New Year Honours

It has been quietly all over the newspapers for the past several days. It was in 2001 apparently - she didn't think she deserved one. Hard to disagree. 

What was she getting one for? Services to middle aged men by staring at the camera and talking seductively?

I know someone with a well-deserved OBE for charity work over many years that has made a big difference to a lot of people's lives. She is the child of immigrants and had misgivings about accepting, but did so for the recognition it gives the charity, because it meant a lot to her parents, and to stick two fingers up at everyone who'd been racist to her over the years or had low expectations of what she could achieve. I think those are very good reasons, but I would respect someone like Vanessa Redgrave more if she stuck to her original principles. Surely fame, respect, wealth and privilege are more than enough reward for a long and successful career?

I think both of those are a bit laughable. I imagine most who turn it down do so quietly and with integrity. By all means accept if you feel you can do so with your priniciples intact, but there's no need to justify it by taking a swipe at those who choose not to. And accepting honours to gain more recognition for a good cause or charity is one thing, but a successful writer might be expected to have the self-awareness and honesty to just acknowledge that he enjoys fame and all the rewards it brings him, rather than suggesting he's Sir David Bountiful, sprinkling the benefits of his knighthood over lowlier souls.

Let’s face it the system is bonkers. There are many, many people out there who do charity work and are ‘unsung’, many who have worked with difficulties, many who champion causes and many actors and theatre people who do brilliant work both in media and beyond. The ones that get honours are usually deserving but only a small number of the many who also deserve. And don't get me started on the women’s footballers. Football is a profession you can’t continue in for very long, so winning the European Cup is significant, never mind the example to other girls and young women in football and in sport as a whole. How mean not to award the whole flippin’ team. Who makes these decisions? And the levels - laughable. A bloke who was a volunteer reader aged 100 gets a basic level award he isn’t going to enjoy for long, the woman whose child died from air pollution and is working to improve the situation gets a higher level. Both should be recognised but why not have a simple system of awards with one level for community work? This is a big discussion and on the whole the right people get recognition but the bloomin’ Empire is well gone and we should get ourselves organised, people.

Don’t you mean Alan Cumming? Good luck to him doing this, these ‘honours’ are worthless.

What did he take it for in the first place then?

The New Years Honours are out again:

www.whatsonstage.com/news/new-years-honours-list-announced_1560227/

TV, showbiz and arts
Game of Thrones actress Emelia Clarke has been awarded an MBE for her work with charity SameYou, which she founded. It provides vital support for people with brain injuries.

Singer Leona Lewis also picked up an OBE for her contributions to music and charity. And national treasure Dame Shirley Bassey was awarded one of the most coveted Damehoods going, becoming just the 64th living member of the Order of the Companions of Honour.

Other big names given the nod included Paul Hollywood , who got an MBE for services to baking and broadcasting, while Rishi Sunak's favourite author, Jilly Cooper, becomes a Dame. Glastonbury Festival founder Michael Eavis is knighted for services to music and charity, while film director Sir Ridley Scott had his knighthood upgraded. DJ Tony Blackburn was awarded an OBE, and fellow DJ Steve Wright got an MBE. Game of Thrones star Oliver Ford Davies also got an OBE for services to drama. There was also an OBE for retail expert and Mary Queen of Shops TV star Mary Portas.

He was named in the article but not in the one I pasted from another source.

Giving out and accepting titles like Knight Grand Cross, Knight Commander, Commander, Officer and Member, all of "the British Empire", whatever that is meant to mean in 2023, is like watching kiddies doing role re-enactment. All rather pathetic and sad and obsequious.

I guess some of it is down to being nominated by people and how many nominations you get. I remember once logging in to the system to look at the nomination process and it is very long winded and detailed.

Not theatre but here’s Professor John Edmunds on his Knighthood:

“The scientist yesterday insisted he was a 'bit embarrassed' by the honour as he was 'not really one for the spotlight'.”

That’s the same John Edmunds who was all over the TV, radio and newspapers during Covid in a personal capacity first promoting herd immunity and then changing his mind and promoting Zero Covid instead. A total rent-a-quote entirely one for the spotlight.