Well, it's been a busy year, both for NATA
in general and for this website. At the start of 2003, this
site was still being "broadcast" in pale yellow,
and had no Flash content whatsoever (you can still see an
abridged version here)
- we end the year having launched the first ever online TA
"game".
Anyway, enough about us. It's been a transitional
year for Scottish football as well, ending with that crushing
defeat in Amsterdam - you can now view the NATA photos of
the event, and read up on a mini-travel guide.
Our next updated is timed to coincide with
the announcement of the 2006 Qualifying fixtures, so tune
in again after Sunday 18th January for more fun and frivolity
from NATA Online.
It's been a long time coming, but at last NATA Online can
you bring you our very own, original game. Well, more of an
excuse to waste five minutes than a game as such... more
NEW: Play-Off Photos
You've read the diary (well, maybe you haven't, but it's
here if you are interested),
now see the photos - the home
leg, and Mon & Tues
and Weds photos from Amsterdam.
And speaking of Amsterdam, there's a new addition to the
Mini Travel Guides in the shape
of a Low Countries guide. To be honest, I'm more of a Brussels
man myself.... more
I've been a bit busy on the old Flash side - in addition
to an expanded menu bar above, I've added an interactive site
map as well. It;s not in as much detail the old
text site map, but it looks shinier... more
Wednesday 17th December
2003
So, two new away games to look forward to
in Wales and Denmark for the new year, plus the Qualifying
Fixtures to whet our appetites in mid-January. The life of
a TA Travel Agent is never dull!
Anyhow, feast your eyes on the morsels below,
and get ready for another big update before Hogmanay, which
should include some a Brussels & Amsterdam Travel Guide,
the Play-Off photos, and some more flashy animated stuff for
the post-ironic modernists amongst you. 'Til then, have a
good one, and spread the word about the site.
At long last, and for your viewing pleasure: Gallery
1 (Sat & Mon), Gallery 2
(Tues & Thurs), Gallery 3
(Weds Bus trip and architecture) and Gallery
4 (Drunk people) ... more
A great night was had by all, and far more photos can be
found at the AWARD-WINNINGLoony
Alba site, but here is the NATA take on the carnage that
was the Loony Alba 10th Anniversary St Andrews dinner dance...
more
(And don't forget our click-through Interactive
Guide to Scotland's group)
Sunday 7th December 2003
So, we now know where we're going on our
holidays for the best part of the next 2 years! You can read
my first thoughts on the matter in the Travel Section. We've
also got something a little bit special to mark the relaunch
of NATA TV and the recent Qualifying Draw.
I know I promised all the Hong Kong photos,
but events have overtaken me a little! At least there's plenty
of other morsels to feast your weary eyes on. And expect some
more action in the near future, right up to Hogmanay (when
I'm taking a well-earned break in Prague. Well, it has been
a couple of weeks...). And for any pedants out there (i.e.
most of you!), you'll be pleased to know that the "Away"
colours of this website have been updated to reflect our lucky,
lucky white shirt.
Cheers, Paul
NEW: WC2006 Preview
Not one, but two perspectives on Scotland's draw for the
World Cup Qualifiers:
I know we're a bit out of kilter here - Germany photos and
no diary, and now a Netherlands Diary with no photos, but
hey - learn to live with it... more
A mini-guide covering brief details of what I can personally
recommend in Bosnia Sarajevo), Poland (Gdansk), Hungary (Budapest)
and Croatia (Zagreb)... more
UPDATED: Odds & Ends
Tying up a few loose ends, the following sections have also
been updated
I know I said I'd be doing an update...
but I really can't stir myself to do it yet! As next weekend
is the Loony Alba 10th Anniversary St Andrews dinner, it'll
be the weekend after at the earliest (just after we find out
where we'll be going for our holidays!).
Paul
Sunday 2nd November
2003
Two updates in a week... what fresh nonsense
is this!? Hot on the heels of last weekend's (well, Monday's)
update, we bring yet more tasty morsels of NATA goodness.
Photos, travel guides and t-shirt-related tomfoolery - what
more could you possibly want?
What's that, Tam? Hong Kong photos, you
say? Your wait is nearly over, young padawan. You may have
to wait longer for the diary - so just hang on to your chicken
for now.
Following fast on the heels of the Oslo
Diary last week, you can now read up on our jaunt down
to Copenhagen, ahead of our potential friendly trip there
in April... more
You can tell all the Scousers you know...
that the NATA mini-guide to Bucharest is now online, with
our own take on the best sights, and more crucially, pubs,
to go to in the Romanian capital... more
21 new (yet old) photos have been added to the Faroes 1,
Iceland 3 and Portugal 1 galleries, however to save you checking
them all out - you can just go here.
