Summer Time And...

At last summer appears to have arrived. Edinburgh basked in warm temperatures today so the Ranter took to the sun. It doesn't happen too often...

Leith, looking down from Calton Hill, across the Firth of Forth to Fife (try saying that after a few Drambuies...)

Youngest grandson Max had his first visit to the beach - and his first ice cream cone. Do you want hundreds and thousands, sir? No thanks - just the one...

Doesn't seem five minutes since I took Michaela in her buggy to Portobello beach. Where does time go?

Small footsteps in the sand...

George Clooney wanders into shot (there's always one...)

Love Is...

Champions League ITV Style

Barcelona v Juventus - text commentary from Berlin (via ITV)

19:45 Kick-off

19:47 First 'I'll tell you what, Clive' from Andy Townsend

19:50 He's got be disappointed with that - Andy Townsend

19:59 You've got to wonder what might have been had Chelsea got to the final - Clive Tyldesley

20:05 I'll tell you want, Clive, they've got to be doing better down the channels - Andy Townsend

20:10 What Juventus need to be doing better, Clive, is getting in and around the penalty box - Andy Townsend

20:15 I've got say, Clive, I've been disappointed with Messi tonight - Andy Townsend

20:15 He has been fairly anonymous - Clive Tyldesley

20:16 What a fantastic goal from Messi!  - Clive Tyldesley

20:16 What a player, Clive, he's just something else - Andy Townsend

20:16 No doubt about that, but you do wonder how he would fare in the English Premiership -  Clive Tyldesley

20:20 I'll tell you what, Clive, he knows where the goal is - Andy Townsend

20:25 What a chance - from that distance he's really got to get his shot on target - Andy Townsend

20:26 Mute buttons pressed on remote controls all around the UK.....

Continued for 94 minutes...

Scotland Can't Ignore the Shame of Qatar

There has been much debate about the Scotland v. Qatar game at Easter Road this Friday. Many supporters have decided to boycott the game following the revelations that around 1,200 workers have died in Qatar during the construction of buildings and infrastructure for the 2022 World Cup – awarded to Qatar in somewhat controversial circumstances with some top officials from Fifa presently embroiled in allegations of corruption.

Some of Scotland's most prominent human rights activists and leading supporters' organisations have now spoken out against the human rights violations in Qatar, with some comparing the country's record to that of apartheid South Africa. They have urged the Scottish Football Association to scrap the game. Given this is not going to happen at this late stage, those same opponents to the game going ahead have pleaded to Scotland fans to abstain from this particular game, arguing it will send a clear message to Qatar that such violations are wholly unacceptable. I fully understand and empathise with this view. However, I question whether an empty Easter Road Stadium would have any impact on the Qatar authorities. I suspect the answer is probably not.

Scotland manager Gordon Strachan has distanced himself from the controversy, saying all he is interested in is playing football and getting players vital match preparation ahead of next weekend’s vital Euro 2016 qualifier against the Republic of Ireland in Dublin. But many people are uneasy with Scotland’s choice of opponents and, given the number of people who have already died in the construction of stadia for a competition organised by an allegedly corrupt organisation, it’s not difficult to see why.

That said, I believe that Scotland actually going ahead with the game has highlighted the serious human rights issues in Qatar perhaps more than if there was no fixture. More people are now discussing the matter as a result of the game. I would bet several shillings that if Scotland were not playing Qatar, the human rights issues there would not be given the prominence it now has.

I read an excellent suggestion the other day from a fellow Hearts supporter. He opined that the Scotland players should take to the field wearing black armbands and offering a wreath to the opposition at kick-off rather than the usual exchange of pennants etc. A minute’s silence just before kick-off would also give the Qataris the message that Scotland and indeed the rest of the world, knows full well what is going on in their country and that it is wholly unacceptable. Surely this would be a more powerful message than thousands of empty seats at Hibernian’s ground.

I am going to the game and I’m taking my ten year old grandson Jack to his first Scotland game. He has been looking forward to this occasion for some time and I know it would break his heart if the game was scrapped at the last minute. Now I know this pales into insignificance when compared to what is going on in Qatar but scrapping the game would mean little to the Qataris and cause considerable logistical problems to the home country.

