Robyn Hitchcock Latest

Short interview in Music Latest section.

Robyn Hitchcock & Forthcoming Releases

Stateside news on Music Latest below re the prolific Mr H's imminent outgoings. I am led to believe (although Yep Roc are not over-publicising) that I Wanna Go Backwards release date has been put back a month till November 16th.

Love - The Blue Thumb Recordings Personal Review

I was surprised to find a copy of this in HMV - nearly 17 quid for the box set. If you have Out Here and False Start then you're really paying a lot of money for the third album of live tracks (eleven in total) gleaned from performances in London and Coventry in 1970.

There is little new here - the two studio albums' sound seems to have been cleaned up but I'd have preferred some new tracks to have been unearthed from the studio tapes. The live tracks have Arthur on reasonable form but most are too self-indulgent, glorified jamming sessions with five of the eleven tracks exceeding five minutes duration. Still I suppose it adds to the canon. The packaging and liner notes are nothing to enthuse over either. One for the completists.

I also hear that Arthur's solo album Vindicator has also been re-issued on CD. Cue the price of the A&M edition plummeting on ebay and Amazon.

What we need now is a long-overdue CD edition of Reel To Real though we won't hold our breath.



Elsewhere Robyn Hitchcock has released American tour dates commencing November that will see him Stateside till the beginning of December. He normally makes it to Glasgow early in the New Year.


Scouse Love acolytes Shack play Glasgow's Classic Grand on October 29th.







Love : The Blue Thumb recordings HIP-OSelect.Com Geffen RecordsB0007827-02

Double Top & Avant Pop

Celts And Gunners Hit The Heights


A fine day was had both sides of the border yesterday with the darnel setting the tone with a goal-letting loss to the maroon marauders at swinecastle.

Despite going behind to a free-kick strike which Almunia shouild have stopped Arsenal had too much style, quality, pace and nous for Totteringham whose army of apologists are now beginning to turn on poor old Martin Jol. If they achieve Top Four status in the Premiership this season then I'll start to support them. The Gunners remain a work in progress but (and this may seem contradictory) if Almunia had been in goal since the start of the season I'm convinced we'd have maximum points. I'm in no hurry to have Jens back in the team.

Which leaves Celtic. With the huns slipping up we were never going to have anything other than a convincing win over a Caley team who deserve credit for their positive contribution to the proceedings. I've been harping lyrical about the amount of own-goals our opponents are conceding this season. We are terrorising defenders. Our defence looked ropey at times and I expect similar worries in Donestk. I'd settle for a repeat of the match away to Spartak. Go go Celtic.

What is avant pop ? Interesting article in my music links. I suppose we've all got a few of the listed works. Life is good.

Metro Article on Dan Snaith/Caribou 070907

For new album Andorra, Caribou has used retro sounds as inspiration and springboard.

Combining breathtaking musical nous and a PhD education to frankly sickening effect, 28-year-old Ontario-born operator Dan Snaith has had a stunningly productive early life in music, if not without some bumps.

Forced to abandon his original music moniker, Manitoba, in 2004 thanks to some legal sabre-rattling from ex-Dictators singer Richard 'Handsome Dick' Manitoba, Snaith regrouped impressively as Caribou, releasing The Milk Of Human Kindness in 2005, a fabulous suite of psychedelic pop.

With Andorra, released last month, he ramps up his burgeoning classic pop sensibilities even further. 'With this album I've focused on squeezing everything into a pop song and not leaving any loose ends lying around at the end' he explains from his home in London. 'I think it's the most cohesive record I've ever made.' Is it ever. Andorra remoulds the 1960s pop perfection of The Beach Boys, The Mamas & The Papas and The Zombies into beautiful, soaring new forms, with nary a superfluous note.

'Of course I'm a fan of baroque 1960s pop like The Zombies, but I would never want to make something that was just a simple homage to a particular period or type of music,' he says. There's little danger of anyone construing Andorra that way. With its bucolic, Boards of Canada-style synth flutterings and remarkably distinctive percussion work, Andorra is crammed with reminders that Snaith is no mere pastiche artist.

The most compelling moment of all arrives, however, with final track Niobe, a nine-minute staccato opus that suddenly adorns a generally retro-inspired album with a giddily futuristic denouement. 'Niobe is where the 1960s pop aesthetic really veers off into something totally different,' Snaith says. 'That track is really influenced by the work of [electronica producer] James Holden, and the way his music constantly builds and simulataneously falls apart.' From The Beach Boys to James Holden - it could only be the complex world of Caribou.

