All too often, we see celebrities and well-known personalities being interviewed but sometimes, the really interesting interviews are the ones people don’t think to do. For instance, who better for us to interview than a fellow football-mad Hopper? Not your common or garden Hopper either. This is a Hopper who has set himself on a…
Tag: Scotland
Stenhousemuir, Ochilview Park – Hopper Tales #62
A View to an Ochil Like Partick Thistle last week, we have tried to visit Stenhousemuir and Ochilview Park before. Again, train strikes thwarted us, so we would try again this weekend, successfully! Stenhousemuir… it’s one of those names I remember from hearing in the classified results on a Saturday evening. Read out by the…
Partick Thistle, Firhill Stadium – Hopper Tales #61
Third Time Lucky Partick Thistle… We have tried to get up to Firhill Stadium twice this season and twice we have failed. The first time, Mrs Hopper became too ill, so we didn’t travel. The second time, we were thwarted by train strikes. I contacted the club through social media and asked if there was…
Celtic v Rangers, Hampden Park – Hopper Tales #60
A Glasgow Ham Double – Part Two Life is full of strange meetings and coincidences, isn’t it? For instance, when I started playing a silly little game on my phone about three or four years ago, I never imagined it would lead to tickets for a Celtic v Rangers cup final – yet, that’s precisely…
Hamilton Academical, New Douglas Park – Hopper Tales #59
A Glasgow Ham Double Hamilton and Hampden – what a weekend we had lined up! First up, a Saturday trip just to the southeast of Glasgow to see Hamilton Academical for the first time. They would be facing table-topping Queen’s Park. We have previously seen The Spiders twice this season, losing 5-0 at Ayr United…
Dundee, Dens Park – Hopper Tales #55
Back to Scotland It’s been a while now since we visited Scotland. In fact, it was back on the 12th of November when we visited Celtic Park. With my ambition being to visit all forty-two league grounds (and a few extras), it was time to head back north again. With train strikes announced for the…
Berwick Rangers, Shielfield Park – Hopper Tales #48
Back to Berwick This is another return journey to a ground we visited last season but never got around to writing about it. We had an absolute blast last time we visited, thanks to a chance meeting in the Brewers Arms pub. We had been chatting with the owner, a lovely lady called Margaret, and…
Glasgow Celtic, Celtic Park – Hopper Tales #45
Another One Off the Bucket List Celtic Park or Parkhead. Call it what you will, this is one of the iconic stadiums, not just in Scottish football, but football… period! This was most certainly a checkmark on life’s bucket list for me! I’ve been looking forward to visiting here ever since I managed to secure…
Motherwell, Fir Park – Hopper Tales #42
Hoppers Guide Travel Nightmares Gordon Ramsay may have his kitchen problems but they are nothing compared to our train tribulations! Every week we seem to have problems of one kind or another, with delayed, cancelled or plain not-running trains. Now, with further strikes announced for the 3rd, 5th and 7th of November, this doesn’t look…
Arbroath, Gayfield Park – Hopper Tales #41
Back to the Future This week was a little different because we had two matches lined up. Usually, we are content to cover one fixture per week due to time constraints, money and work but this was a fixture initially scheduled for September 10th. This was subsequently postponed due to it falling on the weekend…