Birnam Oak

The Birnam Oak A quick visit to Dunkeld on the recommendation of our hotelier at Killiecrankie House revealed two gems rather than the one we were expecting. First, Dunkeld is a beautiful little town with a lot to offer the non-traditional tourist. Boot-sales, churches, river walking etc. rather than the over-the-top touristy bits in places such as Pitlochrie. Secondly, on the overside of the River Tay is the beautiful hamlet of Birnam. Sadly, due to my unique brand of selfishness, I had alienated myself, again, from so many of my friends during this little stopover. Hopefully those wounds I caused will someday heal over. Digression. Birnam is home to the Birnam Oak. The Birnam Oak, which is now supported by crutches is purported to be the last remaining tree of the Birnam Wood made famous by Shakespeare in his play Macbeth.

Macbeth shall never vanquish'd be until Great Birnam wood to high Dunsinane hill shall come against him.

Malcom's forces did indeed bring Birnam Wood against Macbeth by cutting branches from the trees to disguise their movemement & number. Barring it's supposed history, the oak is spectacular in it's ageing beauty. It eminates a sense of majesty & power seldom found in nature. Truly marvelous & despite the bugs very much worth the walk.

Sven Gorn Eriksson has apparently been given leave to locate another job prior to his departure as coach of the England team. Wonderful, the crackpot screws up, decides to breach his contract 2 years early and the FA are allowing him to search for a job while trying to prepare "the best England team in decades" for the World Cup. Talk about a division of loyalties. I'm fervently against this whole thing and the FA are just proving to be a batch of ball-less wonders that don't have the bottle to handle a coach effectively. Kick his ass out on the street and bring in someone now to salvage the morale that might remain in the England squad. Bring in Curbishley or Allardyce, hell bring in O'Neill if you're going foreign, but do it now. Eriksson doesn't deserve the benefit of the doubt, he's already held the job for 2 years longer than I'd have allowed. if only the FA would listen to me, wot. Arsenal won the game but lost the tie. Wigan's hero, Roberts, snuck a ball into the bag on the 120th minute of the game to give Wigan the tie on the away-goal rule. The aggregate score was 2-2, however Wigan scored 1 at home & 1 away while Arsenal only managed to score at home. Thus, the tie goes to Wigan and they proceed to the finals, while Arsenal must surely hang their heads in blistering shame.

Wastrel On!

(Listening To: The Coverville Podcast)