SPFL Tier 3, The Rock, 2/11/24.

Well, after the last two results this is disappointing.

Apparently we were all over them in the first half but their keeper made some great saves.

A different story in the second half where it sounds as if we were dismal.

Being a Sons fan is never easy.

Next week we’re at Kelty Hearts for the first ever time.

SPFL Tier 4, The Rock, 11/2/23.

Another win. And now seven points ahead but with Stirling Albion having two games in hand.

We mustn’t moan, Annan have been going well recently.

Still that’s two weeks in a row now we’ve been pegged back to 1-1 (only the third time this season we’ve conceded an equaliser.)

Maybe that’s good though. After Ryan Wallace scored early they got theirs on 52 minutes. That meant we couldn’t afford to sit back and soak up pressure. We need to keep looking for goals.

Russell McLean got the winner with 12 minutes left.

This stands by the main A 67 through the town.

Dedicated “Pro Patria” in memory of the 3rd militia battalion of the Durham Light Infantry, the Imperial Yeomanry and local volunteers who died in South Africa.
The lower plaque describes the surrrounding area as a memorial garden to the men of Barnard Castle who lost their lives in the Second World War.

A further plaque facing the road commemorates all those from Barnard Castle who have died in conflicts or peacekeeping missions since World War 2.

SPFL Tier 3, The Rock, 5/3/22.

This was grim. We were barely in the game, couldn’t string any passes together worth the name. I’d be tempted to blame the pitch but Queen’s Park managed it quite easily it seemed.

Those two red cards last week potentially cost us but Queen’s were so much better overall that perhaps they didn’t. Big Josh missing up front through injury has been a big loss in the last few weeks.

Their first two were due to defensive errors. In both cases the bounce of the ball (or lack of it) deceived Stephen Bronsky and Gregor Buchanan respectively allowing a Queen’s player through on goal. Kieran Wright made a save at the second but couldn’t prevent the rebound reaching the attcker following up.

The only time we vaguely threatened was in the first five minutes after the restart. First Joe Mckee was free in the box but he took a touch which allowed their keeper to position himself for the save. A natural striker would have hit it first time. Then Carlo Pignatiello worked a bit of space for himself with a good take and turn in the box but the keeper made himself too big.

Their third was a joke with them exploiting too much space down our left and the cross finding a man completely unmarked.

I’m just about resigned to relegation now.

Wake me up when it’s over.

Following on from the last post in this category here’s another Scottish band which found success in the 80s starting out with the now legendary Postcard Records, though by the time of this song they had moved on.

Orange Juice’s Rip it Up was also the first time that lead singer Edwyn Collins troubled the higher reaches of the UK charts.

Here’s the band playing live on the old Grey Whistle Test.

Orange Juice: Rip it Up

Tor.com, 2016, 90 p.

As revealed in cod extracts from a later guide book quoted at the beginning of each section of this novella the Jewelled Valley was once ruled by a royal family of “Jewels” who could bind the powers of precious stones to influence minds and so tamed the gems. Each Jewel had a similarly bound servant, a Lapidary, who could hear and speak the stones.

The action of the book is set in the end-time of the Jewelled Court. Lin is the youngest daughter of the King, her Lapidary, Sima, the daughter of the King’s servant. Driven mad by the gems, Sima’s father has betrayed the Court and destroyed most of the jewels. Lin is the only member of the royal family to survive, the only person who can protect the people of the valley from the invading army of the Western Mountains. Sima sticks to her vows not to betray her Jewel.

Wilde’s control of her material is accomplished enough but it doesn’t stand up to a moment’s scrutiny. Gemstones with mind-controlling powers? That can be muted by being placed in a setting? But it is a fantasy. And short enough to read in one sitting.

Pedant’s corner:- if a Lapidary broke their vows (several instances. Lapidary is singular; so “his or her vows”.)

Well, the migration to the new host has taken place but none of the links have been carried across.

It also seems that no iframes have come across either so all of the videos I have previously embedded are not showing.

Ah well, it’ll all work out eventually.

My blog administrator (thank you, Duncan) tells me A Son of the Rock may be out of commission for up to 72 hours from today as a result of the need to migrate its hosting to a new err… host.

Normal service restored by Sunday, then. (I hope.)

We’re still house hunting so I’m afraid there’s not been much time for blogging.

It’s way past time for me to jump into the waters of this internet blog thing but with me it’s like driving a car. I can do the easy things, drive, change a wheel, check the oil, point my browser, surf, but the complicated stuff, setups and so on, no.

So, many thanks to the inestimable doctorvee for getting this all in place for me.

Occasional meanderings, mainly about writing, fiction and the fortunes of Dumbarton Football Club will follow. Tune in to read my thoughts on this, that and the other.

I’ve composed a few posts previous to this in anticipation of the blog being set up so apologies if some of what comes next is untimely.