Kit Macdonald

Sun, The Arches, 253 Argyle Street, Glasgow, 8pm

Celts Click Ahead Of Muscovites

Celtic, aided and abetted by a very poor Hearts team, strolled to victory at Paradise yesterday afternoon and kept on the heels of the great unwashed.

Come Wednesday come the most important match of the season in financial terms. A goalless draw or win on the night will take the Bhoys into the Champions League group stages.

I wish them/us (and Red Star Belgrade) well.

Robyn Hitchcock Box Set Release

See Music Latest for some long awaited news on the much anticipated box set release(s) of some hard to find stuff. I'm still after Invisible Hitchcock and Globe of Frogs.


Well done to The Bhoys on and off the park yesterday. Same again at The Dungheap pretty please.


Moscow ? I'd probably settle for a one-goal deficit.



Have a good week y'all.

Newish Kid On Psychedelic Block

See link below in Music Latest for some spiel on Paul Steel. If you fancy a bizarre take on things Beach Boys then go here.

Paul's own website is www.paulsteelmusic.co.uk

I'd highly recommend the album if you'd like 27 minutes of musical mayhem.

Robyn Hitchcock Excerpt

Please see Music Latest

Pink Floyd - Piper Release Brought Forward

EMI have intimated that the new triple-disc 40th anniversay edition of Piper At The Gates of Dawn will now be released on Monday August 27 throughout Europe. This handily coincides with the the English Bank Holiday, not that I'm being cynical or anything.

Love - Blue Thumb Recordings Review

See Music Latest for review of the triple CD - 7.9 out of 10.

Torben has updated his site after a lull lasting over a month. However he has made a significant contribution to the site, focussing on Love's British tours of 1974 and 1975. It seems he won the recent Ebay auction for the photographs from that era and he has also got his hands on a gig-goer's diary from that time. Some fascinating stuff there if you've some time on your hands.

Article in Yesterday's Metro

AN ESSENTIAL TASTE OF...PSYCH FOLK


Gary Higgins: Red Hash (1973)

Higgins recorded Red Hash in an intense 40-hour period before beginning a prison sentence on drugs charges. It was the only thing he released: a fabulous dreamscape of bucolic folk and dazed psychedelia adrift on pillowy melodies, palpably informed by a sense of loss, no doubt informed by Higgins' imminent imprisonment.

Psych folk (a mix of acoustic folk, psychedelic experimentalism and occasionally arcane spritualism that also drew on images from nature to create a blissful, nostalgic sound) first emerged in the 1960s on both sides of the Atlantic in bands as diverse as Love, The Incredible String Band and Pentangle.

Compared to those artists Higgins remains a relative obscurity but Red Hash's seamless blend of lavish orchestration, intimate dappled harmonies and mystical, yearning quality makes it a near perfect example of the genre. It has also proven very influential: modern outfit Six Organs Of Admittance was partly responsible for this album's 2005 Drag City reissue, while among todays thriving folk scene, psych folk is the progenitor of the more shamanistic-sounding freak folk of artists from Devendra Banhart and Espers to British drone experimentalists such as Tuung.

Next stop: Love: Forever Changes (1967); Vashti Bunyan: Just Another Diamond Day (1970); Devendra Banhart: Rejoicing In The Hands (2004)




I highly recommend Red Hash - the recent release contains two extra-tracks I have still to hear so more when I do.

London And September Beckon

See Music Latest for yet another release in two months time. As well as the Piper update we can also look forward to the release of a double DVD entitled The Pink Floyd And Syd Barrett Story.

Off to London on Saturday where I hope to take in the friendlies between Barnet and Arsenal (this fixture seems to have replaced the once-traditional pre-season encounter between the Gunners and Borehamwood) and QPR and Celtic. The match at Underhill kicks off at 3pm, just over two hours after I'm due to reach Kings Cross so a bit of a rush on there even if the train arrives on time. I've not booked a ticket for the Barnet match on account of the narrow timescale but should pick one up in the pub at the bottom of the hill as I did in 2004.

Things should be more straightforward logistically at Loftus Road on Sunday where I hope to meet friends old and new.

Reports next week all going well.


