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Sharon to the rescue with her long-awaited
questionnaire! There's also been a wee update to Paul's
Fortuna website. See you in October!
Just a quickie this month - the
gallery from 2 nights in Iceland and a whole bevvy
of new quotes. Why no Macedonia photos? Well, for
starters I took over 500 and these need cutting down,
and I've just not had the time.
Circumstances dictated just one
weekend at home in what's been a hectic month, however
I'll have a stab at getting some more stuff on next
week.
So, back to the football... a mixed
start for Scotland saw a solid win in Iceland preceded
by a shambles on and off the pitch in Skopje. A fantastic
country (particularly for food), political jiggery-pokery
meant thousands of Scotland fans were left locked-out
of a half-full stadium. Thankfully everyone took it
in their stride, but I do feel sorry for the guys
who didn't make it and hope it didn't put too much
of a downer on the trip.
Hope to be back with a further wee
update before Norway, but we'll see...
Cheers, Paul
It's taken her a few weeks (er, months even...),
after she told me she had problems remembering the
dates of her first games (men never forget these things!),
but here it is - your chance to get to know NATA's
shortest member a little better ...more
A flying visit, but here are Paul and Helen's photos
from Iceland. We'll have links to other NATA members'
galleries shortly, but expect loads of rocks (due
to our geogology correspondents) ...more
If there is one thing the recent double-header was
good for, it was quotes. Hundreds, well 28, of them
have made the final cut and are now online for your
delight and delectation ...more
So why does it always take so long to update NATA
Online? A quick glance at Paul's "other"
website will give you a clue - he's always in Germany!
...more |
Another month end, another mad rush
to get an update, and another rabbit pulled out of
the hat by the skin or our teeth (nothing like a mixed
metaphor...)
Special thanks to NATA's on-loand
member Kenny Hamilton for taking the time to do a
very illuminating questionnaire. We can also introduce
the rest of the NATA squad for the upcoming qualifiers
in a Sky Sports styleee.
As promised last month, and believed
by nobody given how this usually works, we can bring
you the next chapter of our popular Look-alikes series
(and thanks to all who have contributed ideas and
photos, even those that haven't made it yet). We also
have a look back at our last trip to Iceland, as well
as some of my "holiday snaps" at Fortuna
matches.
There's another mention of the Tartan
Army Childrens Charity - remember that even if you
read this too late to donate towards the Tartan Skopje
appeal, the monthly lottery will continue, and you
can sign-up online in minutes.
So, happy surfing (and travelling)
for the next month, and I'll be back with an update
soon after the Macedonia and Iceland trips. If you're
going, enjoy; if not, enjoy it on the telly - see
you all in September!
Cheers, Paul
As promised, here's the second instalment within
two months. Another 12 look-alikes, including some
of the usual suspects ...more
It's that time again - here's an updated "Meet
NATA" ahead of the World Cup campaign ...more
And if you want to get to know one of our members
(well, loan member at least) a little more initmately,
why not read about how much Kenny is looking forward
to Oslo next year? ...more
Whilst waiting for Scotland's campaign to kick-off,
Paul has been over for a couple of Fortuna games -
away
to Burghausen and home
to Unterhaching (photos on Paul's own website).
Finally, if you're heading off to Reykjavik next
week, why not reminisce about our last visit in 2002,
which saw Berti Vogts' team claim a decent 2-0 win.
We have both words
and pictures. |
As promised, here's the loooonnnngggg
awaited Lookalikes Gallery, with 12 new lookalikes.
And there's more to come soon, but please remember
to let me know if any TA lookalikes you spot on tour
in the meantime!
The new qualifying campaign is drawing
ever closer, and we even have a warm-up game to look
forward to in the shape of Northern Ireland next month.
Not that it's drawing the crowds in - this could be
the first game for many years without a single NATA
member in attendance! A combination of school-holiday
timing, unattractive opposition, illogical ticketing
policies (one per SSC member!?) and daft pricing (in
the face of a credit crunch) have all conspired to
keep ticket sales down - here's hoping these pick
up in the next three weeks!
Anyway, enough doom and gloom -
we bring you a mixed bag this month: photos of drunk
people on a boat (and some sights); NATA's own Victor
Meldrew on what he dislikes and dislikes; a pub-by-pub
guide to the best city in Germany; and a smattering
of quotes from the Prague trip. Where's the look-alikes
I've been promising for the past six months or so?
