The first two volumes of Olivia Manning’s Balkan Trilogy are set in Romania in 1939 and 1940, and feature the plots and schemes of the small British expat community in Bucharest as they compete for status and argue the prospects for themselves and the country as war moves toward them. Some are without money, in particular Yakimov, prince of moochers, who is constantly looking to borrow ‘a thou’ — a thousand lei note — on the fiction that he’ll pay it back just as soon as his remittence comes in. The last gesture of David the spy, just before they do clear out, is to overtip a waiter with a 1000-lei note. All of which is to say that this banknote is the ideal bookmark for this set of novels.
There have been five or six clubs named Clydebank over the course of history. One of them merged with East Stirlingshire in 1964. East Stirlingshire and Clydebank met in a friendly on July 1st, 2023 (above). Today they meet in Round Two of the Scottish Cup. Source.
St Johnstone visit Cappielow. St Johnstone sit atop the Championship with 24 points. Morton occupy seventh place with 11 points. These two teams played to a 1 – 1 draw on August 30th.
This is St Johnstone’s first visit to Cappielow in almost exactly ten years. The last time was a League Cup quarter-final match on October 27th, 2015, which St Johnstone won. [There was a friendly in 2019.]
[Morton 0 – 4 St Johnstone]
The other Championship matches: Partick Thistle 2 – 1 Ayr United (October 21) Airdrieonians 0 – 4 Dunfermline Athletic (October 21) Airdrie sacked their manager after that result. Airdrieonians (10th) [1 – 0] Arbroath (3rd) Queen’s Park (8th) [0 – 0] Ayr United (4th) Raith Rovers (6th) [2 – 0] Partick Thistle (2nd) Ross County (9th) [3 – 2] Dunfermline Athletic (5th)
Hamilton Academical have been issued a 6-point deduction in League 1 and a 1-point deduction in the Challenge Cup league phase after having been found guilty of financial tricks during their earlier signing embargo.
Sheffield Wednesday filed for administration Thursday.
League of Ireland promotion playoffs, leg one: UCD 0 – 1 Bray Wanderers (yesterday)
Scottish Cup, Round Two: Bo’ness Athletic (EP) 0 – 2 Linlithgow Rose (LL) (yesterday) Formartine United (HL) 0 – 2 Buckie Thistle (HL) (yesterday) Clydebank (WP) [3 – 1] East Stirlingshire (LL) Upset Camelon (EP) [1 – 0] Johnstone Burgh (WP) Tranent (LL) [3 – 0] Dundee North End (ML) Banks o’ Dee (HL) [4 – 0] Fraserburgh (HL) Clachnacuddin (HL) [2 – 0] Sauchie (EP) Clyde (L2) [2 – 3] Annan Athletic (L2) Edinburgh City (L2) [1 – 0] University of Stirling (LL) Caledonian Braves (LL) [3 – 4] Stirling Albion (L2) Stranraer (L2) [4 – 0] Glenafton Athletic (WP) Musselburgh Athletic (EP) [1 – 2] Forfar Athletic (L2) Elgin City (L2) [2 – 1] Deveronvale (HL) Dumbarton (L2) [2 – 0] Tayport (ML) The Spartans (L2) [2 – 1] East Kilbride (L2) Nairn County (HL) [1 – 2] Turriff United (HL) Wick Academy (HL) [1 – 1] Benburb (W1) [Benburb win on PK] Upset Cumbernauld Colts (LL) [0 – 2] Bonnyrigg Rose (LL) Auchinleck Talbot (WP) [3 – 1] Gretna 2008 (LL) Upset Brechin City (HL) [3 – 1] Dundonald Bluebell (EP)
Scottish Junior Cup, Round Three: Cambuslang Rangers [2 – 5] West Calder United Finnart [0 – 6] Armadale Thistle
SWF League Cup, R2 (tomorrow): Morton Women [2 – 8] Dryburgh Athletic
2025-26 UEFA Europa League, league phase, matchday 3 (October 23): Brann 3 – 0 Rangers Rangers are 36th out of 36 in the Europa League league phase table. Celtic 2 – 1 Sturm Graz
2015-26 UEFA Conference League, league phase, matchday 2 (October 23): AEK Athens 6 – 0 Aberdeen Aberdeen are 36th out of 36 in the Conference League league phase table. Shkëndija 1 – 0 Shelbourne Shamrock Rovers 0 – 2 Celje
2025-26 AFC Champions League Elite, group stage, matchday 3: Ulsan HD 1 – 0 Sanfrecce Hiroshima (October 21) Shanghai Port 0 – 2 Machida Zelvia (October 21) Gangwon 4 – 3 Vissel Kobe (October 22)
2025-26 AFC Champions League Two, group stage, matchday 3: Gamba Osaka 3 – 1 Nam Định (October 22)
WE League Cup, group stage, matchday 1: Omiya Ardija 3 – 0 Elfen Saitama
Football Times Cup, R1: Halkirk United vs Fort William [postponed] Inverness Athletic [1 – 0] Invergordon
Canadian Premier League playoffs: HFX Wanderers 2 – 2 York United (York win on PK) (October 22) Wanderers parted company with head coach Patrice Gheiser following this defeat. Forge [1 – 2] Atlético (tomorrow) Cavalry [4 – 1] York United (tomorrow)
Ernst and Alma Lorenzen of Lantz, Nova Scotia specialized in ceramic replicas of local mushrooms. This collection of Lorenzen fungi is in the McCulloch Museum at Dalhousie University. Source.
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