Author: John Mackie

By 1980, I was ensconsed in Embra and had been a member of North Berwick West for five years.

A notice went up in the locker room advising members that volunteer stewards were required for that year’s Open at our neighbouring course. Muirfield, home of the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers.

My mate Dave and I signed up instanter. In due course we got the call to go for training on a Wednesday evening in June. We took an hour off work, drove the 25 miles to NB and smacked our drives down the first fairway just after 5 pm. Continue reading “You Really Had to Be There”

The waiting is almost over and the premier cricket event of the year is about to start.

I refer, of course, to the ICC World T20 Qualifiers 2015 which start tomorrow. There are lots of mouth-watering fixtures to come over the next fortnight. We kick off against the UAE and the match next week between the USA and Jersey looks particularly tasty.

http://www.icc-cricket.com/world-t20-qualifier

To be fair and given our weather at present, most of the games will probably be rained off so I may have to seek other entertainment.

There seems to be a match going on just now between England and some touring Colonial side. I suppose I could check it out.

Well, we finally get rid of Christopher tomorrow.

He seems to have enjoyed himself and I await, with interest,  his critique of Embra and those parts of Caledonia that he has visited in the past week.

All credit to him. He has dealt with everything that I have thrown at him, including the Full Scottish Breakfast which he consumed on the banks of the Union Canal on Friday. This was particularly impressive when you consider that he had just visited the home town of Alex Salmond.

Anyhow, here’s that breakfast:-

The chips are, to be fair, not his (although he did pinch a few). Not that I’m bitter.

Haggis and black pudding front left. Potato scone rear right behind the beans.

When we offered him  his choice for his last meal in Scotland, he specified another FSB. I will be up at the crack of dawn tomorrow to prepare it for him.

No beans will be involved but he’s going to have to cope with a bit of clootie dumpling.

Photo to follow.

All of you have,  presumably, heard about the Pandas in Embra Zoo. According to Sleekit Salmond, and the Scottish Government , Department of Misinformation, they were a gift from China to Caledonia to celebrate the historic links between us.

Let us ignore the fact that those historic links include two Jocks being involved, root and branch, in fomenting the Opium Wars.

http://www.scotsman.com/news/the-opium-wars-how-scottish-traders-fed-the-habit-1-465743 Continue reading “Christopher aus Trier in Embra – Part 1”

Excitement is building in the Mackie household as we await the impending State Visit by Christopher. Nine days and counting. We have been exchanging e-mails as I try to ensure that Mrs M and I (and the dog Dougal) offer him a fully immersive and totally unforgettable Jockland experience.

It would seem that his Aunt is a regular visitor to Caledonia. From her correspondence with him, it is clear that she knows my country very well indeed and that I’m going to have to pull out every stop to satisfy him and to make sure that he reports back  favourably to her. Continue reading “Travels with Christopher’s Aunt – Embra”

You have to understand that I am going to be a 65 year old horticultural virgin in a week’s time.

My first memory of a garden was in Singapore where we all lounged as others laboured. Back to Caledonia (stern and wild) in due course. I remember a Rowan tree and lots of grass but I have no recollection of other growing stuff requiring cultivation. I was still too young for conscription into Mum’s garden task force. Continue reading “Is this Japanese Knotwood? Number 1”

I worry that the day will come when I won’t remember anything at all. I tend to draw what remains of the tattered and frayed cloth of my memory around me against that cold dawn.

It follows that I get seriously concerned when I come across things about which I think I should have known. Take siskins, for example. I am assured by Google that they are small and active finches with narrow bills which are common in Scotland.

Continue reading “Do You Remember an Inn, Thingy?”

I got up at 3 am yesterday morning to watch the funeral of Phillip Hughes. I had been shaken by  the tragic and completely unexpected death of a young man who was just playing the game that he loved. I wanted to pay tribute. Continue reading “A Grown Up Pup”