333.
All set for a day of sport today. I was toying with the idea of making my way down to Tannadice to watch Celtic regain their rightful position at the top of the league by beating a recently woeful Dundee United. The last time Celtic were at United, Liam and I went along. However, I decided against it for a number of reasons. Firstly, my leg is still sore (although not nearly as sore as it once was). Secondly, I wouldn't want to jinx Celtic. Thirdly, I've just had to shell out on car repairs, a new tumble dryer, a D70 and I just won an Ebay auction for a new lens - so money is in short supply. Fourthly, if I went to the game, I would miss the Wales v. Ireland 6-Nations decider. Finally, I am happy in my role as an armchair supporter, so I just couldn't be arsed. Instead, I sat in front of my computer, watching my Ebay bid (is there some software out there that catches last minute bids without having to watch the screen like a hawk?) whilst listening to Celtic narrowly scrape a win against the bottom placed team in the league (I suppose it's always difficult against a team that has recently lost their manager, as all the players are determined to impress the new boss). From the radio commentary, it seemed clear that our new striker (at least until May) played a blinder, and Chick Young, BBC Sportsound's man with his ear to the ground, told us that the Celtic manager was to make an important announcement at 4pm - the clear implication being that the Celtic board had prised open the infamous biscuit tin, and were prepared to offer Craig Bellamy a permanent deal (following Bellamy's own admission that should Celtic make the right offer, then he would be willing to commit himself to the club on a long term deal). On the basis of this impending announcement, I remained glued to my radio - missing the Wales v. Ireland game in the process. At the appointed hour the much hyped announcement was made: Celtic's manager told us that he would like to be able to sign Bellamy on a longer deal, but that the decision was ultimately up to the board. And I missed the rugby for that! Still, not to worry, we still had the big match coming up at 6pm: the England v. Scotland Calcutta Cup match. Once again Scotland played abysmally during the first half, only to come out in the second with all guns blazing. I was impressed with the second half committment that they showed against the Auld Enemy, as they fought for everything and even managed to score some tries - winning the half by 19 points to 17 (just as we beat Wales in the second half last week). Unfortunately, however, the game lasts 80 minutes, and England went in at half-time leading by 26 to 3. Never mind. The only way is up. BTW: this is a picture of the lens that Gavin loaned me that I like so much. He still won't give me it to keep ;(