General Chat

That it is ridiculous that celebrates should be Knighted for doing their work eg Tony Robinson so far .....OK give them a medal if they are doing good works but hey Knighthood!!.... sorry it makes me mad I think they should do away with Knighthoods anyway :-| Just my opinion .

Tony Robinson wasn't knighted for being famous, he was knighted for his political and public service.

He's a Labour party activist, has been prominent in the actors' union Equity and does a lot of work for charities concerned with the care of the elderly.

Well deserved, I think. Far more so than the usual civil service/business knighthoods awarded for just doing their jobs.

Must read up about that then ..still think knighthoods should be done away with

Nolls from Harrogate- you should dig deep into your purse and give a large donation to a political party and then you too will get a knighthood :-D :-D :-D

OFTG That's what I am thinking ...No problem with Tony R but OK a Labour activist/actors union/ soooo?? charity work ? well done him but hey there's plenty of people who do charity work . and I'm not getting at the Labour party still would think the same for any other political party .... just think in this day and age do we really need Knighthoods... sorry just me thinking aloud :-S

Knighthoods are outdated and should be done away with - no way am I callng anyone Sir or Madam - we are all equal - I'm sure we've all done good deeds in our own little worlds - we do not expect gratitude

Tony gives a lot of time to the Alzheimer's Society, for no pay. And they have made him an ambassador. He's famous, so journalists are more likely to interview him or ask him to speak on TV than they are someone nobody has heard of - a fact of life.

http://www.ageuk.org.uk/travel-lifestyle/people/tony-robinson-on-dementia-and-care/

Having said that, I'm a republican so not that fond of the honours system.

Republics have honours systems too.

The credibility of the Awards System has been devalued almost to laughing levels in the past 50 years. That is it would be laughable if it were not a serious matter. Awards should be for going above and beyond the call of duty. I agree that in many cases this is what happens, the figure of 72% for ordinary citizens and charity workers has been mentioned. However, that leaves 28% of celebrities, sportsmen and women, bankers, party donors, etc., getting the higher awards, Knighthoods, Damehoods, CBEs, etc. Ordinary plebs get OBEs, MBEs, etc. The whole system remains class ridden, which was supposed to end as long ago as John Major's premiership.

The fact that it remains class ridden is obvious when one looks at the cases of withdrawal of awards. Lester Piggott the jockey was convicted of tax offences and served a prison term. His OBE was immediately withdrawn. Boxer Naseem Hamed had his MBE stripped immediately he was sentenced to 15 months jail for dangerous driving.

But the establishment has ensured that Geoffrey Archer remains a Peer of the Realm, can sit in the House of Lords and take a part in altering the laws of this nation, despite spending time in prison for fraud.

Its time that the Awards System was either handed over to be run by a panel of independent citizens from all walks of life or abolished totally.

Geoffrey Archer - groan :-S

You can buy a square foot of land in the north of Scotland, and call yourself a Laird or Lady.

No joke - google for it

:-D

Cheaper than donating lots of dosh to a political party or a charity :-0

There are full lists for the various honours here ( on the right of page for others)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2013/jun/15/queens-birthday-honours-obe

Lots of voluntary workers and charity workers etc, it's just that the celebrity names make the headlines.

It's a moot point whether someone should get an award for doing their job well, whether it be paid or voluntary, but then it's nice to be given some praise when one goes over and above what is strictly necessary at work isn't it? :-)

I'm sorry RR nothing on the list gets to me ...wonder if I could get an OBE for services for Retired Kitchen Skivvy Head Cook & Bottle Washer Kiddy Minder oh forgot volunteer for Heart Foundation putting leaflets in doors for a number of years and we have standing orders for 2 charities which comes out of our pension, not showing off as I'm sure many many other people do the same agin a Ann says we the ordinary people do our own wee bit in our own wee world without expecting gratitude. To be honest OBE MBE ok but as Ann says we are all equal (or supposed to be) and no way am I bowing my head to Sir or Madam :-S

Lets get rid of the Honours List completely!!!

Hundreds of thousands of people do charity/voluntary work without looking for or expecting any credit unlike people like Bruce Forsyth went down on his knees begging for a Knighthood - and he spends most of his time living abroad.

They give them out like they used to give out Green Shield Stamps they no longer mean anything,as for Knighthoods, If they get them they should be made to behave like the Knights of old leading armies into battle not poncing around like they do now. :-|

Well I am so glad that I am not the only one who thinks enough is enough and get rid of Knighthoods etc. Thanks for your interesting answers :-)