Jack was given a Barcelona home shirt from his aunt when she returned from Catalan recently and he loves to wear it when playing football with his pals and his ageing Papa, pretending he is Lionel Messi  - while his Papa is just a mess. The Barcelona shirt has Qatar Airways on its front and there are thousands of children like Jack all over Scotland who will have similar attire. I’ve not heard many protests about this.

I say let the game go ahead and urge the SFA to make some kind of statement immediately before the game – black armbands and/or a minute’s silence – to express their disgust at the human rights abuse in Qatar.

It might upset Fifa – but they have got enough to contend with. And it would show those suffering in Qatar that Scotland is with them – and will not forget them.

How To Understand Women

I think I've cracked it! No, hang on....back to the drawing board.

Charles Kennedy

Charles Kennedy, former leader of the Liberal Democrats in the UK, died suddenly yesterday at the age of just 55.

I didn't agree with everything he said  - such is the way of politics - but he was such a gifted orator he was one of those rare breed - a politician who, when he spoke, people listened. He spoke passionately for what he believed in and went against the party line when he very publicly spoke out against the UK going to war with Iraq some years ago.

After the general election of 2010, the Liberal Democrats  - by now under the leadership of Nick Clegg - jumped into bed with the Conservative Party in order they could share some power in a coalition government. Kennedy wanted nothing to do with it and refused to consider a place in the government, such was his opposition to the Tories.

Yes, he had personal problems including the recent break-up of his marriage and the death of his father during the recent election campaign. And his battle with alcohol addiction was well-known.

Nonetheless, Charles Kennedy was one of the good guys. The world is the poorer for his passing.

What Shall I Do With $650,000?

We live in an age of instant communication. Computers, the internet and mobile, wireless technology mean we can communicate instantly with almost any part of the world at the press of a touchpad or click of a mouse. Satellite wizardry has changed the world and made it a much smaller place. But naturally there has to be a down side to all this. I received this email a few days ago.

Dear E-mail User,
The Office of the President Dr. Boni Yayi, of the Republic of Benin and the African Union President respectively, has awarded you the sum of Six Hundred and Fifty Thousand United States Dollars – $650,000 U.S. Dollars Only as a Compensation Fund because your email is included in the list of victim(s) who lost their fund to unidentified fraudsters in Africa or victim(s) of Unpaid Inheritance or Contract Award Fund.

This is an instant payment exercise and no fees required. Meanwhile, several emails has been sent to you from this office in this regards, but you don’t care to reply. This is to notify you that your ‘Compensation Fund’ is ready for payment to you. The fund will be paid immediately you contact the ‘Compensation Fund Award Department’. Note that the no amount will be deducted from the ‘Compensation Fund’ due to the insurance policy bond on the fund.

Hmm. What shall I do with $650,000?

Spam. Unsolicited e-mails from all parts of the globe (although mainly, it has to be said, the USA) It's a blight of the communication age and a constant irritant. Why don't you fit a spam filter I hear computer experts cry? I have - through those bastions (no, that's not a spelling mistake) of communications, BT. I pay the princely sum of £1.50 per month for the chaps and chapesses at BT to divert rogue and sometimes malicious e-mails from my in-box to the bulk mail box. And to be fair to BT it usually works with as many as 60 junk e-mails heading my way every day. But occasionally, e-mails that aren't spam are read as such by BT and are deposited in said bulk mail box. Which is as much as an irritant as having to deal with the damn spammers in the first place.

Sometimes the BT filter gets suspicious and diverts important e-mails in the same direction as dubious messages offering everything from Viagra to Valium. Which means I have to check the bulk mail to ensure there isn't anything of value there. I made the mistake of just emptying the bulk mail folder the other week without checking and thereby deleted an important e-mail from Heart of Midlothian FC about season ticket prices for the next campaign.

So, I have to wade through reams of rubbish just in case something has slipped through. At this time of the year I'm receiving dozens of junk e-mails about what I ought to do for Father's Day which, apparently, is less than three weeks away (if my daughters are reading this, that's 21 June…) Given my father has been dead for more than 18 years it's not something high on my priorities but this is a stark example of my privacy being invaded by unscrupulous companies who show no consideration for the feelings of others.

As for the companies constantly screaming at me to buy Viagra, I have considered taking legal action against them. 

But then someone who I believed was a good friend of mine and shall remain nameless, told me it would never stand up in court...