Trip out to Peffermill tonight for the Lowland League match between Edinburgh University and Spartans. Left home at 18.30 and caught a 22 bus to Princes Street. Then switched to a 3 to Cameron Toll and walked to Peffermill from there. I arrived at the ground around 19.30 and used my electronic Fanbase ticket for entry. Programmes were sold out by the time I arrived but I managed to get a tram sheet. Later saw on social media that programmes were available for £4.50 despite a face value of £1! In the ground I met Stewart who edits the Spartans programme. It was the first time we had chatted and it was good to meet him. Alex arrived and wandered round to behind the railway end goal where we met Jim. It promised to be an interesting game tonight. The Uni had as normal started the season slowly but are now in a mid-table position. Both Innes Lawson and Ben Spelman are in the list of top scorers in the league. However tonight both regular keepers were injured and a Trialist was brought in

  Well it looks like we are going into a ‘’mini’ lockdown as it was announced yesterday that crowds at outdoor sporting events would be limited to five hundred people from Boxing Day. The restrictions will apply for at least three weeks and may be extended depending on the spread of the omicron covid virus variant. I can understand the rationale behind the decision but think it should have been introduced a week earlier given that almost one hundred thousand people attended matches in Glasgow over the weekend. Talks are continuing as how how Scotttish football will cope with the new rules but it looks like Hearts may be playing at least three matches behind closed doors. I could have gone to watch Penicuik last night but gave it a miss due to the weather. However today was milder and I decided to go to Musselburgh for their EoS league fixture against Tranent. After an early meal, given the 19.00 kickoff, I walked down to Haymarket and caught a 26 bus to Musselburgh. Arrived at the Ship

  I was unable to go to watch Edinburgh City last night due to family issues and was unsure if I would be able to go to a game today. However thankfully I was able to go to a game. Hearst’s were p,aging today at Dundee but on principle I decided not to go. Dundee voted in 2019 to retain Hearts in the SPL but apparently the e-mail did not reach the SPFL. It was eventually found in a file for items which system considered to be malware. The SPFL then contacted Dundee who then essentially a second e-mail, after the closing time for submission,  changing their vote and demoting Hearts to the Championship for the following season. I have never liked Dundee since they denied Hearts the league title in 1986 but this blatant cheating was the final straw. I and a number of other Hearts fans will no longer go to Dundee to watch games and I hope they are relegated to a division more suited to their standards. A Sunday amateur pub league may be appropriate  given their lack of professionalism. I d

The big game this weekend with third place Hearts playing league leaders Rangers. The match was live on Sky kicking of at 12.00 so I decided to leave home about 10.30 to get some exercise before heading to Tynecastle. After a short walk I arrived at Foundation  Plaza around 11.15. I sorted out my  checking app before going through turnstiles  and entering the ground. Despite feeling ravenous I ignored the catering kiosks and arrived at my seat around 11.30. The teams were warming up as I arrived in the ground and I was looking forward to a competitive match. Last week Hearts were awful in the first half at Livingston but made a number of team changes for todays match. Into starting to the side came Taylor Moore, Peter Haring, Josh Ginnelly, Gary  Mackay-Steven (GMS). Having played a three our three formation for the season Hearts reverted to a four two three one for todays match. With three wingers in the side Ginnelly lined up on the right, GMS on the left and McKay as the number ten

  With Hearts playing tomorrow I had a choice of matches today. I decided to make use of my Spartans season ticket and headed to Ainslie Park for their Lowland League encounter against Dalbeattie Star. As I had been out for a walk in the morning I decided to be lazy and get a bus to the ground. I left home at 13.45 and walked to Lauriston Place to catch a bus. A 27 arrived and I caught that to Morrisons at Ferry Road. From there I walked to the ground arriving at around 14.45. I showed my season ticket for entry before buying a programme and entering the ground. I took up a position at the Ferry Road end of the ground as the teams were warming up. When the teams left the field and returned for the kickoff I moved into the stand at the Ferry Road end of the ground for the first half. Spartans currently stand fourth in the Lowland League but had a bad result last week losing 7-1 to Rangers B at Dumbarton. Mickey Allan suffered a bad injury in that match and will be ut for at least six we

  It has not been a great football weekend for me. I was going to go and watch Edinburgh City v Annan on Friday. However I had been feeling under the weather all day and decided to stay at home. Probably a good idea as Annan won 1-0. Saturday was even worse. I decided to go and watch Penicuik v Sauchie. I caught a 37 bus to go out to Penicuik but by the time I got to Kaimes Crossroads snow was coming down in a blizzard. Penicuik is always worse than Edinburgh for snow so I got off the 37 and caught an 11 home. I was proved right as Penicuik was called off. I did think of going to Bonnyrigg as an alternative but that match also fell victim to the snow. Come Sunday I was suffering football withdrawal symptoms so was determined to be to see Hearts at Livingston. The game had been moved from Saturday to Sunday given Hearts previous match against Celtic had been moved to Thursday to accommodate Sky TV coverage. I wandereed down to Princes Street to catch an X28 to Livingston and arrived at