FOR over 5 years now I have I have travelled and written features on supporters club buses on trips to Ibrox and away games.

I have travelled with clubs from Inverness, Liverpool, Northern Ireland, Fife, Glasgow, Edinburgh, to name but a few and enjoyed trips with all of them.

I would not dream of saying this club is better than that Club, however, what I would say is I have great admiration for Rangers supporters who travel long distances and also supporters who never miss a game no matter where the team play or how bad the team is performing.

The guys from Plymouth True Blues fit the bill for a few of the above categories.

They do a round trip of 1000 miles and it takes them approximately ten hours by bus to get to Ibrox from Plymouth.

When travelling by bus to midweek games they get a sleep on the homeward journey which allows them to get to work the next day so they only lose one day off.

This month is the Plymouth True Blues 20th Anniversary having been formed in February 1988. 

After placing an advert in the local newspaper, a meeting was held in a local club where 60 people turned up to join as members and the PTBs were formed.

The membership is split 50-50 locals and Scotsmen, around 40% of the membership are ex- servicemen and they currently have 35 members with 12 season ticket holders.

Quite a few of the guys travel to Europe to watch the Gers and the first time I met up with them was in Moscow when seven of them were dressed up as dwarfs.

It wasn't until later on I found out Doppy Duncan, Sneezy Fred, Happy Harry, Sleepy Paul, Bashful Bobby, Grumpy terry and Doc Davy were all members of the Plymouth True Blues.

For the benefit of anyone who is interested in the history of Plymouth here are some facts.

Sir Francis Drake left from Plymouth in the Golden Hynd to battle the Spanish Armada and won, and of course, the Mayflower left from Plymouth to sail to America with the Pilgrims in 1620.

That's about as much as I know about Plymouth, except that John Smeaton aka Smeato was down for the Plymouth True Blues Charity weekend in October and he had a great time, so much so he met up with the guys on the day of the Panathinaikos game and went for a meal and a few beers before going to the Broomy Front for the match.

Over the years the guys have raised well over £20,000 for the charity SSAFA which looks after retired Soldiers Sailors and Air Force men.

The local football club is Plymouth Argyle and ex-Ranger Stephen McLean signed for them a couple of weeks ago from Cardiff City for £500,000.

I just missed out meeting up with him because he had a game on Tuesday night against Barnsley.

Plymouth won 3-0 and Stephen scored the first from a free-kick, apparently he is also the cousin of Kevin Thomson the Gers' midfielder. 
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The club are full of characters, guys Like Fred and Paul Bennington, and drunken Duncan Ian Martin to Davy MacLean to name but a few.

When the PTBs are not up in Glasgow for the game they watch the games at the Navy Inn.

I met up with Landlord John Buckley who told me the Rangers supporters in Plymouth were a credit to the Club, he also travelled up for his first game at Ibrox and the lads said that was him hooked on the Gers.

Also on the bus was Phil Gill the Landlord of Raffles which is where the PTBs hold their Charity functions.

Over the years some Rangers legends like Ally McCoist, Ian Durrant and John Brown have been down to help support the Charity and needless to say the members still talk about them to this day.

I accepted an Invite from Fred Bennetton to travel with the guys on their bus to the game against Panathinaikos last Wednesday night.

The Star Rider which is the name for the bus is a bit special - I will explain.

It has 14 bunk beds in on the top deck as well as a lounge which includes TV, DVD and PlayStation. In the lower deck there is another more spacious lounge with comfortable seating plus a small kitchen and eating area with Microwave etc.

There is also another TV, DVD, and PlayStation. The bus has all the comforts of home including a fridge upstairs and downstairs and can only be described as five-star travel.

On Tuesday morning I flew down to Bristol and met up with Fred's brother Paul who drove me down to Plymouth and looked after me for a few hours before we met up for a bite to eat with the guys.

The bus was left Plymouth around midnight on Tuesday and arriving at Ibrox on Wednesday morning around 11.00am.

We then went on to park up in Helen Street until after the match when the PTBs had to make the journey back home to Plymouth, thankfully without yours truly.

I had a great time meeting up with the lads from Plymouth and look forward to going back down later on in the year to their annual Charity Weekend. Well done and thanks lads.

Jim Hannah