dead Captain Tom Moore

[Cruyff's Turn 11]

His classroom  was  in Chester le Street so may have popped off a couple of Mackems, or a stray Geordie.

[Bentrovato 1,087]

Did anyone do a CRB check on him? Friend of Jimmy etc.......

[Youth in Asia 1,086]

11 hours ago, msc said:

 

Pretty much you give money to the WWF itself and unless its for a specific appeal (ie their current snow tiger one) it goes to where they want to use it. Which given they are the world wide fund, is only fair imo (and perfectly legal too, its in their print). But people do give them money for their mascot.

 

Having a close knowledge of WWF, a lot of the individual country operations are money-making franchises. They pay licence fees to head office in Switzerland and then are free to raise money in their own markets. It is not under global control like Save the Children or others. The panda symbol is worth millions and takes away donations from other better run and more humble NGOs. And as you say, in most countries there are no pandas anyway, so the money goes to other things. For example one thing I have seen is a WWF office pay off a huge loan to take freehold ownership of its building, something that most NGOs could never dream of, and this is because of the excess cash it has.

[GEMINEYE 206]

I bet Eddie Izzard is furious. They've ran hundreds of marathons for charity and not a sniff of a knight/damehood from the Queen, or an offer to sing a song with Michael Ball, or to have a gin named after them.

 

This fella does a few laps of his garden and he's received all of the above, and an interview on Life Stories with Piers Morgan.

 

Poor Eddie.

[TQR 14,387]

3 hours ago, GEMINEYE said:

I bet Eddie Izzard is furious. They've ran hundreds of marathons for charity and not a sniff of a knight/damehood from the Queen, or an offer to sing a song with Michael Ball, or to have a gin named after them.

 

This fella does a few laps of his garden and he's received all of the above, and an interview on Life Stories with Piers Morgan.

 

Poor Eddie.

Well, when you consider the bits in bold, I’d say Izzard’s the lucky one.

[Windsor 2,233]

5 hours ago, GEMINEYE said:

I bet Eddie Izzard is furious. They've ran hundreds of marathons for charity and not a sniff of a knight/damehood from the Queen, or an offer to sing a song with Michael Ball, or to have a gin named after them.

 

This fella does a few laps of his garden and he's received all of the above, and an interview on Life Stories with Piers Morgan.

 

Poor Eddie.

 

Eddie will never get a knighthood now he's a she.

 

Too many pitfalls for attention seeking. I'm not a knight, I'm a dame etc.

[xXConmanXx 9]

On 15/07/2020 at 08:20, Perhaps said:

I reckon he’s a goner next year. 

 

Especially if the trend of the oldest debutant of the list dying in recent years carries on, he’ll be a good pick. 

GOOD JOB YOU GOT IT RIGHT

[Bentrovato 1,087]

Oh good god. Will it never end.   Royal Mint urged to produce coin in tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

[gcreptile 10,967]

We need to clone him, we need to put his corpse into Gunther Von Hagen's exhibition.

[RoverAndOut 4,746]

2 hours ago, Bentrovato said:

Oh good god. Will it never end.   Royal Mint urged to produce coin in tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

 

A national clap encouraged by the Prime Minister, a breaking news bulletin on BBC1, wall-to-wall breakfast telly coverage, a special half-hour tribute on prime-time BBC1, a minute's silence in Parliament, a minute's applause before football matches, the England Cricket team wearing black armbands, an inevitable Daily Mail campaign for a statue (why stop at one?), a Royal Mint coin, oh, and flags nationwide from Downing Street on down lowered to half mast, all for a man who literally a year ago nobody had heard of. And that's just what has been announced so far. For a 'national hero' who walked up and down his garden.

 

In years to come, this will be a fascinating insight into the mentality of the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

[Toast 16,136]

Harmless old boy, but it's all got ridiculous.  Who started it anyway?  How did the wider world find out about him?

[Bentrovato 1,087]

1 hour ago, RoverAndOut said:

 

A national clap encouraged by the Prime Minister, a breaking news bulletin on BBC1, wall-to-wall breakfast telly coverage, a special half-hour tribute on prime-time BBC1, a minute's silence in Parliament, a minute's applause before football matches, the England Cricket team wearing black armbands, an inevitable Daily Mail campaign for a statue (why stop at one?), a Royal Mint coin, oh, and flags nationwide from Downing Street on down lowered to half mast, all for a man who literally a year ago nobody had heard of. And that's just what has been announced so far. For a 'national hero' who walked up and down his garden.

