the big man: scotland's most innovative christianity comes out of its best well known housing scheme: govan in the VOICE of the urban gael grounded in some very particular PLACES and FOLK within glasgow - how many other cities around the uk have these hidden (from mainstream media and religion) histories growing from long thought dead taproots of an ancient-young story of Christ erupting off radar of government, corporations and middle class church - of, as the big man says: jesus entered the wilderness and loved the wild..
Aye: Jesus loves scotland; we need to love it too. It's people's stories and old songs and wisdom of grannies fae oor scottish highlands and irish coasts - many in our cities have come from there via clearances and many cultures around world by sea, we are a mongrel people in haggisland - many threads make up these lifegiving stories of this land and this tapestry making continues today- but we ALL who share this 'place' are being reduced to slaves of transnational economic empires - old and new haggis eaters - ALL of us have been robbed - and we need to act now to mend it - projects like Gal Gael which Colin (above) have sought to mend 'places' -
These stories and songs, work traditions, languages and essential home grown wisdom, the big man argues: have been bleached oot - leaving the people without the lifesaving roots and anchors and harbours where life can begin again and flourish on its own without charities and benefits and the acidic feeling of 'shame' they bring. This violence - accelerating during the thatcher years- has robbed many in housing schemes of dignity and work ethic to be able to join the rest o society in task o helping wee scotland find its own future from the rubble of its nobles and chiefs love affair an empire that, in a real sense, has raped us all - of our friendship with: land, people and a god who likes jock tamson's bairns in the land of haggis, tartan and the white flower that breaks the heart - let's follow their example and tie up the monster of empire that spins its silly guff about economics and charity - and
take back the land it stole from all of us- a land of good creative work, sharing economies and doing stuff as if people mattered and the honouring of auld elders and grandparents from the bens and valleys and their stories and wisdom here -who still walk at 3 miles and hour - the speed that Jesus o the gaels walks - aye
