Mickey Mouse knighted?

As I get older, I often wonder if I am losing touch with reality or if reality is losing touch with the rest of us. Let me explain.

A few news stories have caught my eye this week. Collectively, they inform me that our country has lost it's way. The funeral of Harold Perceval attracted lots of media attention after the local undertakers and the RAF Association issued a request for mourners. He had taken part in the Dambusters raids on Germany during the Second World War. This man and his generation were responsible for us winning the Second World War. It struck me as being rather sad that requests for mourners had to be made at all. It would be good to think that we value those who sacrificed so much for our country when we were in our real hour of need. It seems as though we had forgotten about this man. That it is the most illuminating story of the week from my perspective.

On Remembrance Day this year, the actor Brad Pitt and his film crew were filming for their latest film in Oxfordshire. That they were dressed in German Nazi uniforms to do so was beyond the pale and just illustrated the extent to which money can seemingly override all else. For all their apologies, it is a sad day when filming becomes more important than remebering the war dead. We are expected to remeber them for just one day in the year and apparently even this is now becoming too much for some.

On the subject of sad days, I read with horror reports that the former football player David Beckham is to be knighted in the New Years Honours list. Only from a perspective of proportion and decency do I now condemn the entire Honours system. Such an award makes an absolute mockery of all those who truly deserve such recognition. This is a victory for money over substance and shame on those who have sanctioned such a farce. Given that he has just announced plans to relocate to Florida in pursuit of his next million, I can only assume that they have got the wrong person. Surely they meant Mickey Mouse or are they one and the same thing?

The final item which attracted my attention was the news that the mother of Baby Peter is to be released after four years in prison. Four years in prison seems plain wrong to me. She oversaw the prolonged suffering and eventual death of her defenceless son. Am I the only one to find this decision wrong? I hope so because what with the other items in the news, I am beginning to despair for our future. Dare I make a plea for some common sense or I am I just being over ambitious?