THE VLADI MARDI GRAS

THE streets of Edinburgh were transformed into a maroon Vladi-Mardi Gras yesterday as Hearts paraded the Scottish Cup in front of 200,000 adoring fans.

Adouble decker bus resembled the tip of a huge Jambo thermometer as Vladimir Romanov and Steven Pressley led the procession through the capital.

The temperature of emotion was pushed towards boiling point by a convoy of fans in maroon who grew in their thousands at every turn of every street corner.

It finally exploded in overwhelming joy as the Lothian Buses vehicle turned at the top of Dalry Road and made its way down Gorgie Road towards Tynecastle.

The fans were hanging from bus stops, off bridges and out of windows as every vantage point was secured, many of them hours before the tour officially set off at 1.30pm.

There was an air of fear and menace in the run-up the last time Edinburgh hosted such a huge gathering, last summer when the G8 summit came to Scotland.

The figurehead of that protest was former Boomtown Rats lead singer Bob Geldof but the only people who are likely to awaken this morning and claim to not like Mondays are poor Hibs fans, whose wait for this trophy goes on and on.

Jambos supporters took great delight yesterday in reminding their arch-rivals they were partying while they were still in their beds but there will be a few down Gorgie way who won't be rushing from their scratchers this morning as the hangovers kick in.

The bus inched its way along the three-mile route from the City Chambers to Tynecastle and we knew it was a special day when not even a notorious traffic enforcer dared step out and plaster the bus with a ticket for loitering.

It passed St Giles Cathedral, outside of which is the famous Heart of Midlothian stone that tradition demands is spat on by passers-by but yesterday it was awash with the spray from cans of beer and bottles of champagne.

The procession made its way from the City Chambers down to Princes Street, past the HBoS headquarters on The Mound.

We can only guess at the riches that are housed in its massive vaults but the real treasure yesterday was to be found in the arms of skipper Pressley. He held the famous old trophy with the same tender care he displayed when leading proud four-year-old mascot son Aaron on to the pitch at Hampden 24 hours earlier before the game with Gretna.

The bus snaked down the hill and round to the left, on to Princes Street and past the monument to the man who gave this famous club its name.

Sir Walter Scott penned some adventure stories in his time but this tale, with Romanov cast as hero-villain, has been every bit as gripping in the past 12 months. The Lithuanian, wrapped in a Hearts t-shirt, was given pride of place beside Pressley at the top of the bus and there were times he looked so excited you feared he was about to disappear into the throng below.

The weather forecast had promised heavy showers but even The Man upstairs dared not rain on the parade below as bemused tourists were caught up in the happy throng that headed towards Haymarket.

Jambo Richard Thomson, from Edinburgh, said: "These scenes will stay with Hearts fans for the rest of their days. We've only won theCup three times in 50 years but hopefully parades such as this will be much more commonplace now Mr Romanov's vision is taking shape.

"I was here when we last won the trophy eight years ago and knew it was something to be cherished because it doesn't happen too often.

"But I've a feeling it's going to be different this time. The number of fans on the streets today gives afrightening glimpse of the potential of this club."

At Haymarket, there was a solemn pause for reflection as the Hearts players released balloons in front of the memorial to their counterparts from a bygone era who made the ultimate sacrifice as part of McRae's Battalion during the First World War.

Then it was on and up Dalry Road, its boozers spilling more punters on to the streets than any smoking ban could ever deliver while, up above, Rudi Skacel, Craig Gordon, Paul Hartley and Co were the centre of uncontained adulation.

The foreign players in the squad, in particular, were recording every move, genuinely astonished at the level of affection for their team while some, such as Skacel, knew this was their last act as a Hearts player.

The only slight disappointment for many fans came as the bus turned into McLeod Street and supporters found their way into the ground blocked by barricades and a line of police.

Many of the fans were season ticket-holders desperate to make their way into Tynecastle, where they had been guaranteed a seat to watch as players were presented to supporters before going on alap of honour with the Cup.

However, strict policing had been demanded and around 4000 fans missed out on watching from the stands as Pressley and Co were introduced.

Mind you, the publicans up and down Gorgie Road were hardly complaining as the party continued throughout the afternoon and into the early evening.

The players walked back down the tunnel to the strains of Bono singing about a Beautiful Day. For the maroon half of Edinburgh, the U2 frontman wasn't wrong.

Taken from the Daily Record