 

In years to come, this will be a fascinating insight into the mentality of the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

A nation gone mental. Presumably Sandhurst will be renamed in his honour, a few hospitals,  streets and avenues up and down the country, one of the new aircraft carriers,, a tube line  in London, a college or two in Oxford and Cambridge, .............. and a commemorative Royal Mail stamp collection.........

[DCI Frank Burnside 3,887]

4 hours ago, RoverAndOut said:

 

A national clap encouraged by the Prime Minister, a breaking news bulletin on BBC1, wall-to-wall breakfast telly coverage, a special half-hour tribute on prime-time BBC1, a minute's silence in Parliament, a minute's applause before football matches, the England Cricket team wearing black armbands, an inevitable Daily Mail campaign for a statue (why stop at one?), a Royal Mint coin, oh, and flags nationwide from Downing Street on down lowered to half mast, all for a man who literally a year ago nobody had heard of. And that's just what has been announced so far. For a 'national hero' who walked up and down his garden.

 

In years to come, this will be a fascinating insight into the mentality of the nation during the coronavirus pandemic.

Some suggesting a State funeral too ffs. 

[Paul Bearer 6,101]

I'm pissed off at the number of people on Facebook that are saying he was a lovely chap, a true gentleman.  Bollocks.  I doubt it very much if anybody knew him for the first 99 years of his life. 

[Predictor 1,018]

Not gonna lie, when the 2021 list was published on New Year's Eve, I thought his main claim to fame was being a WW2 veteran. Didn't know about the corona stuff until now. RIP.

[Windsor 2,233]

8 hours ago, Bentrovato said:

Oh good god. Will it never end.   Royal Mint urged to produce coin in tribute to Captain Sir Tom Moore - BelfastTelegraph.co.uk

 

The Royal Mint don't need much of an excuse to mint coins these days. Collectors are fed up of the number of 'surprise' coins that come out.

It used to be the case that that the annual sets were made available in December of the preceding year, you bought the set, then that was you collected them. Not any more...

 

Shower of robbing bastards.

[Dying Probably 578]

1 hour ago, Paul Bearer said:

I'm pissed off at the number of people on Facebook that are saying he was a lovely chap, a true gentleman.  Bollocks.  I doubt it very much if anybody knew him for the first 99 years of his life. 

 

The Blankety Blank superfans (if they exist) are typing furiously right now...

[RoverAndOut 4,746]

7 hours ago, Toast said:

Harmless old boy, but it's all got ridiculous.  Who started it anyway?  How did the wider world find out about him?

 

Good question. A quick Google search finds this video from April 10th last year from the BBC website about a 99-year-old war veteran aiming to walk the length of his garden 100 times. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-52248189 What a simpler time it was.

 

Interesting to look back at coverage from earlier last year. It was all quite measured: a remarkable story, a huge sum of money, but that was it. It's almost like everything that followed (the birthday fly pasts, the #1 single, the knighthood, the autobiography, the Helen Rollason Award...) has served to deify the man. It's quite peculiar.

 

If you dared to ask why he was so special (and commit public suicide by doing so), I doubt people could give you a concrete reason why he's such a hero. He walked up and down his garden as a very old man - plenty more have been inspired to do similar since, no such adulation. He raised a huge sum of money for charity - others have raised huge sums in lots of ways over the years, without such adulation. He's a war hero - yes, he served in WW2, like a lot of other veterans that are still alive, but don't receive this level of adulation.

 

Right place, right time is all I can say. And between the tabloids and the government, he's been raised on a pedestal unimaginable even 6 months ago. 

[Toast 16,136]

Quite a war of words broke out on local FB page about who clapped and who didn't.  I couldn't see the point myself, not as though he could hear it.

[En Passant 3,741]

Zeitgeist.

 

And promoted populism, grab the proles with a story they can relate to.

 

 

/offtopic rant best ignored.

As to a 'lot' of money.... 

I read today that we are behind with our new Trident subs all 31 billion quids worth. A whole other can of worms you may say but hang on bear with me it's not really that part, it's the fact that apparently it's going to cost 200 million to refuel an existing one (Vanguard) because it'll have to go 30-35 years instead of the planned 20-25.

 

Let that sink in. Two Hundred Million Pounds to 'fill 'er up please'. Yeah I know Uranium is a bit trickier than petrol, but blimey. 

 

Never mind the multi-billion quid aircraft carriers the Chinese have reportedly called 'floating target practice' either, because it'll bore everyone who missed the warning.

