 Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Tommy Burns finding normality in testing times
I am sure this is a worrying time for Tommy Burns and his family, but think it commendable that he has made news of his illness public and will continue with his normal routine.
For many reasons, including financial necessity, serious illness now means continued attendance at work and the rigours of normality for a lot of people, which is often welcomed. Many of us will pray Tommy makes a full recovery, and I know he will continue to inspire others coping with illness.
25 Comments:
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Will pray for you Tommy.
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I've so much admiration for Tommy.
lives and breaths Celtic.
Great Ambassador.
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The return of cancer following treatment is obviously worrying but many of us know people who have survived its return and either had fully successful treatment or gone into long term remission. Here's hoping Tommy Burns is one of them.
From previous thread
DUBAICSC
I would like to extend my thanks for the hospitality shown to me on Sunday in the Dubliners in Dubai by fellow Celts before, during and after the game (drink was involved at all 3 stages). Mike, (Massoud or Moussad) I can't quite remember your blog name (as I say, drink was taken) many thanks to you for immediately striking up a conversation...you seem totally normal and well adjusted given your place of birth. Can you also pass on my best wishes to Paul and Alan, to Jim, my fellow Greenockian and St Joseph's FP and to the youngster, Pat, another from the same part of Greenock. The Celtic world really is a small (but beautifully formed) one
I hope you get to see this post. I will let you know next time I am in Dubai for a game. I might even wangle a visit to coincide with the 29th(?)May bash.
Kano, I did not find your brother, I don't think. Have you found your fags yet?
John
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He is one of my all-time fave Celts,i'm sure his extremely powerful faith will be an inspration to him and his family right now,i would be hard pressed to think of any Celt i admire more than TB.
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If there is one word which sums up Tommy Burns, the man, for me, it is dignity. I´m sure he will get the best of care and his spirits can be raised by our messages of support for him.
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rimtimtim......dignity in the real sense of the word and not the joke kind that cannot be surpassed
John
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rimtimtim......dignity in the real sense of the word and not the joke kind that cannot be surpassed
John
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Tommy Burns was not the most physical of footballers; he was known more as a skilful and intelligent player. But god did he have heart.
He frequently faced up to vulgar footballers in his playing days but I cannot remember a single one of them ever getting the better of him.
I hope you have the very same success against this biological vulgarity.
You are a gem Tommy and we, the club, need you. I’m glad you stayed at Parkhead.
I hope you are going to stay on for a very long time to come and you continue to ignore every national temptation that is offered you.
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We who are fair skin and fair of hair (even if, speaking personally, not fair of face) are susceptible to skin cancer and, although there is lots of awareness now and UV protection is even being woven into the fabric that makes our clothes, it's something that can take years to appear.
In other words, what Tommy faces now is almost certainly the result of exposure when he was a much younger man.
I only learned this recently and it has caught my attention very firmly because I certainly burned most summers.
Most people know the signs and symptoms to look out for (moles that change colour et cetera). Be vigilant of yourself and those you love and if in doubt, seek medical advice right away.
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I hope that the healing power of Tommy's faith stands by him in his time of need.
On the ongoing debate of Us v the Establishment, I posted this piece last night.
"At 10/03/08 22:17, Blogger Thom The Thim said…
What we are witnessing in Medialand is the result of Murray's summit with the media when he called on the "Rangers Family" to get behind the club.
W. Smith's actions yesterday showed the other side of a Rangers supporter.
There are only two kinds of them.
One, the knuckledragger who is to be found everywhere with their vile, foul mouthed obscenities dripping from their mouths.
The second, is the mild mannered, plausibly disingenuous, patronising gent, who we all know. The kind who didn't actually see the bad tackle or read the offending piece.
One who can plausibly explain away 135 years of dignity, but every once in a while, the masks slips and they are exposed as a worse specimen than the aforementioned ned who at least has the excuse of being pig ignorant.
Smith falls into the category of the second kind.
The evil tree cannot bear good fruit."
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Tommy had a lot to do with this
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First of all let me add my prayers to Tommy's recovery.
I read last night a report on Celtic's U-19 game with Dundee United so I thought I would check what Dundee United's take on the match was.
Celtic Report
HAVING turned on the style in their recent 2-2 draw with Hibernian, the Under-19s this week showed their substance, winning 1-0 away against Dundee United at the weekend in the most dramatic and controversial of circumstances.
A combination of serious injuries and two red cards saw John McLaughlan’s men finish the match with just eight players on the park, but despite this and the terrible playing conditions at North End Park, the Under-19s succeeded in taking all three points, thanks to a Kevin Cawley strike.
A sudden deluge of rain in the lead-up to kick-off initially cast some doubt on whether the game would go ahead, with coach McLaughlan and goalkeeping coach, Stevie Woods out on the park sweeping and spiking the surface in an attempt to clear the goalmouths.
Their efforts paid off, although the first-half then commenced with Celtic playing into a strong wind and United performing well, getting in behind the visitors and carving open a couple of good chances.
Celtic, however, stuck to their game-plan and persevered with an attacking style of passing play, and the first half ended in a hard-fought stalemate.
