Phil O'Donnell

Where to start, a true Motherwell legend and more importantly husband to his wife Eileen and a father to four young children has left us. It was the worst I have ever felt at a football game in all my life as he collapsed comepletely out of the blue, the horrible errie quiet as everyone feared the worst but hoped for the best.

It should have been a match to remember for all the right reasons but will now only be remembered for the horrific consequences. I was in the pub after with friends and initial reports suggested he was conscious so still worried we alll had our fingers crossed and briefly enjoyed what had been a fabulous win. But we all were still trying to find out news via texts and so on from people listening to radios and what not at home and others in Centenery suite at Fir Park itself. Finally the news was heard that Phil had died, it wasn't official it came from someone we knew inside Fir Park, just a fan but in the hospitality section. He had said someone came in and told them, it was impossible to believe but almost as impossible that someone would make something like this up, a cloud really descended on the place as eventually other sources backed up the inital source. By the time it was reported on sky sports news we all knew, but there was no more hiding from the truth.

A dozen times I've felt tears well up at memories of Uncle Phil, how strange a nickname that still seems when I think of the fresh faced youngster I watched come through the ranks, but I've always managed to just about hold them back usually because I've been trying to talk to someone about it at the time. What his family must be feeling is incomparable, Phil O'Donnell the footballer holds a special place in my heart but I never knew the man personally and for that I'm glad because by all acocunts he was a thoroughly great guy and his loss is hard enough.

I could go on and on, but I've written about him elsewhere on messageboards, I laid a jersey outside Fir Park and left a few words in the books of condolence. Life goes on, and for us fans who will also never forget him it will be a far easier thing to get over than for his family. We don't have the right to wallow if grief, we pay our respects and remember him for that is all we can do.

Merry Christmas etc

Been a bit quiet on here in the run up, but merry christmas or whatever holiday you do or don't celebrate and a happy new year as well incase I just cannot be bothered blogging over the next week or so.

Tomorrow

I shall finish my christmas shopping and see Bladerunner again at the GFT, now that more than makes trawling through glasgow on a cold winters day worthwhile. That said it's crisp, cold and dry days ahead on the weather forecast so not complaining. It's almost like proper winter weather, my only concern is that football in the evening could get frozen off. Despite the so called all weather surface.

No real chance of snow though, I have vague memories of proper snow inches deeps but must have been a long time ago. Outside of removing myself to the alps or somewhere more mountainous doubt we'll see proper winter weather like you get on christmas cards ever again. I wonder ever since the ice queen (Margaret Thatcher) was deposed has there been a proper winter or have I been confusing the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrope.

We got read that book at school and I loved the story, and the BBC childrens telly adaptation. The big film version wasn't that great but I was gutted to learn it was half a christian parable, which when you consider I almost decided to go and see the Golden Compass solely on the basis that the US catholic church was attacking it is something I'm always likelly to find off putting. It shall never quite be the same again

Christmas shopping

It is a pain in the arse alright, though thankfully the task is nearly done, I've been somewhat inadvertantly fairly orgainised this year I dunno how that happened. Still got the almost as big a pain in the arse task of wrapping shit up.

I can't complain to much I do tend to come out of the festive season pretty much ahead. I think I've only got a couple of more presents to buy and I'll be finished. I'm going to start wrapping today, wrap up at least half what I already got, and break it up into smaller tasks. thinks like books are easy, but I have a bagpuss thing to wrap up and it is well shaped like a bagpuss, that'll be a nightmare!

Football tales

Is there a worse thing in the beautiful game than getting whacked in the nadgers with the ball? Three times now in the last 6 weeks I've been hit in the most delicate of areas, one time so hard I was felled to the ground. Given I play football at least twice a week, usually three times and very occasionallly four times you might think it's part and parcel but I can't honestly remember such regualarity of ball bashings ever. I would go back years to the last time I was unfortunate enough to get hit even once and it has been on the same monday night fives each time. Indeed and I might be mistaken but it's close to every second week over the last six weeks or so. If it happens again in a fortnight I'm gonna have to start playing the other week when I'm not due to get hit in the plums.

On the plus side my 11's team has won it's last two games, after a rather nightmarish start to the season losing four out of the first five games. A 9-1 demolition of local rivals Airdrie was nice but no real boost as they are pretty rancid(apparently there manager jacked it right after the game, can't blame him getting gubbed so badly by our team on recent form) but on saturday there we went down to Ayr and won 4-2. We only had 11 players and considering we had slumped to a 6-1 home loss to them a few weeks prior it made for a hugely satisfying victory. Even more so as from 3-0 up at half time less than 10 minutes into the second half we were only 3-2 up but we held firm and grabbed a fourth to seal the win. Only downside for me was an Elphias Shivute(think Forrest Gump) moment running down the wing at pace and sort of forgetting to stop as a heavy touch meant i ran all the way out the park rather than as intended driving into heart of 18 yard box with only one defender to beat.

Religion!

When you read a story like the Gillian Gibbons one, you cannot help but think the world has gone mad. It's both hilariously funny and monumentally depressing at the same time. Such insanity and madness I can't think of a better example than perhaps when the people of Hartlepool hanged a monkey because they feared it was a french spy.

I don't know what is worse the sheer fundamentalist fervour of people in Sudan or the undercurrent of racism and cultural superiority found in many comments on this issue. The BBC website comments on it from all sides had me wanting a nuclear holocaust. That wasn't to say I didn't find some insightful and intelligent comments on it but they were far outnumbered by the hordes of madness, piousness, bigotry, and crass stupidity etc.

All religions are a fucking plague on this earth, I accept there are very many decent christians, muslims, hindus, sikhs, jews, and people of all religions really that are basically good people but the whole concept is a cancer of the mind and soul. It's about time people took a look around the world and treated fellow humans with just basic respect that we are all equal under any or no god and that we have the same right to life and right to hold different ideas. And if you want or can't help but believe in some deity fine but for fuck sake keep it to yourself and don't murder, maim or inprison anyone in the name of them please.

Lets face it we are destroying the world we life on and we'll tear each other apart whilst doing so as the planets resources diminish and when we join the dinosaur as an extinct species we'll have well earned it and good luck to any poor bastard of a specis that survives to inherit the earth. Maybe the next sentient species can do a better job.