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Day two of the fixed focal length challenge, and I have decided that I will stick with my own self-imposed rules. So, here is my second image taken with the Carl Zeiss 135mm M42 lens, and once again the only post-processing has been to convert it to a 72ppi JPG and add the numbers and signature. Otherwise, it is as the memory card stored it. Now, lest my Portuguese friends get upset with me, there are two good reasons why my Portuguese team is Sporting Lisbon. The first is fairly straightforward: they wear the same colours as Celtic - green and white hoops. The second reason is a bit more complex, but I will explain. As everyone ought to know, Celtic were the first British team, and so far the only Scottish team, to win the European Cup (now known as the Champions' League). Celtic achieved this away back in 1967 when we beat the mighty Inter Milan 2-1 in Lisbon's Estádio Nacional (the year before Man United became the second British team, and the first English team to win the European Cup when they beat Benfica 4-1 in 1968). Anyway, the Celtic team that played that day were all Scots - and they were all born within 30 miles of Celtic Park!. This most famous Celtic team of Simpson, Auld, Craig, McNeil, Lennox, Chalmers, Murdoch, Gemmell, Clark, Johnstone, and Wallace, are known as the Lisbon Lions. Now, the connection with Sporting Lisbon? Well, Sporting's nickname is 'Os Leões', which is Portuguese for 'The Lions'! So, my number one team is Celtic, home of the 'Lisbon Lions', while my number one Portuguese team is Sporting, home of the 'Lions of Lisbon'. So there you have it! Tonight Sporting take on the might of CSKA Moscow in the UEFA Cup final. As luck would have it, Sporting are playing in their home stadium, the José Alvalade XXI, which is within walking distance of my office. So... what more can I say, but Força os Leões!!!

Last year I was reading about Portugal