Show Your Hand

1036

When I grew up everyone knew about Thalidomide, a drug given to prevent morning sickness in expectant mothers, which caused severe limb abnormalities in the child.  The drug was used for only a short period, so those suffering from the condition are all of a certain age.

The condition is both very recognisable and rare, so there is a good chance you will have noticed Gerry Cleary (above) at a Celtic game at some point.  When I was a boy I saw him at Love St and heard about the scandal later that night from my (animated) mother. There was a fresh news story only yesterday, detailing the history of one uncompensated victim.

Gerry is part of a campaign by Thalidomide sufferers to raise awareness of the condition and put pressure on the drug’s developer, Chemie Grunenthal, to compensate UK victims.  On this occasion, you are not being asked to put your hands in your pockets, you’re being asked to register your support of the Show Your Hand campaign.

Gerry explains the campaign below:

“My name is Gerry Cleary, I am a 51 year old Celtic supporter from East Kilbride who was born with a condition called Thalidomide caused by a so called wonder drug manufactured by a German pharmaceutical company, Chemie Grunenthal.

“There is currently a major awareness campaign underway to put pressure on this company to face up to their responsibilities, finally apologise and compensate all thalidomers affected by their actions over 50 years ago.

“I know being a hoops fan all my life and following the team all over Europe our club is open to all and our fans second to none, and all I ask is the Celtic family to show their support by logging on to our campaign website www.showyourhand.org which enables you to register your support.  It also details the history of the biggest pharmaceutical disaster in modern times and is both enlightening and informative.

“I look forward to your support.

Hail Hail !!!”

I know we can’t all afford to participate in the many needy causes we feature regularly here but we can all support this campaign, as can the club, I am sure.

Celtic’s Iron Man:


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1,036 Comments

  1. BOBBY MURDOCH’S CURLED-UP WINKLEPICKERS forza Oscar and Mackenzie

     

     

    Hey

     

     

    Pay everyone a fair days pay I say

     

     

    And for everyone else who gets rich on the backs of the poor they can go to hell

     

     

    Meanwhile CFC is still a football club a great one

  2. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)

     

    04:59 on

     

    16 October, 2013

     

    macjay

     

    “F.F.M.

     

    That`s what I said.I stand by it.

     

    Your politics is your business.”

     

     

    Where did I mention my own politics?

     

    ………………………………………………………………….

     

     

    FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)

     

    02:47 on

     

    16 October, 2013

     

    Macjay/ GCT,

     

    My old dear taught us strong socialist values.

     

    Was pretty much common sense to me.

     

    But in this capitalist utopia you both live in, thank feck for John Candy eh?

  3. FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)

     

     

     

    04:58 on 16 October, 2013

     

     

     

    Thindimebhoy

     

     

    That’s a reference you brought up right there, to defend your insipid point.

     

     

    Who, today, on CQN, used that argument, that Fergus McCann was Sadam Hussain??

     

     

    F@cking nonsense.

     

     

    Forever find yourself cast into the bog of eternal stench, from which you shall never recover.

     

     

     

    Hilarious

     

     

    Time you slept off what ever it is that has got your goat

     

     

    HH

  4. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    kitalba

     

    23:45 on

     

    15 October, 2013

     

    Macjay:

     

    Would you give up on your faith because a few mere mortals in very senior and influential posts disgraced their calling.

     

    The Celtic board are fallible, very fallible. They have done a couple of things recently that I thought contemptible, do you think I’m a hypocrite to continue to love the club?

     

     

     

    Multi-tasking right now.

     

    Re. Faith.

     

    That`s quite close to the mark,Kit.

     

    I know some who have.

     

    My saving grace,however,is that my faith (Church) is in fact my fellow punters.

     

    Not the Vatican,the hierarchy or any individual Catholic.

     

     

    Re.the Board and its fallibility.

     

    We`re all fallible.To err is human,to forgive divine.

     

    I`d be interested to know what the Board have done that is contemptible.

     

    I do,however, find the hun organisation endemically contemptible and have done for as long as I have known them.Quite a while.As you know.

     

    I celebrate their demise and feel certain that our Board feel the same way.

     

    What organisation would not celebrate the demise of their biggest (only?) competitors?

     

    The difference is :

     

    I can say it.They can`t.

