I saw this on another forum and thought I would post it here for others to see, and although it seems to be a newspaper article I do not know which one:
“A BRITISH minister has admitted that the Government spent just £230 ($475) promoting England’s national day over the last five years.
Culture Minister Margaret Hodge confessed her department spent £116 on promoting Saint George’s Day this year, £114 in 2007 – and absolutely nothing in the previous three years.
The admission provoked outrage from at least one patriotic member of parliament.
“I think it is a shameful indictment and it needs to be changed,” said deputy Andrew Rosindell, who is chairman of parliament’s all-party Saint George’s Day Group.
“We must be the only country in the world that spends nothing or virtually nothing on celebrating its national day. It is a great pity.
“I was expecting it to be low but not that low. Other countries in the world such as Australia and the United States spend a lot of time and effort in promoting their national days and we should be doing more.
“There needs to be a change in the culture of government in the way it approaches something like this.”
Saint George’s Day, which falls on April 23, is an annual non-event in England.
It is generally punctuated by English breweries trying to cash in and promote a party atmosphere; left-wingers saying that patriotism should be reclaimed from the racists; a variety of English eccentrics; and everyday folk wondering why the English just don’t seem to bother.
The fact that Saint George’s Day is not a public holiday only adds to the general lack of interest”
I would like to think there are some noughts missing here, and that it is £23,000 or even £230,000! Even £2,300, perhaps!? However, I am assured that £230 is correct. I wonder how many handwritten postcards in newsagents windows that bought HM Government? Unless I imagined it, didn’t Gordon Brown make a big to-do about the importance of Britishness and all things patriotic just a while back? Well, he’s really pushed the boat out on that account, it seems. Equally, he has paid lip service to our armed forces in the last couple of weeks in response to General Dannat’s outspoken remarks over pay saying that he would say he would ensure they were given proper recognition. The nuances in his remarks were not missed, I am sure, by HM Forces who are not hoodwinked by his empty promises of recognition – which does not, of course, equal £££’s. As my soldier son dismissively remarked “Words cost him nothing. They can’t even give us proper good quality kit – we have to buy it. The foods not bad, but the MOD allowance per-head per-day for food is less than a prisoner gets. Oh….and when I go to Afghanistan I get shot at by the Taliban for less than a traffic warden gets. When I get back, if we have a welcome home parade then I have to buy my regimental cap badge. The issue ones are so C**P and plastic that it would be a disgrace to my regiment to even wear it.”
And you are trying to make me very proud to be British, Mr Brown?
By: mike currill - 20th June 2008 at 13:44
But to be fair, the UK spends lots of money showing the flag in other ways…some aviation events that come to mind…
the BBMF, Queens Birthday flyovers, Red Arrows, etc.
All of which the present government are doing their best to make us feel ashamed of. Regardless of how hard the politicians try they will not erode my pride in being English. As far as I am concerned I am English by birth, British due to an act of union drawn up by two monarchs centuries before I was born and European under duress. If God intended us to be European he wouldn’t have put the English channel where it is.
By: Pete Truman - 13th June 2008 at 11:00
Pete, the flight out to the carrier is a good training opportunity for the carrier personnel and the aircrew, including the tankers. They have to practice this stuff. It’s quite a logistical and administrative challenge to do such a thing, as I remember from my own dets. Sometimes things are not always what they seem..
I accept what you say, but if the MoD is strapped for cash, couldn’t this be carried out a little closer to home.
The Queens Birthday flypast is a tradition, but tomorrows event is well over the top, I reckon that the 16 Tornados would have been well impressive on their own, does she really care after all how many a/c fly over the Palace, I doubt it, it’s all down to the faceless civil servants cooking the books and trying to sell our souls. I’m all for carrying on with this Trooping the Colour tradition, but if the poor bloke in Afghanistan isn’t getting his body armour and boots because of the money spent on all these traditional parades, then something has to be done, but it won’t will it, because the ‘powers that be’ do their jobs safely over here, well, so far, of course, it’s all down to our lads and their dog food diets to keep the enemy at bay.
By: Seafuryfan - 12th June 2008 at 22:50
Tangmere
4 Harriers were subsequently dispatched from Cottesmore, joining the ship in the Indian Ocean after flying several thousand miles and topping up from Tri-stars on the way.
What was the point of that, why weren’t they put on board when it was still in the Solent, how much money would that have saved.
Pete, the flight out to the carrier is a good training opportunity for the carrier personnel and the aircrew, including the tankers. They have to practice this stuff. It’s quite a logistical and administrative challenge to do such a thing, as I remember from my own dets. Sometimes things are not always what they seem..
By: SPIT - 12th June 2008 at 17:56
Hi Peter
Whilst I aggree with everything you say r4emember if the people inside prisons complain some bleeding heart PC idiot lawyer takes notice and things get improved for the poor hard done by prisoners but if a serviceman/woman
complains it seems as if no one listens or they get diciplined for daring to air there grievences in public:confused::confused:.
By: Arabella-Cox - 12th June 2008 at 17:13
J Boyle: What you say is true, of course, but not a lot of consolation to the guys at the sharp end in Helmand Province. Imagine the scene. CSM to troops:
“Oh dear, your socks have fallen to bits and the soles have come off your boots and your ammo is a bit low, you say? What, no proper body armour? OK, OK, I know all that, but stop your whingeing. I know the Taliban are just around the corner, that car might be a bomb and the Afghan behind the wheel a suicide bomber, but look on the bright side chaps – the Queen’s getting a big birthday flypast! Just forget about your woes, eat up your scoff – what, smaller than a prisoners meal you say? – and back to the front line for the next six months for Queen and (un?)grateful country! If you are still alive and all your person intact then you can go and spend your less-than-a-traffic warden pay packet!” :diablo:
By: Pete Truman - 12th June 2008 at 17:12
Tangmere
I’ve been watching the ‘Warship’ programme about HMS Illustrious on TV, some of the things on there make me cringe.
The monetary outlay for the crews meals is less per crewman than it is for the countries prison inmates, at which point a brick nearly went through the telly, don’t bother fighting for your country, you’ll get better fed and have a safer life if you try and blow it up, oh and if your’e lucky enough to be in Whitemoor, the prison authorities will leave you to keep planning with your intimidating terrorist gangs and let you do what you want.
Even MoD police dogs have more spent on them foodwise than our valiant sailors.
On the other hand, the captain has his own gourmet chef and private kitchen, though to be fair, it did state that he paid towards the cost of the meals out of his own pocket, probably just lifting him above the cost of the average prison meal.
Apart from that, despite the fact that the ship is the flagship of the Royal Navy, it’s pretty much falling apart, to send it out on a prestigious mission streaked with rust as well was disgraceful.
If the Government want to save costs, perhaps they should think on this.
The ship sailed for the Gulf with its compliment of Merlin helicopters.
4 Harriers were subsequently dispatched from Cottesmore, joining the ship in the Indian Ocean after flying several thousand miles and topping up from Tri-stars on the way.
What was the point of that, why weren’t they put on board when it was still in the Solent, how much money would that have saved. I’ve no doubt that they will leave the ship and deploy to Afghanistan, well, I’m sure they will as I recognise some of the pilots in another series thats running about Harriers in that country.
So what do they do after the deployment, fly with tankers all the way back to the Channel and meet up with the ship there, it wouldn’t surprise me.
By: J Boyle - 12th June 2008 at 16:15
But to be fair, the UK spends lots of money showing the flag in other ways…some aviation events that come to mind…
the BBMF, Queens Birthday flyovers, Red Arrows, etc.
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June 12, 2008 at 9:46 am