Scotland Day Three - Annie Lennox

Today was the reason we had made the journey.  Scotland would play England for the Calcutta cup and Six Nations glory.  For whoever lost it would feel like walking on broken glass, as Annie Lennox once said.

Not a bad start to the day with a full English British breakfast which was fairly well presented with the sausages well positioned to form a breakwater between the beans and the rest of the meal.  Only let down by the hotel coffee being vile..

The chaps left the hotel at 12:00 with a view to being somewhere near the stadium well in advance of kick off so being able to find a table in a pub and have a relaxing afternoon. What we had forgotten was we were in Scotland, land of the brave and home of the perma-thirsty.  From 12:01 onwards every pub we visited was rammed.

Thanks to some local knowledge gained on a stag do 15 years ago I was able to take the group easily the most direct route to the stadium.  In common with all mavericks it took some time for my so called friends to recognise my genius but in the end they agreed that it was by far the best route.  Actually despite maps, GPS and my trusty sextant showing I was right they would have none of it.  But tonight I will sleep the sleep of the righteous.

As our find a pub plan had failed we had to come up with a plan B.  This turned out to be go for a lunch curry.  As per all folks involved in on-line media I of course took a photo of my meal:

used curry - delicious

Post curry it was about time to head for the stadium, short 1 mile walk only interrupted by visits to some local hotel bars, usually to the foyer before deciding they were too busy.  In an impressive display of the kind entrepreneurial spirit that has made the Scots some of the greatest recipients of state benefits in Europe I was pleased to see a tile and bathroom showroom next to the stadium had been hastily converted into a 'pop up pub' for the weekend.  It looked grim.

Another highlight of the walk to the stadium was spotting this fine example of a VW Polo harlequin, not really anything to do with the activities of the day but a rare treat.

Polo Harlequin

Next step was to get to the stadium, which we really should have done in the first place there were loads of bars and they were not too busy.  The only real flaw was Tennents lager which would not be my first (or second) choice (or third.)  Following a quick stop to be waved at by Princess Anne, who I was kind of ashamed to see was being driven in a non top of the range 7 series, we took our seats.

Murrayfield yesterday

By looking at this picture one would think it was a beautiful day, which up to that point it was.  As soon as the game kicked off we spotted the folks on the opposite side of the stadium had broken out the rain ponchos.  Soon we could see water pouring over the edge of the stand roof.  Thanks to the prevailing wind our seats remained dry.  It was only a half time trip to the toilet that revealed that there was some kind of hurricane in progress.

The game was a fairly tedious affair, but unlike every other away England game the group had attended the Chariots were on hand to carry us home and England were sent victorious happy and glorious.

All we had to do next was get back into the city centre without getting too wet.  We failed.

Next stop was a pub where we took some time to regroup before meeting the girls.  A theme of the day was wherever we went Keith found new friends to talk to.  This pub was no exception so whilst Chris, Craig and I enjoyed our pints in the lavatory style snug bar Keith was off meeting some fellow Caravan enthusiasts.

snug bar

Next we met the girls in a pub which had a name and was in Edinburgh for some unnecessary extra beer.  The pub would have been lovely but was ruined by a crude drawing of a cock and balls on the window.

filth

The rest of the evening is a little hazy with the only other thing I can remember being the street outside the hotel had gained a waterfall and that hotel room service stops at 10:00PM ffs.

Tomorrow we have to travel home, I just hope the high winds don't interfere with our plans.......