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Original poster

Did the captain Tom foundation charity really use the money to build their own spa pool??

309 replies

Terryer · 05/07/2023 07:25

Just reading the paper this morning and see the family of Captain Tom have been ordered to pull down a building in their garden with a spa pool. I think it's a planning issue but the inference is that they used the money raised to build it. Did they really?

OP posts:
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9
DeliciouslyDecadent · 05/07/2023 09:39

AllIwantforChristmas22 · 05/07/2023 08:59

The SIL isn’t a successful property developer

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10553729/Auditors-raised-red-flags-companies-run-Captain-Toms-son-law-foundation-trustee.html

Historically, they have had a lot of money. The link you provided is very recent and note it says he has owned/director of 52 companies (so that goes back many years.)

Tidsleytiddy · 05/07/2023 09:38

Raising funds for the NHS is a dangerous path to take. It needs to be properly funded by Central Government.

Bewildered111 · 05/07/2023 09:37

Tidsleytiddy · 05/07/2023 08:40

And me. I thought my husband and me were the only people not interested in Captain Tom

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Me too-I thought it was insane when they named a local hospital after him. Even if you look on it kindly, an old man wheeling a walker around his garden to recover from an operation isn’t news or anything special-is it?

SD1978 · 05/07/2023 09:37

He was rich- you only have to look at the garden her was walking around. I make the assumption the family is wealthy too.

Tidsleytiddy · 05/07/2023 09:35

Anyone who said at the time they weren’t interested in Captain Tom would’ve been tarred and feathered. Well I thought he was a soppy old duffer who should have butted out of the NHS problem

Bloodysoapoperas · 05/07/2023 09:34

@GeorgeMichaelsCat don't they deserve bashing though ? It's not as if they are doing a good job are they ?
Or are you one of those folk who stick by their 'team' unquestioningly ?

readbooksdrinktea · 05/07/2023 09:33

JenniferBarkley · 05/07/2023 09:29

No, for many of us that's not how it was at all. But as others have said, it would have taken a brave person to say that out loud at the time.

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The.PR stunt was successful, and anyone who didn't buy into it all were made out to be heartless. It was surreal to watch.

Avatartar · 05/07/2023 09:33

It’s so depressing- everything is tainted - from Boris’s Government partying away while the rest of us were parted from loved ones, peers filling their boots with contracts for unfit PPE & CT’s family using his name to their financial advantage. Was reading a MN thread on teenagers running amok on their DOEdinburgh trips and it’s not surprising really- the adults in the media are setting a terrible example. I really worry about society

9637S · 05/07/2023 09:33

Supersimkin2 · 05/07/2023 08:45

Like many charities, most of the money goes on the ‘staff’ not the cause. Legal.

Charity law lets you fundraise millions and only give away £1 if you show that you’re spending the bulk of the donations on ‘running the charity’.

That includes buying buildings and/or homes for the staff, private pensions, private medical care, years of paid sick leave, entertainment, hotel bills, flights abroad, you name it.

Now Big Charities have got used to this life, they argue indignantly that it should continue.

Anyone who asks why it costs £92 to give £8 away (irl example) gets shouted down coz charidee. Oh and ‘charity provides jobs’. Doing what? Asking for more money, you don’t say.

You do realise that charities publish their accounts on the charity commission right? So it's very easy to check that what you're saying isn't true.

StrawberryWater · 05/07/2023 09:32

Wait for the charity commission report conclusions I guess but they do seem like grifters.

JenniferBarkley · 05/07/2023 09:29

BoredandFifty · 05/07/2023 09:25

Captain Tom cheered us all up and distracted us at a very stressful time. If a very old chap could make the massive effort to walk round his garden and have a stiff upper lip through it all, then we could all muddle through it.

Unfortunately his offspring do not seem to have inherited his selflessness.

No, for many of us that's not how it was at all. But as others have said, it would have taken a brave person to say that out loud at the time.

GeorgeMichaelsCat · 05/07/2023 09:29

KR2023 · 05/07/2023 09:24

Not sure LM ever had to "make ends meet" by doing anything after she married PM 😂you make her sound as if she was on the market every Saturday yelling "get yer bangers 'ere - 3 fer a pand"

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LM was from a wealthy family I thought and made her own money through photography.

