snorbens_caleyman

I think that we will see the same maddening inconsistency that we have seen in recent seasons. We may well reach the playoffs, but won't win the league.

I am sure that many of us have the DVD of the full match and the season. Last time I watched the final I still got very nervous during the second half

OK, here's a more up-to-date view.

Pre-season friendly. Or progressive safety footwear Yes, I too googled it, before working it out.

Another one that should be easy if you know this place. Although this was taken by my Dad, in 1948 ....

Aha, gotcha! Putting "lavender" into the search terms was the key. The Walled Garden at Gordon Castle, Fochabers. And the Bow Fiddle Rock at Portknockie.

Took just a few seconds to find the rock, but haven't found the house yet. Coffee, hmmm... let's look for a place called Blue Mountain

It is indeed. I had never been there either, until the start of this month. I'll bet you now have plenty of pictures of flowers - we have! And IIRC, they said that the first whisky for sale from the estate distillery was scheduled to be next year.

Easy one if you've been there.

I'm thinking that that could be another "centre of Scotland" in the background of the photo?

Somewhere pretty central, I think

Looks a wee bit different on Google Maps. The lines about art in what I thought were a funny script start off "Art is the Flower - Life is the Green Leaf.". This is a quote by Charles Rennie Mackintosh - https://libquotes.com/charles-rennie-mackintosh/quote/lbw6u1j . The red and green things down the edges of the board, that I thought might be chili peppers, are presumably Mackintosh roses, and the funny-looking script is reminiscent of the fonts associated with him. Annoyingly, I can't read or find the name of the cottage, and I can't find any actual connection with CRM.

Ah! I was going to guess Aviemore area. But I know where Laurence used to be - may even have bought a book or two from him - so I'll have a closer look on Monday.

Nope, me neither. Odd - large house, but corrugated iron roof. Built-up area - pavement, and services under the pavement. Is that a large vertical sign at the right-hand end of the house? Under magification, it looks like some kind of stylised script - maybe the alphabet we use, but possibly Hebrew or further east, a Runic script, or even something invented by Tolkien. Very little on each line - is it a list of names? Looks like a pattern of red and green things down each side - can't make them out - some sort of gourd or chili pepper? Go on - tell me how wrong I am

And as an added bonus, here is the Corran, approaching Ardgour on Saturday 4th.

To help you cope with the boredom of the close season, here's some ferry porn. To escape from the Joobly madness, we headed for Scotland, and spent the long weekend based in Arisaig. First time I'd been there - weather, scenery, people, food, drink etc were all fantastic and I loved it. We went up to Mallaig on Friday 3rd June, and these four were all photographed there. We'll kick off with the Loch Fyne. Next, the Loch Nevis. Number three, the Lord of the Isles. And finally, the Loch Bhrusda.

Watching some of our woeful shooting, I often wondered if we were playing rugby.

Not necessarily. If enough people - or, in this case, clubs - want it, then things can be changed. Given that we have just had a lengthy period of no crowd restrictions AND live streaming, then it was the perfect opportunity to investigate whether crowds were adversely affected, or whether clubs actually made more money, very possibly through away fans who wouldn't have travelled anyway.

Very disappointing. I note that the announcement says "we are not allowed to show our home games". The implication being that it was not the club's decision, although there is no clue as to whether the club agrees or disagrees with the decision. Would be interesting to know what, if any, consultation with the clubs took place before any decisions were taken.

I would add a reliable goalscorer - a proper striker. So basically we need people everywhere except in goal

Even stranger, given that Caroline is the feminine form of Carolus, from which "Charles" is derived.

Mrs snorbens and I will mark the occasion as we have done before ... by getting out of the country! Unfortunately, this time we will only be getting out of Engerland, because all of the places we looked at abroad were booked up. It is also - presumably coincidentally - a holiday weekend in Ireland. Last Jubilee, the one where it rained all the time, we had a great weekend in Bruges. Even though it rained all the time there, too. So we are heading up to Sneck on Monday for a few days, principally to see my Mum. Then across to Arisaig, for four days over the holiday weekend. I have never been beyond Fort William, but my wife spent a summer, about 46 years ago , staying and working in the youth hostel in Morar (long since closed). She is expecting to find a few changes! Then it's off to Falkirk to see my sister-in-law, provided she has recovered from the covid that she has just now. And finally to York, to catch the last date of a twice-postponed tour by the guitarist's guitarist, Jeff Beck. He is just short of 78, so there can't be many more chances to see him. I stay in a cul-de-sac of 17 houses, and they are having a street party on the Saturday of the Joobly weekend. Normally we would be pleased to join in - most of them are a great bunch of people - but not with all the Royal flummery attached. We had booked our travels before the party was suggested.

It's not UEFA. Their rules allow national football associations to "request" (ie "enforce") blackout periods, but UEFA themselves don't mandate them. Last time we discussed this, there was only one European country outside of the UK which had a blackout period. Without checking, I think it may have been Montenegro. Somewhere like that, anyway. I had a quick look just now, and came across a recent article which said that the UK is the only place where a blackout is enforced. Not sure if that is accurate, or if the other country has dropped it. Some of the streaming sites have displayed the number of people logged in. Even in small games - not top of the table clashes - I think that numbers were comfortably above 200. If ICT had that, then that would be £3,000 coming in per game, which I would have thought would be enough to keep things going.

At the start of this season, when it wasn't clear if livestreaming would be available to anyone other than season ticket holders, I was perfectly prepared to buy a season ticket for a back corner of the North Stand, which I would never use. I shall be gutted if it goes. The last two seasons have had their ups and downs - and ultimately ended in failure, if promotion is the aim - but it's been a great journey.

I would be horrified if the club just walked away, and I can't imagine that it will. They did what they could to help Robbo last year, and indeed he mentioned that last night. Regardless of the contract situation, I would expect them to make their medical and physio resources available to Shane, to complement whatever he may receive from the NHS or privately. I would also expect the club's legal team to ensure that he receives any benefits that he may be entitled to. There must be an option of paying him a reduced wage - not a full first-team salary - for a few months, to keep the wolf from his door. Then, if he regains fitness, he can decide if he wants to play again and the club can decide whether to re-sign him as a player. Finally, I know absolutely nothing about football insurance. As an employer, the club must carry insurance against its employees being injured, but whether that extends to players in matches - which would surely drive the premium sky-high - I have no idea.