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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Introducing #HampdenLegends Our first inductee is Gothenburg Great, John McMaster. We honour players, pioneers and unsung heroes whose stories shaped Scottish football — preserving their legacy for future generations. @afc.co.uk Hampden Legends – The Hampden Collection share.google/Dj9ljgN18F5r...

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Hampden Legends

The Hampden Collection Announces First Inductee into its new “Hampden Legends” initiative: Aberdeen legend, John McMaster The Hampden Collection is proud to announce the launch of its new Hampden L…

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Football's Square Mile @footysquaremile.bsky.social · 29/11/2025

Aerial Digital joins the Football's Square Mile Alliance As we celebrate the anniversary of the first international match, we bring mobile technology to football heritage, with the announcement that our App designer has joined the FSM Alliance. www.footballssquaremile.com/post/aerial-...

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Aerial Digital joins the FSM Alliance

We are bringing mobile technology to football heritage, with the announcement that our App designer has joined the Football's Square Mile Alliance.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 21/11/2025

A brilliant day at First Hampden for @hugemcm.bsky.social creative writing workshop—words inspired by the ground where legends once ran. See www.footballsquaremile.com Writing and football: our national arts, come together to celebrate friendship, creativity & community for #bookweekscotland

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

Our first #BookWeekScotland fixture kicked off at the original Hampden Park, where poet Donna Matthew coached Holyrood Secondary students into top writing form. This creative squad proved that stories, like friendship and football, bring us together in the heart of www.footballssquaremile.com

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 21/10/2025

Apologies. Thanks for pointing this out.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

... having secured Scottish qualification for the 1986 World Cup. In spite of that triumph, one of the blackest days in Scottish football history. As Gayle says here, it was “The night a nation cried together.” hampdencollection.com/the-world-ho...

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World Home of Football Poetry

The Hampden Collection created its poetry section on 26th March 2018. The curators of the collection have been Stephen Watt (2018), Jim Mackintosh (2019), Julie McNeill (2021) and our current curat…

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

@hugemcm.bsky.social, our HC Curator, latest pick for the World Home of Football Poetry is this moving commentary by Gayle Smith on the death of the legendary Jock Stein on the 10th September at Cardiff Arms Park, ...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

3/3 The turning point in the game, attended by 115,000, was Lugar man Sam Clemie’s penalty save from Tully Craig, Killie going on to score two second half goals. It was the first ever penalty save in a cup final.’ See Ian's and all our poems hampdencollection.com/the-world-ho...

hampdencollection.com

World Home of Football Poetry

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

2/3 Having beaten Glasgow Uni, Bo'Ness, Albion Rovers, Raith Rovers and then Celtic 1-0 in the semi-final Killie were expected to get a drubbing in the final, Rangers having lost only one of their previous 43 league and cup games...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 20/06/2025

1/3 The latest poem selected by @hugemcm.bsky.social for the World Home of Football Poetry is 'Sam's Finest Hour' by Ian Goudie aka The Killie Poet. Hugh Says ‘In this powerful poem Ian Goudie delves back into the days of Lugar Boswell and Killie’s fantastic cup victory of 1929 over Rangers...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

Nevertheless we are indulging the great and talented John Daly here because he addresses the issue with humour and skill! In fact (though he wouldn’t admit it as slam poetry is new fangled) this would make a great slam poem or rap. We’ll get the boombox, John!’

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

‘There are too many poems about the old days. Folk are always going on about how better it was when we had rationing, national service, tanner baws etc etc etc. I catch myself doing it too, ‘we used to have little rosy ten shilling notes’ I was enthusing to a really bored child the other day.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/05/2025

The latest poem selected by @hugemcm.bsky.social , our HC Curator, for the World Home of Poetry is 'Changing Times' by John Daly. Hugh says...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

Cathkin Park, the home of Third Lanark and a prominent part of the Football's Square Mile is one of the most evocative spectral football landscapes. In this compact observational poem Calum Ewen strips away some of the years, reveals what’s left.’

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 28/05/2025

@hugemcm.bsky.social , our HC Curator, adds 'Cathkin Park' by Calum Ewen to the World Home of Football Poetry. Hugh says ‘Football grounds and the ghosts of football grounds and the ghosts of the folk who stood there with their coats drawn up against the rain or sleet. Cathkin Park...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

All you have to do to join in is write a few lines about your team. Doesn’t have to rhyme or anything! Write it in the comments here, along with what team you support. Do it! Unleash the muse! #areyoubardenough

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

I will add this to the renga, meaning even Rangers have scored a goal in the cup final which is more than Celtic have and they’re actually in it! So far it’s Aberdeen 3, Celtic 0, the rest 27.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 13/05/2025

Our HC curator, @hugemcm.bsky.social with his Renga update... “I’m a Bear with some flair, not a Hun in the sun” Rare poetic genius from a gentleman I was sitting with on Sunday outside the pub in George Square.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

A must see event... Celebrating Scottish Women’s Football... get yourself along to the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh on Thursday, 22 May @ 17.30... www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/celebratin...

