New Years Honours List

[Taf]

Originally Posted by MarkC1984

It's high time sports stars stopped getting honours, especially Sir and Dame as it cheapens the title imo.

They are by-and-large professional sportspeople, and their job is to be the best they can achieve, so that they earn more and more. Not worthy of Honours at all, except by their own sport's governing bodies perhaps?

Aside from the gongs for politicians' friends and civil servants the system also recognises people who've contributed to society or those who've excelled in their profession. We award them to successful businessmen and women, successful inventors, scientists, entertainers and sportspeople along with many others.

I remember when a Brit winning Wimbledon as a pipe dream. Andy Murray has won it twice, and the US Open, two gold medals and is currently World No 1. The best tennis player in the world, the best British tennis player ever. He absolutely deserves to be Sir Andy Murray.

Mo Farah has won many gold medals in running, something we're not great at. He also has an amazing story being a immigrant from Somalia who came to this country, became British and became one of our best ever athletes. He too deserves it.

They are examples of the first of the two types of people the system should reward. Those who've excelled and those who've contributed. They're both excellent ambassadors for Britain.

[Kursk]

Do you think the aim of becoming 'excellent ambassadors for Britain' even crossed their minds when they started hitting a ball with a bat/began running around in circles? I suspect they did it (and do it) for more selfish, material aims.

What next Dame bake-a-cake or Sir Gogglebox?

The system is elitist and trivial claptrap imo.

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by Kursk

Do you think the aim of becoming 'excellent ambassadors for Britain' even crossed their minds when they started hitting a ball with a bat/began running around in circles? I suspect they did it (and do it) for more selfish, material aims.

What next Dame bake-a-cake or Sir Gogglebox?

The system is elitist and trivial claptrap imo.

Claptrap is the perfect word, I was just sitting here reading that when it occurred to me how ludicrous it is, just imagine what johnny foreigner thinks when he hears and enquires what an obe is, they must wonder if we are aware the empire no longer exists.

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by TheDaddy

.......johnny foreigner thinks when he hears and enquires what an obe is, they must wonder if we are aware the empire no longer exists.

They will think it is named after Sir Obe Aduba for services to Strictly. It' s only a matter of time before it happens

[denphone]

Originally Posted by Kursk

Do you think the aim of becoming 'excellent ambassadors for Britain' even crossed their minds when they started hitting a ball with a bat/began running around in circles? I suspect they did it (and do it) for more selfish, material aims.

What next Dame bake-a-cake or Sir Gogglebox?

The system is elitist and trivial claptrap imo.

As usual your opinion is respected but many others share a differing opinion as the only thing that irritates me is politicians , political donators and obedient nodding donkeys who have done diddly squat for this country other then serve their own political and financial ends end up getting knighthoods.

[TheDaddy]

Originally Posted by TheDaddy

So it can be used to disguise the honours real purposes to reward friends and cronies, the papers are full of film and sports stars instead of digging about who else got what and why

I hope these murmurings get so loud they can't be ignored and reform happens

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/252074...-honours-list/

Originally Posted by denphone

As usual your opinion is respected but many others share a differing opinion as the only thing that irritates me is politicians , political donators and obedient nodding donkeys who have done diddly squat for this country other then serve their own political and financial ends end up getting knighthoods.

---------- Post added at 09:07 ---------- Previous post was at 09:04 ----------

Originally Posted by Kursk

Do you think the aim of becoming 'excellent ambassadors for Britain' even crossed their minds when they started hitting a ball with a bat/began running around in circles? I suspect they did it (and do it) for more selfish, material aims.

What next Dame bake-a-cake or Sir Gogglebox?

The system is elitist and trivial claptrap imo.

Haven't your efforts on behalf of society been acknowledged yet? Never mind, I'm sure your time will come..

[heero_yuy]

Originally Posted by denphone

As usual your opinion is respected but many others share a differing opinion as the only thing that irritates me is politicians , political donators and obedient nodding donkeys who have done diddly squat for this country other then serve their own political and financial ends end up getting knighthoods.

I give you Sir Ivan Rogers.

Originally Posted by Kursk

Do you think the aim of becoming 'excellent ambassadors for Britain' even crossed their minds when they started hitting a ball with a bat/began running around in circles? I suspect they did it (and do it) for more selfish, material aims.

What next Dame bake-a-cake or Sir Gogglebox?

The system is elitist and trivial claptrap imo.

They don't need to have had 'being ambassadors' as a motivation but they become so anyway. They receive the honours for excelling in their profession. This is the common purpose of a national honours system. France's Légion d'honneur has many sporting recipients as does America's Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The awards don't map exactly as those awards are higher than what most sports stars receive here (IIRC A Knighthood has levels within it) but still.

It's the default gongs for civil servants and friends of politicians that's the problem, not sport stars.

[Kursk]

Originally Posted by Maggy J

Haven't your efforts on behalf of society been acknowledged yet? Never mind, I'm sure your time will come..

Originally Posted by Hugh

Mod Comment - and you need to focus on the debate, not the person.

Award yourself 3 infraction points Maggy .

Originally Posted by heero_yuy

I give you Sir Ivan Rogers.

Resigned before being booted and has acted like a child.

Originally Posted by Damien

They don't need to have had 'being ambassadors' as a motivation but they become so anyway. They receive the honours for excelling in their profession. This is the common purpose of a national honours system. France's Légion d'honneur has many sporting recipients as does America's Presidential Medal of Freedom.

The awards don't map exactly as those awards are higher than what most sports stars receive here (IIRC A Knighthood has levels within it) but still.

It's the default gongs for civil servants and friends of politicians that's the problem, not sport stars.

I'm sorry but it is tripe. I can sort of understand an award for, say, years of research for the betterment of society or lifesaving because you are motivated to help others or singular medical progression/success but running/rowing/batting/strutting just doesn't cut the mustard for me.

Some of the more recent awards have cheapened the honours so as to make them meaningless.

http://www.private-eye.co.uk/issue-1435/news

A bit of fun..

[Kursk]

Jill Saward recently passed away. She waived her anonymity in a rape case to become a lifetime capaigner against sexual assault. She set up a help group for families, became a counsellor and donated her organs at death.

And the recognition for a lifetime of selfless service? Bugger all.

Keep batting balls and running in circles

[Mr K]

John Redwood knighted. Has he done something I've missed? Thought he was just a mostly failed politician..

(There was the time he tried to sing the Welsh National anthem without knowing any Welsh, maybe the knighthood is for comedy )
https://youtu.be/GzBq0n8dxFQ

Good to see Christopher Nolan getting one, should have been sooner and higher IMO but oh well.