Saturday 29th December 2012 ko 13.45

Scottish Junior FA West Region Superleague Premier Division

IRVINE MEADOW 0 McGowan sent off 57 (2nd booking)

AUCHINLECK TALBOT 2 (McCann 44 Spence 86) White sent off 62 (2nd booking)

Att c400

Entry £5

Programme None

I wish I could see more of my mate Iain. The trouble is that he lives in Dumfries, a 5 hour drive from Oxford. We met longer ago than either of us would care to remember, when we were marooned on a bank course at a faceless hotel in Tewkesbury. When however there’s a game, a curry and a pint to be had, one of us jumps in a car….

The west coast of Scotland, south of Glasgow is Robert Burns country. From Iain’s house, a mere stone’s throw from the Burns Mausoleum (more on that in my next article) from our drive up the A76 past the Burns Memorial at Mauchline, and seeing signs for Ayr, his birthplace and setting for the poem “Tam O’ Shanter.”

Irvine doesn’t seem to fit the poetic theme, this is a New Town, based on shipping and shipbuilding, and was extensively bombed during World War 2. Burns did spend time here, working in a flax factory on the Glasgow Vennel. More recently Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was born here, and cycling champion and innovator Graeme Obree calls Irvine home.

If you’re not familiar with Scottish Non-League please don’t get Continue reading →