[News] New Year honours 2024

[Stat Brother]

Kevin Sinfield becomes a CBE having raised more than £15m since Rob Burrow, his friend and former Leeds Rhinos teammate, was diagnosed with MND in December 2019.

Yet others who have made personal fortunes get Knighthoods or Damehoods.

Not right!

The system is now so corrupt I genuinely paused for thought before writing "well deserved" regarding Mr Bloom's honour.

Obviously not a slight on Mr Bloom very much on the system, as his well deserved gong is mixed with those that have been purchased.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Never mind moaning about Sir Tim of Wetherspoons ( I guess you can afford expensive beer and dining) let’s instead trumpet to the hills the good news that our own chairman Tony Bloom has got a gong… I don’t hold with honours myself but I am sure he will be delighted. Good luck to him.

It’s not about this.

There are usually always alternatives nearby which not only offer similarly priced fayre but much better surroundings, support the local community and don’t treat their staff like shit . There’s even an app to help you find them.

“The Neverspoons app helps you find alternative pubs, bottle shops and breweries away from the main chains. “

PS Bloom has his own separate thread.

 

[nicko31]

Services to out-of-date beer and microwaved food…..great.

I have no issue with the principal of having some form of system to give key people recognition, but when you give out gongs to people like this it brings the whole thing into disrupute.

The company has been failing share price lower than 5 years ago, pubs closing and stuck in 1978. A place for desperates..

 

[dejavuatbtn]

Surprised not to see Les Hamilton’s name on the list after 50+ years as a Portslade councillor and a lifetime teaching idiots like me maths.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Surprised not to see Les Hamilton’s name on the list

Maybe if he gets that elusive eighth title he will?

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Very good deals for the consumer. Last time I was in my local Wetherspoons they were selling a number of ales at under £3 a pint. I don’t accept for a moment that they stop other pubs from selling good beer. In fact they help to promote cask ale which has a beneficial knock-on effect. There are many pubs in my town selling a good range of ales.

You’re not selling Faversham to me, I’m afraid. Not sure it’s the fault of the pub though. Presumably if the brutish denizens of Faversham weren’t there they’d be somewhere else in the town. I occasionally visit two Wetherspoons pubs, one in Eastbourne and one in Harrow when I’m visiting family. I’ve never had a bad experience m'self. Cheap beer, cheap basic pub grub if the need strikes. No televised football though which, in the case of Faversham at least, is probably a good thing.

Yes, it is odd. Before we had 'spoons there was a pub called The Swan in town where one could be guaranteed to be asked if one was looking at one's bird. It was eventually closed. Apart from these two oases of gruntery, Faversham is very nice.

But I wouldn't drink at any pub chain owned by a vocal Brexit supporting oaf, no matter how little he paid his staff in order to keep the beer cheap.

 

[ROSM]

People like Tim Martin have been receiving gongs for centuries. How they treat their staff, their suppliers etc is never as important as the political campaign they've allied themselves to. It nullifies the awards that go to truly deserving people.

Im more annoyed at the awards given out by Truss. Matthew elliott becoming a lord (the tufton street connection, his setting up the Conservative friends of russia, his wife being the pro gun, pro trump republican party face in the uk etc) and he now makes our laws for life is one example.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

Surprised not to see Les Hamilton’s name on the list after 50+ years as a Portslade councillor and a lifetime teaching idiots like me maths.

Is it possible he’s been offered a gong, and turned it down? I believe the list is only published after acceptances.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

People like Tim Martin have been receiving gongs for centuries. How they treat their staff, their suppliers etc is never as important as the political campaign they've allied themselves to. It nullifies the awards that go to truly deserving people.

Im more annoyed at the awards given out by Truss. Matthew elliott becoming a lord (the tufton street connection, his setting up the Conservative friends of russia, his wife being the pro gun, pro trump republican party face in the uk etc) and he now makes our laws for life is one example.

Hear hear, and Sunak trying to sneak her list in with his New Year honours. They’re both ERG puppets.
Many people hated Margaret Thatcher, but, aside from the Falklands, she also did away with many Quangos, as she called them.

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

It is the fulcrum, focus, and the shite heap covered in the flies of the fighters and cash-in-hand wankas of Faversham. Last time (first time) I set foot in there I was 'asked outside' by three separate heaps of human filth in the space of half an hour.

Well, it means the old bill can keep an eye on just the one venue in town, I guess, so knighthoods all round!

Had to have a look

Was the tone aggressive? Maybe they were simply proud of the kept gardens out back?

