Honours list ‘a joke’ (From York Press)
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Honours list ‘a joke’
11:13am Tuesday 1st January 2013 in Letters By Reader's letter
THE pantomime season is in full swing, now the New Year pantomime of the Honours List is disclosed.
Bradley Wiggins becomes a knight after winning The Tour De France, not an individual effort but a team event. No mention is made of his team mates who sacrificed their chance of winning and kept the pack of pursuing riders in Bradley’s wake.
Some athletes received minor awards because the allocation of their just rewards had been used up. Others, just out of the cradle, were showered with awards like confetti for a one-off success, not a lifetime achievement.
A person aged 92 gets an award for services during the Second World War – a little late, I think. A police chief receives a knighthood because it goes with the job.
We have two philanthropists, one receives a knighthood and the other a CBE for donations to worthy causes, in this case the Tory party.
Finally, we have a knighthood for a city regulator who was in charge in the run-up to the financial crisis.
The Honours List has become such a joke it is about time it was done away with.
AP Cox, Heath Close, Holgate, York.
Comments(5)
jorvik
says...
12:16pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Buzz Light-year
says...
3:18pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Bradley Wiggins becomes a knight after winning The Tour De France, not an individual effort but a team event. No mention is made of his team mates who sacrificed their chance of winning and kept the pack of pursuing riders in Bradley’s wake.
Very very unfair.
Wiggins didn't get the gong just for the Tour de France.
He has a long and successful Olympic history, he's won 7 medals. More than anyone except Chris Hoy.
Yes the Tour is a team sport but it takes a lot of personal effort to lead a team, to face the media and to bear the responsibility for being the top of general classification. It takes years of physical and mental training to be given the job of team leader by a team.
Wiggins takes every opportunity to publicly acknowledge the support of his team.
Dave Brailsford, Wiggins' team manager also got a knighthood. He immediately went on record saying it was for the whole team.
Contrary to what A P Cox says every mention is made of the team mates.
Speaking of team mates, A P Cox is also wrong to say they sacrificed their chance of winning - they know they won't win before they even start. It's in their contract. Most of them aren't good enough all-rounders anyway.
In future races, if these team mates prove good enough or can find a team to support them then they can go on to have their crack at the win.
Flippin cyclists making life a misery for motorists though eh.
Sillybillies
says...
5:01pm Tue 1 Jan 13
Dave Brailsford, Wiggins' team manager also got a knighthood. He immediately went on record saying it was for the whole team.
Utter balderdash, Brailsford and Wiggins are the only ones who will be called "Sir".
I quite agree that the honours list has become a joke, and this year prejudiced against our great Paralympians who have got far less than they deserved.
Peterwalker
says...
9:19am Wed 2 Jan 13
Danny Boyle deserves many plaudits for the opening ceremony and still more for refusing a gong. Ken Livingston is another who deserves praise for refusing to bow to the Queen and her appointed lackies.
Peterwalker says...
11:41am Tue 1 Jan 13