WG

Dark Side Of Oz

See Music Latest below. I've never done the Dark Side/Wizard of Oz experiment but I remember reading one of the boys from the band in Uncut magazine saying it was a load of old bollocks. However the myth continues to this day.

2007 Annus Mirabilis For RH

See Music Latest for further info on the imminent re-release on Noble Rot of Storefront Hitchcock and Jewels For Sophia.

Aside from compilations all I require from Robyn's back catalogue are Invisible Hitchcock and Globe of Frogs. Both CDs are available from Amazon but generally at prices in excess of £20. From the recent Sundance documentary it seems Robyn still has plenty music for release in the near future. 2007 looks like being his most commercially successful year to date.

I await the next release with my usual positive anticipation.

Floyd To Release New Edition Of Piper

Roll on September - see Music Latest

Robyn Latest

One of three greatest living songwriters in the world ?

Heady stuff.

See Music Latest for the article.

Robyn & The Venus 3 end their European tour (and possibly their existence) in Oslo tonight at the aptly named Norwegian Wood venue. Robyn's next scheduled appearance is in his home city of London at the end of this month.

Roger Update & DSOTM Commentary

Please see link below.

Interesting commentary although I'd argue that the main wedge in the Floyd dispute was/is between Roger and Richard.

A fabulous and enduring album.

Robyn Latest

Robyn Hitchcock plays Paradiso in Amsterdam tonight after Patti Smith.

The music update below has more details of Robyn's summer dates. Next month he is tagged with "The English Band" which might suggest that "The Venus 3" of Buck, McCaughey and Reiflin will be resuming REM shortly.

"The Museum of Robyn Hitchcock" (link below) remains the best place for updates although these have been infrequent over the last few weeks.

Nice pic of Robyn and Scott McCaughey (pronounced McCoy) on the Harp article.

Somewhere Apart

It is suggested in some quarters that Celtic and Rangers be co-opted into the G14 group as a one-vote joint bloc. This is the last thing we need at this particular moment in time and I'd rather the huns took a smidgeon of one-upmanship than we be deemed to be similar in any way. Our top bhoy might be Japanese, our top story may be Portuguese but God help us if we are seen to be Siamese with the sister of sectarianism. Rather out than in on this one.

Masonic Machinations Mollify McFlurry

Interesting times at the mother lodge of the Scottish Freemason Association.

The slow-burner that is Peat allied with the short-fused rocket that is Kilwinning's Duffield and Our Man in Havana (laugh) that is Taylor makes up an Unholy Trinity that has its sights set on dragging Celtic into the darnel's UEFA travails and people in high (actually low) places that will do everything in their power to further the Ibrox agenda at home and abroad preferably at our expense.

Make no mistake. Having ignominiously lost the last two battles (05-06,06-07) McFlurry will not surrender the war. But what to do ? With little money (the sugar grandmasters seem reticent to invest and HBOS seems to have them by the BOS) where to turn ? To the usual it seems. The craft and getting goalkeepers fae Motherwell.

The collective sights of the made men are on us. Know thine enemy.

Robyn's Site Updated

Robyn plays Cheltenham's Wychwood Festival at the racecourse today

Torben's Love Site

Updated yesterday

Brown : Final Nail In Darnel's 2006-07 Coffin

The composure, demeanour and general good humour and happiness displayed by Scott Brown at yesterday's Celtic Park press conference must sorely hurt our friends in Govan. In a choreographed PR dreamscape Scott and Gordon Strachan held court before the silver backdrop of the Scottish Cup and the SPL Championship trophy.

The media therefore had their blue noses rubbed in the dirt of their dashed dreams.

More of the same this summer please.

Something Odd About Celtic

A quick and hopefully accurate glance at the record books indicates that Celtic are more likely to win the Scottish Cup in an odd year (22 out of 34) and the league championship in an even year (25 out of 41). I was perhaps expecting that the ratios for each competition would be pretty even but there are definite swings for each. For a knock-out cup competition Celtic's success rate in the Scottish Cup actually beggars belief. I'm so proud of my team.

Double Winners 2007.

Lucky 7 Holds Good For Double Winners

Some things are just meant to be. When we qualified for the Scottish Cup Final at the expense of St Johnstone I did a bit of research and came with a few pieces of curios.

