Covid-19 at Christmas; No comfort and little joy.

The Armistice that ended the first World War was signed at 5.10am on 11th November 1918, the subsequent ceasefire effective from 11am that morning. In the five or so hours between the signing and the ceasefire 2738 men were killed in fighting, their graves a monument to futility. I am reminded of this lately whenever…

Steven Gerrard: Expect the Unorthodox

It is well observed, though infrequently acknowledged, that in the current environment, Scottish football cannot sustain more than one successful club. “Successful” in this regard is absolute rather than relative, defined as regularly winning the Championship and competing in the group stages of European competition on a self-sustaining (UEFA FFP compliant) financial model. The primary…

Nimmo Smith: A Postscript

My earlier article, Uberrima Fides: The Utmost Good Faith, described the regulations governing the registration of football players with the SPL, and the corollary obligations on clubs as regards their behaviour towards the SPL and its member clubs. Having recently obtained an authenticated copy of the SPL’s Rules applying during the period in question, it…

Recovery: Drink and Dugs

She knew the moment she saw him: Sitting at the kitchen table, leaning forward on his elbows, his hands clasped round a mug of tea. Lost in his thoughts, he was oblivious to her walking in through the front door. Ziggy, lying at his feet as usual, tried to get up to meet her, but…

Transport for London: More Power to you Mr Mayor

My attention was drawn recently to the new plans by the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, to accelerate the Cleaner Air and Climate Change policies of his predecessor. You can read more about them here. The plans focus on addressing London’s chronic air quality, which breaches the legal limits for Nitrogen Oxides (NOx) and the…

Uberrima Fides: The Utmost Good Faith

“…the principle that each party is entitled to repose confidence in the other, and the law endeavours to secure that such confidence should not be abused. …all such cases have the common characteristic that one or both of the parties is bound to disclose all material facts known to him, and that failure in disclosure…

Close Associates: An Unlikely Tale

In the library of Boodle’s Gentlemen’s Club, Robert Molloy and John Gallacher meet for the last time. They sit close together, their voices low, mindful that their final transaction should not be overheard. That these men, each marked by the three Establishment stigmas - Working Class, Scottish, Catholic - are members of this club at…

The Maltese Apocrypha Part 1: Johnny Rocks and the 107

Gwanni ‘Johnny Rocks’ Scirocca, from a young age known affectionately to family as “ta' Xewwiex” - The Troublemaker – is something of an entrepreneurial legend on the island of Malta. As with all legends, what is known of Johnny Rocks is somewhat shrouded, but records show that he grew up in the Paola district of…

The Maltese Apocrypha Part 2: Parrot Fashion

Preface Uniquely amongst European jurisdictions, Scotland recently introduced a law that blurs the distinction between what constitutes a criminal offence and what gives rise to personal offence. The Offensive Behaviour at Football and Threatening Communications (Scotland) Act 2012 passed into statute the concept that a criminal offence is committed if a person acts in a…