Back to Tynecastle today to watch Hearts play second bottom Dundee in the SPL. Hearts snatched a late equaliser at Ibrox last week and currently sit second in the table and are the only side undefeated in the SPL. It was also interesting this week to see Hearts response to Hibs announcement that they would no longer be issuing individual match programmes but instead a quarterly magazine. Hearts have increased the size of their programme from 48 to 60 pages with no increase in price. Big team big programme ! Wee than nae programme ! After lunch I left home at 13.30 and decided to go for a walk before heading to Tynecastle. I walked along the canal as far as the Slateford bridge and then back along Slateford Road and down Robertson Avenue to Tynecastle. I arrived at the Main stand entrance around 14.30. This was the first day of checking for Covid vaccination passports for entry to the ground and there was a long queue at the extended entry barriers. However the checks being made were, i

          Hearts were playing Rangers at Ibrox today in a top of the table clash but I did not fancy going there. The Ibrox atmosphere is awful with Rangers fans throwing items down onto Hearts fans in the lower their of the stand with police and stewards taking no action. Any complaints will generally bring  response of "well you came here". I decided to try and get to a new ground today and headed out to Easthouses to watch Easthouses Lily Miners Welfare v Spartans in the South of Scotland Challenge Cup. With the game kicking off at 14.30 I caught a number 3 bus at Haymarket and arrived in Easthouses at around 14.00. As I got of the bus I saw someone wearing a Spartans jacket so followed him for the short walk to the ground. The ground is an enclosed area within a large leisure complex and offers some excellent views of the surrounding area. I paid my £3 entry and wandered into the ground. No programmes or tea sheets were available. At the entry area there are the dressing

A week without being at a match but tonight heading to Ainslie Park again for Edinburgh City v Kelty Hearts, a league Two table topping clash. I had been childminding most of the day and did not arrive home until round 17.50. After a quick meal I got ready to heading to Ainslie Park. The forecast was for a chilly evening so I made sure I was wrapped up warmly in my parka. I had  walked a long distance today so decide to catch a bus to the ground. I caught a 23 to Goldenacre and walked from there arriving around 19.15. I had no problems getting in with my Fanbase purchase e-ticket and me Jim inside the turnstile area. I was disappointed to hear that no prints programmes were available. I found out that Alick the programme editor had had computer problems and had therefore been unable to get the details to the printers in time for printing. Jim and I stood around the turnstile area talking to some other people waiting for the arrival of Alex and Martin. Alex arrived, coming from the stan

  A miserable morning today with rain teaming down. Hearts were to playing today due to the international break so I decided to head to Ainslie Park for the Lowland league top of of the table clash between leaders Bonnyrigg Rose nd sons place Spartans. The match was kicking off early at 14.00 with Scotland playing Israel, live on Sky, in a World Cup qualifier starting at 17.00. The  rain was still streaming downs I did not leave home until 12.40 and instead of walking to Ainslie Park walked to Tollcross and caught a 23 bus. Thankfully the rain had stopped when the bus arrived t Goldenace and I got of there and walked along Ferry Road to Ainslie Park. I showed my season ticket for entry and bought the much improved programme for £2 on entry. Jim was already there and we wandered long to the grassy embankment at the Hilton end of the ground to watch the match Despite the requirement for 'red zones' no longer being mandatory no fans were being still allowed to stand of the far sid

  Another trip to Tynecastle tonight for the U21 European. Championship qualifier between Scotland and Denmark. Had an early meal as game was kicking off at 19.05 as it was being shown live on BBC Scotland. Left home at around 18.10 and arrived at Tynecastle at 18.30. Picked up a copy of the free programme before entering g the ground where only the Main Stand was open. My ticket was for Section Q where I normally sit for Hearts matches. I knew Jim, Alex and Mattel were also attending. Despite having different seat numbers I did not think it would be a problem meeting up as I did not expect a large crowd. I was correct and we found four seats together in Section S where we settled for the kickoff.  Scotland were fourth sets in their five team group and todays game was against the top ranked side in the group, Denmark. Scotland had drawn their first match away in Turkey 1-1 and were looking for at least a point here to keep them in contention for a qualifying place. The starting eleven

  It had been a miserable da today with heavy rain starting around 10.00 and continuing for most of the day. I had been thinking about going to the Edinburgh University game a few days ago but the almost monsoon conditions were putting me off going. I was not helped by two of the other games scheduled for tonight being called off early in the afternoon. However the rain stopped around 18.00 a dI decided to go the the match at Peffermill. Before leaving the house at around 18.20 I bought an electronic ticket through the Fanbase app. I walked via the Meadows, Marchmont, Salisbury and Peffermill to the ground arriving around 19.20. After showing my e-ticket and paying £1 for a programme I met Jim at the perimeter fence. We wandered across to speak to a steward about team-sheets and he said he would see what was happening. There is no tannoy system at Peffermill and teams are normally listed on a whiteboard in the tab which is currently being used as a dressing room. after returning to the

  Second game today and back to Tynecastle. The Scottishh Government have declared that sporting events with crowds of over 10,000 will require spectators to show proof of COVID vaccination before entry. The law was meant to come in force from 1st October but a fourteen day grace period has now be implemented to allow clubs to prepare for the checking procedure. An app was launched on Thursday evening and I tried four times on Friday to set it up. However due to number of people downloading the app the information was not downloading probably. Finally managed to set it up this morning before heading to Dalkeith. With having to take photo of passport or driving licence along with biometric testing the setup was not  easy. I left home at 14.15 to walk down to Tynecastle after getting back from Dalkeith. Arrived at 14.30 and a cordon had been set up in front of the turnstiles for checking covid status. Checking was not very thorough as I was merely asked if I had been vaccinated before wa

  I don’t normally go to matches on a Saturday morning, at least not since the boys played school football. However today was different. Every year the lower leagues in Scotland organise a Groundhoppers day. Kick-offs are staggered to allow fans to attend a number of days over a weekend and a number of fans from England try to make a weekend away to collect visits to new grounds. This years Groundhopper Tour started last night at Bo’ness with Dalkeith being the second venue before fixtures at Bonnyrigg, Newtongrange, Easthouses and   Broxburn (tomorrow) . I decided to head out to Dalkeith to watch her their game against Tweedmouth Rangers before going to Tynecastle this afternoon. With the game kicking off at 11.15 I left home at 9.35 and walked to Haymarket to catch a bus to Dalkeith. I caught the 9.35 bus to head out to Dalkeith. My Victor Meldrew tendencies almost came out when a guy board the bus at South Bridge wearing mask. He sat down upstairs on the other side of the bus me wea

  Another game at Ainslie Park tonight with Edinburgh City playing Cowdenbeath in the SPFL League 2. City are hoping to move back to Meadowbank before the end of this year but in the interim continue to ground-share with Spartans. I left home at 18.20 but given the "nights are now drawing in", as my mother used to say, I decided to walk down the streets rather than the dimly light railway path. I arrived at Ainslie Park around 19.15 and entered by showing my e-ticket purchased on Fanbase. I bought two programmes as Jim had asked me to get him one as he was heading to Bo'ness tonight to watch the home side play Civil Service Strollers. I was leaning against the perimeter fence reading my programme and watching the teams warm up when I saw Gordon. I used to work with him and he is now a director at Edinburgh City. We had a chat and he told me it is likely to be the end of November before City can go back to Meadowbank as works have been delayed due to a combination of the w