Haunted? No. Hopeful? Always!
I was presenting prizes at a football competition for primary school children on Sunday afternoon. Me and my old pal Davie Hay.
I was presenting prizes at a football competition for primary school children on Sunday afternoon. Me and my old pal Davie Hay.
That is to say the former Celtic manager and a Z-list celebrity.
The wind howled. The rain clattered down as it does in Glasgow. And the gazebo we were hiding under to provide shelter from the storm literally broke in two and blew away.
Well, it was the middle of June after all. So what else would you expect?
The presentation of the trophies therefore took place in the corridor of the changing rooms. You can see two grown men cowering from the elements if you look at Twitter.
But the point to all of this is that the competition was staged, as it is at this time on an annual basis, in memory of a boy who lost his life fourteen years ago.
Matthew was in primary Five when he died suddenly in 2003. They say he was a smart, kind, considerate boy who was devoted to the game of football.
So 222 kids turned out to brave the elements in his honour and to play for the trophy presented in his name, because that's what we do in this country.
A little boy loved football and then lost his life, so what better way to remember him than to hold a cup competition.
Scotland drew with England at Hampden the day before and Graeme Souness said on television that the way in which the game ended, with Harry Kane's injury time equaliser, would haunt the Scottish nation for decades.
With respect, Souey, no it won't.
The football tournament for Matthew illustrated the fact that football is what provides us with consolation and inspiration and sometimes frustration.
It cheers us up when we're otherwise miserable and adds colour to our everyday lives.
It's not the be all and end all, but it's a tremendous miss when it's not there. That means from today until the new season begins.
So we'll all get over what happened late on at Hampden on Saturday evening when a draw was snatched from the jaws of victory. Scotland hasn't played at the final of a major event for almost twenty years, but did you notice any sign of emotional fatigue among the crowd at the game against England?
Gordon Strachan said it was the most emotionally draining match he had ever known, and sometimes we've been next door to rancid during those two decades in exile from the big time.
We are resillient, undaunted by failure and ever so slightly bonkers at times.
So it'll take more than Harry Kane, Harry Potter or Hari Kari to make us feel haunted by anything.
Hari Kari was what we committed when when we failed to tidy up a defensive clearance. Leigh Griffiths had given us access to a dream with his two stunning goals. We then shut the door in our own faces. Been there. Seen that. Know what? We'll keep coming back for more because football has this way of making the past a blur and nourishing our hopes for the future.
The dream of Russia 2018 is probably in tatters but there are still qualifying games to be played and the fat lady has yet to sing the closing aria. Hope always springs eternal where the national team is concerned.
Meanwhile, season ticket sales are going through the roof at Celtic, Rangers, Hibs and Hearts, and Aberdeen will sell big to their customers if not actually selling out.
Rangers will have a new team and Celtic fans will dismiss them as realistic challengers to the Invincibles. That's good for our business. The Edinburgh derby is back and that's box office, too.
So we drew with England. It was a great result achieved by a dogged performance. Credit where it is due rather than suggesting that a nation is in mourning. We fought our corner and we nearly beat them. We'll just take it from there, shall we?
There's always the possibility Malta will beat us somewhere down the road and that will be that, but it's all part of life's rich tapestry where Scotland are concerned.
We'll bounce back, whether it's at club, European or international level. It's what we do. As a famous man once said, success is going from one failure to the next with no loss of enthusiasm.
The looks on the faces of the kids who won their medals at the tournament in Matthew's name told me that is the case. They love the game and they put heart and soul into being the best they can.
That's us. That'll do me. See you next season. Looking forward to it.