True Blue - Murdo Fraser
ON REFLECTION, the above is not perhaps the best picture of Murdo Fraser, the leading Scottish Tory, there is a hint of craziness in his eyes, but hey, the guy is a Tory.
The bold Murdo at least shone a wee bit of levity on the aftermath of yesterday's second Scottish Cup semi-final, with a tweet about "The Queen's 11 winning". Just the right touch of silliness there to get reasonable people smiling and to wind-up the Celtic Family and the Unco Guid at the same time.
Even before Murdo was born in 1965, the old "Orange" Scottish Unionist Party had sold its soul and been totally submerged into the Scottish Conservative and Unionist Party, but, as he has shown before, Murdo continues to evoke the old "We Are The People" stance of the SUP.
When you reflect on the current state of Scottish fitba, you have to laugh; Murdo provided one. Let's not forget, the weekend's results mean - the 13th-ranked team in Scotland will now meet the 15th-ranked in the Scottish Cup Final. Ignore the fact the match is Rangers v Hibs, its English equivalent would be Bournemouth v Swansea, or, if you like - Jo-Wilfried Songa of France facing Spain's Feliciano Lopez rather than Djokovic v Federer in last year's Wimbledon Men's Singles Final.
That 13 should be playing 15 is hardly a ringing endorsement on the quality of the SPFL Premiership. Scottish football is in a mess, we have to face it. Neither semi-final was a classic, I am not holding out much hope for the final, except, I have a nagging suspicion that Hibs might win.
Football history is riddled with occasions where one semi-final was seen as: "the real final", that was surely the case at the weekend - when the clash of the Bigot Brothers totally over-shadowed the first semi-final. Well, all too often, when you have a "final before the final", the team that wins that one goes on to lose the real final.
The 1938 East Fife Scottish Cup-winning team
i lifted my glass to my old friend Donald on Saturday night. One of Scotland's leading journalists, Donald is also one of the dwindling band of East Fife fanatics and he was delighted at his team winning the SPFL Division Two title to lift themselves out of th bottom tier.
Now, as a result of the weekend's Scottish Cup semi-finals, the Fifers' Unique Selling Point will vanish. After the final, on 21 May, the Boys from Bayview will no longer be: "The only Second Division club to have won the Scottish Cup", courtesy of their 1938 win over Kilmarnock.
IF YOU like your Scottish football red in tooth and claw, there is only one place to be this Saturday, and that is Newlandsfield Park, home of Pollok Juniors.
Newandsfield - the place to be on Saturday
Pollok take-on Hurlford United in the second leg of their Scottish Junior Cup semi-final, with the tie balanced at 0-0 after last Saturday's first leg, at Blair Park, Hurlford.
It is all to play for, the winners going on to face Beith in the final. This one will sizzle, and probably catch fire.
OUR village cafe has a new offering on the menu this morning: "The Ronnie Deila" - that's a slice of toast, covered in bitter orange marmalade.
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