Scarlet Pimple

Drepends on whether they want to risk another Meekings-Gate publicity. Methinks they will all be sick on that Thursday but will make a miraculous recovery by the Saturday to see Caley Thistle walk off the park with he cup held high and photograph all the delirious ICT fan hordes?

Where?

Good thinking too, IHE.

As for King Duncan it's probable that he stopped there for a drink on the way into Inverness from the East and maybe he was fleeing from another skirmish with MacBeth and his boys who were hot-footing it after him. Doesn't sound as if King Duncan did not make a huge mark on history or last very long on the scene. He died young did he not ?

And where is Auldcastle Road exactly IHE.? In or out of Inverness? I'll visit that as well if you promise to hold my hand --there might be ghosties in there , ye ken?

All of the above IHE . The clan apparently originated a long time ago in N E Ireland. They came over to SW Scotland sometime thereafter. to.Lochaber? Would that be close? The daughter of the clan MacBean Chief then made a grand " Royal Progress": up to the Inverness district to allow her to marry the Chief of the clan Mackintosh who was the big boss in that district at that time .This ultimately led to the formation of the clan CHATTAN which was an amalgamation of five or six of these northern clans, including the MacBeans and bossed by MacKintosh. This was a very powerful union in Scotland at that time ,. The clan Chattan motto also included the wildcat symbol (French " le chat" = the cat in English). That's the MacBean clan memorial at Dores all right with the two wild cats on the top. The motto of of the clan is .."Touch not the cat bot a glove" the word "bot" means without. The current chief is an American and seems to be very interested in the role. Poses in the kilt in an exaggerated stiff pose with his hand on his hip and with a stern, overly-proud face. For Americans, such ancestral feelings are very strong and make them feel like a real somebody. I think this gent has money because being a clan chief and coming over to Scotland as frequently as he apparently has done (for meetings, parades etc.) costs a lot of dollars. He's a McBain though and, if my memory serves me correctly, he either paid for the building of the memorial or was involved in the formation of an organisation of contributors to the project. I am sure it wasn't cheap. In the grounds you can see the original main house, what appears to us now to be a little more than a stone built country house- not a castle or the like. But maybe ,when you get a close-up look, it may well be quite a large residence indeed. Next time I come over I will visit the grounds and maybe IHE will hold my hand and give me the grand tour. From what I have read, there are several different variations, or even septs, of the clan (name) throughout the world and they are all in some way distantly connected through the past e,g, Bains, Beans, Banes etc -- a rose by any other name smells the same, eh, IHE? Thank you IHE for highlighting this.

OCH! By the way it wiz ma Grannie not ma Auntie. IBM Quite a history. I am afraid though that the writing is so blurred to old Pimple that he can't read it. Can anyone repeat to me what the writing says, please. Wasn't he murdered by MacBeth? The latter laddie is an ancestor of mine since MacBeath is a derivative of MacBean my mother's clan with the original spelling being kinda Gaeliccy ..MacBeathan , meaning spirited one, or son of a spirited one. MacBeath was a firey gent who was out of control but then again that could be said of numerous nobles and prominent people at that time as I devine. After the murder he fled back to his clan MacBean lands close to Inverness (Dores area eh, IHE) looking for sanctuary and sustenance and then went to ground. Never taken to task though for the deadly deed was he? After that he seemed to fade into obscurity until Wille Rattle-Assegai revived his notoriety. I remember when I was sitting in the English class at the Academy and I was distracting young Willie Munro from Culloden by telling him Shakespeare's nickname, the teacher dragged me out and belted me good and proper. Now , that was unfair wasn't it on account of the fact that Willie senior was a notable BARD? Oh My! The joys of being a fidgetty boy.

Thank you chentlemen of the chury. . Appreciated. Now I remember Tomnahurich Street. Also led up to the cemetery didn't it? The cadavers lay in regal splendor. Some of them expired because they had been on a bender. Some from vital wounds that turned very tender. And lastly, some due to the fact that they were the last big spender. IHE will enjoy this little caper Cos he aint got much to do but read the paper Accompanied by a cup of Horlicks too Now he's looking up and sending his wishes To stave off the thought that he now has to do the dishes 'Cos it's his caring wife's strong wishes But who cares a tuppeny toss 'cos he's still deluded to think he's still the boss. Hoch! Hoch! Add yer prose to this little ditty and IHE will really be chuffed and sitting pretty.

Wasn't Richard Brittain the former Captain. i.e a very good, hard working and skilled player as I recall? OOPS! what happened to him to be now in a state of releasedom.? Too old maybe? Or is it that he needed a good manager like John Hughes to get him going again with enthusiasm.?

So that's why I didn't fall down the well--there's railings! Well Well Well !

IHE are you sure that's King Duncan's well? It doesn't look like the well I remember in Culcabock whem I was 4 years old! Of course memories can fade....

Badge--nice one Cyril!

