Captain Tom

[roxfox]

To be super fed up of hearing about him?

It's not his fault but the media etc seem to be using him to distract us from more important things. He's featured on the news more times than I can count. He received over 125,000 birthday cards - he can't possibly read even a quarter of them, what a waste of money and paper. And poor Royal Mail having to get it all to him.

There's not one day we don't here about him and now he's getting a plane or something flown over his house. The 28million he's raised is stupid money too - yes great for these NHS 'charities' but goodness, they are all on full pay! What about the food banks and million other things we could've all supported.

We've gotten so used to hearing Rishi throw money around I think we've forgotten how much money that is.

Is it just me? I feel awful. I know he's a lovely old man who's served his country all his life and will probably die very happy and yes we all need some lighthearted news but ffs all he did was walk around the garden.

No I’m a sentient human being who is capable of intelligent thought and doesn’t automatically think the world’s against me because I’m a woman and everything about men is bad.

Meh. Yes, the media have blown an old bloke plodding up and down his garden WAY out of proportion. But let's face it, if they hadn't he wouldn't have raised so much money. So swings and roundabouts.

I am uncomfortable with the enormous accolades and outpourings of adulation, but then I do get uncomfortable with stuff like that. I hate the clapping too.

At the seat of it, there is this quote from him on the BBC page "People keep saying what I have done is remarkable, however it's actually what you have done for me which is remarkable." which I think sums it up.

Someone above was talking about his military career, and how without that they wondered if his fund raising would have been so successful. I find it fascinating that the BBC have a timeline that states

Capt Tom joined the army at the beginning of World War Two, serving in India and Myanmar, then known as Burma.
After the war he became an instructor at the Armoured Fighting Vehicle School in Bovington, Dorset.
He lived in Kent before moving to Bedfordshire to be with his youngest daughter Hannah Ingram-Moore and her family in 2007.

Which does infer that he remained in the military. He actually left the military in 1946 and went into business (very successfuly). Not that it matters, in a sense - he served in the military at a time when he was desperately needed. But it does show the media are selling this line of "he has spent his whole life working for our country".

Agree OP. Very wag the dog.

Happy birthday and congratulations to the man, but let's have some other news now.

Janaih

What other news?

I agree with pools

I am also a sentient human who is capable of intelligent thought (when i can be arsed) and don’t think everything about men is bad

I am also a sentient human who is capable of intelligent thought (when i can be arsed) and don’t think everything about men is bad

Then you agree with me. ☺️

Sick to the back teeth of these nasty bitter threads.

@MargotB7 in terms of human interest, I'm sure there are loads of other worthy people doing good work among this crisis.

Personally I'd like to see more focus on government incompetence, but I accept that's not everyone's cup of tea.

All those who are berating others - people have opinions and thoughts you may not agree with. That’s Okay, you do get that? It’s not compulsory to love CT’s endeavours.

No, it's not compulsory but the trend on MN at the moment seems to be to put down anything remotely nice or happy.

As is their right.

Yabu . Atleast it's a change from seeing negative stuff on the news. Hes done something really good by raising that money. Typical seeing such a nasty post on here, I could say 1 word that may offend on here and mumsnet will delete it but you can put a big post that is awfull and mumsnet are happy to leave it up.

It’s the hysteria that grates. Nice guy but he was in the military for seven years then left to start a successful business. Good for him but stop with the hyperbole.

YABU and ridiculous. We are in an emergency situation and the most important organisation likely to save the most lives is the NHS.

I agree it's their right but I'm wondering if they get some sort of satisfaction from being bloody miserable.

Blimey. It’s not going to the NHS.

@PinkSparklyPussyCat - just because someone doesn’t fall over themselves in adoration doesn’t make them bloody miserable.

I'm not just talking about this thread, have you read some of the others? The sheer nastiness amazes me sometimes. Someone asks a question or mentions they are planning something and the hoards descend to remind us there's a pandemic and no one has the right to be happy as it's against the made up MN rules. ♟

Well that’s irrelevant to this thread.

That's your opinion as is your right but it's also my right to say what I think.

Absolutely.

I'd like to see more focus on government incompetence

There’s plenty of focus on that and it’s not particularly life affirming. Unlike Tom’s 100th birthday and his £31 million.

@Alsohuman yes that's why I firstly said there must be plenty of other positive human interest stories.

I have nothing against Tom Moore or what he did, I thought it was a lovely thing to do. The only thing that irks me is that he feels he had to. But it's hard for me not to admire a 99-year-old man doing laps of his garden on crutches. That said, the way some people are acting towards him is so creepy. Like, someone made a model of him out of cake and other people are making models out of him out of balloons and whatnot. It's weird. The cake thing was proper uncanny valley. And I hope people aren't going to be shitting on other disabled people and say 'what's your excuse, if he can do it you can'.

And no, I didn't send him a card because I don't send cards to people I know - with one exception, and that was Bradley Lowery because a lot of football fans were doing it and the poor little guy only had a few months left, and I've lost a family member to cancer too.

@Oakmaiden I think it's the fact that he's 99 and on crutches that has amazed so many people.