Last weekend was one of the best ever!
I attended Hampden Park, Scotland’s national stadium, for the Scottish League Cup Final with my sister, Binny. And together we witnessed history being made, just as I said it would in my previous post.
St. Mirren won the cup, beating Edinburgh’s Heart of Midlothian FC by 3 goals to 2.
The game had it all: nerves, mistakes, quality goals, and high drama right up to the last kick of the ball.
And when the shrill of the referees whistle filled the cold Glasgow air, a party began from the stadium back to Paisley, and right round to the other side of the planet.
Paisley and Renfrewshire parted long into the night and beyond, as this was a victory that meant so much to so many after so long.
It was the Saints first major trophy win in 26 years, and oh how the club and fans celebrated.
My sister and I celebrated in the stadium then back at the pub, and from there, the Barrowland Ballroom. We were off to the annual St Paddy’s day gig from punk legends – Belfast’s own – Stiff Little Fingers. But that’s another story altogether.
The main thrust of the day was seeing St Mirren lift the Cup. It will live long in the memory for anyone who has any connection with Paisley.
But back to the writing.
With BACCARA BURNING now published and selling well, I have found myself in a lovely situation: what to work on next.
Obviously I have work to do in order to publish my next poetry book, LIVING LEITH, in April, but I need something to actually WRITE about as well; really get my teeth into.
My original plan had been to do the same thing with one of my other manuscripts: polish, edit, fine polish – then publish.
But that wasn’t doing it for me. Now that I feel I’ve got back on track with things, I needed something new and fresh, something that would give me a buzz.
With the desire to be buzzed strong in my mind, I set about plotting my next move. And it worked.
I’ve begun working on a brand new project. It’s something brave and bold, new, and most definitely fresh. It’s also a bit of a secret because I have plans for it once it’s completed.
It’s based on an idea I had a while back but never did anything about. I know now this was because I wasn’t sure how to develop it. But I do now, and I’ve approached it with a new set of eyes and ideas.
In short, it’s very exciting. It’s just what I needed to do at this point in the year.
Freedom from the Mundane 