The second half was when the ‘real’ action kicked-off, though, and within 10 minutes of the restart McLaughlan was forced to reshuffle the pack, with Laurence Gaughan limping off with a knee injury and Danny Lafferty switching to centre half while Carlo Monti came on at left-back.
The young full-back was returning from a recent ankle knock, but it turned out to be a fleeting involvement, as he was shown a straight red card for what was his first and, perfectly legitimate, challenge of the match.
This was the first serious hurdle that the Celtic players had to face, but they responded in the perfect manner, taking the lead with an excellent goal.
The move was sparked by Michael Tidser, who floated a beautiful pass into the box which was flicked on by centre-back, Kevin Ross. His header landed perfectly for top-scorer Cawley, who rifled home his shot on the turn.
In the wake of the strike Celtic settled and looked strong in possession, but as they pushed forward for a second goal, Cillian Sheridan was forced to go off injured.
Centre-back Michael Doyle then became the latest 16-year-old to graduate into the ranks of this young U19 side, but their problems were far from over, with Tidser the next Celtic man to see red.
The midfielder appeared to be caught by the covering defender as he cut inside in the penalty box after playing a neat one-two, but the referee thought otherwise and immediately brandished a second yellow.
With Celtic down to nine men United redoubled their efforts and began to try and make use of their physical and numerical superiority, but the response from was nothing short of magnificent, as the Celts cleared their lines, won the high balls and countered quickly on the break.
As the match entered the final 10 minutes, substitute Ross Hepburn, on for the injured Michael Graham, then clipped the post after rounding the keeper and in the wake of this chance, Richie Towell was injured after a heavy challenge.
The midfielder was stretchered from the field and immediately taken to hospital, with the blood pouring from a nasty gash in the back of his leg after a United player slid through him, though the challenge was deemed not to merit even a yellow card.
This left Celtic to finish the remaining nine minutes of normal time and SEVEN minutes of time added on with just eight men. But they were never threatened as they repelled the home side at every turn.
Speaking after the game, John McLaughan said: “The application, the desire and commitment from the boys was fantastic.
“They put in an excellent performance in their last game against Hibs, but this was about character and this win will give them the confidence and self-belief that they can go on and win games, even with just eight players on the park.
“The fitness levels were fantastic, even though some of them had played in a bounce game against Partick Thistle on the Thursday and that’s a credit to everyone at the club here who has been working with them on that.
“They stepped up to the plate and showed passion, commitment and great technical ability in difficult conditions and circumstances.”
Dundee United report
There was a bizarre ending to the Tangerines teenagers’ league defeat by Celtic at North End Park on Saturday morning.
For the last five minutes, they were chasing the equaliser against a Celtic side reduced to eight men.
Unfortunately, they never really looked like getting it and ironically, Celtic almost added a second with Ross Hepburn shooting just past in the dying seconds.
Adding to the surreal situation, the decisive goal on the hour mark was clouded in controversy
It followed the linesman having his flag up and before Kevin Ross knocked the ball down for Kevin Cawley firing home from ten-yards with a shot on the turn.
However, the official lowered his flag and the referee allowed the goal to stand.
At no stage of the match was there much between the sides with neither side creating a lot of chances, United’s best effort in the first half was a Fraser Milligan shot that few inches over and after going behind, a Ryan Dow angled effort that went narrowly past was the closest they came to scoring.
Celtic were reduced to ten men when Carlo Monti was red-carded fro a two-footed challenge with 18 minutes left and with seven minutes from time Michael Tidser was also sent-off for diving in the box and picking up a second yellow.
Two minutes later, Richard Towell was stretchered off with an ankle injury following a tackle by Gordon Pope, and with all their subs used, Celtic were reduced to eight men, but hung on for victory.
Hopefully highlights will be on Celtic TV so we can judge for ourselves.
Hail Hail
Mort
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Tommy Burns is a Gentleman and a Celt to his finger tips. My thoughts are with him in these troubled times.
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Just want to echo the thoughts of most posters on here today. My thoughts are with Tommy Burns and hope he makes a speedy recovery.
I've had the good fortune to meet him twice and he is a real gent.
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Haven’t been around much recently, as we’ve had some unexpected complications at home with my bhoy. Football isn’t currently as important as normal and has had to take up a lower rung on the ladder of priorities.
Been popping in occasionally to keep handle on what’s been happening though and was really saddened by this news.
God bless you Tommy, you are a true gent and a true Celt. Keep up the good fight. YNWA.
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God bless Tommy Burns and family, prayers for a full recovery.
Hail Hail
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I´m sure Tommy being the man he is will not want the extra attention and sympathy but naturally he will appreciate all the get well soon sentiments.
Good Luck Tommy !
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StevieS
I hope things work out for you and yours as well.
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Best wishes to Tommy and Rosemary.
Govanrear,
You made some good points last night, observations that things go for you and against you in football matches. Some reasonable examples quoted where referee's and linesman's decision incorrectly went against Rangers.
