Groundhopping24

Despite planning to attend East Fife v BSC Glasgow in the Scottish Cup on Saturday, I decided to stay local due to an ongoing battle with an overdraft. I decided in my usual arbitrary manner, examining the nearby fixtures on Groundhopper and essentially selecting one at random. This week it would be a trip to Kilmarnock to watch Bonnyton Thistle host Newton Stewart. The day would start off well, with me having slipped at Glasgow Central on the way to get some lunch. Thankfully a grazed knee wouldn't stop me. Then as I headed back to the station, a climate march on the other side of the street made their presence known. Hecklers on my side were intent on shouting and swearing at those who dare stand up for something. I wanted to express solidarity with the marchers, but shyness stopped me from doing so. I walked past one of the chip shops en route to the station and the words 'Pick A Side' were screaming at me from the menu. It obviously meant something simple, but it se...

After last week's football-less horror show, I decided to return to the Indodrill Stadium; usual home of Alloa Athletic, but also hosts to Lowland League side BSC Glasgow. I'm sure I'm not alone in finding it odd that BSC Glasgow play their home games some 52km from Glasgow (well, 52km from where I live in Govanhill - thanks Groundhopper!). Nonetheless, they do, and Saturday's clash against Civil Service Strollers of Edinburgh allowed me the chance to return to the second Scottish football ground that I'd been to. Of the 37 grounds this side of the border that I've been to, it remains my absolute favourite. Don't get me wrong; some other grounds run it pretty close. In fact, I'll give a shout out to Civil Service Strollers, who themselves play at Christie Gillies Park. It's essentially a park in Muirhouse with bags of character. There's James McGrory Park in the East End of Glasgow - home of St Rochs. The ground boasts some poignant graffiti th...

By happy coincidence, I’ve discovered that you can’t actually spell Lincolnshire without ‘nil-nil’. This is, however, only a minor comfort when watching back the agonizing miss of Newcastle loanee Kelland Watts, who had the goal at his mercy. It's hard to watch. But if I had to, then so do you (see 1:21). Add to that the realization that you can’t spell Lincolnshire without ‘one-nil’ either and it’s frustrating. Well, frustrating for weird people like me that actually care about that kind of nonsense. My base of operations for this particular weekend is Stevenage, having made the wise (albeit unwitting) decision to book the weekend of the Scottish Cup Semis off work and head home. Given that I work near Hampden Park, this was a masterstroke. I’ll probably be working during the Old Firm final, but we’ll worry about that later. Matchday begins as it means to go on; a trip to Biggleswade to watch the Rugby World Cup Final. Naturally I miss the train by seconds. A compr...