"We did it, mum!" "Well done, son."

Today a ‘Junior’ Scottish football club, Auchinleck Talbot, knocked a ‘Senior’ side, Ayr United, out of the oldest competition in world football, the Scottish Cup. To me, it was no surprise, because Talbot have been knocking on the door for a while now. They dominate the Junior game, and they almost held Hearts at Tynecastle, a few seasons back. Today’s result had a kind of inevitability about it.

 Although I used to live in nearby, Kilmarnock, I only ever went to Auchinleck once, and that was in error. I had boarded a Carlisle bound train, mistaking it for a Glasgow bound one, and the first opportunity to alight, was at Auchinleck. Naturally I found an inn of some sort, to wait in, for the next northbound train. Although it was geographically not far away, I’d never had a reason to go there.

 Some time before this, I went down to Kilmarnock town centre, on a Saturday, to find it festooned with people sporting yellow and black. There were scarves, hats, and chequered banners, not just a few of them, but an endless swarm, filling up the streets. It was surreal.  I was mystified, as I could not think of any team that Kilmarnock FC might play, sporting these colours. It turned out that Auchinleck Talbot were in a Junior Cup semi-final, held at Rugby Park, Killie’s ground.

 We had a smaller invasion of folk from Auchinleck, a year or two after this, but they were striking miners with collection buckets. Auchinleck was a mining village, until Mrs Thatcher and John Macgregor, took that away from them. Maybe I will go back there myself one day, to take in a game. Today, I gave them my best ‘YESSSS’cheer!

 Extra: Canal in winter