New Years Honours

Have I missed the one for Sir Kev Sinfield?

He got a CBE last year along with Rob Burrow. Prince William gave them their medals at Headingley as Burrow was probably too ill to travel to Buckingham Palace or Windsor.  So it will probably be a few more years before he gets anointed.

I turned mine down. Again. You’d think they’d get the message.

From British Cycling ‘s FB page:

Congratulations to the 10 riders who have been recognised in this year’s New Year’s Honours list, following their medal heroics at the Paris 2024 Olympic and Paralympic Games!

Officers of the Order of the British Empire (OBE):

Tom Pidcock

Jaco van Gass

Members of the Order of the British Empire (MBE):

Sophie Capewell

Emma Finucane

Fin Graham

Jenny Holl

Lizzi Jordan

Danni Khan

Katy Marchant

Sophie Unwin

Actually the one I like is the knighthood for Sadiq Khan cos that’ll massively upset the gammons!

Actually the one I like is the knighthood for Sadiq Khan cos that’ll massively upset the gammons!

Yes, most pleasurable.

https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:vqka4tmwebdtqdtt63jbnx4v/bafkreihkfaept3pxjpjxbquzyz6ublcq6hhzesd3t6hsvdzlv4zcktji5y@jpeg

just seen the list.

straight away i said to the wife, ‘how has Kev Sinfield not been made a Sir’ when Gareth Southgate has been knighted ??

how can you be knighted for winning nothing ??

a reward to highlight losing surely.

How on earth does Gareth Southgate get a knighthood? He was paid handsomely to do a job which he never managed to successfully do.

Absolute nonsense..

Absolute nonsense

Describes the whole “honours” thing concisely

My brother in law got one for blowing up drones, its an OBE, so we don’t have to call him Sir Pete

cos that’ll massively upset the gammons!

The tory’s PR crib sheet for today is to describe Khan’s gong as a ‘reward for failure’ in as many places and from as many sources as possible. The party that gave a peerage to Chris Greyling 🙂

How on earth does Gareth Southgate get a knighthood? He was paid handsomely to do a job which he never managed to successfully do.

Define ‘success’ in that context.

Define ‘success’ in that context

‘Win something’ with one of the most talented squads available would probably meet the criteria of ‘success’

That’s what the FA paid him to do and he didn’t manage it

For balance, a list of people known to have refused an honour over the years. Not all are my definition of good people and some of the reasons are a bit spurious; but most are worthy of a good dollop of respect. These days they ask you first apparently, so in my book the coolest refusers will be the ones you never know about as they don’t ‘accidentally’ leak it.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_people_who_have_declined_a_British_honour

The tory’s PR crib sheet for today is to describe Khan’s gong as a ‘reward for failure’ in as many places and from as many sources as possible. The party that gave a peerage to Chris Greyling

Khan was elected London mayor three times, on one occasion soundly beating Shaun Bailey. The same Shaun Bailey who was then immediately made a lord by the Tories. So they’re not exactly in a position to talk about rewards for failure.

The name that’s missing for me is Jimmy Anderson, maybe he turned it down…

In theory I really like that we can recognise those people who have campaigned for justice, for making society better, for significant scientific breakthrough and those who represent the country successfully internationally.

Then I remember that Jacob Rees Mogg has a knighthood, and think it’s all pretty meaningless.

Fair play to Kier and Charlie for trolling the Mail and Piston Heads by giving a knighthood to sadiq khan. They’ll be apoplectic with rage.

Win something’ with one of the most talented squads available would probably meet the criteria of ‘success’

He’s come closer to winning a major tournament than all but one other manager, and there’s been talented squads in the past. People have short memories.

I believe that there needs to be 2 yrs between awards…so Kevin Sinfield was ineligible after his award earlier this year.

The party that gave a peerage to Chris Greyling

Not forgetting giving both a CBE and a Knighthood to the failed fireplace salesman, Gavin Williamson, despite being dismissed from his role as Secretary of State for Defence for leaking classified information, and later was criticised for the exam grading controversy during Covid when he was Education Secretary.  He was also accused of bullying in his roles as Chief Whip and Defence Secretary.

People have short memories

Not at all. If his remit was ‘do better than your predecessors’ then fair enough, job done. If his remit was to win something, which I suspect it was, by that remit he wasn’t successful

My point being, why on earth should someone recieve a knighthood for being pretty decent (but not outstanding by any means) at their very well paid job. That doesn’t apply just to Southgate however, and is what makes these awards such utter bollocks

If you have been outstanding in your field, and have genuinely made a difference to society for the better then fair enough, but GS did neither. Nor I’ll wager did many people on these awards lists

My point being, why on earth should someone recieve a knighthood for being pretty decent (but not outstanding by any means) at their very well paid job. That doesn’t apply just to Southgate however, and is what makes these awards such utter bollocks

Oh, I agree that we should scrap the honours system, my point was that if we have to have it, Southgate is more deserving than most. He actually made me, and a lot of others, care about the England team, which I hadn’t done for a long time.

