Bill's Beard

Elsewhere in my blog I've posted an article about a book I had published in 1996. It was reviewed by the Sunday Times and described as a trainspotter's paradise . The subject matter was football results forecasting and betting. Football Fortunes is more than a little dated, but even so I spent a couple days scanning its pages to compile a PDF file which can be viewed online. Improbable perhaps, but someone, somewhere may still find something of interest. I hope so!

For many years I've enjoyed a spot of gardening. In fact there have been several occasions over the years when I've been employed as a gardener. That's included both in Scotland and when living in the Northern Territory of Australia. I also studied plant biology as a component of my BSc degree in 1985 at the University of St. Andrews . Having said that, I'm by no means an expert but do try to grow a variety of different plants each year. Unfortunately what can be achieved in my Dunfermline garden is limited by its small size and difficult location.

In 1996 my first (and last) book Football Fortunes was published. It was described by the Sunday Times as "a trainspotters paradise". A curate's egg of a review, although I do confess the book is one for anoraks. The book was written in an age before internet gambling was commonplace and the football pools and bookmaker's fixed-odds coupons were the most popular way to place bets on the outcome of matches.

In the summer of 2009 wood pigeons nested in my front garden. That's not remarkable of course, but on this occasion they chose to nest in a small cherry tree only six feet from an upstairs bedroom window. The arrival of the pigeons coincided with my purchase of a video camera and was the perfect opportunity to test it out. I set up the camera only inches from the slightly open window. The quality of the video (in terms of clarity at least) is excellent.

A few years ago I created a series of billiard ball puzzles. They were posted on my pool websites and on Facebook. Here they are again. Just click on each of the images for a full screen view.

The creation of this blog during isolation has been a welcome escape from Facebook which has become an increasingly grim and unpleasant place to visit. I rarely use Facebook these days but recently logged in to retrieve a few photographs. It didn't take long before I came across a Facebook 'friend' denying the very existence of the pandemic. It beggars belief that anyone can still seriously suggest that it's all been a big hoax, some kind of cleverly crafted conspiracy.