1. Celtic have never lost a Scottish Cup Final in a year ending 7 (the number most commonly associated with good) and there have been a few

19o7 Hearts
1927 East Fife
1937 Aberdeen
1967 Aberdeen
1977 Rangers

2. Celtic have lost at least one Scottish Cup Final in years ending with any other number - 0,1,2,3,4,5,6,8 and 9.

3. Celtic have never won the Scottish Cup in a year ending 6 (the number most commonly associated with evil) - think 66 and the darnel .....



Yesterday was the ninth time Celtic have won the Scottish Cup by the only goal of the game. Previous victories as follows :-

1923 Hibernian
1933 Motherwell
1951 Motherwell
1977 Rangers
1980 Rangers
1989 Rangers
1995 Airdrie
2005 Dundee United

Celtic's Overall Record 1966-67

In five competitions in which the team participated

P W L D F A

Home 30 27 1 2 118 27

Away 26 19 2 5 69 20

Neutral 6 5 0 1 9 1


Total 62 51 3 8 196 48

Syd Barrett Tribute Review

See Music Latest - some news on Robyn and the Floyd Remnant

Revenge: The Sweetest Dish

There will be much satisfaction in Milan this morning as a two-year itch is finally scratched. The circumstances and the details barely matter, it's the end result that counts and AC have gained their revenge on Liverpool. I remember last year being absolutely desperate to regain the title after Black Sunday and when we did I experienced more relief than joy. Despite some dire football the stroll to this season's championship - coupled with the darnel's attendant discomfiture - has been most enjoyable.

Celtic have beaten Dunfermline twice in two Cup finals in recent years. The revenge factor is therefore with the Fifers. I know little of Stephen Kenny but he seems to be a motivator and he and his team merit our respect (a harder run to Hampden). As I'm prone to saying - Lust was not the first sin, it was complacency. Apple, anyone ?

Milanese, If You Please

The unheralded football reporter in Monday's 'Racing Post' was damning in his verdict of last Saturday's EFA Cup Final. He described it as not only one of the worst FA Cup Finals ever but also as one of the worst football matches ever. If that was the best Chelsea and Manchester United could produce then what more need be said about the current state of English football ?

Perhaps Liverpool can provide the answer. They have a record second to no British team in European competition and for all swalex's bluster he has claimed but one highly fortuitous European Cup in what has seemed an eternity at the Old Brafford helm.

However I am hoping for an AC Milan victory within ninety minutes in Athens. This would enhance Celtic's showing against the Italians and provide a timely boost ahead of our Cup Final on Saturday. We cannot have enough positive vibrations ahead of this match.

Liverpool's European history demands they not be underestimated. Here's to a Greek classic.

Love - Blue Thumb Recordings

Rumoured release next month, see Music Latest

Long Way From Black Sunday

It's already two years to the day since one of the worst events of our Celtic-centred lives. What happened at Myrrh Park that afternoon will serve as a constant reminder that nothing is fixed or certain in football. It cast a shadow over the Martin O'Neill era and really was the day a team died. The circumstances were heartbreaking and the joy of our hosts simply breathtaking. If ever we needed reminding of our place as perceived lepers then it was apparent throughout Scotland that day.

It is somewhat amazing then that Celtic have sauntered to the last two championships whilst rebuilding a team. On Sunday we finished the league campaign a dozen points clear of the darnel without kicking a domestic ball in earnest in 2007. Our eyes are now on the Scottish Cup. No other side has anywhere near our history of success and drama in the competition.

Spirit of Doyle Missing At Easter Road

A good day out was had in Edinburgh yesterday. - unless you are on the fringes of Celtic's first team. In a glorified friendly, which Scott Brown managed to dominate. few players came knocking on Gordon Strachan's door. It goes without saying (I'm just about to say it) Celtic will improve on Saturday. The only way is up. The result in Aberdeen was pay-back time for the two Jimmys, expect similar in the forthcoming season - we are entering a new entente cordiale between the sheep and the shameful, witness the Lennon episode.I'd like to thank GNER for the free beer, curry and First Class facilities.

Today is the 28th anniversary of the 4-2 game. It remains the most exciting and emotional football match I've ever witnessed. God rest John Doyle's soul. He epitomised Celtic. No less a deity than Frank McGarvey said no-one could hold a candle to Doyle. Frank revealed that Johnny wore a Celtic scarf to training. I remember that fool, Andy Cameron, trying to slag wee Johnny off - "when he cuts himself shaving he bleeds green and white". Two things outwith the 4-2 game stick in my mind regarding Johnny - his goal against Real Madrid and a game versus no-one in particular when he injured himself turning a corner into a throw - percentages meant everything to the wee man. I loved him then. I love him now. RIP.

