Plenty of Nothing

Laburnum

Clematis

The Red and the Black, Part III

The story so far: I'm looking for a soccer team that dresses like The Beano's Dennis the Menace.

Q: You mean, like this?

Yes, exactly. Red and black hooped shirt, black shorts and red socks.

Q: Just like this Danish team, FC Midtjylland, nicknamed Ulvene, which is to say The Wolves?

Yes, that would be perfect.

Q: Well, good luck to you!

Thanks!

The Dutch club SBV Excelsior wear a black shirt with red shorts and socks. They have the nickname Roodzwarten (the Red-blacks). Almere City FC, The Sheepheads, wear an all black uniform with a red V on the jersey. Helmond Sport have a red shirt with black sleeves, matched with black shorts and red socks.

The Luxembourg National Division has, astonishingly, 14 teams! FC Differdange 03 (incorporating Red Boys Differdange) dress in red shirts with white trim, black shorts and black socks.

F.C. Molenbeek Brussels Strombeek wear a red and black striped jersey with black shorts and socks.

If only I can find a team like Midtylland.

P: Psst.

What?

P: Midtylland are a team like Midtylland.

Oh!

Launches

Hurdy Gurdy

That folk song Child 95 has got me interested in the hurdy gurdy. (See, Jimmy Page and Robert Plant use a hurdy gurdy in their 1994 arrangement of "Gallow's Pole", the Led Zeppelin version of Child 95, on the album No Quarter.) (Here is Nigel Eaton playing a hurdy gurdy solo from the 1995 tour.)

Above is a highly detailed portrait of a hurdy gurdy player and her instrument, painted by Jules Richomme in 1879. I've lifted the image from this site which is devoted to a return to the artistic virtues of 19th-Century painting. Good luck converting all those conceptual artists, but I can see a few mangaka being won over by her hands and eyes. D

Roots

Have You Heard the News?

"Have You Heard the News?" by Frank McFadden. The McTear auction website is a good place to see what they've been painting in Glasgow. 

Ken Currie

Here. Here. Here.

Evangeline Brandt "The Ghost of '68 Plays Hesler Hall"

The Red and the Black, Part II

I'm on the hunt for a soccer club that plays in red and black hooped jerseys, black shorts and red socks, like Dennis the Menace in The Beano. The best way I think is to go methodically, following the links in the series of Wikipedia articles entitled "Football in [name of country]", beginning in the upper left of the European zone.

Okay. So there's no red and black team in Greenland. FC Malamuk of Uummannaq who wear red come the closest. But check out the stands at Uummannaq Stadium:

Photo by Algkalv.

Knattspyrnufélagið Víkingur  The Vikings appear to be the closest thing Iceland can offer. They wear a red and black striped jersey, black shorts and white socks. They are five times Icelandic champions, and won their single Icelandic Cup forty years ago this year.

Havnar Bóltfelag Tórshavn  This Faroese team wear red and black striped jerseys, black shorts and black socks. They rule the Faroe Islands Premier League and have won the Faroe Islands Cup 26 times. I know very little about the Faroes, so I can't explain why the club's website is in Faroese, English and Spanish.

IF Brommapojkarna from the Stockholm suburb of Bromma wear the same home kit as Tórshavn. As do Pallokerho-35 of Vantaa, Finland, though the Wikipedia article shows a photo of them in red shorts and socks. The Brommapojkarna badge features the emblem of a handshake, which the wee scunner below has decided to interpret as 'grabbing is just part of the game'.

No hoops so far. I'm beginning to wonder if hoops aren't rugby, and stripes soccer.

Nothing in Estonia. Insufficient data on Latvia.

FK Tauras Tauragė in Lithuania wear a red and black striped jersey, black shorts and red socks. So close!

Nothing in Poland.

Germany. Bayer 04 Leverkusen wear a black uniform with a red diagonal stripe. SC Freiburg wear a red shirt with black bits, black shorts and red socks.

Foof. My feet are sore. I'll continue on next Saturday. D