Potted Heid

Booked Edi-Ven on the Friday. Build bike then train from Venice Mestre to Trieste. Hotel in Trieste on Friday night then cycle up to Ljublijana on Saturday. Slow cycle back through Slovenia and Friuli/Veneto for return flight from Venice the following Friday.

Personally I prefer Ullapool where the pubs are very lively in the summer. My favourite one is The Arch, and The Seaforth is also good. A few years back, some eejit ripped out the innards of the Ferry Boat Inn which hitherto had been one of the most atmospheric boozers in the north, and replaced it with blonde wood, IKEA-style furnishing and it now has the atmosphere to match. Why do people do that?

I agree with Irish in as much as I would slightly prioritise any nationality of manager which helped bring any form of success to the national team, however I think I've been driven to this position by years of ineptitude and the desperation that constant failure brings. I think it is perfectly understandable, however, for many older supporters to baulk at the thought of an English manager of Scotland, for example, given the depth of our rivalry down the generations. This is, of course, not very rational but who ever claimed supporting a football team was anything other than a deeply irrational pastime. Oh, and I am always wary of folk who claim to speak for 'genuine supporters' (whatever that means)...

A wee bit touristy but a fantastic selection of beers and old-school charm is A la Mort Subite in the City Centre. When I was last there for the Belgium game in 2012 my favourites beers were Bush, Roshefort, and Westvleteren. Favourite bars were Au Mort Subite, Cafe Belga, and Le Pitch-Pin. The last two were on Place Eugene Flagey near where we were staying in the Ixelles district which would be a happy hunting ground for cafes, bars and restaurants. Don't know about Anderlecht but they might have a print your own ticket option through their website?

Bennets. Avoid Cannymans (more museum than boozer with snooty staff).

Try the Plaza Nueva in the old town for great pintxo bars, Dan. Café Bar Bilbao in one of the corners was my favourite, but they are all good as far as I recall...

When I was 20, me and two guys bought a Dodge Ram van up in Vermont for 500 bucks and drove it over to LA where we sold it for a grand before flying home. Highlights of the trip were Washington DC (where one guy jumped ship after a successful soccer trial for Georgetown), New Orleans, the Sonora desert in northern Mexico, Tomstone, Arizona, the Grand Canyon, San Francisco and Santa Cruz. We slept in the back of the van most nights and my mileage record was 600 in one night. Good luck for the trip. I'll be going to Ljubliana but would prefer to be on the beach in Santa Cruz (and 20 again!).

If you are coming down from France then Hondarribia, just over the border has some great pintxo bars and a fine little beach. San Sabastian is a great gastronomic city. If you want a typical Basque fishing town then Mutriku, halfway between SS and Bilbao, fits the bill. Never been to Guernica, but aim to one day, given its historical significance. The capital, Vitoria, is an interesting little city and close to the Rioja region if you like wine, or viniculture. We were on holiday in Castro Urdiales last summer which is a seafood town about ten miles in to Cantabria outside Bilbao. Only went in to the city for the day but it was interesting. Visited Athletic Bilbao's stadium, the Guggenheim Museum and the pintxo bars of the small old town. Like others have said, it ain't winning no beauty contest.

Rhu is a village where people live as opposed to a holiday home place. Dunoon or Rothesay might be more appropriate for a holiday place, or Girvan was I think deemed to be one of the cheapest seaside towns in the UK last year. There are lots of nice villages scattered around the Clyde coast like Tighnabruich or those on Loch Fyneside. You could hedge your bets and buy a boat and see them all. If you want a break from the incessant Glasgow rain then the East Neuk of Fife or East Lothian isn't that far. Personally, I prefer the West Coast proper and I like Port Appin and Easdale. That said, a boat, caravan or motorhome might be a better option as you can see more of the country without contributing to the de-population of rural Scotland.

I wouldn't call Maryhill grim, nor North Glasgow.

Royston, Possil, Springburn, Barmulloch, Blackhill, Lambhill, Milton, Ruchill, Balornock, Summerston, Sighthill...

Great town. Moved here seventeen years ago having lived in the three East coast cities previously. I wouldn't move back East again. Lots of lively neighborhoods for tenement flat living. Shawlands in the South. Patrick in the West. Dennistoun in the East. North Glasgow is uniformly grim. You could go off piste in Tollcross, Govan or Anniesland and get more bang for your buck. If you have the cash then plenty of suburbs with good schools in East Dunbartonshire or East Renfrewshire or live in the heart of the action in Finniestoun or the Merchant City.

I've long thought the Aberdeen badge the worst, and I also like the Montrose badge. A lot.

Great player, Good tune.

FFS Ma! Your not still on the mother's ruin are you? And you complain about my drinking!

Mum, If you can get to or from Pittodrie or Guild St to the new stadium in Westhill/Kingswells in less than an hour on match day then I'll buy you a fresh orange juice in Portals. If you can do it in fifteen minutes, I'll give up drinking.

Match day experience? Mine was pretty good the other week up at Pittodrie as a visiting fan. Off the train, walked up to the Archibald Simpson for a breakfast and a pint - got change from a fiver!. Strolled down King St to meet my mate off the Ellon bus and dropped in to the Bobbin Mill for a beer - in warm sunshine! In to Pittodrie to watch Aberdeen get beat - no surprise there. Strolled back up King Street with my mates for a good old fashioned pub crawl round the Castlegate, before wending our way back home via trains, buses and taxis. Compare that to driving to some industrial estate in Kingswells or Westhill. Saying cheerio to your mates at the edge of some massive car park. No pint before or after. Only overpriced fitba food to eat. Given that Aberdeen will have less to spend on players after investing so much in a new stadium, I think the quality of football, along with attendances, will go down.

We were in the Marquis too, a great wee pub with friendly staff. Manager was a Norwich fan, but still liked Scots. Went to the Lamb and Flag after round the corner which was busy but good ale in a historic boozer.

I can't say this for sure, but I don't think there is another National Anthem, other than GSTQ, which ends with 'Rebellious Scots to crush' as a finale. Getting booed as usual.

A good rule of thumb is Chipper: good. Chippie: bad. If you are in an area that uses the former to describe their Fish and Chip shop then you can usually rely upon good quality and choice. You're in the lap of the gods with the latter. Somewhere south of the Tay, chip shops turn crap. The exception to this rule is Edinburgh which bizarrely bucks their normal trend for meanness by giving out generous portions of good-quality fried stuff. Glasgow 'chippies' are uniformly rank, and any exceptions only go to prove the rule. English chippers should simply be avoided. I have gone in to many who think placing an oven pie and a 'saveloy' in their heated bit makes them a take-away. If you want the good stuff head north, preferably Aberdeen city or the coastal Aberdeenshire chippers. If in doubt, ask for a Red Pudding supper. If they sell it, fill yer boots. You've hit chipper Shangri-La.

Fly in to Vienna on Tuesday morning. Build bike. Cycle down the Danube to Bratislava. Leave bike at hostel. Get train to Trnava. Go to pub. Go to stadium. Watch Scotland win (hopefully).

One in S.13. Two in S.12

Yes, that's sounds alright. I would take two seats on that.

Tennants on the Byres Road will probably have it on.

Me and my mate is arriving on that flight. Happy to get together and hire a car/minibus (depending on the size of the group) to get us up to Trnava.