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Celebrating Scottish women’s football

Join Fiona Skillen, Karen Fraser and Julie McNeil as they discuss their latest book, ‘A most unsuitable game’.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

Hibs have had some fantastic players, folk who if the light was at the right angle and you’d had a few pints you’d dream were world class, or at least might have been. Here’s Dave MacKay thinking along the same lines in a fabulous poem about the gifted Scott Allan.’

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

There were ten penalty takers in total that night and eight of them were Scots. Unhappily Pat Stanton missed the very first penalty and that great Leeds United team scraped home.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

'Unfortunately there has been no progress on making me Hibs Writer in Residence for their 150th anniversary year but I live in hope. I’ve been a Hibee since watching the 1973 Penalty shoot out against Leeds United at Easter Road in the EUFA Cup.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 07/05/2025

@hugemcm.bsky.social , our HC curator, has chosen 'Scotty' by Dave Mckay to be placed in the one and only 'World Home of Football Poetry'. Here's Hugh joining in with Dave on their love of Hibs and Hibs Players...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Please either reply to this message using your teams hashtag or send your 2 lines of Renga to our Makar steamboatsmcmillan@hotmail.com with your teams hastag in the subject line. Please send illustrations too if the spirit takes you!

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

These three scrolls will be exhibited at the Hampden Collection Scottish Cup Poetry Slam on May 17th where lines can be added.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Our Makar will assemble these Rengas, stick the lines on the Renga scrolls and will give you a regular update on the length of the scrolls. By this cunning method we will be able to predict the winner of the cup, or establish the fact that neither of the finalists deserve to!

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

The Micht Hae Bin Renga #binrenga (say why your team is great, why they should have been in the cup final, whose fault it is that they aren’t, why they are unique etc etc)

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

The Celtic Renga #celticrenga (why you support the team, who you predict will score, why you support the team, why they are unique etc etc) @celticfc.bsky.social OR

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

The Aberdeen Renga #donsrenga (why you support the team, who you predict will score, why you support the team, why they are unique etc etc) @afc.co.uk OR

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Our Makar Hugh McMillan @hugemcm.bsky.social is asking football supporters of all kinds, from all places, to contribute two lines to EITHER

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

A Renga is a continuous communal poem to which anyone can add a line. These lines are often written or stuck on long scrolls or rolls. It is a great way of writing a poem that can involve hundreds of people, and they can be illustrated too!

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 30/04/2025

Following on last year’s attempt to predict the Scottish cup results by the quality of the poems the supporters wrote, we Introduce the 2025 Scottish Cup Final Renga! @afc.co.uk @celticfc.bsky.social @scottishfa.bsky.social @scottishcup.bsky.social

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

2/3 ‘Marcel Proust thinks he wrote the perfect evocation of food as a metaphor for existence in A La Recherche de Temps Perdu but Stuart Irving takes him to the wire in this marvellously surreal evocation of Killie’s season as seen through Derek McInnes fantasy barbecue.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 24/04/2025

1/3 @hugemcm.bsky.social, Our HC Curator describes the latest poem to enter the world home of football poetry as 'sheer mad genuis'. What a brilliant accolade for Stuart Irving and his poem 'Del's Barbarcue'. Read on for @hugemcm.bsky.social's review of Stuart's poem...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 05/03/2025

2/2 'Here’s to the nostalgia lovers, the hankerers back, the follicly challenged, the dreamers. I’m one! But football goes on! And that is wonderful too no matter how much we moan about the old days. I suppose we’re creating old days now for the young! Great poem Stuart!'

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Julie McNeill @juliemcneillwrites.bsky.social · 09/01/2025

John McIntosh wrote this cracking piece in @bellacaledonia.bsky.social about A Most Unsuitable Game ‘It is more than a football book. It is about Scotland, and Scottishness, and women, and their struggle to overcome centuries of prejudice and discrimination’ bellacaledonia.org.uk/2024/10/14/c...

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

2/3 In this honest, bitter wee poem Colin Rutherford laments the loss of past glories at the Terregles St end, and the juggling, financial and otherwise, that wee clubs have to make in order to keep going.’

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

1/3 @hugemcm.bsky.social has selected 'The only team in the bible' by Colin Rutherford to join our poetry collection. Hugh says 'Until such times as someone calls a football team ‘Love your Enemies Athletic’, Queen of the South will remain the only team in the bible.

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Hampden Collection @hampdencollection.bsky.social · 03/01/2025

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