Richard
@vicdon.bsky.social
Not Vic (but I lived there), not Don (but I am one). Will write for money, or just for the hell of it. https://richardwatt.ca https://bairnsotherevolution.substack.com
Hey internet - I have a mystery for you to solve.
Also, there was some Namby-Pamby football played, alongside something about a whaler. 1976 was a different world, folks.
Anyway, just who was 'CarmichaeL'?
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Also, there was some Namby-Pamby football played, alongside something about a whaler. 1976 was a different world, folks.
Anyway, just who was 'CarmichaeL'?
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Namby-Pamby and the whaler
And a real Scottish mystery
open.substack.com
February 7, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Hey internet - I have a mystery for you to solve.
Also, there was some Namby-Pamby football played, alongside something about a whaler. 1976 was a different world, folks.
Anyway, just who was 'CarmichaeL'?
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Also, there was some Namby-Pamby football played, alongside something about a whaler. 1976 was a different world, folks.
Anyway, just who was 'CarmichaeL'?
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Day -2 of the #WinterOlympics, and the lights have gone out in the curling. Never change, Italy.
February 4, 2026 at 6:22 PM
Day -2 of the #WinterOlympics, and the lights have gone out in the curling. Never change, Italy.
#StJohnstone manager resigns! Scotland manager to take over!
Now that I have your attention, those stories are fifty years old, and the second one is entirely made up. Some things never change, do they?
Also, women still exist.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Now that I have your attention, those stories are fifty years old, and the second one is entirely made up. Some things never change, do they?
Also, women still exist.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Resigned to his fate
And the women are taking over
open.substack.com
February 4, 2026 at 12:01 PM
#StJohnstone manager resigns! Scotland manager to take over!
Now that I have your attention, those stories are fifty years old, and the second one is entirely made up. Some things never change, do they?
Also, women still exist.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Now that I have your attention, those stories are fifty years old, and the second one is entirely made up. Some things never change, do they?
Also, women still exist.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
#CriterionChallenge No.6 was to pick one from the 20 least-watched titles in the Criterion catalogue. Plumped for this sobering, fatalistic view of the collapse of order and the hopelessness of men who only know war. Now want to watch Die Blechtrommel again.
letterboxd.com/film/coup-de...
letterboxd.com/film/coup-de...
Coup de Grâce (1976)
A countess loves her brother's Prussian-officer friend in the 1919 Baltic area.
letterboxd.com
February 4, 2026 at 5:09 AM
#CriterionChallenge No.6 was to pick one from the 20 least-watched titles in the Criterion catalogue. Plumped for this sobering, fatalistic view of the collapse of order and the hopelessness of men who only know war. Now want to watch Die Blechtrommel again.
letterboxd.com/film/coup-de...
letterboxd.com/film/coup-de...
Record-breaking (I assume) #PartickThistle; record-ending #QueensPark, and the best possible news about the new-fangled Premier Division.
Plus, a sex scandal and news that women can ride horses. Only in 1976; only in this weekend's #Bairns
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Plus, a sex scandal and news that women can ride horses. Only in 1976; only in this weekend's #Bairns
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Going up!
Not only that, everything is awesome!
open.substack.com
January 31, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Record-breaking (I assume) #PartickThistle; record-ending #QueensPark, and the best possible news about the new-fangled Premier Division.
Plus, a sex scandal and news that women can ride horses. Only in 1976; only in this weekend's #Bairns
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Plus, a sex scandal and news that women can ride horses. Only in 1976; only in this weekend's #Bairns
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Instant replay - back in the Olden Times, cup ties could end in draws, and often did. Also; there's too much "soccer" on TV and a weirdly vague sex scandal. All this, and side-splitting cartoons from 1976 in this week's midweek Bairns: open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Instant Replay
Also, TV is killing the game
open.substack.com
January 28, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Instant replay - back in the Olden Times, cup ties could end in draws, and often did. Also; there's too much "soccer" on TV and a weirdly vague sex scandal. All this, and side-splitting cartoons from 1976 in this week's midweek Bairns: open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
#CriterionChallenge film this week: the Nouvelle Vague classic #HiroshimaMonAmour, which had the added bonus of being on my 'films I really should have watched by now' list. Fascinating in many ways, not least the music.
letterboxd.com/film/hiroshi...
letterboxd.com/film/hiroshi...
