Issue January-4
 

Is this ancient ceremony useful in the 21st Century?

Knights in Armour

Here at the WessexTimes we are steeped in tradition and so it might seem surprising that we investigate whether hundreds of years of English (Wessex) traditions have outlived their usefulness or as one might say nowadays are past their "use by" date.

Probably our readers will immediately and correctly assume that honouring someone with an ancient and indeed very honourable title for failing miserably in his duties to borough, city and country is the penny dropping moment which not only questions the one instance but the entire centuries old vestige.

It can possibly be assumed that other than the ranks of anti-monarchy or outright republicans the titles and supposed honours granted to members of our royalty leave us quite cold. Whether William Windsor can title himself Prince or has the Order of the Garter bestowed upon him and the long list of other titles to which he is entitled, merely by being born, is unlikely to cause many of the King's twenty first century subjects to lose any sleep.

What seems to irritate many, but certainly not all, is the ridiculous ritual of re-titling mere citizens adding reward for deeds, some do virtually nothing other than breathing, which they only performed for their own gain often with no risk.

If we take a specific example. Richard Starkey, known to many as Ringo Starr, drum bashing member of a long extinct pop band, was knighted for services to music. Not for one moment should we minimise the pleasure that he and his fellow musicians gave to thousands of fans over the years but with which aim? Let's stick our necks out and state it beggars belief that he or the other members performed for anything other than boosting their Liverpudlian ego or to be more mundane make a living as musicians.

Aye there's the rub. Honours should be for selflessness, for extraordinary deeds of kindness and compassion and not merely for doing a good job.

Certainly not for being buddies with a prime minister and here we progress to our next candidate. How selfless was our current Lord Mayor of London? Can anybody seriously justify why our unbelievably unpopular prime minister, who also bears a title for doing his job, has nominated his party friend, who many would name as the epitome of failure, to be a knight of the realm?

According to https://x.com/addicted2newz/status/1873765835338342446: Knife crime is up by 39% in London but down in the other cities. Sadiq Khan swims on excuses. Guncrime up 6% in London? No answer.

An Answer to our comment on X that you might get knighted for banging a drum received an answer from an AI Bot known as Grok2.

It stated: High-profile individuals like musicians or business tycoons often have a wide-reaching public impact, which can be seen as promoting cultural or economic growth. For example, someone who "bangs a drum" might be recognised for their contributions to music or culture, bringing joy or prestige to the nation. This visibility can lead to honours as a way to acknowledge their influence on the public stage. So what?

Grok2 continued: Making a fortune can be tied to creating jobs, driving innovation, or significantly contributing to the economy. Wealth creation, when it benefits society through philanthropy or business growth, is often recognised. However, this aspect can be controversial, as it might seem to favour the already wealthy or famous over those who work quietly for the community.

It probably is true that the Beatles employed "roadies" to manage their tours, that the record companies employed technicians, sound engineers, salesmen and you can even state that the record shops employed people.

But so did Gillette or Wilkinsons who manufacture razor blades used by millions.

There will be hundreds of councillors who in many cases receive little to no payment for their untiring duty to their community. Why praise this one who has been such an abject failure?

London: 4. January 2025: -pw-
Source: WessexTimes, BBC
The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect WessexTimes editorial stance.

 
   
 
 
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