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Celebrating the Diamond Jubilee


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Great day out for many people in London despite the weather... One thing that crossed my mind was the tarting up of the  " Royal Barge "  with the big throne  type seats that were not used should have been finished off  with a sheet of perspex or glass in front of them.. Anybody who has sat on the top of a boat and felt the effect of wind overwater head on knows  just how chilly it feels .  The photo that would have gone round the world of the Queen and Prince Philip sitting in those seats was missed for the sake of a windshield ! The Queen seemed to use the back of the seats for that purpose most of the time it appeared to me ... The guy who made them must feel very dissapointed that the royal bum was never put on them !

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A complete waste of money that the country can ill afford imo. Lavishing ridiculous amounts of money on those at the top whilst expecting those with nothing to do and give it all for free.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/05/call-inquiry-jobseekers-jubilee-stewards

bloody shocking
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I read that this morning, I think the Guardian is trying to compete with the DM on it's over dramatisation but then you have to admire the intellect of those readers passing such comments as "somebody should take them to court as there clearly were not enough toilets". Another was somebody who thought they were lucky to get £2.80 per hour as that was more than they got.

Can the UK afford these celebrations (and the Olympics), well no they can't but it's a bit like how people behave with credit cards, the money is spent but lets have one last go before somebody grabs the card and cuts it in half. Yes of course the artists gave their time free, the picnics were given free but what about security, stage, sound systems, first aid facilities, toilets etc, it all has to be paid for. But then the counter argument is that this has only happened once before, it is unique and that perhaps in this time of doom and gloom it might cheer people up a bit and take their minds of all the other things that are not quite so good.

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Eventually the Republicans arrive, grasping on to a Guardian article worthy of the Daily Wail and supported by the arch grabber John (I'll never sit in the Lords) Prescott.

A fantastic showcase of what GB is all about. How many times will the cost to the Public, if any, be repaid in tourists attracted to visit.

I never cease to be amazed at how small minded some people can be.

And as for the card carrying coach driver who stranded these people..........incredible.

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Benjamin the fact that I want people to be paid properly for the work they do does not make me a republican.

I am very happy for the country to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee.

I just think it should be paid for by those that can afford it and not by people who are the poorest in our country working for nothing.
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[quote user="Hoddy"]I just think it should be paid for by those that can afford it and not by people who are the poorest in our country working for nothing.[/quote]

It would be interesting to know who you think should "pay for it".

The "poorest in our country" are actually receiving Jobseekers Allowance along with many thousands of others and are being given the opportunity of gaining experience of a working environment that many have never had.

With all due respect you're in danger of buying the line that The Guardian are attempting to peddle.

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[quote user="Gardener"]A complete waste of money that the country can ill afford imo. Lavishing ridiculous amounts of money on those at the top whilst expecting those with nothing to do and give it all for free. http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2012/jun/05/call-inquiry-jobseekers-jubilee-stewards bloody shocking[/quote]

 

This unfortunately is not 'just' about the Jubilee.

Newspapers etc have been having a go at the unemployed for quite some time or maybe years. The catch 22 is often that for all most would like to work, for I do not see it as being, that many do not want to work, they lack many things when job hunting.

 

Sometimes it is qualifications...... are the job centres addressing that..........not where I live they are not! I would happily sack every member of staff at our local job centre without the blink of an eye!

And more often than not, employers seem to want experience and people haven't got it. So it was decided that they would get people to do work experience to get said experience and hopefully some would be taken on by the firms.

 

Many of the major known companies in the UK have joined this and some from of these companies, from what I have heard on Radio4 have exploited this work force. For to gain work experience, one should be shown the ropes and guided and start to do a job in the few weeks they are suposed to be there........ but some people have just been told what to do and had to get on with it, so they are working for nothing, or there abouts.

 

And yet, employers need experienced people, so what happens, keep on taking on eastern european experienced staff OR actually giving one's own people a try.

 

What would I like to do. Lots of things I can think of that would be fairer.

 

 So yes, it is disgusting, BUT, there have been many big companies doing this and some have withdrawn from the scheme due to bad publicity, but others have not.  

 

I only hope that having been a steward at the Jubilee will be looked on well by any future employer. I am all in favour of voluntary work for the employed and the unemployed.

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I'm happy to pay for it through my taxes and if they had asked for voluntary public donations I would have given cheerfully.

If these people have really have been forced to work for nothing then I think that is quite simply wrong. I believe that any labourer is worthy of his hire.