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
The deep conversation between a Japanese architect and a French actress forms the basis of this celebrated French film, considered one of the vanguard productions of the French New Wave. Set in Hirosh...
letterboxd.com
January 28, 2026 at 5:10 AM
#CriterionChallenge film this week: the Nouvelle Vague classic #HiroshimaMonAmour, which had the added bonus of being on my 'films I really should have watched by now' list. Fascinating in many ways, not least the music.
letterboxd.com/film/hiroshi...
letterboxd.com/film/hiroshi...
Thanks to a Reddit post, I now have this magnificently off-kilter song rattling round my head. www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0cy...
#BCNR #BlackCountryNewRoad
#BCNR #BlackCountryNewRoad
Black Country, New Road - 'Dancers - Live at Bush Hall' (Official Audio)
YouTube video by Black Country, New Road
www.youtube.com
January 26, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Thanks to a Reddit post, I now have this magnificently off-kilter song rattling round my head. www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0cy...
#BCNR #BlackCountryNewRoad
#BCNR #BlackCountryNewRoad
What's stuck in my head this morning? Yeah, this. Which I heard briefly on Friday morning while buying groceries, and have been infested with for 48 hours and counting...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpf...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpf...
A Flock Of Seagulls - I Ran (So Far Away) (Video)
YouTube video by AFlockOfSeagullsVEVO
www.youtube.com
January 25, 2026 at 6:49 PM
What's stuck in my head this morning? Yeah, this. Which I heard briefly on Friday morning while buying groceries, and have been infested with for 48 hours and counting...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpf...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIpf...
This week: the magic of the Cup, how the Sunday Post missed a riot, snuggling, snow, the Superbowl, and chaos caused by The Queries Man.
All free in your Saturday Bairns o' The Revolution:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
All free in your Saturday Bairns o' The Revolution:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
There's a riot going on
Unless you read the Sunday Post, of course
open.substack.com
January 24, 2026 at 12:00 PM
This week: the magic of the Cup, how the Sunday Post missed a riot, snuggling, snow, the Superbowl, and chaos caused by The Queries Man.
All free in your Saturday Bairns o' The Revolution:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
All free in your Saturday Bairns o' The Revolution:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Reposted by Richard
youtube.com/watch?v=90Zq... if you need a bit of an escape from doomscrolling, this is an interesting little video.
The narration starts in present day English and reverts back along with the timeline. Many words recognisable until about 1300. #history #anthropology #linguistics #relax
The narration starts in present day English and reverts back along with the timeline. Many words recognisable until about 1300. #history #anthropology #linguistics #relax
How Far Back Can You Understand Northern English?
YouTube video by Simon Roper
youtube.com
January 22, 2026 at 10:13 PM
youtube.com/watch?v=90Zq... if you need a bit of an escape from doomscrolling, this is an interesting little video.
The narration starts in present day English and reverts back along with the timeline. Many words recognisable until about 1300. #history #anthropology #linguistics #relax
The narration starts in present day English and reverts back along with the timeline. Many words recognisable until about 1300. #history #anthropology #linguistics #relax
OK, time to blow the trumpet for our little island's contribution to overcoming one of life's major problems:
gulfislandsdriftwood.com/veteran-broa...
gulfislandsdriftwood.com/veteran-broa...
Veteran broadcaster launches sleep aid program - Salt Spring Island news
If gentle meditations, “rainsong” on rooftops or whispered storytelling aren’t your thing for falling asleep to, a former national news anchor living on Salt
gulfislandsdriftwood.com
January 22, 2026 at 6:27 PM
OK, time to blow the trumpet for our little island's contribution to overcoming one of life's major problems:
gulfislandsdriftwood.com/veteran-broa...
gulfislandsdriftwood.com/veteran-broa...
Next up in the #CriterionChallenge; a film from the 2020s; Payal Kapadsia's luminous, human and spellbinding All We Imagine As Light. boxd.it/yXaQ
All We Imagine as Light (2024)
In Mumbai, Nurse Prabha's routine is troubled when she receives an unexpected gift from her estranged husband. Her younger roommate, Anu, tries in vain to find a spot in the city to be intimate with h...
boxd.it
January 22, 2026 at 5:35 AM
Next up in the #CriterionChallenge; a film from the 2020s; Payal Kapadsia's luminous, human and spellbinding All We Imagine As Light. boxd.it/yXaQ
Song stuck in my head this morning is a bit more Prog than in recent days #PorcupineTree #SoundOfMuzak www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ulg...