Bhoys Visit Supermarket

They tell me the present is only history repeating itself over and over again.

Celtic travel to Edinburgh (or Leith if you like) on Sunday having raided the capital for personnel on several occasions over the last twelve months. Whilst the Tynecastle soap opera more or less set Pressley and Hartley up as shopfront dummies (well, they've played like two since moving to G40) Hibs fans will feel they have been transported back to the late 19th Century when Celtic (in)famously asset stripped their club. In their manager, John Collins, they will be reminded of similar plunder. Inevitably the Hibees use such acts of pillage as evidence and a basis for their perennial and bitter recriminations. We could be in for a hot reception in what I believe will be a low-key match from a Celtic perspective. Is there any other ?

I wish Chelsea well at New Wembley tomorrow.

Choice Cuts For Robyn

For the first time in its long history of licensing and releasing reissues (cf Clear Light's eponymous and only album) Collectors' Choice has launched a new label which they've assigned the attractive name of Noble Rot. The first releases under the new banner include two of Robyn's albums set for initial (re)release on June 26, 2007. Here's the blurb on both :

" Jewels For Sophia "

From his days with the Soft Boys through his wildly inventive solo work, Robyn Hitchcock has captivated audiences on both sides of the Atlantic with a bewildering blend of psyche-pop and warped lyrical whimsy. Jewels For Sophia found Hitchcock delivering a dozen slices of his surreal songcraft, with help from a sprawling support cast that featured his old Soft Boys bandmate Kimberley Rew, R.E.M.'s Peter Buck, and members of the High Llamas, Grant Lee Buffalo, the Fastbacks and the Young Fresh Fellows.

" Storefront Hitchcock "

Hitchcock's public profile received a boost in 1998 when noted fimmaker and longtime fan Jonathan Demme paid tribute to the artist with the feature-length performance film Storefront Hitchcock. The project also included a companion album which features a spare live performance of 11 Hitchcock originals along with a twisted cover of Jimi Hendrix's " The Wind Cries Mary ". Allmusic.com called Storefront Hitchcock a "dictionary definition, jaw-dropping live singer/songwriter album".

Spain Or Spain, It's All The same

The latest in a long line of Scoto-Spanish football events takes place at Hampden Park tonight. Here's hoping the sun emerges this afternoon.

It took Celtic forty years or so to eliminate a Spanish team from Europe and even that was a close call in Vigo, although a match and a trip I will always recall fondly. Tonight there will be memories of Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich's successes and those who played valiantly but came second. There will obviously be a Spanish winner tonight. Who do I want to win ? I could not care less. For once I have no personal axe for the grinding and there should be limited knock-on effect for Celtic or Arsenal as a result of a result (tautology or what ?).

This afternoon I travel with my son to G40 to pick up my Scottish Cup Final ticket then on into the city to meet our Iberian guests. We'll be wearing The Colours of Day, green and white, and spreading the Faith of our Fathers, in his case, mine (another tautology).

" Go into the city, into the street
And let's give the message
To the people we meet. "

Here's to a great occasion.

Brown Turning Green ?

I woke to the surprise news (courtesy Smooth Radio 0630hrs) that Scott Brown is to sign for Celtic on a five-year contract for £4 million. I listen to Smooth for the soft sounds and occasional psychedelic track but I don't think it's on the Five Live scale for football news. With Celtic due at Easter Road on Sunday we may be in for another interesting week. On the other hand it may be another false lead.

Lots of reminiscing just now about 1967, worth noting that Love released both Da Capo and Forever Changes at the start and end of the annus mirabilis. The albums neatly bracket the Summer of Love as Arthur and the boys were not that type of band.

Que Vida.

Champs With Plenty To Spare

Should Celtic match or better the darnel's result this coming weekend then we will finish the league campaign at least a dozen points ahead of our nearest rivals. The play may not have been particularly pleasing on the eye at times but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and the Le Guen Revolutionaries' humble pie must taste particularly sour this morning.

