• Tales of the City #9

    The scene is Great Western Road, at 10 am – just after morning prayer. A street cleaner in a council jacket runs down the street hollaring at me after morning prayer

    Street Cleaner: “Oi, oi!”

    I turn wondering what I’ve done.

    Self: “Um, yes?”

    Street Clearner: “Was it youse that was in the paper? It was, it was youse”

    I wait expecting a stream of Glasgow invective.

    His eyes light up, he beams a toothless smile and responds: “Hey man, hey, that was just great.”

    He’s referring to this piece in the Herald.

33 responses to “Companions?”

  1. Robin Avatar
    Robin

    No, Kimberley – he ISN’T a Primate. He is merely first among equals and has no powers as a primate or metropolitan.

  2. Kimberly Avatar

    So what would you use as the collective noun for Archbishops, Presiding Bishops, Primi (Primuses??), etc?

    I have always heard ‘primates’ as a simple short hand and have not assumed that it tells us anything about the form of governance in any particular province.

  3. Robin Avatar
    Robin

    Ah! But it does! +Idris is Primus (inter pares), but he’s no more a Primate than you or I. This is a delightful distinguishing feature of our Scottish Church. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries there were various suggestions and attempts to restore some kind of Metropolitan Bishop, but they came to nothing.

    As for a collective noun, I don’t know. I prefer not to think about such meetings!

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