Exiled Hibee Jim finishes his 15-year 'love letter'

Published on Saturday 2 August 2008 11:07

WHEN exiled Hibs fan Jim Meikle sat down to explain his obsession with football to his kids he didn't think for a minute it would stretch to a book running to more than 450 pages.

But today, some 15 years in the writing, what was originally 30 pages outlining his love for the game and his upbringing playing football in the streets of West Pilton and Drylaw has turned into "Fitba Daft", Meikle's story of "total soccer addiction in Scotland and America."

Although he has spent the past 28 years living in Virginia, emigrating with his wife Bunty and their first child, Dale, to take up a post with the Ministry of Defence in Washington, Meikle remains a committed supporter of the Easter Road club, his car number plate reading "HIBS FC."

Now a father of three grown-up children, Dale having been joined by Kyle and Brooke, who were born in the United States, Meikle, a one-time team-mate of Gordon Strachan and Eamonn Bannon, continues to play, regularly turning out for an over-45 side in his adopted home of Arlington.

However, it was his determination to ensure his children knew of their "roots" which became the inspiration for his book.

The 50-year-old said: "My initial thought was to try to explain to the kids about the environment in which I grew up, it was so much different to what they have experienced here in Arlington. I was also trying to express in words the great passion I have for football, particularly the sheer pleasure which comes from playing, a joy I still get even today.

"It must be at least 15 years since I penned the first words, it ran to 30 pages and that's how it remained for several years. Then a couple of friends over here read it, told me there was something in it and over the past two or three years I've completed it, returning home and watching Hibs lift the CIS Insurance Cup providing the final impetus.

"To be honest, it was nothing more than a labour of love, it was never a commercial venture but I was really pleased to get it finished. The first half of the book recalls my life in Edinburgh, growing up playing football with my pals, the various teams I played for, starting work, meeting Bunty, the birth of Dale and the big decision we took to come out here to work, the initial plan being for only three years.

"In the second half I've tried to explain to people back home just how much 'soccer' has grown in the States, literally millions of kids are playing the game and it's taken very seriously."

Meikle's book, which is available from main online bookstores, has already made the shelves of some shops in Virginia, but he admitted he has one remaining dream – of seeing a copy for sale in Hibs' own club shop.