Download Bulletin 13th February 2022
Fr Hugh’s Homily for Racial Justice Sunday
The Black Bitch is a pub in Linlithgow, or it was, it is now called The Willow Tree, and battle is raging in the town between the brewers, Greene King, who have changed the name, and many residents who want to keep the old one. Both names have good local historical references. The Black Bitch refers to a greyhound dog in the 13th century who brought food to her starving master, The Willow Tree to a tree that was planted nearby to mark an historic event in the 18th century. But the brewers have a policy, in the light of the company’s origins being founded on slavery money, to make a break with any possible link to racial injustice past or present. They also feel that some would find the original name offensive today anyway, especially not knowing the history…..