ONE OF my favourite words is ukulele. So it is with a note of disappointment that I learn that a ukulele can be used as an offensive weapon.

You see, there is a war being waged. The Borders, not unfamiliar with battles through the centuries, is the backdrop for a feud of musical proportions - over the songs of George Formby.

It seems there is discord at Kelso Folk and Live Music Club over Wigan's most famous son amid claims that his repertoire is racist.

The row erupted over Friday night sessions at the Cobbles Inn, where Roger Platfoot, ukulele-armed former treasurer of the George Formby Society, performs songs such as I'm The Husband Of The Wife Of Mr Wu and Wunga Bunga Boo. But the lyrics, which contain references to "Zulus", "kaffirs" and "chinks", have angered a minority.

Keith and Cate Ryan said in a letter to their local newspaper that they had twice complained about the lyrics, but their grievances had been dismissed.

One wonders how the folk aficionados cope with the deeper complexities of the origins of roots music.

Mr Ryan said: "At the time of the 40th anniversary of Enoch Powell's Rivers Of Blood speech, we were shocked by the acceptance of racist songs being sung at the sessions. Our complaints to the owners fell on deaf ears.

"We felt saddened that this racism happens in Kelso and is considered acceptable. What next?

"Songs about the disabled, gays or some other easy-to-target group?"

Mr Platfoot defended Formby's songs. "They're certainly not racist," he said. "All the stuff I play has been widely published."

Fred Pearson, chairman of the Ukulele Society of Great Britain, backed Platfoot: "George Formby was no more racist than anyone of his age. He kept people cheerful with his cheerfulness."

Kelso folk club's chairman, Dave Kilpatrick chipped in: "The racist language was innocent, the songs sketching slightly risqué ethnic caricatures in a humorous and affectionate manner. If we ever have to ban non-PC songs, 200 years of repertoire would be decimated, along with very many Border ballads."

Cheerful. Affectionate. Humorous. Risqué. Do these adjectives legitimise the use of offensive terms? Obviously not. Neither does "tradition", as various Old Firm ditties will testify. But most people agree that context has everything to do with the causing of offence. Formby's songs are as moronic and irritating today as they were in the 1930s - when he was a box-office hit. Are they harmless? Probably, if taken in context.

The fact that seems to have bypassed Kelso is that Formby was anything but racist. In 1946, he toured South Africa with a warning from Daniel Malan, head of the country's National Party, that it would be unwise to perform to "coloured" audiences. Formby proceeded to outrage the founders of apartheid by performing 20 free shows to black audiences. The next day, National Party members visited Formby and his wife at their hotel, but had the door slammed on them. Malan phoned Beryl Formby to complain, only to be told: "Oh p*** off, you horrible little man."

If only Beryl were here to tell the beardie Aran knits of Kelso to find something more pressing over which to bang their banjos. For folk's sake ...