Almost here, honest - in the next few days, gallery
number 17 will be here!
So, with all this on offer, have
we peaked too soon? Is there anything left in the
tank for the next month or two? Fear not, I plan a
veritable blitz on look-alikes, plus an updated Prague
guide, the NATA squad for the qualifiers (not much
in the way of surprises) and Sharon has promised me,
only today, that she'll pull a questionnaire out of
the hat in time for the next update.
Until then, enjoy the summer, enjoy
the Northern Ireland game (whether you're going, or
just watching it on the telly like me) and enjoy the
anticipation of a new campaign!
Cheers, Paul
It's been a while, but it's here at last! Twelve
new look-alikes, including NATA's own Ally, Helen
and Bruce, as well as several Loony Alba members.
And there's more to come soon (promise!) ...more
Another summer, another drunken boat trip on the
Thames courtesy of Loony Alba. 62 photos of the below-deck
drinking and some of the sights are now online ...more
After much cajoling and pleading, it's Ally to the
rescue with the first NATA Questionnaire in 11 months!
Sharon's promised one for August, but for now read
about Ally's likes and dislikes as the elder statesman
of NATA ...more
A new season, a new guide. Now clocking in at 7 pages,
our guide to Düsseldorf has even more pubs and
the lowdown on the best places to eat and drink in
Germany's premier party city.... Download
here
TACC Lottery - Now Online! For only £5 per
month help the TACC support disadvantaged children
in Scotland and abroad, and have an opportunity to
win a cash prize! More
details (external
website)
Only four quotes from Prague, but they're not too
shabby ...more |
It's been a while since a proper
update, and despite my best endeavours, this one still
falls a little short of what I'd hoped to unleash
on an unsuspecting public. Notwithstanding exams (last
Tuesday), network problems (next weekend's chore)
and a laptop on a go-slow, at least we do have some
new Tartan Army related content to bring you for the
first time in a while...
Following on from the excellent
trip, and not-so-excellent performance (let's face
it, it was the definition of a meaningless end-of
-season game for Scotland!), we have a photo gallery
AND a diary account of the trip. Unfortunately, "technical
difficulties" have limited the number of photos,
as a corrupted memory card kicked in right before
the match, although everything from the Monday night
right up to the Friday lunchtime remained unscathed.
To go a little way to making up
for that, there is an additional Prague gallery on
my own "scrapbook" website from the second
week I spent there in mid-June, as well as some other
snaps.
With the exam out of the way, and
no more football on the telly to distract me for a
wee while, the next update will most definitely 100%
contain a new look-alikes gallery, and a few more
morsels besides, so keep 'em peeled.
Cheers, Paul
Not the full story, unfortunately, as a corrupted
memory card means no photos of the match or the afternath.
Nonetheless, there's still around 100 snaps to give
you an idea of what we got up to ...more
A beer-by-beer account of 5 days in the Prague suburbs
from Paul's perspective. This fills in the gaps that
the camera failed to capture, and gives a flavour
of Prague away from the stag parties and strip clubs
...more
Away from Tartan Army duty, one of Paul's "other"
websites has been updated with photos from three home
wins in the tail end of the season, although Fortuna
narrowly missed out on promotion ...more
And finally, here are the full photos from trips
to Düsseldorf in April,
early
May and late
May, as well as the second (non-Scotland) week
in Prague
in June. |
Just a quick to say there won't
be a proper update this month - sorry! Just been too
busy with travel (away to Prague tomorrow) and studying
for a work exam. We will be back in June - promise!
Another month, another struggle
to get an update out on time! Still, here we are again,
even if it is another brief one...
A trip to Brussels at the start
of the month has provided a raft of new quotes and
some juicy photos. There's also a chance to gen up
on travel tips and pubs for the Prague trip at the
end of May, as well as a look back on our last game
in the Czech Republic in June 1999, when a very big
man came on and turned the game in the Czech's favour.
So where is the Look-alike gallery
I promised? Well, it's almost ready, but a combination
of things has, as ever, stopped me from putting the
finishing touches to it. However, with the battering
the pound is taking against the euro has curtailed
at least one trip to Germany in May, and promises
to keep me at home for most of the summer, so plenty
of time for updates then! We will be back in May,
although I'm not quite sure with what just yet! Stay
tuned...