The Sound Of Muzak
YouTube video by Porcupine Tree - Topic
www.youtube.com
January 21, 2026 at 8:03 PM
Song stuck in my head this morning is a bit more Prog than in recent days #PorcupineTree #SoundOfMuzak www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ulg...
Concorde and Bertie Auld in fancy dress. What more could you ask for on a January midweek in 1976?
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Supersonic
No games, but a transfer scandal and Bertie Auld in fancy dress
open.substack.com
January 21, 2026 at 12:02 PM
Concorde and Bertie Auld in fancy dress. What more could you ask for on a January midweek in 1976?
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
The full thing is going up on Wednesday morning, but a sneak preview of android Bertie Auld as a Chelsea Pensioner, Benny Rooney being eaten by a tarantula, and Alan Hansen wondering where it all went wrong
Daily Record, January 21 1976:
Daily Record, January 21 1976:
January 19, 2026 at 11:53 PM
The full thing is going up on Wednesday morning, but a sneak preview of android Bertie Auld as a Chelsea Pensioner, Benny Rooney being eaten by a tarantula, and Alan Hansen wondering where it all went wrong
Daily Record, January 21 1976:
Daily Record, January 21 1976:
Whatever else you might say about the 75/76 Scottish Premier Division, it's the place to go for goals. 24 last week in five games, you'll never guess how many there are this week.
No, honest, you won't.
In other news, brotherly love trumps rivalry.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
No, honest, you won't.
In other news, brotherly love trumps rivalry.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
They've done it again!
24 goals in five games? Easy.
open.substack.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Whatever else you might say about the 75/76 Scottish Premier Division, it's the place to go for goals. 24 last week in five games, you'll never guess how many there are this week.
No, honest, you won't.
In other news, brotherly love trumps rivalry.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
No, honest, you won't.
In other news, brotherly love trumps rivalry.
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
#CriterionChallenge film no.3 is the official documentary of the 1976 Winter Olympics, White Rock.
I owned the soundtrack album (and still have a copy), but had never seen the film. If you want to see James Coburn trying various winter sports, this is for you... 1/2
letterboxd.com/film/white-r...
I owned the soundtrack album (and still have a copy), but had never seen the film. If you want to see James Coburn trying various winter sports, this is for you... 1/2
letterboxd.com/film/white-r...
White Rock (1977)
British documentary filmmaker and producer Tony Maylam reinvigorated the sports documentary genre with WHITE ROCK, an idiosyncratic and utterly engaging account of the XII Olympic Winter Games Innsbru...
letterboxd.com
January 17, 2026 at 12:49 AM
#CriterionChallenge film no.3 is the official documentary of the 1976 Winter Olympics, White Rock.
I owned the soundtrack album (and still have a copy), but had never seen the film. If you want to see James Coburn trying various winter sports, this is for you... 1/2
letterboxd.com/film/white-r...
I owned the soundtrack album (and still have a copy), but had never seen the film. If you want to see James Coburn trying various winter sports, this is for you... 1/2
letterboxd.com/film/white-r...
Song stuck in my head this morning may well be the only one named for a 19th century political cartoon:
#JoanArmatrading #DropThePilot
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifAR...
#JoanArmatrading #DropThePilot
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifAR...
Joan Armatrading-Drop The Pilot
YouTube video by kev leddy
www.youtube.com
January 15, 2026 at 5:23 PM
Song stuck in my head this morning may well be the only one named for a 19th century political cartoon:
#JoanArmatrading #DropThePilot
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifAR...
#JoanArmatrading #DropThePilot
www.youtube.com/watch?v=ifAR...
Clickbait alert:
YOU WON'T BELIEVE whats 'worse than #Huntly' this week in 1976.
Also; money, European draws, and the 'misery' of 'Scotland's crisis street'. Only in your midweek 'Bairns o' the Revolution':
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
YOU WON'T BELIEVE whats 'worse than #Huntly' this week in 1976.
