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RickMcD

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Everything posted by RickMcD

  1. Thanks for that but I am quite relaxed about it now and have been for years. What he did to me was perverted but it was nothing to what happened to some. Looking back, I don't know why we didn't speak out. I would have struggled explaining it to my dad, but if I had, Hugh Stevenson would have been history pretty quickly. Would have served him right.
  2. I thought it was a great night too. Great company, plenty laughs and reasonably priced drink. Tom Hendrie and Junior kind of stole the show but I thought the MC was brilliant too. Unfortunately I didn't catch his name. When Tom was talking about the clincher at Love Street, I said to my son that we were f***ing terrible in the first half, and Tom then used exactly the same words. Terrific.
  3. What a relief. Great to read this thread this morning with doom and gloom missing for possibly the first time this year. Here's hoping it's the start of a good run. Please.
  4. I got to know what Hugh Stevenson was like when I was about thirteen. I played for Camphill and Hugh was a FP who took interest in the teams. My sister had just left Camphill and she told me that loads of girls were crazy about him. To be fair he was a good looking bloke back then. I got to know what he was like in 1960 when I was 13. Camphill used Anchor Rec for sports day back then and Hugh always turned up. That day there was an absolute downpour and we all rushed under the trees for shelter and Hugh was standing right behind me and he groped me. His hand was right inside my PE shorts and I simply didn't know how to react. It was more innocent times back then for teenagers and I didn't know what the hell was going on. The rain soon stopped thankfully but from then on I stayed well away. Hugh was also a BB officer in the 2nd. Paisley I think and that summer he went to my BB camp at North Berwick. I stayed well clear but there was an incident with a young boy who shall be nameless but his family name is well known in football circles. I have mentioned on here before that I grew up with Archie but I stress it wasn't him. Archie never went to camp. Fortunately for the lad, his older brother was at the camp too and I think Hugh got a bit of a hiding. Didn't change him though and nothing ever got reported. The years rolled on and I was vaguely aware that Hugh was still involved with youth teams even although by that time he was pretty well known as a referee. And I'll now go on to my part in his downfall as a referee. Can't remember when it was - possibly the late 70's or early 80's. I was having lunch with a surveyor pal and we were joined by Tom Gray, the manager of the Northern Rock Building Society. He was also the secretary of the Professional Referees Association of Scotland. We got chatting about football and I asked him if he knew Hugh and Tom said yes, he thought Hugh was a good guy. I asked him if he knew Hugh was into young boys. He was stunned but before we parted he took me aside and asked me if I was absolutely sure about what I had said. I promised him I was. Never thought anything of it but a few years later I was at a dinner at Clandeboye Golf Club here in Bangor and I was sitting at a table with two Scottish guys who had been invited over by the club captain. Turned out they were both referees at one time and one of then was at that time the Chairman or some such. Can't remember his name but he walked with a stick following a stroke . I asked him did he know Hugh and he went damed near apopleptic. He told me that Tom Gray told the committee that he had been informed that Hugh was keen on wee boys. A lot present apparently didn't believe it but Hugh was called in and apparently he admitted everything straight off. They could hardly get Hugh out the door as he kept apologising. Again rolling on the years, I was at a Camphill reunion about five years ago and over a few beers a few of us got talking about Hugh. We virtually all had been interfered with by him to some degree or another. Four of our former teachers who had been involved with the school teams were there but we didn't mention it to them. They must have had an inkling about what was going on. It seems that Hugh was able to carry on in Youth football despite having been found out. Damnable. And yet we are now hearing that the same has being going on all over the the UK. Just want to add that I'm not mentally scarred by what happened. Maybe from time to time I should have seen a shrink. Mainly about the mental damage supporting St.Mirren has caused me.
  5. I don't have a strong opinion one way or the other but the perceived wisdom is that they are inefficient and not cost effective. The only plus seems to be that it's renewable and has no waste as such. It also kills thousands of birds. I never believe politicians of any party when they talk about costs of energy. Wind farms are an absolute eyesore. So, come to think about it, I've changed my mind. I don't like them. Anyone sailed into Liverpool recently? Tilting at windmills?
  6. I got to know him around 1980. He was working at that time as a rep for one of the breweries. He called in the Stirling Castle Bar and with it being a Rangers pub, they gave him a turn. When he realised I was a Buddie, we used to chat now and again. He told me leaving St.Mirren was one of the biggest mistakes he ever made. I think he didn't resign when Alex got sacked but soon after he thought he was persona non grata and resigned. I asked him whether he thought hr would be offered a job at Pittodrie but he simply shrugged. I didn't push him on it. He really was a lovely guy and so typical of him that even if he did feel a bit hard done by he blamed no one but himself. RIP, big fella.
  7. If you're still doing 50% discounts next Friday you can pick me up at Paisley International. Are you going to the SMiSA event on Friday night?