Cheers, Paul
Brussels was a fertile breeding ground for new quotes,
with another nine added to the record of note... more
April brought about another NATA-centric drinking
trip, this time to Brussels. See the photos on Paul's
scrapbook site... more |
Another skin of the teeth update,
but such is the timing of Scotland games! As for the
next 2 months, I can already predict with uncanny
accuracy when these will take place, given how busy
I am over the coming months (and with an exam to study
for as well...)
Anyway, for now, feast your eyes
on the Croatia Game gallery, plus NATA-centric football
(and beer) trips to Düsseldorf and Southampton.
We've also updated the ever-popular Quotes section
(don't worry Tam - the Look-alikes will be updated
next month!), and given the much awaited announcement
of friendly matches, the Travel Details page has also
been brought up to date. The Czech game has also allowed
us to re-time our countdown below.
It's going to be another full month
before the next update. In addition to a new Look-alikes
Gallery, we also hope to have some more snaps, and
maybe (just maybe) some material from someone other
than me. Enjoy for now and tune back in next month...
Cheers, Paul
Thirty snaps from last week's decent draw against
the Croatians are online already in what must be some
kind of record for a NATA update! ...more
Five new quotes worthy of immortalisation on the
NATA Quotes Page saw the light of day last Wednesday
as well ...more
Not one but two friendly matches were announced on
Easter Monday, which was handy.... Nonetheless, the
Czech away game and the Northern Ireland home match
have allowed us to bring the Travel Details page up
to date ...more
Unusually for Paul's "personal collection",
both of these galleries from March's travels feature
a significant number of NATA members, firstly on a
Stag/Hen Trip Revival weekend in Düsseldorf,
and then on Paul's annual pilgrimage to his Saints
roots |
Now the excitement of George Burley's
appointment as new manager has died down, as well
as most of the knee-jerk reaction to his assistant
Terry Butcher's appointment, it's down to "business
as usual" at home to Croatia at the end of March.
We can help you get in the mood for the game by reminiscing
about the two draws we played out in the 2002 qualifying
campaign by looking at our (now very dated!) galleries.
Still on the reminiscing vibe, we've
published the Georgia trip account to bring the diary
section bang up to date. There's also some more Düsseldorf
photos from my most recent trip to see Fortuna (on
my own website).
Finally, many thanks to Loony Alba
Chairman Kevin Donnelly (Keith to his friends), who
has weighed in with a comprehensive eating guide to
the St Catherine fish restaurant district in Brussels.
We'll be back in late March with
snaps from the Croatia home game and anything else
we can rustle up.
Cheers, Paul
Bringing the diary part back up to date, here's Paul's
opus on the lengthiest trip of 2007, taking in Glasgow,
Tbilisi and Munich. It could be a long wait for the
next one ...more
Thanks to Loony Alba's roaming gastronom, Kevin "Disco
Keith" Donnelly, NATA can bring you his blow-by-blow,
lobster-canape-by-braised-tripe account of the eateries
of St Catherine ...more
Holiday snaps time again, but there are some good
ones here, honest! Photos from Fortuna's stunning
2-0 win against then league-leaders Wuppertal, plus
some good skyline and riverside shots ...more |
As promised, we're back with our
second update of 2008, with another diary account
- France this time - to add to the story of the Faroes
added at the start of the month.
We've also embarked on a new venture
for NATA Online - downloadable wallpapers. I'm well
aware that most people customise their own desktop
backgrounds with their own designs, however the caledar
version has served me well for the past two years
and I felt it wouldn't do any harm to make it available
to a wider audience.
A word about this month's other
update - the fixtures and Travel Plans. Since originally
publishing our plans on the 1st January, FIFA have
now come out and said there could be some "small
changes" to the Group 9 game plan. Here's hoping
2008's fixtures, which many of us have already booked
for, remain unchanged!
We'll be back in February with the
Georgia diary, along with some other things that I
haven't thought of yet. Until then, have a good one!
Have a good Burns Night!
Paul
New for 2008, we've done a set of downloadable wallpapers.
Paul's been using a DIY version of the calendar type
for years, as he's terrible with dates! ...more
Relive the magic of our historic 1-0 win in the Parc
des Princes with NATA's diary account of the event
...more |
Just a quick mention to say "Happy
New Year", and a bonus update with the long-awaited
Faroes Diary plus some travel news. There will be
another update before the end of the month.
Just six months late, but here's
the account of our day-trip to the Faroes on Air WESTA
...more
Details of our plans for the next
qualifying campaign, and a full list of international
dates for 2008-09 ...more |
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