GONGS GONE MAD!

I’d like to kick off 2013 by asking if the ‘gongs’ given out in the New Year Honours list has now reached an all-time low?

I was always of the opinion that honours; as in Knighthoods, were awarded for outstanding dedication and contribution to the country or lifelong achievements in helping others, but we now have sports people who after training for four years, walk away with Knighthoods, OBE’s and CBE’s – suddenly we are dishing honours out like confetti; and no matter how grubby and sleazy your past is, a cash handover to a political party not only absolves you from all blame, it also appears to guarantee you honours. It’s getting so common to receive an honour; it has degraded the position and undermined the credibility of the recipient. How can anyone compare Sir Winston Churchill with Sir Terry Wogan?

But as for these sporting Olympians – I thought the whole business was about taking part? Surely winning the medals should be reward enough. Winning a medal at the Olympics, although a truly wonderful and brilliant achievement should not automatically warrant an OBE, CBE, MBE, or any other award!

 

One small fact that raises an interesting question is that wives of Knights can be called "Lady” now, presuming that same-sex marriage were to become legal in the UK, as David Cameron is bent on pushing through Parliament, would Sir Elton John and his partner David; should they choose to become full-on married; would they be known as Sir Elton and Lady David John?

The whole honours system needs a massive overhaul.