This image was 25 yesterday (allegedly). :-)

Well, a week has passed since the finest victory of recent times for the Scottish national football team. The scenes in Paris had me reminiscing all week with friends about days gone by following them as Tartan Army Foot Soldiers (especially in France). One of those friends pointed me in the direction of this total misinterpretation of Scottish football fans on youtube.com taken from a TV series about "Real Football Factory" hooligans.

The clip includes footage of Scotland fans in St Etienne at the World Cup, France 1998 and at 58 seconds there is one particular jovial lad that grabbed his attention. Not because the lad has a white sun-hat turned up like a sailor. Not because he's carrying a polybag full of cheap bottles of French premium lager. And, no, not because he is the envy of every member of the Tartan Army in what is easily the finest football away-strip of all time. No, the reason this particular jovial lad grabbed his attention was because it was me. What a knobber! Glad I'm viewed as a kilt-wearing, peace-loving whisky drinker and not a hooli.

In the clip, at that point, Danny Dyer says: "I've come to a place that's both beautiful and brutal. This is a country whose football fans are generally believed to be peace-loving whisky drinkers who wear kilts.....But I can tell you, the real story's very different"

Piss of you mockney twat. The general belief is true. Ok, there's a few "boys" at club level but nothing to write home to the neo-nazi ultras on the continent about.



I have that old bit of footage on video-tape introduced by Sir Trevor McDonald on the ITN News at Ten. Ahh, in those days it was so much easier (and meant more) to get on the TV before the Big Brother car crash.

Did I look like I wanted to be on TV in that clip?

(Reversed charge phone call from France) - "Dad, it's me, tape the News at Ten - am oan the telly!"

Proper "Hi Mum" moment.

Happy days.