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Wednesday
30th December 2009
We're back! I hope you like the new colour scheme
- we've gone for a much cleaner, more white-space
and clearer text look, with less graphics, partly
to make the site more mobile-friendly. I've invested
real money on our new navigation system, which has
even been iPhone tested!
Obviously, it's all well and good having a compatible
website, but we still need the content on it to inspire
the browsing public to come and visit, and that's
next on the agenda. Certain travel guides need to
be brought up-to-date, and I may even consider adding
some kind of "Web 2.0" element like Twitter
or a blog, if I think the demand is there. Never has
this been a more relevant consideration for a Tartan
Army website - in preparing this update, I spent an
entire afternoon checking each and every link to other
websites, and no less than 34 old TA Club websites
have fallen by the wayside, with only 15 new ones
springing up to replace them. Perhaps most worrying
is the fact that three of the most innovative - Tap
Shop TA, Bishopton TA and the original Crack of Dawn
TA - sites are amongst the casualties!
In the meantime, please have a wee look around. Please
shout if you spot anything out of place (bear in mind
the old content is still there, but is stuck with
the old design), and please feel free to let us know
what you think of the new look, or whether you think
we've left anything behind, via our Contact
page.
I don't know when the next update will be, but given
the whole point of the revamp is to make these things
easier, I'm hopeful it will be sooner rather than
later!
Cheers, Paul
| Web Evolution |
2009 Diary |
What Next? |
| If
you're interested in the ins and outs of how we've
changed over the past decade (the site launched
in Jan 2001), then the lowdown awaits... more |
Diary updates for
two of the three away matches Paul attended in
2009 (plus the one he didn't) have also now made
it online... more |
There's still plenty
to update, starting with Norway and Japan photos
(once I've fixed the new template!), plus the
gradual updating of the travel pages. |
|
What's happened? Three full months
without a peep? Well, a lot's happened... I've passed
another exam, Helen's lost her job (and thankfully
found another one!), we've both written off entire
weekends due to beer festivals and cricket matches
(supporting Sussex, not England!!!), and various other
distractions have kept me away from my computer doing
something a little less boring instead...
And, to be honest, I have to confess
I can't remember ever feeling quite so non-plussed
about Scotland's prospects, even in the depths of
the Berti years. So, rather than come on here and
risk dragging everyone else down into my own malaise,
I figured a rest from updates may be preferable.
Nonetheless, we're back, and whilst
it may not be the most ground-breaking update ever,
at least it's a start. We've got a look-back at our
last two Oslo experiences, seeing us draw in a friendly
and win convincingly in our last competitive visit,
as well as travel details for Japan. On a non-Tartan
Army note, there are several hundred photos of our
summer jaunt to Vancouver if anyone is having trouble
sleeping!
We really will be back soon, with
photos of Norway, and maybe even a diary account (Amsterdam
too!), but in all honesty it may not be until after
the home double-header. Until then, stay happy!
Cheers, Paul
NATA founder member Rich has single-handedly
managed to rearrange the Norwegian second division
fixture list, and Skeid have kindly agreed to host
a fan party at their Tuesday night game. Directions
to the ground (and pub) are on this
flyer
Now Japan has finally been confirmed,
details of our travel plans have been added to the
Travel page, along with an updated rumours section
...more
And why do I only have three days
in Japan? Because I spent a week in Vancouver in June
- the pics are on my scrapbook website (and there's
rather a lot of them!) ...more
With this being our third visit
to Oslo in the space of 6 years, NATA Online has 2003
and 2005
galleries, plus a 2003
and 2005 diary
entry to whet your appetites. |
After a controversial round of matches
for Scotland, the dust is beginning to settle, and
despite our second place, the grim reality is that
having played all four teams in our group, we've only
been able to beat one of them so far.
Photos from both of the double-header
games have been added, including a job lot from our
Hampden tour the day after the Iceland victory.
Anyway, there are still three games
to go including a trip to that least enticing of destinations,
Oslo. Travel details for that trip, plus news about
a controversial trip to Japan in October, have been
added to the Travel Details page.
