I finally managed to watch The Irishman, a cinematic masterpiece by Martin Scorcese, with performances by three of the greatest actors of all times: Robert de Niro, Al Pacino, and Joe Pesci. The film is exceptional, though extremely lengthy.
As Ricky Gervais humorously highlighted at the Golden Globe awards, the movie is 86 minutes long. As I watched the closing credits, I couldn’t help but hope my dad could last that long. He’s holding on, though he won’t be signing up for the next London Marathon anytime soon.
You must find humour in such situations. When we received the call that he may not make it, I found myself jokingly asking my sister if it was my fault for selling him to Craig Whyte for a pound. Our 90-year-old dad, remarkably, made a stunning recovery and was even singing to the nurses two days later.
He sang ‘We’ll Meet Again’, which was quite touching. If laughter truly is the best medicine, he might have a few more years yet to enjoy. The inane Question of the Week award goes to my old friend from Hamilton, Chick McGuire. Chick texted me asking, “What’s wrong with your dad?” To which I replied, “He undershot his motorcycle stunt and crashed into a double-decker bus. He’s 90, that’s what’s wrong!”
Keep fighting, dad. Speaking of the old times, it was VE Day recently. I received a message from the Rangers’ legend, Derek Parlane, who generously hosted me during a gig in his hometown, Lytham St Annes. He was commemorating his grandfather who reportedly brought down 40 German aircraft during World War II due to his lacklustre mechanic skills!
The footballing giant, Gordon Strachan, confessed this week that he once participated in a lookalike contest of himself, only to come second! The winner was a woman bearing an uncanny resemblance to Coronation Street’s Vera Duckworth. Perhaps if he had impersonated Chesney, he might have had a chance at winning.
My colleague at the BBC, Chick Young, shared a wonderful anecdote about recording a car advert for Radio Clyde. During the recording, the trademark “ho-ho-ho” laugh was not coming out right. As Chick, ever the quick wit, pointed out, “It’s MY laugh, how can it be wrong!”.
On the football front, I got news from a friend in the north-east that Aberdeen FC had their season-ending golf day at the upscale Gleneagles Hotel in Perthshire. After a season like theirs, maybe a round at a local inn would have been more fitting. But the event was special for the lucky fans who got to play alongside the managers from this season.