The Bothy up at the Craig?

Yep! that shifty Cftci, Kingsmills.

Now, fellas, remind me exactly where Tomnahurich Street was--close to the Fairfield Dyeworks, was it?

IHE--you are awful. Would it therefore be a calumnity if it tipped over when you turned over in bed? Then you would have to calimb out of bed and fix it. The name in our family a lo-ooo-oo-on-g time ago was "Popo". I am not sure but I think my sister might have used it for her Pot Pouri later on in life.

Dead right as usual Charlie boy. It did indeed and the merging wasn't too easy either I can tell you. Actuellement, it led by a rather circuitous route to my resigning from the the Royal Bonk of Scotchland to take up a position in Vancouver, Canada. Couldn't refuse the offer :- all expenses for the family were paid, air fare paid, furniture carried over free and a loan to help out with a house purchase and was still able to purchase a wee car the size of a boat. Sounds like Utopia, eh? Well, it wasn't since discrimination laced with fear raised it's ugly head and stymied my attempts to initially get ahead through hard work. Finally the veil of misery and despair lifted when I was sent to work for a cavalier of a man who was a joy to work with and he gave due recognition for effort which could not be ignored by the high heid yins and they grudgingly conceded. So it was all plain sailing thereafter was it? Anything but, as the discrimination against Brits continued in more subtle ways. One bank Manager even told me to my face the moment he saw my face in his office--"You Brits come over here and tell us what to do..."

You are right Charles. The RBS and the Nat Commercial merged. Which ultimately led to my leaving and going to Canada. The fickle finger of fate felt obliged to finaigle my promotion chances at RBS by this devious and vile method of discrimination and finally I felt the need to flip a coin, fill my glass with a whisky, followed by a Highland Fling as I stepped on the aircraft with flaring red wings ready as I ever would be to fly to far lands to find my fantastic dream. Fair dinkum said the Aussie, but you're on the wrong 'plane, mate .Yours leaves from Gate 96.... not 69. After a determined filibuster of the fair Aussie maidens we found the right spot, danced a fandango and fled the scene to ply my trade anew in a foreign land amongst IHE's Mooses, salmon coming up the Fraser river as big as a bluidy walrus, Octupi as big as the roof on yer hoosey and as much open country as your wee heart could ever desire. And thereby hangs another tale....to which you can gain private entry by accessing this url.. www.destiniesinmotion.com , filling in the contact page and pressing the little submit button. Replies are guaranteed .

Ross P --put an "ST" in front of the R in wrong, then eliminate the "w" and that's it sorted.

Many a word spoken in jest, Wanderer......but:- The last thing we need to do is exhaust Josh emotionally before a VERY important match where he can be a key player. No matter what has happened he is a generally fine person who has contributed magnificently to the final outcomes of this season and it's the club's duty now not to throw him to the wolves but to protect him from the hairy hordes of vile-spewing robots. This game should be used to blood youngsters for short spells only - otherwise the large, hostile crowd may shatter their spirit and confidence , give berths to more experienced players who can relish the atmosphere, handle the racket and play with spirit and aplomb. At the slightest sign of deliberate physical aggression against any of our players who might be used in the FInal these players should be withdrawn from the field. Then Wild Willie Collum can do what he does best --issue yellow cards and, hopefully as many reds as he has in his pocket. How many yellows and reds do the refs carry anyway? Truth is , Guys, sorry but I don't know the answer because we don't know whether the above scenarios may take place or not and the hordes may simply retain a sullen silence in the face of being in the presence of a better team?

He's like Ciftci then? Got the talent but brawn over brains is what he likes to do. Correct? He gets hot flushes to his brain and all, and it's stop the player at all costs....?

How about a huge set of cards stating "We love Wily Willie (Collum)"

It's the hair, man, Dead ringer, like. I was watching the film HAIR the other night. Corny , yes , but kinda cute too,. Some of the soliloquy songs were long and well-rehearsed and did send a message. I.e. you had to think,. Nowadays if it isn;t about sex or drugs etc it's not even on. I often wonder why they even bother to put in the warnings about violence and sexual content and foul language. That's all just par for the course in these times. So stop being semi-apologetic about this, you just know it brings in the money and that's all you REALLY care about ,not moral turpitude or the like.

Bughtmaster, your memory is as good as your assessments. But listening to everything, including all the adult conversations, you were soon forgotten and tolerated by the adults if you kept silent and thus learned a lot about people and about life. Gossip was never about secrets but about saucy tales justly relished. Me, I saw an opportunity when I was about 7 or 8 to nick a fag that I found on the living room floor , lit it and puffed up under the piano keyboard. Still totally ignored, I had two drags and within a couple of minutes I was feeling sick coupled with an ashen face to boot. Still nobody noticed me and I fled the scene to retch in the bathroom upsrtairs out of sight and mind. The joys of growing up, eh?