Graham Norton

[Spardo]

Honours for the plebs and celebs is just to provide a veneer of legitimacy to a system now used to reward / keep quiet failed politicians and their paymasters.

I am just waiting for the likes of Gavin Willaimson, Matt Hancock and Chris "Failing" Grayling to get theirs to prove my point.

Cynical Sunday!

Not cynical at all. Next thing you know if those 3 can't be arsed to plead for votes anymore, they'll be on the next gravy train to the 2nd largest unelected voting chamber in the world to lord it over the rest of us citizens.

[Char]

They'll only lord it over you if you let them.

Anyway, back to the topic title - what's so special about this Graham Norton chap, I don't know who he is.

[Bayleaf]

He hosts a chat show late on Friday nights. Usually has a good bunch of celebrities and has an easy going nature that puts everyone at ease, and hilarity ensues!

[niemeyjt]

I miss him on Radio 2 on Saturday morning - the current host is not a patch on him.

[exile]

He hosts a chat show late on Friday nights. Usually has a good bunch of celebrities and has an easy going nature that puts everyone at ease, and hilarity ensues!

And I suspect a good plying of alcohol in the green room before hand plus they are allowed/encouraged to bring their glass onto stage. But yes it is often very hilarious and occasionally enlightening.

[rabbit]

I struggle to think of anyone deserving of a so-called knighthood. Services to charity are the most usual excuses, and excuses they are as loads of people do good work for charity that can't afford to do the time knights and dames are able to put in. As a percentage of their time and funds I am sure the knights are way down the list.

Never been a fan of Lenny Henry either, his outrageous imitations of his mother's Jamaican accent is apparently fine, but when someone like Jim Davidson does a take off of his mate Chalky, it is cause for vilification. Of course, that might have had something to do with his support of Maggie and the only war that Britain could justify taking part in in many years.

And perhaps because he is white?

[Bayleaf]

He hosts a chat show late on Friday nights. Usually has a good bunch of celebrities and has an easy going nature that puts everyone at ease, and hilarity ensues!

And I suspect a good plying of alcohol in the green room before hand plus they are allowed/encouraged to bring their glass onto stage. But yes it is often very hilarious and occasionally enlightening.

Oh yes, and that!

[Spardo]

They'll only lord it over you if you let them.

Not so, I have no say in the matter.

[exile]

I think he was not too bad when he started out, doing his impressions, but again that is old hat nowadays. Comic relief, the principal is sound, but like a lot of other charitable organisations, who knows exactly where the money goes, and when it does get there who actually benefits from it. I remember Terry Wogan's expose when he was getting ten grand for a nights appearance on Children in need, another charity akin to Comic relief, and lets not forget that Comic relief were highlighted as investing in tobacco companies some while back, it is described as being a commercial enterprise, so obviously needs staffing and those staff need paying. I bet if you looked behind a lot of these so called benevolent organisations there would be a load of skeletons in their cupboards.

Hmmm
Where to start?
I have enormous respect for all those out with individual collecting boxes getting those pound coins, pennies and hopefully a few notes in all weathers - actually a long time ago I was there getting pee'd on but catching school masters as they withdrew a few pounds from the bank.

But that is just the front end. If charities need to employ people to ensure that those hard won donations end up where needed then those people need to be paid.

Or perhaps you thought that Lenny Henry on one of his professional trips to South Africa was going to open the emergency exit on the plane and throw out handfuls of fivers as they flew over Kenya, Rwanda and Namibia!

You of all people who has been at the sharp end of logistics should know and understand that behind that vital delivery (whether to Tesco or a refugee camp) needs a (paid) team behind to make it happen and I assume you too got paid at the end of the day.

I accept that a few charities have been found wanting over the years but you seem to expect them all to do everything without paying anyone anything.

So unless you have very specific claims against Comic Relief I suggest you politely shut up!

Sorry if I have offended but it is late, I am tired and frankly this sort of post is just sh!t and verging on libellous sh!t.

[Spardo]

Bit harsh Andy, I sense that you are at the end of a bad day, and I am the last one to criticise for giving way to a rant. I have at the moment many (most) days like that for reasons that haven't been disclosed here.

Did you miss

lets not forget that Comic relief were highlighted as investing in tobacco companies some while back,

, or this

so obviously needs staffing and those staff need paying

, and the correct, as far as I know, comment that Wogan was paid when all around him were giving their time free?