 

Money for NHS is down to Tom, school meals down to Rashford and nobody at all is taking responsibility for the cladding disaster.

But we got to have our subs and aircraft carriers. (Why? most of the rest of Europe doesn't bother 'cept the French to a degree)

 

We obsess about the wrong things, partly because we are led to obsess about the wrong things.

 

/end boring rant.

 

Ooh look, a butterfly!

[TQR 14,387]

8 hours ago, En Passant said:

Zeitgeist.

 

And promoted populism, grab the proles with a story they can relate to.

 

 

/offtopic rant best ignored.

As to a 'lot' of money.... 

I read today that we are behind with our new Trident subs all 31 billion quids worth. A whole other can of worms you may say but hang on bear with me it's not really that part, it's the fact that apparently it's going to cost 200 million to refuel an existing one (Vanguard) because it'll have to go 30-35 years instead of the planned 20-25.

 

Let that sink in. Two Hundred Million Pounds to 'fill 'er up please'. Yeah I know Uranium is a bit trickier than petrol, but blimey. 

 

Never mind the multi-billion quid aircraft carriers the Chinese have reportedly called 'floating target practice' either, because it'll bore everyone who missed the warning.

 

Money for NHS is down to Tom, school meals down to Rashford and nobody at all is taking responsibility for the cladding disaster.

But we got to have our subs and aircraft carriers. (Why? most of the rest of Europe doesn't bother 'cept the French to a degree)

 

We obsess about the wrong things, partly because we are led to obsess about the wrong things.

 

/end boring rant.

 

Ooh look, a butterfly!

You’re absolutely right.

 

£31bn for Trident. £106bn for HS2. £12bn on Test & Trace (Germany’s one, by comparison, was a 1/60th of the cost). An estimated £130+bn on Brexit so far.

 

All cans of worms and too tiresome to discuss but I’ve done the sums and we need approximately 8,800 more Cpt Toms to hobble round their back gardens so we can pay the aforementioned horse shit off.

 

My pitch to replace Sunak there.

[Grim Up North 3,725]

2 minutes ago, The Quim Reaper said:

I’ve done the sums and we need approximately 8,800 more Cpt Toms

 

NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! 

[En Passant 3,741]

You've missed the costs of the Aircraft Carriers. Add 6 Billion. And the F22 planes, another 6 (13 over their predicted lifetime, don't have that handy for the carriers themselves).

Mind you, that should be considered a plus in your bid to replace the chancellor, divert attention away from these sums, don't want that discussion.

 

Running total? <> 25-30 years of a Cpn Tom. Every. Single. Day.

[TQR 14,387]

24 minutes ago, En Passant said:

You've missed the costs of the Aircraft Carriers. Add 6 Billion. And the F22 planes, another 6.

Good point. 9,200 Toms and counting. I’m hoping this is enough to make Ball cough up his lungs and never sing again.

[RoverAndOut 4,746]

11 hours ago, RoverAndOut said:

If you dared to ask why he was so special (and commit public suicide by doing so), I doubt people could give you a concrete reason why he's such a hero. He walked up and down his garden as a very old man - plenty more have been inspired to do similar since, no such adulation. He raised a huge sum of money for charity - others have raised huge sums in lots of ways over the years, without such adulation. He's a war hero - yes, he served in WW2, like a lot of other veterans that are still alive, but don't receive this level of adulation.

 

Answered my own question, courtesy of the i newspaper it seems: "Raising the issue in Parliament yesterday, Conservative former minister Caroline Nokes told the Commons: "Captain Sir Tom Moore taught us that tomorrow is a good day. Can I ask [Mr Rees-Mogg] as Lord President of the Privy Council to use his influence to bring about a commemorative coin for this remarkable national treasure and debate this in the House?" Mr Rees-Mogg responded: "I hope that as Lord President I do see a proposal from the Royal Mint in due course." He added: "Captain Sir Tom Moore dedicated his life to serving his country and others, and he showed the value of all life, that he in his hundredth and hundredth and first year showed that somebody of great age can make as important a contribution as anybody else in the country."

 

So he taught us tomorrow is a good day, and is consequently a remarkable national treasure - good to know! Jacob says he dedicated his life to serving his country - he was a soldier (conscripted) from 1940-1946. Even if we include his "year" of fundraising, that's still only 8% of his life spent 'serving his country'. But don't let statistics get in the way of sentiment (or political expediency), eh?