Another Scottish rugby disaster.  I had been multi tasking during the first half so pausing and restarting.  When I switched my telly back to real time I rejoined the match not quite in time to see England's try but to see the celebrations.

I headed off then in a slightly depressed mood to have it lifted in Kirkcaldy by the mellow tones of a Scottish musical success.  Joe Temperley, a boy from Lochgelly who made it good in the big bad outside world and who at 82 still holds down a baritone sax chair in New York, was playing with the Fife Jazz Orchestra at the Adam Smith.

It was a terrific concert of classic big band nunbers in which Ellington's music predominated which, quite apart from its status in the genre, is not altogether surprising from a man who played in that scene. 

I got home at midnight and watched as things got worse in the second half.  Thanks God I had the highlights of Zambia's 3-0 defeat of Sudan to cheer me up before I went to bed.

In contrast to the snowy weather which has afflicted the south the sun shone over the Pentlands yesterday afternoon adding to the pleasure obtained from my round in Lothianburn's winter mixed series.  I've been part of a winning combination the last two weeks but yesterday I played in a trio whom luck deserted.

The evening saw me back in Fife for more jazz.  This time it was Kyle Eastwood in Dunfermline.  This was a totally different genre, even the one 40s number they played as an encore was given an up to date cutting edge treatment.  Apart from Kyle himself who wrung wonderful clumps of notes from a cello sized electric double bass and a piano player whose hands were literally a blur at times the star for me was the trumpet player.  He got amazing sounds out of the instrument from hair-raising screech to lullaby coo.  It's a mystery to me how you can get such a multitude of music out of those three little valves.  

I had another late sporting night; this time catching up on Ivory Coast versus Equatorial Guinea.  I'd hate to watch "live" on ITV4 since they seem to manage as many extended ad breaks as American football.  Zipping through a recording on the other hand gets you all the game and none of the pain.