Every football fan will be able to quote recent decisions which were wrongly called against his/her team. Most will be of the offside/onside nature, booking or no booking, red card or no red card, foul or no foul variety. Just as you have done.
There are a couple of things that lie outwith that normal statistical distribution for me. Certain decisions which are not split-second, not 50-50 nor 60-40 borderlines.
The first is the issue of booking players for celebrating a goal by leaving the field of play. Not a difficult thing to assess, you would think.
Kenny Miller and JVOH both received yellow cards at Inverness for leaving the field and celebrating with supporters, the latter resulting in a red for a second caution. Sebo did exactly the same thing at Easter Road and received no booking. That was last season.
This season Scott McDonald was booked for leaving the field of play after scoring at Fir Park against Gretna. He didn't go beyond the advertising boards and went nowehere near the fans. Yellow card.
Barry Ferguson did likewise at the same venue against the same opponents. No card. Similarly at Ibrox against Celtic Ferguson left the field of play and received no booking on a day when yellow cards were being thrown around like confetti.
Daniel Cousin leaves the field of play and goes into the fans to celebrate scoring against Gretna at Ibrox. No booking.
Is this a difficult law to administer? Are there ANY examples of a Celtic player going into the crowd and not being booked in Scotland?? Is it only Celtic players who get booked for this or is only Rangers players who don't?
Two seasons, same problem.
Or is it three seasons? I still, three years later, don't know why Craig Bellamy was booked for falling to his knees at the edge of the box at Ibrox after scoring. No explanation. No offence.
Secondly, what influence does David Murray have over a free and open press in Scotland? Do you really believe that we have equality in reporting in this country when it comes to Celtic and Rangers?
He has important media players in his back pocket because they want to be in his back pocket. This does nothing for the game in Scotland and does nothing for the quality of journalism that results.
Influence is brought to bear by the media whether we like it or not. Recall Bobo Balde being banned after a disciplinary meeting was brought forward to look at an incident at Easter Road? No complaints over the incident but the reason cited for bring the meeting forward was the "high profile nature" of the incident.
The media influenced the football body resulting in a timely ban for Bobo. I have not seen anything of a similar nature since.
There are others which fall into the "strange" category. Jim Farry is the most well known, despite THREE internal reviews declaring no case to answer before it finally went to court. Who carried out those internal reviews and did they have a vested interest?
I'd be interested to know if there examples you have where Rangers have been subjected to "strange" decisions away from the slit-second, 50-50, 60-40 type decisions. Genuine question for you.
Welcome to CQN - debate is good - I hope your tin hat is as resilient as Edward's! He has brought much debate to the site - always good to have a counter view to stimulate good debates. Or barnys.
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Tonight's Gretna-St Mirren game is off. I hope it won't be re-arranged for Thursday.
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Stevie S- I hope your son is on the way to a full recovery.
I hope no one objects if I do a little health education here-
Undoubtedly when a well-known and well-loved member of the Celtic family becomes unwell it does raise the profile of the disease amongst the public so if any of you are worried about any moles yo u may have then these are the main things to look out for:
Asymmetry- a simple mole will have a regular outline; a melanoma may have an irregular shape or outline.
Border- a simple mole should have a well -defined, regular border or edge. Melanomas are more likely to have an irregular border with jagged edges.
Colour- simple moles should be the same shade throughout. Melanomas will have irregular colouration, and a dark, almost black intense colour is very significant. Other colours which are seen include red, blue and pink.
Diameter. Simple moles are usually less than 6 mm in diameter[ the size of the end of a pencil.] Melanomas are usually larger than this, 7mm or more.
Other symptoms which are rarer include itching , crusting or bleeding.
Remember that a melanoma can arise from previously healthy skin- there does not have to be a pre-existing mole .
Common sites for melanomas to occur are the back of the legs in women, and the shoulders and back in men. In rare cases they can occur in areas we don't think are exposed to sunlight -eg the soles of the feet and palms of your hands.
There are also genetic factors- some cases are familial and as C1st has pointed out having fair skin and red hair can increase the risk of all types of sun-related skin damage, including skin cancers.
Melanoma is a life-threatening condition in which the best chance of survival remains early diagnosis and treatment; so if you're worried go and see your GP.
The chances are that the problem will be a simple one but remember the vital importance of early diagnosis.
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new article posted.
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DBBIA
Good man. I thought about asking you about this earlier but decided it wasn't my place.
It's kind of you to share your wisdom.
Just for the record, my hair is strawberry blond.
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Tommy Burns is one of that rare breed of men who lives his Christianity in his day to day life, & gives religion a good name.
My daughter is a nurse at the Beatson Oncology Unit in Glasgow, & tells me that Tommy was a regular visitor to different people over the years. One story sticks in my memory.
Tommy was making a visit when a super efficient member of staff told him he would have to wait elsewhere while a meal was served, & that he would be told when he could return. Unfortunately, in the hustle of a busy ward, he was forgotten about. Over an hour later Tommy was discovered, still sitting patiently & uncomplaining, in the waiting room.
Such is the nature of this modest, decent & generous natured man.
My thoughts & badly rusted prayers are with him & his family at this worrying time.
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