Gle Mhath !

I got a bit of a shock in Homebase in Greenock this afternoon. Cathleen and I had dropped in after a morning of street work for the by-election (and some excellent responses) in order to get a light fitting we needed. But looking up to find out where something was I suddenly realised that since I was last here (many months ago - in fact probably a couple of years ) the shop has gone bi-lingul. All the signs inside the store and quite a few outside are in both English and Gaelic - a great innovation for a mass market chain. I hope it spreads elsewhere - it would certainly make me buy here rather than a store that has made no effort to differentiate.

Does it matter some some will say - surely there will be no monoglot Gaelic customers here (or anywhere)? Won't everyone speak English ? Probably - but it does send a strong signal about Gaelic and its place as one of our ways of seeing the world. And I expect visitors and residents are intrigued by it and may learn something from it.