Bollocks to Blair

bollocks
(From The Times) Two stallholders at a Norfolk fair have each been fined £80 for displaying t-shirts bearing the words “Bollocks to Blair”.

According to Norfolk police:

The notices were issued under Section 5 of the Public Order Act as the language was deemed to cause harassment, distress or alarm at an event, where a cross section of people were present including families and young children who may have found the displays offensive. Police did receive a complaint from a member of the public.

This is not the first time police have acted against someone for offending the Rev Blair with this t-shirt. In September last year a 20-year-old gamekeeper from Goucester was arrested at the Midlands Game Fair for wearing it. She was forced to cover up with a friend’s coat.

Bollocks to that.


10 Responses to “Bollocks to Blair”

  1. andrew says:

    Wouldn’t the court case that allowed “Never Mind the Bollocks” to be displayed in record shops have had some bearing on this. In that case didn’t they rule the Bollocks had meanings other than as a swear word?

  2. Andy A says:

    I’d have thought some precedent here. I know the LP Never Mind the Bollocks was just that, but it was still on display and could presumably have caused similar ‘offence’. It went to court, and the Sex Pistols won. One can’t help but think, therefore, that the Rev. Blair is charmed when it comes to judicial decisions.

  3. Andy A says:

    Hah! Looks as though the two Andrews were writing the same sort of sentiment at the same time here. Bollocking good coincidence, that.

  4. Ben says:

    Typical Blairite freedom of speech.

  5. Steve says:

    I suggest someone send bulls testes to Blair.

    Or Maybe just reissue the T-shirt with ‘Testes To Blair’ on it. Grammatically correct and cannot be misconstrued and totally in-offensive.

  6. Jake says:

    I agree it’s stupid, but this isn’t about Blair – the police obviously thought ‘Bollocks’ was offensive. If it had said ‘Bollocks to Gloria Hunniford’, the response would likely have been the same.

  7. Bartholomew says:

    From the Oxford English Dictionary:

    ballock(‘s)-grass (also hare’s and sweet ballocks), popular name of several species of orchis, from the shape of the tubers…

    1898 Ansted Dict. Sea Terms, Bollocks, blocks secured to the middle of the topsail yards in large ships; the topsail ties pass through them, and thereby gain an increase of power in lifting the yards.

  8. Stuart says:

    The guy who proved in court for the Sex Pistols that bollocks wasn’t offensive was John Mortimer, of Rumpole fame. The case is covered in quite amusing detail in Geoffrey Robertson’s autobiography, ‘The Justice Game’, along with similar examples from a golden age when UK judges took it for granted that petty censorship like this was – well – a load of bollocks really!

  9. Theo Delight says:

    One might imagine that the complainant and/or the constable(s) involved took that action against the display of the word “bollocks” because, ahem, they didn’t have any themselves.