I was looking forward to actually seeing a Sons game again tomorrow.

However today’s suspension of Scottish football below its top two tiers means that it will now not be until February 13^th when the home game against Montrose is due – or just possibly the 9^th if the Cup game against Huntly is scheduled for then – that I will have that pleasure.

With the coronavirus now spreading at a higher rate than ever I suppose this was an inevitable decision. People’s safety must be the main priority.

It’s still a blow to morale, though.

SPFL Tier 3, Links Park, 19/12/20.

Ouch!

This is a riddy* in anyone’s language. A comprehensive doing.

My son watched it on Montrose’s live streaming and told me afterwards we weren’t ever at the races.

And Peterhead’s win at Firhill today makes our point there a fortnight ago look much less of an achievement. Plus two other teams below us won.

So we’re down to sixth and only two points above ninth – with everybody below us having a game in hand. (Those might be against each other, though.)

The four games at home in a row we now have (barring an away Cup draw) really need to count.

*West of Scotland abbreviation for “red face.”

The memorial is in Hope Paton Park. View from side:-

The memorial is a bronze figure of Victory standing on a ball above a stone pedestal, with supplementary pillars. Memorial bench to front:-

Reverse view:-

Great War Dedication. Bronze plaque inscribed, “To the glory of God and in sacred memory of those belonging to Montrose who gave their lives in a great cause 1914 – 1919”:-

Great War Names, A Adam to R Falconer:-

D Fawns to A McKenzie:-

F McKenzie to J Young:-

There are names on both sides of the pillars dedicated to World War 2.

Commemorating the dead from 1939, 1940 and 1941:-

Commemorating the dead from 1941 (continued) and 1942:-

Commemorating those fallen in 1943 and 1944:-

Commemorating the dead from 1944 (continued,) 1945 and 1946:-

Links Park is the home of Montrose FC. Its entrance is at the end of Wellington Street, just off a park with the same name as the ground:-

Southwest Corner:-

Stand from southwest:-

West Terracing:-

Links Park from northwest corner, showing main stand:-

From northeast corner:-

Stand from northeast corner:-

Stand:-

Stand from southeast corner:-

West and north terracing from southeast corner:-

A thirties pair of semi-detacheds near to Links Park. Pity its windows have been replaced. Typical 1930s style otherwise.

Frontage:-

From left:-

SPFL Tier 3, Links Park, 15/2/20.

I was about to report that we’d failed to score – again – but then PJ Crossan got one back in injury time. So that’s three for this year so far – and two of those were in the one game.

At least nobody below us won.

Our next two games, at home to Forfar and Clyde, are real must-not-lose affairs if we’re not to be drawn into the relegation equation.

SPFL Tier 3, The Rock, 8/2/20.

Not a win, but not a defeat either. A clean sheet is welcome too.

And we’ve nudged four points ahead of Peterhead with the same no of games played.

Next week against Montrose at their place is going to be tricky. I’d take a point now, but fear worse.

What the football gods give, the football gods take away.

We won 2-1 at their place earlier and were hanging on a bit towards the end. Since then they have really hit form so I wasn’t really surprised by this result which means they have leapfrogged us so we’re back down to sixth.

That makes next week at Forfar a must not lose.

I was up at Montrose again last summer and wandered the town centre a bit further coming across these three buildings. The middle block here may be 1950s but the left one has the Art Deco style:-

That left-hand one has Critall style upper windows, still. The marble effect round the shop windows with the geometric line design also has the look:-

This is entrance to the Ladbroke’s I pictured in my first Montrose Art Deco post. Lovely Art Deco detailing here:-

Maryton is a very small village on the A 934 just to the west of Montrose and south of Montrose Basin. The Memorial is inscribed with the words, “In grateful memory of the men who fell in the wars 1914-1918. Their name liveth for evermore. 1939-1945.”

I spotted it while I was passing through the village en route elsewhere.

There is a school memorial lying right next to Maryton War memorial but laid into a wall. It is inscribed, “In proud and grateful memory of the boys of this school who died for their country in the war 1914-1919.”
Below the names are the words, “Glorious their fate, splendid their doom, their time an altar. Honour them, weep not, give them praise, not pity.”