54andcounting 0 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 I love David Leggat's blog, almost as much as I enjoy the indignation of some Rangers fans that he hasn't quite caught the true essence of the issue or that his use of language might not have climbed the summit of Shakespearian tradition. Most of all I like Leggat because he has found a way to challenge on a daily basis some of the madness that surrounds us, which is more than anyone else has managed so far. More power to him. Hmm… He got one bit of it wrong, tho’.. Rule Britannia: Leggo says this; Though without the Royal Navy's triumph in the Battle of the Atlantic, it is more likely we would be joining in with the Horst Wessel Song. In fact, Rule Britannia was composed to celebrate the great victory in 1739 of Vice Admiral Edward Vernon when he captured Porto Bello. Check this out – in the days before telephone, radio and other such communication, the news of that particular victory went around the country like wild-fire and was hailed as one of the greatest maritime feats of all time. The whole country went mad for Vernon; Rule Britannia was composed in his honour, he was considered the greatest-ever naval hero AND many places were named after him in his honour.. Mount Vernon in Glasgow was one such place. Why do you think we never hear of this guy now in the same way that Lord Nelson and guys like the Duke of Wellington (Battle of Waterloo) are remembered? And why do you think esteemed record books - including ‘Burke’s Landed Gentry’, no-less - show Mount Vernon as being named by a Tobacco Lord, in honour of his friend in Virginia, USA??? Why? Because the great Vice Admiral Edward Vernon then went on to make a complete arse of it in his very next battle, in Cartegena De Indias. Not only did he make an arse of it, but he was so confident of victory before he undertook the battle that he sent a message to King George II telling him that he’d already done the business… But he lost. It was such a monumental disaster that, ‘King George II forbade British historians to write about it. Commemorative medals were produced and destroyed later by royal order. Consequently, this battle, despite its enormity and its consequences does not feature in popular British history.’.. This is why history has forgotten this guy – and in my opinion why historians conveniently made it appear that Mount Vernon was named after a tobacco plantation in America – cos the king was pissed-off and after all the previous euphoria, it was a source of great national embarrassment; “Oh, just let the records show that it was named after a place in America – that’ll dae”… History is fascinating when things are revealed. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
biggordy 0 Posted June 22, 2011 Share Posted June 22, 2011 The Commonwealth Games is going to be interesting. They're will have build a new Barlinnie to house all the offenders after the opening anthems. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
54andcounting 0 Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 The Commonwealth Games is going to be interesting.They're will have build a new Barlinnie to house all the offenders after the opening anthems. A wee bit like 'Jaws'....we're gonna need a bigger boat. 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
der Berliner 3,249 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 The point that will always remain a problem is that how you define this "offensive singing" in the context of football banter. While I do* see a point that singing some songs like GSTQ or Rule Britannia might irk them, they are by far not as offensive as other "banter" sung and chanted at them. Furthermore, while you could ask us not to sing the songs at an OF game, what about the odd Hooped Horror attending a Hearts or Hibs game with us visting. Will they be complaining if we do our usual mantra? Do we actually sing these songs to annoy them and solely them? Or could it just be that we sing them to have a great time, enjoy the banter that comes with thousands of people in a sing-along? If the latter holds true, the Hooped Horrors may claim likewise. Yet, their "problem" remains that their songs are deeply mingled with an anti-British terrorist context, something that should and probably is regarded as offensive in any British football stadium. Not that they would understand such reasoning. *Which is not to say that I would condone "banning" these songs, which would be utterly ridiculous, as it would drag them down to the level of Irish pro-rebel and pro-terrorist "folklore". 0 Quote Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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