One-stop-shop service from NATA Online - whatever next?
It's probably the single biggest avenue of publicity we
have, so it's about time we re-vamped the gallery and brought
it a wee bit more up to date. You can now view all T-Shirt
slogans up to Germany, and gaze in wonder at our three (count
'em...) badges... more
Monday 27th October
2003
A day late, but not too bad seeing as I've
come back from Bucharest with bubonic plague, or at least,
tuberculosis. Feast your eyes on a banquet of photos - over
40 from the last home match, and eight-score-and-two from
our UEFA Cup jaunt to Bucharest with Southampton FC.
Much is still planned for upcoming updates,
including the Germany Diary (not to mention the Copenhagen
part of the Scandinavian story), and a NATA Mini Guide to
Romania, so please do keep 'em peeled.
Finally - Holland, eh? Looking at the full
draw, it seems our balls may have been cold in the bag. Never
mind, we've beaten them in the past - can McFadden be an Archie
Gemmill for a new generation?
Quotes
- 8 new quotes - 6 from Bucharest, 1 golden oldie from Croatia
and one shocker from Germany. Travel- Play-off details now up.
Sunday 5th October
2003
After a wee delay, caused in partly by a
touch of the flu, and partly by Aftershock abuse, we can now
bring things back up to date with this bumper photo update!
(My creative juices weren't flowing enough for the diary entries!)
A hectic few weeks awaits, with the Lithuania
game next week, followed by 5 days in Romania with Southampton
FC, so I don't realistically expect to get any updates on
until around late October, when you can expect the Germany
epic and some photos of Bucharest.
In the meantime, remember that the Euro2004
Play Off Draw is made on Monday 13th October, at lunchtime
in Frankfurt - keep your eyes peeled on UEFA
site for details.
Finally, if anyone is knocking around in
Glasgow the day after the Lithuania game, Partick Thistle
are playing a friendly away to Clydebank to celebrate the
opening of Glenhead Park. Kick off is at 2pm, and its only
£4 to get in - see the Official
Bankies site for details.
Cheers, Paul
NEW: Germany photos
Lots and lots of photos from Paul and Helen's week in Germany,
from Hamburg in the north to Munich
(1 & 2)
in the south, with the wee matter of Dortmund
and Ahlen in the middle.
UPDATED: Scandinavia photos
The final two galleries have been added
to the Scandinavia photos. Find out what happened on the big
boat from Oslo to Copnehagen, and at the Copenhagen
derby (Brønby v FCK).
4 corkers from Germany have been thrown into the mix on the
Quotes page. If you know of any
more contenders, please let us know... more
STOP PRESS: Tuesday
16th September 2003
Firstly, a massive hello to everyone we
met in Hamburg, Dortmund and München last week!
Secondly, apologies for such a short and
sweet update (a full one will follow late September and early
October), but NATA can exclusively (I
can say that, as I just sat and worked it out!) bring
you the ins and outs of what can happen in the EURO2004 Play
Off situation - check the details for yourself in the Planned
Travel section.
Cheers, Paul
Sunday 31st August
2003
Things are pretty hectic here right now,
so please excuse the partial update. Just to keep you going,
here's half the Scandinavia photos and some cracking quotes.
The Norway Diary will follow shortly (possibly
even this week), as will the photos and diary from the Denmark
leg of the trip. Also coming soon (though not for a few weeks
yet) will be video and audio footage from the Norway ship,
including extensive reportage from the "Birthday Party".
Cheers, Paul
NEW: Norway Photos
46 snaps of the "night before" (including Tam Coyle's
40th birthday bash) are on the Gallery
1 page, whilst 40 photos of Matchday and Thursday in Oslo
can be found in Gallery 2.
The Oslo diary will follow shortly, as will photos of the
Copenhagen leg of the trip.
8 sparkling new quotes, from the risque to the elitist to
the surreal, have been added to the top of the Quotes
page. 7 of these are from Scandinavia and 1 from the mists
of time (well, the train to Teplice at least)... more
Mini-update: Monday
12th August 2003
Just a quick word to say to expect a new
update around Sunday 1st September, when we hope to bring
you the Norway diary and photos, along with any other morsels
we can produce in time.
