TOUR DIARY
Having spent the first four days in Troon, Post photographer Sam Bagnall and I have relocated to the delightful hamlet of Carlops.
Roughly 20 miles south of Edinburgh, we are ensconced in a remote farmhouse that is light years away from the hustle and bustle of Scotland's capital.
There are sheep aplenty in the fields that surround our accommodation and Bagnall caused quite a stir among the fleeced fraternity. An inquisitive sheep poked its nose through our bedroom window, only to be met with the sight of an outraged Bagnall charging towards him and shouting.
Speculation that he has been hired by the proprietor as a sheepdog have, however, as yet, proved unfounded.
Centre-forwards beware. Not only is Pascal Zuberbuhler a giant of a man with a booming voice, he also possesses extreme brute force.
His contagious laugh caused a few heads to turn in the Dalmahoy Hotel during our inaugural interview such was its volume. Affable and courteous to the extreme, he ended the interview with a handshake that made my metacarpals crunch!
The Swiss international towers above goalkeeping coach Joe Corrigan and one gets the impression that Zuberbuhler might not be the butt of too many jokes in Albion's dressing-room this season.
Zoltan Gera has embraced the English way of life since his arrival in 2004. However, the Hungary international had yet to discover the delights of Skittles until this Scotland tour.
Not the game that you find in pubs however, but the sweets. Rob Davies handed Gera a solitary Skittle and he was insantly hooked. Gera despatched an Albion staff member to buy him as many as possible and proceeded to clear out the local store in Troon with four packets.
But that still wasn't sufficient. He needed to replenish his stocks for some serious munching and another car journey was undertaken to increase his stock.
The strange phenomenon of ear-flicking has been spotted during Albion's training sessions.
As part of their warm-up, players will form a circle and indulge in a spot of old-fashioned keepie-ups.
The player who is the first to drop the ball three times is deemed to be the loser and is forced to accept a punishment of having his ears flicked once by competitors!
While Motherwell were excellent hosts, their press office might need to brush up on their spelling skills before their big kick-off against Rangers this week.
The team sheet that was issued to journalists before the match contained some real literary gems.Tomagz Kuszecak , Albrightson, West Bromich and Ibrahim Sissoro were among some of the glaring errors on show.
Pride of place, however must surely go to Albion's centre-forward who will forever be known as Natman Ellington by the public of Motherwell.
