COLIN CAMPBELL: Germany calling for Tartan Army after those wild weekends at Wembley for Scotland fans
Football travel adventurer and owner of the Johnny Foxes pub in Inverness, Don Lawson, has organised a charter plane to take Highland fans to the Euros.
We can only imagine the level of foaming revelry which will have built up among those heading for take-off this week. Strict airline regulations on alcohol mean a degree of sobriety, at the least, will have to be maintained until they hit the ground in Germany.
It was not always so with such excursions. In 1977 Caley organised a special train to Wembley, the year when over-exuberant Scots fans brought the goalposts down after a famous victory. The volume of carry-outs taken on board by the 400 passengers must have come close to outweighing the train.
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However it managed to trundle on down the Highland Line on that rather boisterous Thursday night. There was no recommendation at the time on weekly alcohol limits but if there had been most of those on board would have breached them before they reached Carrbridge. As is the way of such things, the level of drunken euphoria rose rapidly and reached a peak around Edinburgh, and as darkness fell then began to subside.
I took a bleary wander through the carriages somewhere around Carlisle. By then most of those on board, with some men nestling - or slumped - on each other's shoulders, and a few to be stepped over on the floor, had entered a state of very deep slumber.
But despite that, most of those still around will remember most of that weekend. And retaining those incredible memories, no one from that era will be less than glad they were there.
No one will regret being in Germany either and they will also retain the memories of the experience. That's what makes the cost of it all worth it, even though at around £4000 for the full adventure it's an expensive trip.
So those on the flight and tens of thousands heading there by every means available will enjoy one long, extended party. Scotland used to routinely qualify for major tournaments but those happy days are long gone. And the possibility exists that it could be a while before they're back at the very epicentre of events, with an opening match against Germany as the showpiece first game of the tournament.
That should set record football viewing figures at home and out there most of the Highland contingent - apart from maybe a lucky few with "gold dust" match tickets - will watch it in vast fan zones. Not quite as good as being at the match, but pretty good for all that.
A woman I know from my daily rounds is heading out with her husband and their little lad to Stuttgart, where Scotland will play Hungary, for a shared family experience. The only slight drawback is that she has no interest at all in football, and is struggling to raise her level even a bit above zero despite the significance of the occasion.
She'll no doubt watch the game with a modicum of interest as those around her work themselves up into a frenzy. But the rest of the time she could spend sightseeing. And she's fortunate in that respect, because Stuttgart is a lovely city. I've been to Germany a few times and it's one of my favourite countries. You can fairly easily feel at home.
I'm sure Mr Lawson's planeload are flying into a fantastic experience. Even football fans seem to have reduced to some extent their level of alcohol intake compared with the legless craziness of the past, and most will be determined to remain upright, at least.
And the younger element among them will, decades from now, like me with my Wembley memories, be able to say: "I was there." That's what it's all about, and these are treasured memories to keep and cherish forever.
