I�m sure mine was not the longest journey a Hibby made to the Scottish Cup Final on 26^th May 2001 at Hampden Park. In fact, if anyone can beat Simon Morris�s trip from Oz for distance, let me know!

However, my journey felt long enough and it started at 1.30am on Saturday morning when I left Wokingham, Berkshire to travel to Carshalton, Surrey, to meet my driver for the trip, fellow London Hibby, Stuart Austin. Waiting at Stuart�s house, having arrived a little earlier by train from Bognor Regis, was Garry Molnar. Now, the fact that Garry was there at all is a testament to the power of the Internet and the camaraderie of Hibs fans.

Let me explain � a week before the final I got a call from Jack Glancy in Glasgow. With the help of Bobby Sinnet of www.oo2be.com, Jack had tracked down Garry, whom he had met in London in 1989 on the way to Hungary to see Hibs play Videoton. (Full details from Jack here). They�d lost touch for 5 years but when I heard that Jack had managed to get a ticket for Garry, my driver was more than happy to give him a lift!

We left Carshalton at 3am, rendezvoused with Billy Bryson at the Elephant & Castle (he was driving his own car) and made our way North. What amazed me was how busy London was at 4am. In fact, I saw a few ladies who looked like they were working! Unfortunately, we were on a tight schedule and too busy to find out what line of work they were in!

 
Left to right - Alex Lindsay's nephew David Burns, his son Ryan Lindsay, Billy Bryson, Stuart Austin, Garry Molnar

The first stop was at the services on the M1 near Northampton to pick up Alex Lindsay�s son and nephew. They travelled with Billy in his car so we were quite comfortable (although I think I only managed 2 hours sleep total on the whole journey � the excitement kept us all awake, including, fortunately, Stuart the driver).

The highlight of the journey was leaving our mark on the Scotland sign on the M74 with Stuart�s green, white and purple ribbons tied to the pole!

 
A "comfort" Stop

Later we left our mark by the side of the road somewhere in the borders.

Anyway, we arrived in Glasgow at around 11am, found Alex�s car (above) in the Harry Ramsden�s next to the Kingston Bridge, but found Alex et all in the pub across the road! The Gairdner�s Arms was empty apart from around 12 London Hibbies! This was where tickets were picked up, a pint was had, and a group photo was taken.

 
London Hibs takes over The Gairdners Arms

Next stop was the Boswell Hotel near Hampden where more tickets were distributed to Mike Prior (flew up) and Rose McEwan, who arrived by taxi from Queen Street station. Rose managed to sell about 20 fanzines in the space of 5 minutes! I can�t think what helped her selling technique :o)

 
Ian McKenzie, Rose McEwan and Mike Hennessy

I met Alison Campbell, who introduced me to �Sister Stamp� from the Hibs.net message board. Unfortunately, I forgot to ask for a photo:o( Instead, you�ll have to make do with �Hibbyradge�, Dave Kowalski (below). I met a few others from the message board but their names escape me.

Simon Morris, whose photo appears at least twice elsewhere on this website (here and here), had travelled all the way from Oz for the game (at a cost of over 2000 Aussie dollars, he told me) and, although, as far as I know, no-one saw the Aussie Hibs flag on the telly, here it is displayed proudly at the Boswell.

Ian McKenzie, Jack Glancy and James McGachie

Ian McKenzie, Mike Hennessy's brotherJohn, Mike Hennessy, Eddie McAdam, Scot Drummond, Rose McEwan and Mike Hunter (kneeling)

Meanwhile, Kevin Robertson was leading the choir with the songs from the Hibs.net song competition. Click here to hear a snippet from "That's A Sauzee". You'll need Real Audio Player. Look for "FREE RealPlayer 8 Basic". Sorry about the quality - must get a mini disc recorder :o). I had earlier given Brian Russell his prize of a London Hibs Yellow T Shirt, key ring and pin, but there was no point in taking a photo of me and Brian as we would have not both fitted in the frame (you had to be there). 

The strangest meeting at the pub actually took place in the toilet. Click here for Bobby Sinnet�s recollection of his encounter with Hibs List co-founder Colin McPherson! (below) Suffice to say that I had washed my hands before shaking both their hands!

Hibs Kid Connor Grant resting before the game

One of the Glasgow Hibbies

THE GAME

I walked up to Hampden with Colin McPherson, and was asked by the local constabulary to finish my bottle (of water!) before I went through the turnstile, obviously to avoid the possibility of me using it as a missile against Diddy Agathe! The least said about the game the better. However, I have never heard Hibs fans sing so loudly and, in the first half at least, we definitely won the singing contest.

Here�s a few photos which attempt to give an idea of the atmosphere.

 
Tony Connor and family

The fantastic Hibs Support

I think the photo below sums up the feelings of most of us that day, and needs no explanation

After the game, it was back to the Boswell (after hitting the chip shop on Battlefield Road just before John Leslie turned up in his stretched limo). We didn�t stay long � long enough to chat with a few more Hibbies and meet up with my 2 nieces Amy and Sophie, who live close to the Boswell. My brother-in-law was the height of discretion, being a Tic fan:o(

The journey home was a long one � but I slept most of the way, and arrived home in Wokingham at about 2am on Sunday morning � 24 hours well worth it!

Thanks to my driver Stuart for staying awake, Tony Connor for the ticket and Rose for selling the fanzines.

Looking forward to next season's Cup escapade, but before that there�s a little matter of Europe. I wonder how many times I�ll be boring you with tales from a London Hibby�s travels to � who knows where?

Mike Inglis - LH Webmaster