It has been more than half a century since Kilmarnock won a league match at Celtic Park, it has been less than 24 hours since they won at Megiddo. From what I heard on the radio the darnel were trying their hardest to win the match but could not find a way through Kilmarnock's defence. Watty, though, quoted Gordon Strachan's 'Testimonial Football' theory to explain away the defeat. Perhaps. If Celtic's season culminated in the retention of the SPL with victory over the self-same Kilmarnock then the darnel's high point was last weekend's win over the Champions. It was their Cup Final without medals and ribbons, their Wembley 67.

Celtic's season, on the other hand, still has some distance to run. Come on the Hoops.

Roger's Troubled Waters

See 'Music Latest' link below

Lenny's Masterclass Farewell To Paradise

I saw no sense in yesterday's rumour that Neil Lennon would play no part in the game against Aberdeen. It seems our dear friend Mr Keevins went with the story and I truly hope he has been wrongfooted on this one. I did not see his newspaper but imagine his editor will be having a quiet word.

For long periods of yesterday's game I did my own Playercam, focussing on our captain and watching his apparent gift of trilocation. I have always said he is one of the most economical footballers I have ever seen, short bursts of pace, tight, accurate passes and a wonderful ability to read an opponent's intentions. I thought he bossed things yesterday and I just do not know how we will replace him. There is no heir apparent in G40 at the moment.

Much will be made of his post-match comments and his short statement to the Aberdeen supporters. I was saddened by the incident. I wasn't annoyed by what Lenny called them (he has been called much much worse in his time here, day and daily) but I was dismayed that the Dons fans should abuse Neil as he made his farewell speech. They should have resisted their final dig at him and continued the recent decent rapport between our fans and theirs. I hope our cordial relationship with the Red Army does not deteriorate as a result of yesterday afternoon. It's getting to the stage where we will not share good relations with the fans of any single SPL club.

Showtime, Celtic

As Neil Lennon takes his leave of Celtic Park in the likely absence of the new-hiped Gordon Strachan the time is ripe for an improvement on the field of play. Aberdeen may have more to play for but Celtic must seek out victory and a winning mentality. It is crucial that confidence is restored ahead of the Scottish Cup Final and that we start finding the net. Dunfermline are the form team in the SPL at present, they fear no-one and are playing high-tempo football. We have lost our last two matches, conceded five goals and appear to have the buckets and spades out. We simply cannot go into the Final on the back of a run of defeats. If success breeds success then failure breeds..........well you can guess the rest. The sequence-watchers will be taking note.

The final game at Celtic Park of any season is always bitter-sweet. We love the place. For most of us the stadium represents the focal point of a love we've cherished since childhood. In my case, outwith my various residences, it's probably the place I've visited most apart from St Ignatius' Church in Wishaw. It has a beauty all of its own. Fans throughout the world have heartstrings that reach all the way back to G40. Here's hoping that tomorrow it will be the venue for a truly champion performance.


Enjoy the match.

Robyn Back In Town

Robyn Hitchcock plays Barbican, London tonight and will be joined by John Paul Jones in what is being termed a 'Syd Barrett Celebration'. This will be the great man's first gig in Britain since we had the pleasure of hearing him in Glasgow on January 18th.

Artur Flags Up Target For Celtic Snipers

I was surprised to read how little Artur Boruc enjoys football. He reminds me of myself.

The Polish custodian mentioned earlier this season that he rarely watches the beautiful game on television and is interested only in the fortunes of his former club, Legia Warsaw. I'm the same myself. I'm in the fortunate position of being able to watch almost every Celtic game in person and the only time I watch football on television is to follow the fortunes of the wee team, Arsenal. The rest don't interest me, I would not dream of sitting down to Fulham v Charlton, Dunfermline v Motherwell etc.

It therefore does interest me when Artur displays behaviour that flies in the face of his declared apathy. Has he suddenly fallen in love with Celtic ? It happens you know. It happened to me forty years ago, mostly unrequited but there you go. Artur seems to be wearing his affections on his sleeve and the body politic aint happy. Today we find out the football authority's response to Artur's 'We've won the league again' demonstrati at Megiddo but for Celtic fans the questions remain. Is he working to a Celtic fan's agenda (self-vilification for the greater good) or a cynic's agenda (tactically working his ticket by creating/exacerbating a hostile working environment) ?

I like him. I laughed loudly at the darnelists' reaction to his behaviour on Saturday. He single-glovedly pricked their barely-inflated balloon. But I wonder what he's up to in the longterm.

The Celtic snipers are jostling for position on a grassy knowl near you. They feel and would dearly welcome a wind of change. Should Artur be providing them with ammo?



