THE Kirk has condemned internet pranksters for turning a local church shop into a world-wide laughing stock thanks to its unfortunate name.
‘The Glory Hole’ in Kinghorn, Fife, is run by a group of elderly volunteers and has supported poorer members of the community for more than 32 years.
But parishioners and customers are enraged after bloggers around the world picked up on the much less savoury modern meaning of the term, labelling the shop an “epic fail”.
EPIC FAIL – The blogger on Weirdly Wired World pokes fun at the unfortunately named coffee shop
Images of the church centre have appeared on forums and blogs, with “The Glory Hole” becoming the subject of thousands of rather non-Christian jokes by bloggers and tweeters.
The shop now has more than 6,630 search results on Google, with comments flooding in from Scotland to America.
The term is an old Scots expression for a cupboard under the stairs but now refers to a sexual practise.
Ironically, the modern meaning was coined just two years after the Kinghorn establishment was named.
The term’s modern meaning made its debut in 1982 in the major film production Porky’s and later featured in the 1994 dark comedy film Serial Mom before coming into common usage in the 2000s.
Livelier than expected
As a result, the quiet fishing village has featured on American blog sites ‘Failblog’ and ‘Weirdly Wired World’, and has gained thousands of ‘likes’ on Facebook.
One post on ‘Weirdly Wired World’ joked: “There are some things that when naming you can put virtually no thought into. Then there are churches.
“You may want to put a little more thought into this one. Maybe pray on it.”
Scottish playwright and theatre director, David Greig, tweeted a picture of the shop, writing: “Kinghorn’s charity shop scene [is] rather livelier than expected.”
Many of the comments online are unprintably crude, adding to the anger of the church and supporters of the shop.
Disappointed
A Church of Scotland spokesman said the organisation was “disappointed” modern connotations had tainted the café’s image.
Asked if the church was planning to change the name of the shop, the spokesman said: “We are aware of the shop’s name and what it means today.
“However, the shop was named 32-years ago the “Glory Hole,” which is actually an old Scots word meaning a cupboard under the stairs or a room where household items are stored.
“We are disappointed that people are putting a modern connotation on the name but the people of Kinghorn have always known the shop as the “Glory Hole,” and appreciate the efforts of the volunteers who staff the shop.”
Reverend Jim Read, of Kinghorn Parish Church of Scotland, added: “I know what the shop means and what it has meant for the past thirty-two years.
“In Scottish vernacular it simply means a cupboard under the stairs where you put all your rubbish.
“It’s a place for young and old and a general meeting place for everyone in the community.
“It has raised a lot of money for charity over the years and I commend the work it has carried out since it was established.”
Wonderful sense of humour
Local Kinghorn councillor, Susan Leslie, said most villagers were unaware of the shop name’s sleazy connotations.
She added: “It is a much loved resource by all those in the community, not just the church congregation, and it helps to reinforce the already strong community spirit that exists in the town.
“Kinghorn is a wonderful town with great character and the ‘Horners’ are born with a wonderful sense of humour.
“The Glory Hole is a well-known and well-respected community resource that reflects that amazing character.
“It has been around long before the term was even coined and so any coincidence is completely innocent.”