Hoddy

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Hang on H. If we believe the article then admittedly they didn't get money (although the apprentices did) but they did get new boots, trousers, fluorescent waistcoats and a see through plastic poncho. For a fair few of those I have seen sleeping rough in the past these items are far more practical to them as any money would be spent on extra strong lager, sherry or spirit. Plus they got the opportunity to watch some of the activities live, something they would not have done if they had stayed in their own city.

It would have been nice to have seen some of the scum that looted the shops and burnt buildings down during the riots made to do it, to put something back in to society, but we all know they would have been away on their toes the moment they got off the coaches.

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They were all offered the Apprentice rate but some refused that because it would reduce their benefits. It seems they needed to mget on-the-job experience to get a NVQ so they can work as stewards at the Olympics. As usual things are not as simple as they sometimes appear.
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[quote user="Russethouse"]Hmm ...a few weeks ago I read somewhere that the  Flotilla was financed by sponsorship - I wonder where that sponsorship began and ended ?[/quote]

I imagine hundreds of boat owners paid their own way to take part ... Its a bit like having a car thats a bit special and going off to meet up with  others who own a similar one  They will turn out for a get together and show off their pride and joy at any opportunity as these craft are few now . I remember turning out for the re -opening of the navigable section of the Basingstoke canal and covering my little boat with bunting and meeing up with people who had done the same ..Beers food having fun and a good day out ......at our own cost... No sponsership ever mentioned  ....so I also like RH  wonder where that was involved ?

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The bit I read was about the organiser approaching companies with London Thame side

premises, and finding that they were not being especially generous - many are foreign and some had been hit by the recession ......how it ended I don't know.....but I believe some provided some of the funding.

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Having posted a negative comment some pages back on the 'Thames Pageant', I just wanted to say a few things on the celebrations as a whole:

  • Sunday: I felt that the production was badly thought-out (just too long) & was further ruined by the weather (obviously not their fault though).
  • Monday's Concert: superb production, sadly a number of the 'superstars' have now passed their best. Best turns IMO were Tom Jones (not particularly my favourite, but so in control) and the 'Commonwealth Song'. Charles' final speech was well done too. All in all though, pretty good
  • Tuesday: sadly, we missed most of it because the juice was off, but saw the highlights. What we do best.

All in all, it was an enormous event and much bigger than I had expected. We should never be uncritical of such things though nor blindly accepting of production shortcomings either by the organisers or the broadcasters.

That's my opinion, FWIW. 

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There is an article about the stewarding here:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-18329526

 It seems the cost of the event was met by private donation but not the security:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-18312403

The £10m cost of the event has been met by private donations but the security costs will be paid for by the taxpayer.

 Like lots of other people I thought the Flotilla coverage was lamentable, (just loved the singers at the end !)  I enjoyed the concert, esp the older acts. I thought JLS were poorer than normal and Cheryl Cole has been exposed as a non singer, and like Gardian I enjoyed Tom Jones etc. The ceremonial yesterday seemed to go really well and it was interesting to see only the heirs and their spouses on the balcony. I wonder who thought that up.....[8-)]

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[quote user="Russethouse"]

Like lots of other people I thought the Flotilla coverage was lamentable, (just loved the singers at the end !)  I enjoyed the concert, esp the older acts. I thought JLS were poorer than normal and Cheryl Cole has been exposed as a non singer, and like Gardian I enjoyed Tom Jones etc. The ceremonial yesterday seemed to go really well and it was interesting to see only the heirs and their spouses on the balcony. I wonder who thought that up.....[8-)]

[/quote]

I watched bits and bobs between adverts etc. I didn't see Cheryl Cole but she got slaughtered in a lot of newspapers. I like Will Iam, Anne Lenox, Elton John, Robbie Williams (yes I know) but I have to say almost everyone disappointed me. Elton seemed to be almost mumbling, Anne didn't sound like she really let rip, Wil Iam was flat as a pancake (but then he always uses auto-tune anyway), Robbie was, well Robbie, an excellent singer yet an absolute plonker as a person. Big risk putting him on I thought, you were just waiting for him to do or say something stupid. The two that shined for me were Tom Jones an his country woman Shirley Bassey.

I know I digress a little but one thing the concert showed was who has real singing ability and who does not. When a band goes on tour it has a particular 'setup' and mix which makes everything sound wonderful. With this concert you had proffesional, session musicians and orchestra who played the music from sheet. This means all the artists start from the same block, no extra tuning etc, etc. The older ones like Jones and Bassey have changed their songs arrangements as their vocal range has changed over the years yet it does not stop them from 'belting' a song. The younger ones who mainly sing in studios and rarely live (Cheryl Cole normally mimes and now we know why) and use autotune just can't hack it in this environment.

Still judging by what you saw of the crowd they all seemed to enjoy it, there's something about a live concert, it's a unique experience.

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