Plenty of Nothing

One Puffin

In 1929 landowner Martin Coles Harman declared the island of Lundy in Bristol Channel a kingdom and issued his own currency, for which he was prosecuted under the Coinage Act. Source.

Leda and the Swan

Leda and the Swan (first century, Rome) at the British Museum. Source. This weird myth has presented sculptors of every era with a compositional dilemma.

Leda and the Swan by Albert-Ernest Carrier-Belleuse. Source.

Leda and the Swan by Ari Bitter. Source.

By Botero. Source.

Elephant Bird

Source.

The Dunstable Swan Jewel

Source.

Lyndale and Carruthers

Source.

Bewick's Swan

Bewick's Swan is a variety of Tundra Swan named for Thomas Bewick the engraver and author of A History of British Birds. His son Robert Bewick made this engraving.

Source.

The Silchester Eagle

The Silchester Eagle was discovered in 1866 at the site of the abandoned Roman town of Calleva Atrebatum in Hampshire. It inspired Rosemary Sutcliffe's 1954 novel The Eagle of the Ninth, though it probably wasn't part of a legionary standard. You can see it at Reading Museum. Source.

Gary the Gull's Greenock

This map records some of the foraging expeditions of a tagged seagull named Gary who was operating from a nest on the roof of the Greenock police station in 2018. Visit this site to follow Gary's journeys, including a holiday in Portugal.

Alloa visit Cappielow to make up the game postponed by bad weather on March 16th.

This match is crucial ... for Falkirk. If Alloa win or draw it will drop Falkirk into tenth place. On the other hand if Morton win it give the Ton 39 points, more or less lifting them out of the relegation battle. And if Queen of the South win they too will be very nearly clear of relegation. The combinations and permutations are narrowing down toward Falkirk getting relegated.

Alloa beat Falkirk Saturday, while Morton played to a draw against QoS.

Also tonight:

Ayr United [1 - 0] Queen of the South

Ross County [1 - 0] Dunfermline

[Morton 1 - 2 Alloa. Goal by Kiltie. Morton cannot earn promotion.]

Most draws in a 36-game season, Morton (updated):

14            2001-02

13            2016-17

12            3 times + 2018-19 after 31 games

11            4 times

10            5 times

  9            once

Wins and opponents. Have Morton ever played a season in which the number of their league wins was equal to the number of their divisional opponents? Yes, lots of times: 2007-08 (9 wins: 9 divisional opponents); 2000-01 (9:9); 1981-82 (9:9); 1956-57 (18:18); 1953-54 (15:15); 1952-53 (15:15); 1934-35 (17:17); 1897-98 (9:9); 1894-95 (9:9).

In any of those years did Morton earn exactly one win against each opponent?

No.

Has any team ever had such a season?

Yes, Ayr FC did in 1900-01. They played an 18-game season in the ten-team Second Division, and beat Hamilton, Port Glasgow, Airdrieonians, St Bernard's, Motherwell, Clyde, Leith, East Stirlingshire and Abercorn once each, and were beaten once by each of them, for a final total of nine wins and nine losses, good for sixth place.

Teams without a loss in Scottish League play:

Celtic            1897-98 Division 1        18-15-3-0

Rangers        1898-99 Division 1        18-18-0-0

Kilmarnock    1898-99 Division 2        18-14-4-0

Rangers        2013-14 League One    36-33-3-0

Celtic            2016-17 Premiership     38-34-4-0

The club with seniority in the First Division/Championship, beginning 1994:

1994-95    10-way tie

1995-96    7-way tie

1996-97    5-way tie

1997-98    3-way tie

1998-99    2-way tie

1999-00    2-way tie

2000-01    Airdrieonians

2001-02    Airdrieonians

2002-03    Falkirk

2003-04    Falkirk

2004-05    Falkirk

2005-06    2-way tie

2006-07    2-way tie

2007-08    Clyde

2008-09    Clyde

2009-10    Queen of the South

2010-11    Queen of the South

2011-12    Queen of the South

2012-13    Partick Thistle

2013-14    Morton

2014-15    Raith Rovers

2015-16    Raith Rovers

2016-17    Raith Rovers

2017-18    Falkirk

2018-19    Falkirk

If Falkirk stay up they will continue as senior side, otherwise the title goes to Queen of the South, unless they both go down in which case it falls to Morton.

CONCACAF Caribbean Club Shield group stage:

April 7:

Santiago de Cuba 0 - 0 Scholars International

April 9:

Hoppers [5 - 2] Platinum FC

Santiago de Cuba [4 - 0] Fruta Conquerors

[Both Hoppers and Santiago de Cuba advance.]

The Canadian Premier League squads are in the Dominican Republic, and there are friendlies going on. Those involving the Haligonians are:

HFX Wanderers vs FC Edmonton

HFX Wanderers vs Inter RD

Inter RD are originally from Bayaguana, a cattle ranching town in the center of the country. They must have a large roster, or else the CanPL is treating them like third world resort workers, because they played two matches on Sunday, losing 4 - 0 to Calgary and 5 - 1 to York 9.

Coincidentally, the topic of last Wednesday's The Knowledge was "Has a football team ever had to play more than one game in a day?"

They were admitted to the LDF Serie A for the 2018 season, and finished 11th out of 12. This year they're out, though the team that was 12th are still in, and the LDF is reduced to 11 teams.

According to this document the Federacion Dominicana de Futbol refused Inter RD a license to play in Serie A this season. I don't know exactly what brought that on, but from the tenor of some of the remarks on Twitter, which include charges of human rights abuse, I'd guess they had stopped paying their players.

Their shirt sponsor is Dominican Sporting and Events (DSE), the company that's running this training camp.

Inter RD. Do they have a players' union? Source.

Elmer of Farnham

Gilbert White's favourite painter was Stephen Elmer of Farnham, who specialized in portraits of game birds. This painting of cock and hen black grouse resides in the Museum of Farnham.

Owl Door, Copenhagen

Source.