Also; money, European draws, and the 'misery' of 'Scotland's crisis street'. Only in your midweek 'Bairns o' the Revolution':
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Money, money, money
It's worse than Huntly out there, I tell you.
open.substack.com
January 14, 2026 at 12:00 PM
Clickbait alert:
YOU WON'T BELIEVE whats 'worse than #Huntly' this week in 1976.
Also; money, European draws, and the 'misery' of 'Scotland's crisis street'. Only in your midweek 'Bairns o' the Revolution':
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
YOU WON'T BELIEVE whats 'worse than #Huntly' this week in 1976.
Also; money, European draws, and the 'misery' of 'Scotland's crisis street'. Only in your midweek 'Bairns o' the Revolution':
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
This week: The Broons hold up a mirror to Scotland; the Scots language brings out the linguist in me, and the Campbells are coming.
Oh, and 24 goals in five games? Yes, please:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Oh, and 24 goals in five games? Yes, please:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
This is what they want
Any more of this and we'll have to call it a success...
open.substack.com
January 10, 2026 at 12:00 PM
This week: The Broons hold up a mirror to Scotland; the Scots language brings out the linguist in me, and the Campbells are coming.
Oh, and 24 goals in five games? Yes, please:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
Oh, and 24 goals in five games? Yes, please:
open.substack.com/pub/bairnsot...
You're in luck - Song stuck in my head when I woke up was some early-seventies Genesis, but it's been supplanted thanks to a trip to the grocery store, where the playlist is back to its 80s/90s norm:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejg...
The Cranberries - Zombie (Official Music Video)
YouTube video by TheCranberriesVEVO
www.youtube.com
January 9, 2026 at 6:58 PM
You're in luck - Song stuck in my head when I woke up was some early-seventies Genesis, but it's been supplanted thanks to a trip to the grocery store, where the playlist is back to its 80s/90s norm:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejg...
www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Ejg...
Last night's second entry in the #CriterionChallenge was #TheBigSleep Shockingly, I had never seen it, and now I merely have no idea what was going on in the second half.
letterboxd.com/film/the-big...
The pictured scene is hilarious in how much got past the censors - "depends who's in the saddle"
letterboxd.com/film/the-big...
The pictured scene is hilarious in how much got past the censors - "depends who's in the saddle"
The Big Sleep (1946)
Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the complex case is over, Marlowe sees murder, blackmail, de...
letterboxd.com
January 9, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Last night's second entry in the #CriterionChallenge was #TheBigSleep Shockingly, I had never seen it, and now I merely have no idea what was going on in the second half.
letterboxd.com/film/the-big...
The pictured scene is hilarious in how much got past the censors - "depends who's in the saddle"
letterboxd.com/film/the-big...
The pictured scene is hilarious in how much got past the censors - "depends who's in the saddle"
I'm re-reading Murakami's 1Q84, so the song stuck in my head this morning is Janáček's Sinfonietta. Not so much the "ELP" bit, which is how the book opens, but this bit, which if you're British and my age, will ring a bell:
youtu.be/JV6GI3ROj8c?...
youtu.be/JV6GI3ROj8c?...
Leoš Janáček - Sinfonietta
YouTube video by olla-vogala
youtu.be
January 8, 2026 at 5:47 PM
I'm re-reading Murakami's 1Q84, so the song stuck in my head this morning is Janáček's Sinfonietta. Not so much the "ELP" bit, which is how the book opens, but this bit, which if you're British and my age, will ring a bell:
youtu.be/JV6GI3ROj8c?...
youtu.be/JV6GI3ROj8c?...
No. 1 in an irregular series which I'll forget all about in a few days:
Song stuck in Richard's head this morning.
First up, this slice of Young Scotland:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz1D... #AztecCamera
Song stuck in Richard's head this morning.
First up, this slice of Young Scotland:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz1D... #AztecCamera
Back On Board
YouTube video by Aztec Camera - Topic
www.youtube.com
January 7, 2026 at 6:07 PM
No. 1 in an irregular series which I'll forget all about in a few days:
Song stuck in Richard's head this morning.
First up, this slice of Young Scotland:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz1D... #AztecCamera
Song stuck in Richard's head this morning.
First up, this slice of Young Scotland:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=xz1D... #AztecCamera