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New Year's Honours List

jay hay-char

jay hay-char

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Just been looking at this. I am wholly in favour of honours being awarded to deserving people who serve their communities, or who do something extraordinary but the habit of handing out honours to people for being famous, or for making substantial donations to political parties devalues their worth in my view.

This year's particularly egregious example is the knighthood awarded to Ken Dodd. Here is a man who narrowly escaped being convicted of tax evasion, and who should have gone to prison, in my view. We become more and more of a banana republic every time something like this happens, and the value of the honours awarded to people who truly deserve them is cheapened by each such event.

Yes, yes: he's a national treasure and I'm sure lots of people on here will disagree with me, but the man is a crook. Does he really deserve a knighthood?
 
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Why was Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue and American, made a Dame? Very strange!
 
Ken was acquitted so doesn't have a criminal record.
Though I agree that lots of people who get an 'honour' for doing their job most don't really deserve one.
 
There was a guy who has volunteered for The Samaritans for over 57 years who received an MBE. I have no qualms on that one. People who benefit the community deserve recognition.
 
asparagusp said:
Why was Anna Wintour, editor of American Vogue and American, made a Dame? Very strange!
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I assume it's honorary - like the knighthoods awarded to Bob Geldof and Terry Wogan, who are Irish Citizens. Anna W. is British by birth but is now a US Citizen and, I think, has renounced her UK nationality. Awards of this kind are sometimes made to non UK nationals (see above) but usually to people who have made a significant contribution to the UK. I guess one could argue that she has done so by championing British fashion to a major overseas market. She also does quite a lot of work for charities, but they're mainly American (particularly the Museum of modern Art, iirc). So yes, I , also, wonder why she has been made a Dame.
 
asparagusp said:
There was a guy who has volunteered for The Samaritans for over 57 years who received an MBE. I have no qualms on that one. People who benefit the community deserve recognition.
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Exactly. The woman who did the Street Crossing Patrol outside our kids' school for about 30 years was given an MBE some years ago. She also worked tirelessly to raise money for charity, raising thousands of pounds over the years. She retired from doing the crossing patrol in her late 70s, but came back to it for a while, because she'd got bored :)

A wonderful and inspiring woman. And she paid her taxes :mad:
 
Are honours ever awarded posthumously apart from military ones. In the entertainment sector, I'm thinking of people like Bowie, Michael ..... and
 
asparagusp said:
Are honours ever awarded posthumously apart from military ones. In the entertainment sector, I'm thinking of people like Bowie, Michael ..... and
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The short answer is "no".

They are so-called "Living honours", which die with the recipient. There were calls for Jimmy Savile to be stripped of his knighthood posthumously, but the Cabinet Office confirmed that, because he was dead, the knighthood had already ceased to exist. By the same token, an honour could never be awarded to someone who is no longer alive.
 
Yes I suppose that makes sense but somehow it still doesn't seem right that because you die suddenly your worthy contribution isn't acknowledged in the form of some honour.

I suppose there's BAFTA and similar to compensate a little.
 
asparagusp said:
Sir Ray Davies of The Kinks - Absurd.
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I don't know, the Arts & Media are covered in the Honours System and people like Ray have made a difference to peoples lives who have listened to his music over the years, besides I'm sure he has probably done some good work for charity over his career which doesn't get a mention in the newspapers & tv.
 
I have listened to Louisa Patikas over the years in The Archers as many have. No Damehood for her! lol
 
asparagusp said:
To renounce her UK nationality should have excluded her.
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To become a US citizen you have to "renounce" any others you have as the US does not recognise/allow dual citizenship. In order to get a US Passport issued to you, you will have to hand over any you hold from other countries.

However you cannot actually "renounce" your British Citizenship if it yours due to birth as you will always have it, even if you carry the Passport of a different country.
 
wolfie11969 said:
Ok so what's your verdict on Victoria Beckham and an OBE? For services to fashion
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I realised many years ago that getting "aerated" about things that have zero impact on my own life and that I also have no control over is entirely counterproductive.
 
britishpub said:
I realised many years ago that getting "aerated" about things that have zero impact on my own life and that I also have no control over is entirely counterproductive.
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wise words. I put up about VB as I found it amusing she had received an honour because she can style a dress. I did joke with my hubby that maybe she got jealous of hubby's honour and decided to 'buy' one herself.
 
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