The Grand National is cruel and abhorrent and should be abolished.

Fantastic interview from John Stiles whose father Nobby was taken by dementia. Thanks also to Raphaël Varane for his honesty. @FIFA & The IFAB must remove heading to stop clashes of heads, concussions & CTE. My lobby group headingout.scot has more. Heading can kill.

Delighted to announce that I will swim the course of the NC 500 in August of this year. Training well underway and jellyfish avoidance tactics being studied.

Bang on. And anyone who signs off an email with ‘Best’ is dead to me.

Fantastic to be on PLZ Soccer today to discuss removing heading from football to reduce diagnoses of #dementia & make the game safer, particularly for children. I hope FIFA & The IFAB are watching. youtu.be/2Kv_ILVsv3o?si…

FIFA, UEFA & the IFAB, which sets & changes the rules, have to understand football has a duty of care to people who play it. Heading the ball has to be removed from the game to protect players. ⁦FIFA⁩ ⁦UEFA⁩ ⁦The IFAB⁩ #dementia standard.co.uk/news/health/du…

Frank Kopel played for ManU & Amanda’s story has reached the city. The Heading Out message is spreading. FIFA cannot continue to turn a deaf ear to calls to remove heading. ⁦⁦FIFA⁩ UEFA ⁦The IFAB⁩ ⁦Heading Out⁩ #dementia manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/greater-m…

The game’s authorities must listen. Heading must be removed from football to keep players safe. Thank you Amanda Kopel. This would have been Frank’s 75th birthday. ⁦FIFA⁩ ⁦UEFA⁩ ⁦The IFAB⁩ ⁦⁦Heading Out⁩ #dementia news.stv.tv/sport/widow-of…

Thank you to the remarkably brave Amanda Kopel - the star of Heading Out, the campaign group I formed to get heading the ball removed from football to reduce dementia. Onwards! ⁦FIFA⁩ UEFA ⁦The IFAB⁩ ⁦Heading Out⁩ #dementia dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/…

Good luck Bernard. A good friend and colleague over my 26 years at STV and easily the best journalist I’ve ever known.

TELIC 1 21 years on. Reunion time!

I’m so glad this account is active again. Very clever stuff if you’re a fan of the TTSS series from 1979. Showing my age now!

What a way to start the day! BBC Parly corr Susan Hulme has just used the word ‘snaffled’ on the Today programme. Braw!! Susan Hulme BBC Radio 4 BBC Radio 4 Today

Thanks Michael Marra MSP for a very useful meeting at the Scots Parliament to discuss football safety. He wants football-related dementia treated as industrial injury & I want FIFA to ban heading the ball. Go to headingout.scot for more. FIFA Michael Marra MSP #dementia

Five years off the tools and off camera but some things don’t change. Chap comes up to me on the train at Haymarket and says, ‘you’re that crime reporter.’ He has a good memory if nothing else!

Well done lads. That’s a mahoosive three points. Hopefully we’ve turned a corner.

Ach goodnight Chris Nicholl. A central defender who has died after a diagnosis of dementia which he attributed to heading the ball. The game has to change. Heading has to be removed from football to make it safe. ⁦FIFA⁩ ⁦UEFA⁩ #dementia amp.theguardian.com/football/2024/…

Goodnight Stan Bowles - another former footballer dies from dementia. When will the game’s authorities realise why this happens? It’s time to remove heading the ball from football. FIFA UEFA.com Heading Out #dementia #headingtheball

Back on the tools in an interview for a documentary on Belgian TV about dementia caused by heading the ball. My lobby group Heading Out wants UEFA.com The IFAB FIFA to ban heading because it is a slow & certain killer. Go to headingout.scot for more. Heading Out

Back in my happy place for a crunchy meeting of the Erskine Finance and Performance committee. And a sonsie fry-up at Harry’s cafe. Erskine Veterans Charity