In the meantime, besides checking what you
may have missed on our news page, why not have a look at some
of the other Tartan Army pages out there (listed on our Links
page)? The Crack
of Dawn Tartan Army have just launched their website (be
sure to check out the Troops,
School Fitba and Uncle
Robbo pages). Also well worth a visit are the Tap
Shop and Bishopton
TA sites, as well as our parent Tartan Army: Loony
Alba.
Heralding the development of the Interactive side of things,
NATA Online is pleased to announce the launch of Radio
NATA. Unfortunately, this is a service only available
to those with a very fast internet connection, however you
can still click here and see what you are missing... more.
Sunday 3rd August
2003
A week ahead of the game, we can now bring
you a little bit of technological innovation (Radio NATA),
a bit of useful travel information (the Baltics Guide), and
a bit of useless general stereotyping (but
still funny! See Drunks of the World). More of all
this below.
We'll now be lying low as we start developing
a very top-secret project that will hopefully tickle your
fancies. Expect the next update after the Norway game, and
until then... keep it country.
Continuing our series of mini Travel guides, our combined
Baltics Guide is now online...
more
Sunday 20th July
2003
Well, I'm certainly putting the summer lull
to good use here at NATA HQ! This second update within three
weeks see's not only a whole new host of content (below),
but a snazzy new colour scheme as well - don't like the home
kit? Well, one click of the button above and you're looking
at the away colours.
Another big piece of news is that we have
now topped 10,000 hits - not bad for a small Tartan Army from
the south coast of England! I'm hoping that the new features
I have up my sleeve will bring the next 10,000 in much faster!
And speaking of improvements - keep an eye
out for even more exciting developments over the coming weeks,
including a focus on the interactive side of things, including
the very first Tartan Army web radio. Why not sign up for
the Newsletter and be among the first
to know?
NATA's very own Hampden Guide
- handy for anyone needing travel or practical information
for Scotland home matches, and in plenty of time for the Faroes
game as well... more
The perfect accompaniment to the Hampden Guide, NATA's comprehensive
Glasgow Pub Guide covers both
City Centre and pubs near Hampden, making sure you won't go
thirsty! ... More
Continuing the series of destination guides to places I've
been on my holidays to, the Turkey
Guide, featuring Istanbul and Antalya, is now online.
Just in time for any England fans planning to travel! (Stop
sniggering! I'm serious)... more
UPDATED: Web Site Stuff
Okay, I know it's techy stuff, but I know at least some of
you care! The Navigation menu at the top of each page has
been expanded to give more prominence to the expanding Travel
and Interactive sections,
but the real big news is our home and away colour scheme -
you can read about how it was done here
(if you're into that kind of thing!)
We're is flying now, ohhh yeeaahhh! Big, big things are planned
for the summer, starting right now, so you may want to sign-up
now for our new Mailing List.
There'll be no spam, just information on what's new on
NATA Online when it's new on the net.
Feast your eyes on what's new and updated
below, and rest assured that the Travel section will continue
to grow over the summer. In fact, we'll be re-designing the
navigation in time for the next update (mid-July) to give
the Travel Section it's rightful place. Expect some exciting
news on the Interactive (and NATA TV) front as well.
By popular demand, and especially to help out John, here
is the NATA Guide to the Czech Republic. Admittedly it has
a distinct Prague bias, but there is a special look at the
city's football grounds (and their bars)... more
NOW with pictures (and
some have been added to the Germany
Guide too!)
Well, new of sorts! A terminal hard disk error put paid to
my first attempts to upload these photos (as well as the Hong
Kong ones - coming soon, honest!)
13 photos of the Aberdeen session can be seen here
In order to give a rundown on his own views on what's what,
NATA Web Master Paul Allison lists the good, the bad and the
ugly of his travel experiences... more
Things are picking up again here at NATA HQ. This bumper
update is a mere taster of things to come, as I look to ramp
up the travel content on NATA Online. I also have some things
up my sleeve concerning NATA TV, which has obviously suffered
a delay in launching.
As part of this expansion, I have also invested
in an additional domain name for the site - www.tartanarmy.net,
as I hope this will direct even more traffic our way.
Anyway, in the meantime, have a butchers
at the juicy morsels below...
Paul
NEW: Germany Home photos
No less than 56 photos of our recent draw at home to Germany
on 7th June - a pre-match gallery here,
and a gallery of the match and the post match fun here.
The Travel Tips Section has been radically overhauled in
preparation for further expansion over the summer. Feast you
eyes on a vast array of Tartan
Army Travel Links, and look forward to the new launch
of the NATA Mini Guides, starting
with...
A bite-size guide to Germany,
based on Paul's previous travels. As well as a general section,
there are entries on Bremen, Duesseldorf, Frankfurt, Mainz
and Munich.
