The Royal Spare

Looks like Prince Harry has been fulfilling his role as the Royal Spare lately with great gusto. I presume he was fearful that the falling out of night clubs and wearing Nazi uniforms to parties was fading in the countrys collective memory and he was starting to be regarded as an upstanding responsible adult who could justify having millions of tax payers money spent on him that allowed him to live a life of wealth and privilege.

 I thought he was enjoying flirting with fit medal winning female athletes and taking on a greater responsibility as a representative of this once great nation when all he was doing was putting together a plan that would destroy any good he had done to his image over the past year and confirm many peoples suspicions that he was still the feckless, directionless, buffoonish bear of little brain many people always thought he was.

However all is not lost Harry my boy as now we have a cowed media who are afraid to say or print anything critical about you for fear of being Levesonned. If you wish people to once again  consider you to be nothing more than a drunken posh boy who associates with other chinless, drunken posh boys and girls then you will have to come up with something better than going on a massive tax payer funded beano, rounding up a lot of camera phone carrying strangers from the foyer of a hotel and then engaging in some sought of pot black themed orgy. It ain't gonna work. Next time I suggest you get caught on tape saying something disgustingly sexual about your Grandmother and if that doesn't work then you may have to take the nuclear option and try an get off with your brothers wife. Although there is a part of me that thinks you may have already tried that. 

Olympic Volunteers.

There is a hope that the success of the Olympic volunteers will carry over into normal life and a better more caring society will be created. You can see that Cameron is desperate to associate it with the Big Society. Unfortunately I have to tell you that this hope of a new utopia is bullshit. It won't happen and here are some reasons why.

• The volunteers were part of a momentous time that was fleeting. They were highly visible and were constantly recognised and praised by the establishment, the media and the public. That is the exact opposite to what people who volunteer 52 weeks of the year experience. They unfortunately are never recognised, rarely praised and the establishment normally wouldn't give them the time of day.
• Many Olympic volunteers were taking annual leave. When they return to normal life they will not have the time. Or at least that is what they will tell people.
• The Olympics was a glamour event. The volunteers were able to bask in the reflected glory of the athletes. Sorting through a bag of donated clothes for the RSPCA or CLIC won't feel quite the same although it is far more important.
• Volunteering in general is demanding and at times can be challenging. You need to care about the cause or organisation you are working for. I got the feeling that the majority of Olympic volunteers were involved for personal rather than altruistic motives. It was all about being there. Something to tell the gran kids
• When you normally volunteer you don't get your meals and travel paid for.

I respect what the Olympic volunteers did. They were great ambassadors and obviously found it very rewarding. But it was a bit like a holiday and unfortunately that feeling quickly fades when you have to return to normality.

Honours For Athletes ?

The suggestion that all gold winning British athletes should receive an honour is a ridiculous idea. Putting aside the fact that the Honours system is an anachronistic system that rewards time servers, celebrities, failed politicians and establishment flunkeys it must also be made clear that these athletes did not do it for the nation. They did it for themselves and for their own personal glory along with the wealth it may create for them. It has been said that they are hard working and driven, that they get up early etc etc and that they  make sacrifices. Well, I expect there are a lot of care workers, road sweepers, nurses, teachers, doctors, refuse collectors and  many other people who would love the opportunity to spend their time pursuing a sport they love and being funded by the tax payer to do it. But that fortune is not accorded to them. It was inspiring what the successful athletes achieved but I'm afraid jumping a few more millimeters or running a bit faster than someone else should not equate to hero status. That should be given to people who truly improve the world we live in. Lets celebrate the nurses, teachers and road sweepers the same way the athletes and Olympic volunteers were celebrated.