TV seems to be one endless stream of old BBC repeats, CCTV footage, makeover shows or reality TV. All I take in now is the occasional film, The Sopranos, Six Feet Under when it is repeated somewhere, Champions League football and maybe something like South Park or Scrubs on Paramount Comedy.

However the one programme I always try to catch is The Simpsons at 7pm on Sky One. Now as a Virgin Media customer this has been taken away from me as Virgin and Sky One cannot agree on a price to enable Virgin to put Sky programmes on their cable network.

Both companies are, as expected, taking the moral high gound. Virgin are stating that they will not pay over the odds on behalf of their customers for Sky programmes while Sky are saying that they are only asking for a fair price for the product that they have invested in. Meanwhile it is the customer that loses out.

Obviously Sky are now hoping that cable customers desert Virgin in droves and take up their satellite service but I really dont want to be blackmailed into doing this just for the sake of The Simpsons. Besides Channel 4 show The Simpsons every night at 6 o'clock. However I'm still well pissed at Virgin Media as well. Fair enough if they genuinely do not want to, as they see it, waste customers' money on paying too much for Sky programmes but they have also indicated that they will not be reducing customers' bills despite offering less of a service. This is like getting offered a three course meal for £20 and only getting served two courses.

I'm just glad I hadn't began watching the latest series of Lost or 24.