John Gibson: Recalling the time they hit seven

Fancy that! Proclaimer Charlie Reid’s dad took him to his first football match when he was ten. He saw Hibs thrash St Johnstone 7-1 at Easter Road in 1972.

Charlie’s vivid recollection appears in We Are Hibernian – The Fans’ Story, Andy MacVannan’s just-published collection of straight-from-the-heart words by the fans themselves. Among them Bruce Finlay, Tom Wright and Dick Gaughan.

Lot of water under the bridge since 1972. How fortunate the players who bagged seven against Saints didn’t have to live the nightmare against Saints on Saturday.

The book’s well worth considering as a Christmas pressie for the faithful.

Afterwords . .

“You cannot assume your politics are the same as your readers’.

“I have a very wide readership and I love every one of them. I don’t want to force my politics on them, just as I don’t want people to force their politics on me.

“We all have strong feelings. Every now and then my wife tells me to get off my soapbox because no one wants to hear it. And there’s truth in that.”

John Grisham, whose novels are still selling in their millions.