Our next update is anticipated in
either late May or early June. Although the season
is already over for some (including, sadly in mine
and Rich's opinion at least, Southampton FC), things
are just heating up for others. With a potential Fortuna
play-off looming, and possibly clashing with Clydebank
FC's greatest moment since their renaissance (congratulations
to the Bankies for reaching the Scottish Junior Cup
Final against all odds!), as well as Worthing facing
play-offs this coming week, it will at least be an
exciting month!
Cheers, Paul
Less than a month after the event, here's the gallery
with over 120 snaps from two nights apiece in Haarlem
and Amsterdam. Enjoy... more
And a further 68 from the home win against Iceland
and a tour of Hampden the following day... more
Norway's sorted, and a return to the Land of the
Rising Sun appears to be on the horizon... more
Paul's Fortuna Düsseldorf website has also been
updated with photos and background info... more |
Just to get you in the mood for
the Amsterdam trip, here's a cracking short song
from Ally about Paris (right click to save as a 3mb
MP3 file). There's also a guide
to the superb German city of Regensburg, plus some
photos
of Paul and Helen's trip there last weekend. Back
with a proper update in April! |
Exactly one month to go before we
start on the campaign trail again, and everyone is
wondering if we'll have to suffer a repeat of our
last trip to Amsterdam, or whether a repeat of Paris
2007 is on the cards.
You can now read up on our last
away game - our only success to date - to whet your
appetite for the upocoming trip. We've also got a
very detailed and opinionated questionnaire from NATA's
own Ladies Man, as well as a link to a worthy new
business venture from a NATA member.
Finally, this update also sees a
long overdue overhaul of our popular Prague Pub Guide,
with lots more pubs added and even some pub crawl
suggestions.
Being realistic, we're unlikely
to manage an update in March, however we will be back
in April with photos and gossip from the double header
against the Netherlands and Iceland, as well as any
other nuggets we can come up with in the meantime.
For now, have a good month and savour the anticipation
of our next game!
Cheers, Paul
Bringing us back up to date on the
diary front, for one more month at least, here's the
tale of 2 nights in Iceland and Scotland's only win
in theWC campaign to date ...more
Chapter and verse from NATA founder
member Rich, including a rare admission of an embarrassing
incident from the usually unflappable Ladies Man ...more
After two weeks in Prague in the
space of a month last summer, we felt it was time
to update the Prague Pub Guide, now with far more
pubs and some cracking pub crawl suggestions ...more
Safe sex and balloon animals* are
both lots of fun, and both have been made easier thanks
to SuperiorCondoms.com,
a new business venture from one of the NATA boys.
* We're not suggesting that these
two activities should be combined! |
First of all, sorry for the website
laying low for the past three months. What caused
the hiatus? A variety of things, basically: pressure
of work; reluctance to commit to PC time when relaxing
at home; travel; but, most of all, simple creative
writing block, I suppose. It's very disheartening,
as there's only been a handful of months without updates
since the site's inception 7 years ago this month,
but c'est la vie...
Anyway, we're back now and that's
the main thing! What I can bring you is not one but
two photo galleries: the comprehensive Macedonia gallery
and a smaller one for the Noway home match. I've also
managed to shake off my creative shackles and knock
out a diary entry for the Skopje trip (and the Iceland
one is almost done - next month, honest!). Finally,
it's my own turn to complete the Meet NATA questionnaire
(for the second time, may I add).
I really, honestly do envisage being
able to update the website again before the end of
next month, and plan to bring some of the following:
the Iceland diary, an update to the Prague pub guide,
a new questionnaire and the final tweaks to the Meet
NATA page.
Between now and then, I'm really
hoping that the SFA do something about our friendly
calendar for the remainder of the year, as it really
is looking quite sparse. Whilst I fully appreciate
that the priority has to be meeting the squad's needs,
surely a little bit of communication and forward planning
wouldn't go amiss?
Cheers, Paul
For starters, here's 42 snaps from
the dreary 0-0 draw at home to Norway in October 2008
...more
To follow, a blow-by-blow account
of our 5 days in Skopje, which may be a little different
from other people's experience ....more
The biggest gallery we've ever done
- no less than 368 photos covering our 5 days in Macedonia,
including the infamous bus trip/mountain hike at Matka
...more
And continuing our Questionnaire
series, it's webmaster and co-founder of NATA, Paul's
turn. Read all about his favourite trips, stadia,
drinks and Scotland tops ...more |
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