A quick update, including the long-awaited captions for the
Baltics photos (see Lithuanian Diary below), along with lots
of other photo-related goodies (including the English Cup
Final).
Expect another update towards the end of
June, when Germany home photos should be available with any
luck, along with some other treats (whisper it - but Hong
Kong may finally get the coverage it deserves!)
All in all, sorry for taking so long, but
cheers for sticking with us.
It's been a long time coming, but when you
see the length of it, you'll understand (oo er!) - weighing
it at a hefty 4,600+ words, the Lithuanian dissertation can
be read here (it comes in
5 digestible parts for your delight and delectation!)
ALSO: captions
have been added to the mountain of photos: here,
here, here
and here.
Not strictly Tartan Army (but I did wear
my kilt) - 35
Photos of Southampton
FC's
big day out in Cardiff, featuring Paul, Helen and sometime
NATA associate, Wee Fern. Rich and the Wee Man were there,
but missed out on the pre-match fun due to a lazy bus driver!
A wee bit embarrassing this, but in all
the excitement, I kinda forgot... Criminally, the
paragraph describing the actual game was omitted from
the original diary - you can catch up with it here!
Sorry, but a combination
of circumstances have held up the planned updates. A few busy
weekends are ahead of me, so I hope to start bringing it back
up to date after the Germany home match. Paul
Well, we've relaunched to keep "up
with the Joneses", please take a moment or two to have
a look around. You can even read about the rationale behind
the update on the new Website Info
page.
Turkey B 1 - Scotland B 1
Cold Turkey!
Read all about the NATA tour of Istanbul and Antalya... more
There's also a staggering 117
Photos across 4 photo galleries - access them from
the Gallery Index
Far East Special
At last! The wait is over - Paul's Korea
diary and gallery of almost 60 photographs are now online...
more
Hong Kong
diary and photos will follow in due course
Women of The World
Paul casts a fully objective eye over the
talent around Europe in this "tongue-in-cheek" guide,
based purely on rumour and gossip... more.
Do you agree with his "expert" opinion?
And a brand new navigation system (via
the logo bar on each page)
The next update should come around mid-April,
when we hope to have Lithuania photos, along with a few more
refinements to the site. Please
let me know what you think (particularly if the new colour
scheme is hurting your eyes!). Cheers,
Paul
Bringing it a bit more up-to-date at last, with some all-new
material for you to feast yourselves on. I'm afraid the wait
for the Far East tour photos and diary accounts continues,
but I expect most of you already knew that. In the meantime,
check out the following new material:
The Mainz diary has now
been added to the mammoth 2002 Diary page - less than 1,000
words this time, you'll no doubt be pleased to hear!
The Tartan Army Look-alikes feature has spawned yet another
sequel (Look-alikes 3), now
featuring some faces from our travels as well
Some new quotes have been added to the You
Said What page (thanks to Dianne)
Thanks also to Jason from Netley, who has added another
famous person to the list of Netley residents in the Netley
Guide
Finally, the eagle-eyed amongst you may have spotted
the omission of a NATA Topical Poll - I've taken the decision
to discontinue this given the drop in popularity. You can
view the results of the polls conducted during 2002 here.
Due to increasing pressure to give the people what they
want, and in the face of some rather flash Tartan Army websites
(Tap Shop
TA, Bishopton
TA, Loony
Alba - perhaps I'm a wee bit biased on that one! - and
the soon-to-be-relaunched Highland
Tartan Army to name but four) upping the ante, I'm taking
NATA Online back to the drawing board for a month of two to
see if I can't brighten it up a bit. Please email
me with any original suggestions or demands you may have
for the site.
Cheers, Paul & NATA
Monday 6th January 2003
HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM NATA
Not a fully planned update, but after undue pressure from
an overweight Glaswegian with a JD habit, here is what's ready
of NATA Online for 2003:
Tartan Army Lookalikes 2
- The sequel is here, featuring no less than 16 travelling
Tartan Army members.
If you give a forcibly sober man a shiny new digital
camera and 7 days in Iceland, and you get almost 400 photos
(of which 100 or so are visible here, here and here). Give
the same man a drink and 36 hours in Mainz? 45
of the stoaters (of admittedly more questionable quality)
- See the results HERE
NATA travelled in force to the Loony Alba St Andrews
Night, and 17 Photos have now been added to the new Miscellaneous
2 Gallery (more photos online at www.loonyalba.com)
A full update, including a diary for the Mainz trip, will
appear here in the next week or so.
