Friday 23 July 2010

Tommy Burns Tribute 16 May 2008

The much loved Tommy Burns, a very fine footballer and one of Celtic's greatest servants,  died of skin cancer on 15 May 2008. See
On the morning of 16 May, I decided to go down to Celtic Park and leave my Partick Thistle hat among  the tributes that I knew were being laid outside the ground.




Cycling down Duke St (see Dennistoun), one passes the Louden Tavern, 'the greatest pub in the world', a Rangers fortress; confusingly, there is another Louden Tavern - also 'the greatest pub in  the world' at Kinning Park. Catholics used to call this kind of thing 'miraculous multiplication'.


Placed my hat here 









Partick Thistle strip




A Rangers scarf being blessed by St Patrick. There were many strips, flags and scarves from all over, but among the non-Celtic tributes,  those from Rangers fans were by far the most common

















Brother Walfrid, the founder of Glasgow Celtic







This wee union jack was laid with reverence on top of the Celtic strip


Homer's boss is a Mr Burns of course! There were child's toys all over the place, many of them clearly cherished and left in tribute because they were loved








Note the Shetland Rangers fan flag



















With the impeccable timing that has punctuated my life,  I left Celtic Park just as Ally McCoist and Walter Smith arrived with their wreaths, Ally in tears. The death of Tommy Burns had - however  briefly - united Rangers and Celtic in good will and friendship