  8. I reckon some of your comments about Gordon are libellous. You should be very careful.
  9. I'm not all that picky about the port I drink. My attitude to port is the same as it is to wine :- drink plonk in restaurants and good stuff at home. At Christmas time and birthdays my kids weigh in with port for me and as in my case they are only a week apart I usually start of the year with a good supply. It seems to vanish awfy quick, though. Evaporation is a terrible thing! The big names like Cockburns, Taylor. Grahams or Croft won't let you down. A bottle of vintage, or even a late bottle, and some blue stilton is a match made in heaven.
  10. Just wish I could drink the stuff. Can't abide whisky or brandy in any shape or form. My wife's brother in law in Kilmacolm has a fantastic collection of Scotch malts and he used to make me try some of them. They were all rotten. A decent vintage port is my thing.
  11. Nice thread, FerguslieBud. One a-typical reply from the village curmudgeon. After the bad start of being accidentally born in Ibrox, I lived in Paisley for 38 years before moving to Norn Irn in 1985. My first memories of St.Mirren were when living in the pre-fabs at Gockston I could hear the roars from Love Street. My Dad lifted me over for the first time when I was about three but he said I was a pain in the arse, running round wanting onto the pitch and asking for pies and Bovril all the time. I had a great grandfather who was a cairter and family legend has it he was one of the earliest residents of Cairters Corner. I like to think it's true. I get back home now and again and was there last month. Looking forward to the SMiSA event in a fortnight's time and hopefully meeting some troopers from the Black & White Army.
  12. I promise you I had no intention of trivialising the procedure. I've read the three passages a few times but in my opinion there wasn't enough in them for me to identify a winner. So far as who nominated whom, I assume that Gordon and Tony realised that some eyebrows would be raised before they came to their decision. Anyway, I still can't make up my mind so will probably pass. I feel really sorry for Kenny having been traduced by you know who. Must be damned nearly libellous.
  13. Do you mean information over and above their personal statements? I thought all three were pretty reasonable but then I didn't expect other than that. In my opinion there was nothing said by any one of them that made him the favourite. I'll stick with abstaining.
  14. I've had a reminder about the election. I never vote in political elections but St.Mirren FC is a lot more important than governments. I would like to vote but despite the statements from the three candidates, I feel I know nothing about them. Am I alone in that regard? There are over 1300 SMiSA members I believe and I wonder how many know any of the applicants. At the moment my choices are to toss a coin or just don't vote. Do any other members feel that they're in the same position?
  15. I've been trying to register but am having no joy. Anyone else having any diffs?
  16. I think we can assume it's got sod all to do with StuDick's contribution. Too many pay attention to him but very few listen to the cant.
  17. The Dickhead has also had a pop at David Nicol on the thread about a loyal fan being barred. David Riley will probably be the only one not to enjoy the plus of being rubbished by the prat as Studick endorsed him or whatever the term is. Sorry, David.
  18. I kept telling myself that the American people would never elect this bloody clown and I thought the result would be embarrassing for the Trumpet. Shows what I know. The Gadarene Swine live.
  19. Bloody sure he's not. I've had StuDick on ignore since Jesus was a joiner but he's all over our forums because other folk continue to respond to him. He gets the oxygen of publicity. I understand why Kenny had to respond but not the rest of you guys. Ignore him and maybe we might get peace. Can all the guys who feel they have to respond to him please ignore him for a month? Let's see what happens. If you are all convinced he only talks wanky pish, you ain't gonna miss anything.
  20. It's important to me being a middle aged man to learn something new every day so I thank you for vajazzled, The present Mrs.McD was able to explain it. If you had used the variant spelling with 'g' in it, I could have possibly sussed where you were heading. Without a doubt the original poster was having a dig at St.Mirren.
  21. No, you've got it wrong. It was the Mighty 4th. (Glenburn) That was our well deserved monicker. Won the league twice in the early 60's, the first time with a wee bit help from Archie Gemmill. I got moved to outside left when he was available. Beith was a bugger of a place to play in but we had some great games there and a few battles as well. 1st. Kilbirnie was another tough fixture. Don't remember ever losing to the 8th. Maybe that's selective memory all the same.
  22. I was in the original Camphill. Wondering about your chemistry teaching Dad. By any chance was your grandfather a primary school headmaster?
  23. It's the civilian version of the Warthog. Pilots hate it because they have to fly it in reverse using wing mirrors to see where they're going.
  24. Are you connected to Alex Rae by any chance? I'd go far as to say you're definitely not a board member. I don't know a thing about Gordon Scott but it takes balls to replace Rae as he has done. I suspect a straw poll of the 3,000 regular crowd would probably have voted Rae out but we'll never know. Getting rid of any manager is a bloody sight easier than getting the right guy in next time. Gordon Scott has a lot riding on getting that right guy. If things don't rapidly improve the knickerwetters will start shitting themselves. Your views remind me of a couple of guys who used to contribute here regularly a couple of years back and I reckon you could be both of them.
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