  5. FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)

     

     

    I’m in the eternal bog of stench and doing my best to recover

     

     

    Once I’m out we can talk about you howling at the moon whilst barking up the wrong tree.

     

     

    daywalkers csc

  6. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    FFM – I’m the only conspiracy theorist in the village)

     

    05:49 on

     

    16 October, 2013

     

    macjay

     

     

    :)) So shoot me :))

     

     

    Later,big boy.

     

    Later.:-))

     

    Now.Let`s talk raCellic,eh.

  7. Macjay:

     

     

    Those at Parkhead, whose actions I find at best lamentable and at worst contemptible will soon be moving on. Their actions do not make the club either contemptible or even lamentable. You can contempt employees of Celtic Football Club and still support the club/team without being a hypocrite. Like they say… Celtic is a broad church too.

     

     

    It appeared to me that you were damning a man for something you would not damn yourself for…. Worth thinking about.

  8. FFM

     

     

    Of course the board are accountable, and since Fergus they have been. Hence the very strong position our club finds itself in vs similar in other similar sized markets.

     

     

    My personal frustration is that they were too slow to drive / agitate for change in the playing environment and lacked strategic vision and influence in this area. Not sure JR was a great appointment in this regard.

     

     

    That aside I think they have performed well in challenging times for clubs of our type (large in small TV markets)..

     

     

    Should they ‘show their hand’ to all and sundry on every issue and generate a bigger media backlash, or provide opponents with ‘fuel’ for their own anti Celtic agenda’s ? My view is that it is a difficult line to tread, but on many issues (as with this current scenario) I think better not to.

     

     

    Sadly there are many malcontents who will always seek to find fault with whoever runs the club or team or whatever, and never really get the pleasure of realising how lucky we are to be supporting Celtic in the current climate……They are happy moaning and even happier getting attention for their whinging even if it achieves little.

     

     

    There are also loads of well intentioned Celtic fans who talk of our history and founding objectives being ignored…..however the real history shows we became a plc fairly early down the road and bro Walfrid’s fine aims became secondary. For me the current board balance the core original aims with commercial success much better than the Kelly / White dynasty did, and in the current climate get it about right….

     

     

    Re my daughters pay : At no time did I say she was paid less than minimum at CP. She was very happy with the work, the experience and the pay when employed there on match days.

  9. macjay1 for Neil Lennon on

    kitalba

     

    06:38 on

     

    16 October, 2013

     

    It appeared to me that you were damning a man for something you would not damn yourself for…. Worth thinking about.

     

     

    Thanks for the input.

     

    I do think about these issues,Kit.

     

    Carefully.

     

    Maybe those who damn the Board could think about them too.

     

     

    My principle concern is that the whole panoply of hunnism will have the opportunity to rejoice at the discomfiture of our Board from a goal scored by our own side.

     

    What Tim would want that?

  10. Green Brigade.

     

     

    Old Firm road Circus

     

     

    5 way agreement

     

     

    Old Firm TV

     

     

    Not replacing Hooper

     

     

    Backing down when called out by Jabba regards paying up front for tickets after implying court action would be their redress.

     

     

    Selling match tickets through agents at inflated prices.

     

     

    Not contesting the re-election of Campbell Ogilvie.

     

     

    Not contesting the award of a European Licence to an unqualified Rangers (though they tell us now that they did)

     

     

    Enforcing banning orders on supporters who not only have not had their day in court but who are grossly inconvenienced and stigmatised by our board.

     

     

    Doing less than the support (or so I think) to make 125 a success.

     

     

    Putting joint sponsorship on their shirts over deserving charities.

     

     

    Allowing games to be belatedly rescheduled at the behest of TV companies over the efforts of travelling supporters to attend.

     

     

    Not making a limited number of season tickets available on a match by match basis to the general public.

     

     

    Canamalar’s resolution revision (intentional or otherwise)

     

     

    Not giving free access to the unemployed on League Cup games.

     

     

    Allowing Pat Nevin to slander the Celtic Support on the BBC.

     

     

     

    There are others too but those will do for now. Some to my mind are contemptible, some merely lamentable, but all of them could so easily have been handled better.

     

     

    Now some might agree with some of my opinions, some might not.

  11. macjay:

     

     

    That last post was for you.

