Meaningless Gongs

Well here we go again, another round of the bi-annual handing out of awards by our unelected head of state, in the Queen’s Birthday Honours. The usual round of show biz types who enjoy themselves and make a fortune doing it, get honours ‘for services to entertainment’ how bizzare is that? At least Des O’Connor was honest when he said “”great plus… I haven’t done a day’s work in my life – I’ve done a day’s effort but not work, because it’s something I love”. A boxer who punches seven bells out of his opponents gets made a CBE, Commander of the British Empire (sic)  who was already an MBE. Dozens upon dozens of Army, Navy & Air Force Officers get an array of honours not for acts of extreme heroism but for being, er, high ranking officers. Hosts of people who are just in the employ of various Royals also get something pinned on their chest. No need to take my word for it by the way, you can download the whole, generally boring, list.

Just occasionally there is someone who has done something exceptional for the Nation or humanity in general, like Philip Dolan, chairman of the Scottish Haemophilia Forum, who achieved a public inquiry for people infected with contaminated blood. Handing out awards like confetti debases the whole idea of acknowledging an individuals bravery or extreme perseverance. It would be better to have no awards at all than to have this twice yearly charade.