Hail Hail

Mothers In Mire

It just might happen.

Motherwell have been dragged into the relegation battle and need a single point to escape the drop. I pray they miss the point. The late goal and point we conceded to them at Myrrh Park shortly after Christmas is now boring a hole through my brain. I hope we do not live to regret that one especially as the concession fell into the Keystone Cops category. Evidently I have no great love for St Mirren or Dunfermline given their recent flirtations with the darnelists but I'd much rather both survived in the top flight than the local zeros. Fingers crossed.

Congratulations to ML2 Celtic fan, John Higgins, on his snooker world championship success. Those who know me know I have no great love for the game (I think 'sport' is pushing it) but John's victory is good for Wishaw and further positive publicity for the town and,by association, Celtic. Hopefully he'll give us a glimpse of his trophy on Saturday at Paradise. Success breeds success. The more silverware we see in G40 the better for all concerned.

CARS

Monday May 7, 2007


CELTIC

With the Megiddo ashes about to settle the old media will try to fan the remaining embers into something resembling a flame of controversy. They will probably focus on their neo bete-noir of Artur Boruc and his flag-waving 'celebration'. Just how provocative can one man be ? With Lenny set to depart the hallowed Paradise, who better than Boruc to take his place as Public Enemy Number One. Apart from having no Irish blood coursing through his veins (that they know of anyway) he has all the other proper credentials. If Artur had waved a flag bearing the words Today Is Saturday he would only have displayed an equally factual slogan as CHAMPIONS. The irony of police involvement in this incident is not lost on the denizens of Wishaw who had to suffer a succession of flute bands coursing their way through our town on Friday night in their annual 'Blood and Thunder' coat-trailing Hallowe'en show. No incitement or provocation there then and all at the council tax payer's expense. Only in Scotland.


ARSENAL

The Gunners were unbeaten against Manchester United and Chelsea in the Premiership this season and did more damage to the former than the latter (two wins versus two draws). Wenger is citing the new stadium as a possible reason for discomfiture at home. I believe we drew six of the home fixtures and lost to West Ham (a crucial result for the Hammers it now seems). I wish Chelsea well for the forthcoming EFA Cup Final, perhaps they will repeat Arsenal's feat of 1993 in securing both domestic cup competitions.



ROBYN


After two months touring Stateside Robyn returns to England this month for a couple of Syd Barrett/Early Pink Floyd commemorative gigs in London. This spring/summer sees the 40th anniversary of Floyd's Games For May/Piper At The Gates of Dawn advent. That 1967 was some year, eh ?



SNOOKER


Possibly the most boring game on the planet, table bowls imho. However I'd like to wish John well and hope that, after a torrid week of politics and a sectarian parade, Wishaw will be back in the news for positive reasons and that the Wizard brings the trophy back to Paradise on Saturday.

Hardly A Heartbreak

Sunday 6th May, 2007 - Fifth Sunday of Easter

I actually had a reasonable day yesterday, the 26th anniversary of the day of Bobby Sands' death.

The Craigneuk Bhoys arrived in Govan just after opening time and ensconced themselves in the salubrious lounge of the pub which used to be called the Albion Way. It has since been renamed The Whitefield Airms (sic) or something similar. Tosh McKinlay was present.

Terry Snr. and myself missed the first five minutes on account of an overwhelming desire to miss the pre-match war music and Scoto-Brit darnelist ritual. Least said about the game the better - not one serious shot on target.

I salute my fellow Celtic fans and in particular Neil Lennon and Artur Boruc for managing to turn defeat on its head and cultivate darnelist distemper. The bhoy in the seat in front of mine caught Lenny's airmband !! After the match the darnelists looked as if they'd lost a pound and found a penny. The penny can be added to their UEFA Direct Debits account. The bitterness of Season 2006-07 has left a sour taste in their mealy mouths and their cup final has now passed. My unbroken heart does not go out to them.

Not much time for sounds yesterday - before morning Mass I listened to Sex, Food,Death and Tarantulas by Robyn Hitchcock & The Venus 3 (Robyn's most recent release on Yep Roc 2007) and after the game I'd time for Robyn Hitchcock And The Egyptians' live album Gotta Let This Hen Out (recorded at the Marquee, April 27 1985).


I won Le Marche bonus ball for the first time in over a year so the day ended on a bright note.



We Shall Not Be Moved.