Fair enough re Sir Kev but he’s an outstanding human being.
I’ve no trouble with people receiving them just thought he was worthy but makes sense.

I dislike football a lot and never watch or listen but GS is interesting, articulate, and no doubt a good coach so I’ve no problem with his award.

You just need two words to the gammons complaining about Sadiq Khan and ‘rewards for failure’…

Thérèse Coffey

or Dame Thérèse Coffey as she’s now known

As for former sportspeople and specifically football players and latterly managers, who have still shamefully not been acknowledged…. still no honour for the incredible human being that is Lou Macari.

You may not be aware of his selfless work supporting the homeless, because like Kevin Sinfield he doesn’t make a song and dance about it, he just gets on and does it. An amazing man.

Also a miles better footballer and manager than Gareth Southgate ever was. He actually won stuff!

I don’t think Khan should have got the knighthood. Politicians shouldn’t be honoured just for doing their job. Re-election is its own reward for that.

I thought he got it for allowing the giant Trnmp baby balloon.

I don’t think Khan should have got the knighthood. Politicians shouldn’t be honoured just for doing their job. Re-election is its own reward for that.

Same as all the sports folk then ?

Almost nobody deserves an honour – the whole system is corrupt.

Fine for the handful of ”small people” who selflessly work for charity or the community over many years.  But sportspeople, musicians, industry leaders, civil servants and politicians 99% of them are just doing a job they love to do and don’t deserve anything extra for it.

Almost nobody deserves an honour – the whole system is corrupt.

Fine for the handful of ”small people” who selflessly work for charity or the community over many years.  But sportspeople, musicians, industry leaders, civil servants and politicians 99% of them are just doing a job they love to do and don’t deserve anything extra for it.

My thoughts exactly.

More pointless gongs by and large to people who did their job or donated to political parties. It’s all part of our corrupt monarchy and political system

Same as all the sports folk then ?

Exactly.

I’ve said it here before, my barometer of decency is the Daily Mail comments section. The more they hate something, the more I like it. I pinched my nose and took a quick look at the comments section on their Sadiq Khan article and their readers are FURIOUS. Delightful stuff.

The quiet lady I sit next to at work has been given a British Empire Medal for services to nursing, go Asma!!!

https://www.gloshospitals.nhs.uk/about-us/news-media/press-releases-statements/gloucestershire-admiral-nurse-asma-pandor-awarded-british-empire-medal-in-new-years-honours/

straight away i said to the wife, ‘how has Kev Sinfield not been made a Sir’ when Gareth Southgate has been knighted ??

As a non-sportsball person, I’ve only heard of one of those two.

Fine for the handful of ”small people” who selflessly work for charity or the community over many years

The vast majority of honours go to such “small people”. Something 1200 awards today, I don’t recognise hardly any names.

Plenty of reasons to want to change or scrap the honours system, but let’s base them on facts.

The vast majority of honours go to such “small people”. Something 1200 awards today, I don’t recognise hardly any names.

That’s correct – they are all the lower order ones. The ones that get in the media are very much as discussed in this thread – all of whom to are large extent don’t deserve them.

My belief is the “little people” are there to give the system a veneer of legitimacy while the real purpose is political patronage.

My belief is the “little people” are there to give the system a veneer of legitimacy while the real purpose is political patronage.

Please detail which of the 1200 awards you feel are there for the purposes of political patronage. Just so we can understand the scale of the conspiracy.

Something 1200 awards today

But how many of those who you didn’t know or are not Googlable got a ‘K’?  Conversely….what’s your estimate of the percentage of the unknowns who accepted an mbe (the lowest award) today received it for a more selfless, less self serving act than Emily Thornberry for the top gong? I mean, you’d think what she’d have done to get the top bit of fluff, you’d have to have done way way more good for the nation than those ‘only’ worth an mbe

But how many of those who you didn’t know or are not Googlable got a ‘K’?  Conversely….what’s your estimate of the percentage of the unknowns who accepted an mbe (the lowest award) today received it for a more selfless, less self serving act than Emily Thornberry for the top gong? I mean, you’d think what she’d have done to get the top bit of fluff, you’d have to have done way way more good for the nation than those ‘only’ worth an mbe

Is this a question?

Is this a question?

Is that your attempt at quoting? 🙂

Of the rhetorical variety I guess. Basically, can someone try to attempt to defend it as an institution?

I’ve got to confess, despite all the good stuff most of the lower award winners have done (way more than I’ll achieve) I do always feel a little bit less respect for anyone who chooses to accept an award from a hereditary head of state,  still named after ‘the empire’. It’s just feels like the country at it’s most anachronistic, dated worst. To accept is to be complicite.

It’s just feels like the country at it’s most anachronistic, dated worst. To accept is to be complicite.

While I understand that view, the two friends I have who have accepted gongs for services to sport/charity/young people both regard it as recognition for work they did as part of a team, and are grateful for the publicity it gives the groups they work with – MBE makes it much easier to get local news interested or get sponsorship.

Pretty sure both cringe that “Empire” is still there and are pretty ambivalent to the monarchy, but appreciate the gesture and the opportunities it brings their causes.