Friday Leggat

[Govan Front Antz 15]

NO reasonable person can be offended by the song which contains the words, “No Pope of Rome, no chapel to sadden my eye, etc…..! ”

And one must wonder what kind of country it is which would seek to deny the members of the Orange Order the right to condemn a church leader it considers to be the anti-Christ?

It is a bold question, prefaced by and even bolder statement.

But it is not my statement. Nor is the question mine.

No, both statement and question appeared in a thoughtful piece published in the Scotsman and written by Michael Kelly.

Good old Michael! You can always rely on the one time Celtic major shareholder and director, and former Labour Lord Provost of Glasgow, to stir up a hornet’s nest.

One thing you cannot expect Kelly to ever, ever ever do, is parrot the orthodoxy of Celtic, Labour or the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland, of which he is seen as a leading lay member.

You can be sure Alex Salmond read what Kelly had to say in the Scotsman, just hours before the first minister’s embarrassing U-turn on his SNP’s flagship Offensive Behaviour at Football Bill.

Ah, wee Eck! The laddie IS for Turning!

Kelly was in fine form as he tore the Bill to shreds, even suggesting, before wee Eck’s big climbdown, that the Baron Reid of Cardowan and the Orange Order should join forces in an alliance to rip it up.

And why not? Churchill and Stalin is an example which springs to mind.

As Kelly pointed out….

“THE ORANGE ORDER IS AS MUCH A POLITICAL AS RELIGIOUS ORGANISATION. IT IS DEDICATED TO PRESERVING THE FREEDOMS WON BY THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION OF 1688.”

And, as a Scottish Roman Catholic, who flourished in that supposed hotbed of anti Irish anti Catholic sectarianism that is Glasgow, the Dear Green Place’s one time First Citizen is a man who should be listened to when he insists…

“SECTARIANISM IS ALREADY ON THE WAY OUT.”

It certainly must have been on the way out for some time, or Michael would never have been allowed to rise through the ranks in the 1960s and 70s to become the Lord Provost of Glasgow in the 1980s. And a fine one he was too.

For Michael Kelly, and for tens of thousands from a similar background, Glasgow has been, and continues to be….

MILES BETTER!

Of course not everyone has the same enlightened view and shrewd insight into Scottish society.

Republican Rose, magnificently dubbed by Michael Kelly as Hoseana Cunningham, is one who wears blinkers.

Her SNP colleague, the member for Cunninghame North, Kenneth J Gibson, is another.

The Paisley-born SNP MSP, who is a former Glasgow councillor for the Mosspark ward, has a strange slant on the difference between two songs, Rule Britannia and Flower of Scotland.

According to Kenneth J Gibson, Rule Britannia is jingoistic, anachronistic and old fashioned, and in his view, it has been more than a century since Britain ruled the waves.

While Flower of Scotland is, according to him, a 1970s song which, he says, he finds quite inspirational – adding, who wouldn’t? – as it is about fighting to protect one’s home and country from an invader.

Kenneth J Gibson’s grasp of history is slight.

Britain ruled the waves in the Great War of 1914-18, blockading Germany and helping to defeat the Kaiser.

In 39-45, the Battle of the Atlantic was won by the Royal Navy, keeping the lifeline to America open to ensure we were able to fight to protect one’s home and country from an invader, and eventually secure the sea lanes which brought re-inforcements ahead of D Day, which drove that Nazi invader out of other people’s homes and countries

While, as recently as 1982,  Britain ruled the waves in the South Atlantic to liberate citizens whose homes and country had been invaded by an evil Fascist dictatorship.

And the 70s song? It celebrates a battle fought almost 700 years ago.

And it has been as long as that since Scots alone were able to send anyone homeward to think again.

I suppose, unlike Michael Kelly, Kenneth J Gibson would find any song about there being no Pope of Rome or chapel to sadden an eye, so offensive that he would want anyone singing it banged up for five years.

Actually, it is folk such as Kenneth J Gibson who deserve the jail. For being such a prat.

While the Freedom of Glasgow, the Dear Green Place he served so well, would be a suitable award for Michael Kelly.  For he is…

MILES BETTER!

[Orangeclement 576]

100% spot on , i did laugh when i read Sentrys reply from his local MSP , shows up the real bigots here and it isnt the nes singing songs ...

[MosesMcNeil 1,664]

Ah, wee Eck! The laddie IS for Turning!

Did anyone else notice the sombre, funereal expression on Toad of Toad Hall's face when announcing the delays?

He was gutted - absolutely gutted.

[Carsons Dog 9,878]

Awesome Leggo - truly awesome

And 'no' grammatical errors either :-)

[Sentry 4]

I knew my reply would be put to good use

[thebooler 4,509]

I knew my reply would be put to good use

Well done mate.

[Adoniram 1,919]

Expect the usual suspects to point out the missing comma or full stop.

[Senna 735]

Good article, though he needs to stop nicking stuff from here.

[Smile 26,622]

Good article, though he needs to stop nicking stuff from here.

If the stuffs relevant i see no reason why he should not use it.

[delamonty 992]

Superb. Churchill and Stalin! Brilliant!

[Adoniram 1,919]

Good article, though he needs to stop nicking stuff from here.

He nicks nothing from here or elsewhere.

[DarcheVinny 1,003]

Excellent Leggo, we just need to share it to more people.

[Adoniram 1,919]

Put it on all the facebook and twitter accounts.

Upload it to all other forums you frequent.

The more this message gets out the stronger our arguments become and exposes the agenda of those in power.

[ACAB 2]

I'd appreciate Kelly being a bit more open about the Council he used to run.

[Senna 735]

He nicks nothing from here or elsewhere.

Well either Leggat and the poster who put up the MSP reply live in the same constituency, with the same MSP, independently both wrote to the MSP and independently received almost identical answers, then he's nicked it in my opinion.

Not the first time he's done it either, someone else got some good info on Piara Powar/FARE, stuck it on here and he suddenly 'had been handed a dossier' on the subject.

I like the guy and what he writes, but to claim he's not at least noseying on here, or full on lifting chunks of text, is foolhardy.

[Adoniram 1,919]

Well either Leggat and the poster who put up the MSP reply live in the same constituency, with the same MSP, independently both wrote to the MSP and independently received almost identical answers, then he's nicked it in my opinion.

Not the first time he's done it either, someone else got some good info on Piara Powar/FARE, stuck it on here and he suddenly 'had been handed a dossier' on the subject.

I like the guy and what he writes, but to claim he's not at least noseying on here, or full on lifting chunks of text, is foolhardy.

No it's not. The clue was in what you wrote.

Leggat is not a member of any Rangers forum.

[Eric_Caldow 60]

No it's not. The clue was in what you wrote.

Leggat is not a member of any Rangers forum.

Yes you are David.

[ritchieshearercaldow 22,242]

Good atricle by Leggo and good to see that there are some sensible intelligent Tims (Mr Kelly) out there.

[outlaw69uk 123]

Expect the usual suspects to point out the missing comma or full stop.

As opposed to the fact its coming from a leading Roman Catholic in Scotland, who has been in positions of power both legally AND at celtic? How are they going to cope? I mean, someone with that background stating that some of these songs they dont like are ok? What acusation will be thrown his way for saying this? Surely this is the epitomy of Celtic minded no?