Saying that I hadn’t started reading the recent reviews before attaching!

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

and Truss has announced her honours list at the same time

Shocking…..

 

[One Teddy Maybank]

Kevin Sinfield should have been knighted...

This.

There has to be some sort of agreement that he won’t receive one for a while.

IMO there is no one more deserving at this current time (in the public domain).

 

[nicko31]

People like Tim Martin have been receiving gongs for centuries. How they treat their staff, their suppliers etc is never as important as the political campaign they've allied themselves to. It nullifies the awards that go to truly deserving people.

Im more annoyed at the awards given out by Truss. Matthew elliott becoming a lord (the tufton street connection, his setting up the Conservative friends of russia, his wife being the pro gun, pro trump republican party face in the uk etc) and he now makes our laws for life is one example.

Elliot the worse in the current crop and chapter 7 in James Obriens book “How they Broke Britain”

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Had to have a look

Was the tone aggressive? Maybe they were simply proud of the kept gardens out back?

View attachment 171947

Saying that I hadn’t started reading the recent reviews before attaching!

What happened was this. Around 15 years ago, when I was 50 and my pal Bob was 66, we popped in for a beer. We were threatened and invited 'outside' at the bar for queue jumping. Anyone who has seem me trying to get served would laugh at that. Next we asked someone if an empty seat was taken and were threatened for attempting to take someone's seat. Finally a woman dropped a purse on the way out. I picked it up and handed it to her. Her bloke (in his 40s) then accused me of stealing the purse. It took ten minutes of wrangle, with the woman explaining fruitlessly to her red-faced bloke what had happened, before the invitation 'outside' was rescinded. We have never been back.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Hear hear, and Sunak trying to sneak her list in with his New Year honours. They’re both ERG puppets.
Many people hated Margaret Thatcher, but, aside from the Falklands, she also did away with many Quangos, as she called them.

When you say 'aside from the Falklands' I assume you don't mean she did away with them. I hope you don't mean she did a good job. I was following the Falklands story closely, and it was very certainly the case that the Argies had put the boats out earlier on several occasions during the Callaghan era, and we had always had at least one warship nearby which was enough to see them off. This little dance was so routine it was never reported in the media. When Thatcher got in she saw Galtieri as an ally against communism. She was warned during the weeks before the Argies attacked what they were up to but refused to believe her ally would do such a thing. And when the Argies set sail we no longer had any fleet nearby, hence the delay in responding. Then she got 'lucky' with the Belgrano. It was actually an avoidable omnishambles, but it was sold in the mainstream media as a piece of great British Pluck.

 

[Thunder Bolt]

When you say 'aside from the Falklands' I assume you don't mean she did away with them. I hope you don't mean she did a good job. I was following the Falklands story closely, and it was very certainly the case that the Argies had put the boats out earlier on several occasions during the Callaghan era, and we had always had at least one warship nearby which was enough to see them off. This little dance was so routine it was never reported in the media. When Thatcher got in she saw Galtieri as an ally against communism. She was warned during the weeks before the Argies attacked what they were up to but refused to believe her ally would do such a thing. And when the Argies set sail we no longer had any fleet nearby, hence the delay in responding. Then she got 'lucky' with the Belgrano. It was actually an avoidable omnishambles, but it was sold in the mainstream media as a piece of great British Pluck.

View attachment 171950

My StepMother was born in the Falklands, and my Dad did three tours with HMS Protector, in the 60s, so I’ll leave that as my explanation. My half-brother was there with the Royal Marines.

 

[Weststander]

Seems unfair on Brake Food Services who act as executive chef for Tim.

 

[Greg Bobkin]

The Express here, really on the ball when it comes to 'gongs'. Same old, same old. Every year LOADS of 'normal' people get honours. Such a non-story, but Common Sense Clara must have to be seen to do something to justify her position!

 

[Paulie Gualtieri]

What happened was this. Around 15 years ago, when I was 50 and my pal Bob was 66, we popped in for a beer. We were threatened and invited 'outside' at the bar for queue jumping. Anyone who has seem me trying to get served would laugh at that. Next we asked someone if an empty seat was taken and were threatened for attempting to take someone's seat. Finally a woman dropped a purse on the way out. I picked it up and handed it to her. Her bloke (in his 40s) then accused me of stealing the purse. It took ten minutes of wrangle, with the woman explaining fruitlessly to her red-faced bloke what had happened, before the invitation 'outside' was rescinded. We have never been back.

What was the beer like?