Blackcatisabitofapsycho · 05/07/2023 09:28

Captain Tom cheered us all up and distracted us at a very stressful time

Not wanting to have a go at you personally, but no, no, he didn’t. I don’t find the elderly endearing on the grounds of them being elderly.

I am neutral about his actions but I share the cynicism of others. I don’t get the impression he was a victim in all this.

SoSoSoSo · 05/07/2023 09:28

If a very old chap could make the massive effort to walk round his garden and have a stiff upper lip through it all, then we could all muddle through it.

It's much easier to be cheerful when you're wealthy, have a very large home, family around you and plenty of garden to exercise in.

GeorgeMichaelsCat · 05/07/2023 09:27

MadamWhiteleigh · 05/07/2023 09:13

What’s Rishi’s pool got to do with anything? It’s his money!

MN never misses a chance to bash the Tories.

BoredandFifty · 05/07/2023 09:25

Captain Tom cheered us all up and distracted us at a very stressful time. If a very old chap could make the massive effort to walk round his garden and have a stiff upper lip through it all, then we could all muddle through it.

Unfortunately his offspring do not seem to have inherited his selflessness.

Mayorquimby2 · 05/07/2023 09:24

It's what he would have wanted

KR2023 · 05/07/2023 09:24

EctopicSpleen · 05/07/2023 09:08

Linda McCartney made ends meet selling meatless sausages. Perhaps he could also do a line of replacement products. hmmm, let's see, how about "I can't believe it's not healthcare" (100% compassion free).

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Not sure LM ever had to "make ends meet" by doing anything after she married PM 😂you make her sound as if she was on the market every Saturday yelling "get yer bangers 'ere - 3 fer a pand"

AlfietheSchnauzer · 05/07/2023 09:23

Sounds like he was coerced into doing the laps thing Sad

Starseeking · 05/07/2023 09:22

I can't see that the £33m CT raised actually got paid to the NHS; I hope it did, as otherwise that is a gross misuse of funds.

BitOutOfPractice · 05/07/2023 09:22

*heap

BitOutOfPractice · 05/07/2023 09:22

As a former king-standing constituent of Mark Francois @AutumnCrow , I too am happy to help blame on him. Useless mp, useless human being.

Daffodilsandtuplips · 05/07/2023 09:18

Supersimkin2 · 05/07/2023 08:45

Like many charities, most of the money goes on the ‘staff’ not the cause. Legal.

Charity law lets you fundraise millions and only give away £1 if you show that you’re spending the bulk of the donations on ‘running the charity’.

That includes buying buildings and/or homes for the staff, private pensions, private medical care, years of paid sick leave, entertainment, hotel bills, flights abroad, you name it.

Now Big Charities have got used to this life, they argue indignantly that it should continue.

Anyone who asks why it costs £92 to give £8 away (irl example) gets shouted down coz charidee. Oh and ‘charity provides jobs’. Doing what? Asking for more money, you don’t say.

There is percentage that charities are allowed to deduct for expenses and it isn’t 92%. It’s a lot less.
I was involved in a raffle to raise funds for Help for Hero’s. I was had to register the raffle with the Charities Commission, they have strict rules on how much can be deducted for expenses. In our case it was 13%. We actually didn’t deduct that much.
They were extremely helpful in explaining what was and wasn’t considered a legitimate expense, a twenty minute phone call with them to establish what we were raffling (a car) how much we could sell the tickets for (£1.00, anything more needs special permission) the tickets had to be printed with the HfH charities reg number, my reg number from the commission, my address and phone number and a lot of stuff I’ve forgotten. This was followed up by a letter.

AutumnCrow · 05/07/2023 09:18

User106487665 · 05/07/2023 09:15

Exactly, maybe Brexit will get shoehorned in as well

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I’m more than happy to blame anything at all on Mark Francois MP

User106487665 · 05/07/2023 09:15

MadamWhiteleigh · 05/07/2023 09:13

What’s Rishi’s pool got to do with anything? It’s his money!

Exactly, maybe Brexit will get shoehorned in as well