Hail 'n Hearty

50,000 in capital Jam

GARY LOCKE's face said it all.

As the sun shone and the crowds gathered at West Parliament Square, the Hearts captain - standing proudly on the top deck of the open-topped bus - raised the Scottish Cup above his head, kissed the badge on his tracksuit and sang with all his might.

The wide grin stretching from ear to ear mirrored the feelings of every Jambo in Edinburgh.

Around 50,000 of them packed the streets of Edinburgh yesterday.

They had waited 36 years to celebrate the return of a major trophy to the Gorgie Road and boy, were they going to milk it for all it was worth.

Almost every street from the City Chambers to Princes Street and then finally to Tynecastle became a sea of maroon and white as one of Scottish football's sleeping giants emerged from its slumber at last.

Pensioners who have been living on the memories of that last League Cup win in 1962 danced and sang with the new breed of youngsters sporting the obligatory face paint and curly wigs.

Temperatures touched the 70s, but this summer Hearts fans have more to bask in than just the good weather.

Players, supporters and officials shrugged off their hangovers to converge on the City Chambers around lunchtime - but the party atmosphere had been in the air since early morning.

Bakers in Gorgie spent the morning handing out free bacon rolls to help revellers recover from their Saturday night shenanigans.

Heroes

And Jim Jefferies, chairman Leslie Deans and chief executive Chris Robinson kicked off the party by rolling through Gorgie in a maroon two-litre Bristol car with the cup in the front seat.

Jefferies laughed: "The vintage car belongs to Chris and he only brings it out for Scottish Cup finals, so it probably hasn't been out of the garage for 42 years."

The destination of Jefferies and Co.

was the City Chambers, where Lord Provost Eric Milligan - a dyed-in-the-wool Jambo himself - was holding an informal reception for the heroes.

Most of the players arrived in black taxis, except for fans' favourites Gilles Rousset and John Robertson.

Behind the flotilla of cabs transporting the first team there was a police van - and who should climb out the back but Rousset, Robbo and the club mascot Hearty Harry.

After the reception came the moment everyone was waiting for.

The 90-minute bus journey through the streets of Auld Reekie, where every single Hearts fan in the city could see that big silver cup for themselves and receive the final confirmation it wasn't all a dream.

Jim Hamilton was first on the bus and raised a celebratory glass of bubbly to the thousands of supporters pouring out of the bars around the square.

Locke and Robbo arrived next and Paul Ritchie, savouring every moment of his first major success, even ended up taking photos of the crowds with his little instamatic camera.

Scarves and flags fluttered from flat windows and house parties spilled out into streets and gardens as the huge white bus rolled slowly round Edinburgh.

Cars tooted their horns and sported the colours to create a wonderful scene more reminiscent of South America than South Gyle.

There was laughter, there were tears and there was every kind of unbridled joy you could imagine being expressed.

Supporter Grant Wardrop, 32, of Broxburn, summed up the mood perfectly.

He said: "This is the best two days of my entire life.

I was there in 1986 and 1996 when we lost out and I know just how hard it has been to be a Hearts supporter.

However, this makes up for all of it.

"The scenes around the city have been euphoric and I find it hard to express just how happy I feel.

"Guys like Jim Jefferies and Gary Locke are genuine Hearts fans and that makes it all the more special.

The supporters idolise Jefferies because he really is the new Messiah."

Delight

Pal Bob Elliott, 18, of Polbeth, added: "Who needs God when you've got Jim Jefferies to worship."

The players arrived at Tynecastle at 3.10 and after the BP Youth Cup and Reserve League Shield were paraded, the capacity crowd packing the ground erupted as Rousset led the first team out for another lap of honour.

It was a glorious send-off for the men who have put Hearts back at the forefront of Scottish football.

They took their final bows with t-shirts emblazoned Champions.

A bit premature there, lads, but I wouldn't rule it out for the future.