dougiedanger

Put all yer stories about yer old footer coaches in here. Who have been the most influential/worst/most crazy yoof footer coaches? What about the legendary Welfare League coaches? Any funny/sad/disturbing stories aboot them?

Any memories of the old museum in Inverness, up by the Crofters' Commission? I take it that it is still in the same location. Used to visit it on a day in town in the 70s, all I mind was they had stuffed animals and a lock of Bonnie Prince Charlie's hair. So, what are yer museology memories?

The European game(s) will be a great opportunity to create some kind of carnival atmosphere in the town, and with it being the height of the tourist season efforts might be made to attract visitors to the game.

That's good, thought I heard something.

was there trouble after the game?

I guess people could still watch it via the BBC if they have access to the iplayer.

11.30 sharp mate.

One further consideration is that while the marginally interested might make the effort to travel 10 - 60 miles from Paisley, Kilmarnock, Falkirk or Perth, the 175 miles from Inverness will probably be a disproportionately deterring factor. Indeed, the drive for someone from Falkirk is about the same as someone from Inverness going to Aviemore. Dingwall is further away, little more than a village and they had no trouble mustering a significant support.

Nothing like being in there early and seeing it fill up, all yer mates around ye, giving it come and have a go...

Some rum characters there. That the real Andy Bell?? Maybe he is related to the late Uilleam.

Must have been quite late on, those barriers were only put in for the Scottish cup game against St Johnstone, I think.

Town buzzeen yet?

The only scenes of flag-related violence that comes to mind is when the union flag hordes descended on George Square in September, attacking those with Saltires, so as usual there is no substance to these fantasies of the big bad nats setting aboot anyone. Does seem like a recurring fantasy though: gruff, burly nats descending on CB's pad. Whatever floats yer boat ah suppose.

That's the kind of message Churchill and the rest of the anti-appeasement lobby were frequently assailed by in the 1930s. Godwin's Law.

I never said I saw anything that would require police intervention. But at several polling stations there were groups of up to 6 people standing outside, in SNP regalia. Presumably they are there because they believe their presence can influence the vote, otherwise why bother?! I know other parties do it (on a smaller scale) but would it not be preferable for all (including the poor activists) if there was a pact between all the parties to stop doing it altogether? It is legal. Highly regulated and has been a factor at elections for decades. Intimidation or attempted intimidation at polling stations is a criminal offence. I reiterate, not a single crime was committed or even reported. They are not permitted, by the way, to attempt to influence the vote. You cannot say with certainty that no crime was committed at any point. You might try to say that none was reported, but on the other hand an individual alleged to have been wearing "SNP regalia" has been charged with assaulting the son of the Conservative candidate for Inverness in the city centre on the "Rentamob Saturday" of Sturgeon's visit. And there have certainly been other instances where criminal behaviour by SNP supporters was alleged but not reported. People do not actually have to break the law to influence behaviour. A couple of large skinhead bouncers standing at the door of a night club are likely to deter patrons from misbehaving inside. Similarly a posse of party apparatchiks outside a polling station in what Yngwie delightfully calls "SNP regalia" might well be perceived as intimidating by some old lady who has hitherto voted Tory for her entire life. Indeed on the subject of "SNP regalia", on the other side of the fence, Orange Walks largely keep within the letter of the law but are widely perceived as intimidating. SNP supporters have spent decades converting aggressive practices which still remain inside the law into a fine art. The party's problem now is that, following their recent populist policies, their subsequent large increase in membership will most certainly include a disproportionate number of knuckledraggers - even upper class ones like Piers Doughty-Brown - who are going to put themselves about aggressively more and more. Just ask the Germans. Godwin's Law.

Given that the police, presiding officers and various local authorities have all confirmed that there has not been a shred of evidence of intimidation anywhere in Scotland,perhaps you would confirm where you came by your 'information'. A somewhat legalistic observation, if I may say, in an environment where, amid all the saltires that fly from cars with impunity, I would certainly never risk my insurance excess by flying a Union flag from mine. I think one of those clown cars would look like quite fetching with a Union flag on it.

I guess they were clean out of bitter. Inverness's supply hasn't been replenished yet since the Gelluns used it all on Referendum night. Not even a cheeky wee half pint with bitter undertones and an acidic aftertaste?

I guess they were clean out of bitter.

Nah, that was the lambs, bleating.

Labour have only themselves to blame, too scared to put any real distance between themselves and the other tories, constantly outmanouvered by them, led by a cabal of self-interested Oxbridge toffs, and at the helm a glorified milk monitor you would barely trust to take your bins out.

It's sort of the way the SNP have always done it. This has been part and parcel of aggressive nationalism in general for decades so you come to expect it. And as for anyone intending to vote for any other party.... well if the mob puts them off coming, then all the better. It's not a universal feature though. When I arrived to vote there were no Nats outside at all, which I actually found a bit disappointing since this was a missed opportunity to wind them up again. There were certainly plenty on Inverness High Street on Saturday for the FM's visit. How many were locals and how many were an imported rentamob I'm not sure, but three Yellowshirts were wheeling this trolley piled with all these SNP toys they dish out all over the place when the whole lot fell to earth right in front of me. I neither broke step nor looked behind to clock the inevitable chorus of feral jeers as I observed: "What a wonderfully symbolic collapse!" So basically you did what you do on here--hang around in the shadows looking for an opportunity to make some puerile comment that no one finds funny or relevant except for yourself. Tragic.

Must have been some amount of aggressive, burly "yellow shirt" thugs intimidating poor voters right across Scotland, if the first exit polls are anything to go by.

I would have to say that I am sufficiently sceptical about politicians of ALL persuasions to have concern that success in politics often goes to whoever fares best at cynically deluding those least well placed to understand the issues. It would be on hearing appeals for Paddy Power to be devolved to Holyrood that I would really start worrying. Such skepticism is no doubt well founded but it does not follow that the poor or the "have-nots" are intellectually inferior to the more privileged in society, far from it.

Looking at some of the people who have been roaming about on behalf of the SNP since before the referendum, one would tend to doubt that. Basically, the SNP's main recruitment strategy has been to radicalise and instil a perception of grievance within the nation's have-nots - with predicatable consequences out on the streets. It seems like it is a good thing to have ordinary people engaged in politics. The "have-nots" or the "underclass" as you patronizingly put it have as much right to participate in politics as anyone else. Maybe the days of people tugging their forelocks to their supposed superiors are finally ending, and any true democrat would welcome that.

Couldn't have put it better, Kingsmills.