As Red tells Andy Dufresne in The Shawshank Redemption, hope is a dangerous thing. Hope can kill a man. That’s particularly true of Scotland’s national football team, where heartbreak and disappointment is never far away.
There’s a lot of crawling through pipes of effluent and not a great deal of escaping to the Mexican sunshine. Still, hope remains alive. A draw with Switzerland in Cologne on Wednesday night means Steve Clarke’s side can still progress with the right result against Hungary and a favourable set of results in other groups.
Stuttgart need not be the end of the road. There was no wild celebration from the Tartan Army when the final whistle blew, but polite applause which said they believe the summer invasion may not be over in a few short days – a best third-placed finish could even bring a return to Cologne where they’ve made themselves so at home. Game morning begins with a media invitation to Cologne Zoo to watch Hennes the goat make a prediction about the score.
A blue double decker bus, sourced from Bristol in the 1960s, is the chosen method of conveyance and its ancient suspension jolts and jostles its occupants at the slightest hint of a bump – quite why 60-year-old British engineering has been chosen over famously world-leading German is unclear. (Image: Newsquest) A guide from the municipality talks through the sights with a refreshing honesty. He remarks upon the magnificent cathedral, recounts the city’s proud music history, and explai.
