I suppose the first obvious question is - why the 1970s? Why not the '50s of the Famous Five, or even the noughties? (By that I assume you mean the noughties of the last century, during which Hibs actually brought home the Scottish Cup?) The reason is quite simple - I became a Hibs supporter just before the start of the decade and was lucky enough to grow up watching the team we call Turnbull's Tornadoes during my most formative years. The end of that decade seemed the obvious place to conclude, as it also brought down the curtain on the Turnbull era and saw Hibs' ignominious slide into the First Division.
When I started writing this book I originally envisaged it as comprising my entire Hibs supporting career up to the present. But that book has already been written, indeed taking in the previous decade and a lot more besides! No doubt you all have Ted Brack's 'There Is A Bonny Fitba Team' on your bookshelves, undoubtedly the ultimate personal account of being a Hibs supporter. I could not have hoped to improve upon Ted's model. So I decided to come at it from a slightly different angle, interweaving my singular coming of age tale throughout the Decade of Bad Taste with my own take on Hibs' fortunes during that exciting rollercoaster time.
Therefore it's not just a football book and hopefully some of my foolhardy teenage experiences in the Edinburgh of a now bygone age will resonate with those of you old enough to have been there and done that too. I just hope for your sakes you didn't do some of it to quite the extent that I did. Do enjoy!
G G T T H
Includes 8 pages of black and white photos.
When I started writing this book I originally envisaged it as comprising my entire Hibs supporting career up to the present. But that book has already been written, indeed taking in the previous decade and a lot more besides! No doubt you all have Ted Brack's 'There Is A Bonny Fitba Team' on your bookshelves, undoubtedly the ultimate personal account of being a Hibs supporter. I could not have hoped to improve upon Ted's model. So I decided to come at it from a slightly different angle, interweaving my singular coming of age tale throughout the Decade of Bad Taste with my own take on Hibs' fortunes during that exciting rollercoaster time.
Therefore it's not just a football book and hopefully some of my foolhardy teenage experiences in the Edinburgh of a now bygone age will resonate with those of you old enough to have been there and done that too. I just hope for your sakes you didn't do some of it to quite the extent that I did. Do enjoy!
G G T T H
Includes 8 pages of black and white photos.
