Paella and Bovril

Well it has been way toooooo long between posts. I must admit that not having the deadline of publishing in the programme has slowed the creative juices. So it seems I work better under pressure. With that in mind I have kicked myself up the butt and given myself the goal of a least one a month. Hope the wait has been worth it...... Adios Please and Thank you Many a time I have tried to explain the 4 seasons in one day (plus some seasons you can't quiet name) style Scottish weather to the friends and students here. Recently Barcelona has decided to provide me with some fantastic visual aids, the weather here has been interesting to say the least. With the rain comes the loon-icy, pavements becomes greasy play grounds for the breaking of bones, umbrellas get put up to eye poking height at the slightest dribble from the sky, and the roads become a cacophony horns, screeching brakes and rush hour goes from 60 to 180 minutes. Some of the verbal exchanges wouldn't be out of

Born in the U (unbelievable) S (sums of) A (advertising) Having never crossed the pond I was not going to miss the opportunity a family wedding gave me, an excuse to visit the U.S of A and “oh Canada”.  During my time here in Barcelona the accumulation of friends from different nationalities has been endless, Lichtensteinian, Panamanian, Australian and the occasional Brazilian. Being part of this group of “extranjeros” has seen a lot of people come and go. This holiday would give me the chance to catch up with some old amigos, and there was no way I wasn't going to a sporting event in America. “Take me out to the ball game,Take me out with the crowd”.  After an small lifetime on a plane across the Atlantic, a good few hours drive ( and including a pit stop at a gas station where they did sell Twinkies and leopard print revolvers at the same counter), destination one of six was reached. With my knowledge of America being drawn from ‘Friends’, movies and rather too much satirical pol

We did it. #triing4therovers has completed it's 2015 challenge.  

All smiles before the MARnaton Still smiling 2000m down only 77,000 more                                                 All smiles and sweat! We did I it we completed an Olympic triathlon  Hola from unbelievably hot Barcelona, no Scottish person can help but melt in 35°.  This portion of #PaellaandBovril is a wee side dish of something new with a massive serving of seconds on a previous edition. However it is all in a good cause the  Raith Supporter's Trust .    I am almost there, the challenge of doing a #TRI of events to help raise funds and awareness of the great work of the  Raith Supporter's Trust  is almost at meta! ( for this year, who knows what next year will bring. Did someone say 70.3?) One more event then I can have that first mojito of the summer!  A few weeks back I completed a goal I set myself last year when I watched the first MARnaton. It was a 2000m swim in the Mediterranean. Having swam most of the winter in the sea  http://www.marnatonedreams.com/es/retos/

We did it! After a lot of training, sweat, tears and a few drops of blood I completed my first, and not my last, Olympic distance triathlon, the second event in this year's TRI of events for TRI-ing for the Rovers.  Details of how to sponsor me and the great work of the a Raith supporter's trust check out my swim bike and run post. 

Just a wee note to say that my local supermarket is not only preparing itself for the #champions #league tonight it is supporting it's local #Raith fan.  I just spotted this in my local.  A sign that #paellaandbovril should continue.  Please check out my #TRIing4theRovers post and support our efforts in sport. 

All smiles before the MARnaton Still smiling 2000m down only 77,000 more  Hola from a windy but sunny Barcelona. This portion of #PaellaandBovril is a massive one. It comes with a purpose. Regular readers, and new ones too, will know I love sport. To watch it, to discover it and more recently doing it. This close season I am doing a #TRI of events to help raise funds and awareness of the great work of the  Raith Supporter's Trust . I recently completed 2000m taking part in the Marnaton. http://www.marnatonedreams.com/es/retos/barcelona-travesia-natacion-aguas-abiertas.html In less than a month I will swim, 1500m, bike 40,000m, and run 10,000m  http://www.garminbarcelonatriathlon.com/index.php?idiomaWeb=en On July 19th I will do another Sprint Triathlon (750m, 20,000m, 5,000m) So that is 79,250m ( ok I will run that extra 750m at the end to get to an even 80,000m) With all that added up here is the  extra largo  paellera  that explains a little bit the

Well it had to happen. I suffered my first accident on my road bike and this week has been a bit bruised and sorry for its self. Rest has been the key and recovery will be swift! I hope to be back in the saddle this weekend! This knock to the noggin made a few things rattle and I asked myself the question "why is football a young man's game?" PLEASE SUPPORT YOUR MATCHDAY MAGAZINE. The story of Messi is well known. Signed at 13 by FC Barcelona, moved from Argentina to Spain to participate in the youth academy,  debut for first team at 16, youngest player to do this, youngest to win that. Will he eventually be the oldest? When is it time to hang up the boots get out the pipe and slippers? Can you play into your 80s? Football has changed a lot in the past 50 years. The stars of the 70s were running an average of 4km a match and ,some would say, experienced a less physical game. Today's player will run 10-11km per match and receiving a fair few knocks and nick

Hola from a sunny balconey in Barcelona.  As I type, my cup of tea is steaming away and I am set up on my balcony ready to watch the "mitja-maraton" of Barcelona. Last year we watched Florence Kiplagat break the world record in 1:05:12 ! Just how how do you run that fast for that long! Enjoy this serving of P n B. As all the names are thrown into the cup hat at the start the competition anything is possible. Could this be the year when your team becomes the giant killer, lift the cup  or could this be the season to get a new toilet block put in the stadium? Years ago the start of the cup  was about the chance of trip to  some minnows or some Giants  to play in a quaint wee park or fancy stadium and hopefully not  be the victim of the “upset of the round”.  Back pages of the press would talk about the performance on the pitch and TV cameras were sent to places where we have questioned the availability of electricity to capture “the glory of the cup”. But what is today’

A weather warning has been issued here in Catalunya about a wee bit o wind. Hurricane #bawbag has decided to take a holiday on the Costa Brava. Here is another side dish of paella and Bovril for you to munch on. Hope you enjoy. PLEASE SUPPORT THE MATCHDAY PROGRAMME Football stadiums have been a fixture in our skylines for a good while now. Of course those outlines have changed over the years. In the mid 90s many a Scottish football fan jumped a wall to collect turf, turnstiles and toilet chains from grounds before the town saw the bulldozers come in and the cranes go up as terraces and sheds made way for seats and stairwells. In Kirkcaldy, Stark's Park’s outline hadn't changed much. Things were added and changed, like in the 50s when the the floodlights where placed onto the recently added “covering” that had been put in for fans, or new terraces and crush barriers put in, but the shed skyline has stayed the same. In Barcelona, Camp Nou has been part of the Les Cor