     

     

    Please add to it their attendance under summons by the First Minister following a disgraceful night by Rangers and their mute acceptance of all that that day spawned.

  12. “Not making a limited number of season tickets available on a match by match basis to the general public.”

     

     

    Should have been Champions League group game tickets.

  13. Burnley78,

     

     

    “Should they ‘show their hand’ to all and sundry on every issue and generate a bigger media backlash, or provide opponents with ‘fuel’ for their own anti Celtic agenda’s ? My view is that it is a difficult line to tread, but on many issues (as with this current scenario) I think better not to.

     

     

    Sadly there are many malcontents who will always seek to find fault with whoever runs the club or team or whatever, and never really get the pleasure of realising how lucky we are to be supporting Celtic in the current climate……They are happy moaning and even happier getting attention for their whinging even if it achieves little. ”

     

     

    ——

     

     

    That’s a great response, and for what it’s worth, it affects me.

     

     

    But again, let down by mistrust in your fellow Celtic Supporters. Are we not worthy of an opinion? I think you need to ask yourself that question, and share the answer.

  14. FFM

     

    Ref your moniker

     

    Far from the only conspiracy theorist

     

    The place is full of them

     

    If there is no conspiracy then make one up (Celtic pay staff peanuts or the Board haven’t challenged the old Rangers situation with SFA / UEFA etc)….who needs an anti Celtic media or rival club to castigate us ?

     

     

    Living with Celtic’s success and having the upper hand doesn’t sit well with everyone who wear green and white and buys a season ticket….I get that !

     

     

    I used to wonder why my dad and his pals always moaned about Celtic in the 9 in a row era, but it was a good excuse to rant about something and let off steam as daily lives weren’t always that fulfilling, they seemed to forget how much better it was than the decade previous ! Todays ‘consumer entitlement mentality’ (understandable in some ways given the costs) take this to another level…

     

     

    If Celtic and the board’s ‘perceived’ or ‘imagined’, or in some cases actual shortcomings, are an outlet for folk to vent their stresses for less fulfilling personal lives then that is fine I guess too….it’s kind of like my dad and his pals talking of Whites and Kelly’s and selling wee Bertie or Paddy Crerand or Davie Hay…

     

     

    For me I always loved the expression that ‘Celtic were a reason for people living the other 6 days of the week’.

     

     

    There are few times in my life that we have enjoyed better regular competition with the very best and biggest clubs in the world than right now. Whilst our rivals are in chaos.

     

     

    Hopefully some folk can enjoy this a bit amongst the ranting and raging…..even my 82 year old dad is loving it right now !

  15. FFM

     

    I get your point re trust in the supporters…..

     

    I am not sure that ‘the full agenda’ can always be articulated on some issues.

     

    I have never run an organisation as ‘in the public glare’ as Celtic and so would find it hard to appreciate exactly how it’s news management and coms should work.

  16. DeniaBhoy in awe of wee Oscar's Courage on

    Burghbhoy – So his flight to South Africa to get King on board is rewarded by being shoved out the door. Interesting times.

  17. So with Mather resigning , does this mean a departure of the spivs and reemergence of the Murray old guard ?

  18. DeniaBhoy in awe of wee Oscar's Courage on

    Is tat a new world record for Sevco – no chairman and no chief exec at the helm?

  19. 16 roads - Wee Oscar the Celtic warrior. on

    F them all,that’s what I say.

     

     

    Roll on Tuesday night,the League of Champions…our reality,their nightmare.

     

     

    Dirty,rotten zombies.

  20. DeniaBhoy in awe of wee Oscar's Courage on

    I suppose all of the gushing praise from Ally about Mather will be forgotten about by the doublespeak merchants.

  21. That’s one thing the new Rangers Board are …..accountable …..well to someone anyway !

     

     

    How many CEO’s since Martin B ?

     

     

    No wonder Bain was paid so well ….. Trade in new brown brogues is brisk I hear

     

     

    Such dignity ! ……Next

  22. Good morning friends from a beautiful, almost clear skied (and so a wee bit chilly) East Kilbride. Only 3 more sleeps till we see the Champions play. And by this time next week the Champions League Group H will show the following points: Barca 9, Milan 4, Celtic 3, Ajax 1.