John Gibson: Can't give up the veggie haggis or fags

Published on Friday 26 June 2009 09:12

SHE bears a salt-of-the-earth tag for life. And she wears it well. Six weeks into retirement, Mary Moriarty appeared to be thriving on it.

She was doing justice to a sonsie midday dollop of veggie haggis in Hendersons, clearly at home in Hangover Street, other side of the world from the Port o' Leith pub she landladied with distinction for 25 years.

Mary has a major voluntary admin role in the annual Leith Festival, which usually leaves her reminding folk that she is a Leith "by adoption". She has a son in his forties down there teaching English in a language school in Giles Street

She'll hit 71 in October. "My twin sister celebrated the big seven-o same time as me and I was glad about that. Hooray! I could tease her mercilessly."

The veggie haggis had vanished. "I can eat anything. Pies, pizza . . . the lot, having refined my dietary requirements over quarter of a century at the bar." She was looking slim and neat on it.

Yes, Mary, but you were notorious for your fags. How many a day now? This won't go any further than the Evening News, you have my word."

She still cannot tell a lie. "Maybe 20 Maybe more."

Shake on it

No ordinary member of the Edinburgh Sports Club in the well nigh exotically leafy Belford Place. Introduced to retiree Bobby Wishart, should I have shaken hands?

It was, though, a bygones-be-bygones moment and, after all, Bobby had been an achiever. He scored two of Aberdeen's four goals against a Famous Five Hibs.

He also played for Dundee when it could boast Gordon Smith and he recalls: "When we

toured Iceland I roomed with Gordon. He made a big impression on me. He couldn't stomach the food, so he nipped into a deli for more wholesome, healthier stuff.

"And he was an early bedder, while the rest of the team were out enjoying themselves. Gordon was a gent, a real credit to the game."

Afterwords . .

. . . Stoppit, John, stoppit! Racist? Who, me? Just because I keep playing these Enoch Powell tapes? Nonetheless, I'm predicting that immigration will lead to the UK's downfall, not unemployment, not the economy, not Mr Brown.