Two Scots who, in their own very different ways, embodied the hopes and dreams of their nation - Vladimir McTavish

Scotland coach Craig Brown salutes the fans at the Stade de France before the opening match of the 1998 World Cup between Brazil and Scotland

Winnie Ewing, dubbed “Madame Ecosse” when she was a member of the European Parliament in Strasbourg, had earlier shaken up Westminster politics when she won the Hamilton by-election in 1967 uttering the immortal words “Stop the World, Scotland wants to get on”.

When she won that by-election in the late sixties, she was not only the SNP’s sole representative in the commons, she was actually only the party’s second-ever MP. Also, at the time she was one of only a handful of women MPs across the political spectrum.

That is hard to believe now, little more than 50 years later, where the case for independence is part of the political mainstream in Scotland and where we now have our own parliament. If you told anyone in Scotland in 1967 that there would be an independence referendum in 47 years’ time, they would have recommended you to visit a psychiatrist.

The late Winnie Ewing, a trailblazer in Scottish politics

Furthermore, we have since had three female Prime Ministers, admittedly one of those for 46 short days of pantomime chaos. And we have had a woman First Minister of Scotland, a role which in itself would have seemed unthinkable in 1967. Winnie Ewing was without doubt a trailblazer for the independence movement and for women in politics.

Craig Brown was the last manager to take the Scotland men’s team to the finals of the World Cup. Scandalously underrated at the time, his stock has risen with every subsequent failed qualifying campaign. We regularly qualified to major tournaments up until the late nineties but would be disappointed each time not to progress beyond the group stages. While we saw it as mediocrity at the time, we now look back at those days as a golden era.

I was fortunate enough to meet and work alongside him on a couple of occasions. The first time was at a footballing dinner in Edinburgh where we were both speaking. I have met a number of ex-players and ex-managers at these types of functions over the years. Many of them have been great company, life and soul of the party types. Some have, however, been a bit full of themselves, while others have been surprisingly shy and awkward.

Craig Brown was convivial and charming in an understated way. He had no airs and graces about him, he was as modest and down-to-earth in company as he had appeared in post-match interviews. That did not surprise me.

What did surprise me, knowing he had once plied his trade as a primary school headteacher, was his entertaining way with the most rich and earthy language. My favourite story of his involved the opening game of the 1998 World Cup, where Scotland faced up to the might of Brazil, the holders of the cup and a team packed with the biggest names in the world at the time.

“Don’t worry, boys” he told the Scotland team before they took the pitch, “these guys are f***ing sh***ing themselves”. Rest in peace, Broon. You were a true gentleman. Thanks for the memories.