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.

He has raised an amazing amount of money and has become a symbol of something positive that we can all focus on and feel like we are achieving something positive as a nation.

He absolutely deserves all the respect he has been given.

Some people find their unity in doing something positive together (like donating money for Captain Tom) others find it in bitching about someone raising money for a great cause and getting a bit of attention for it. I guess we are all different 🤷‍♀️

For those of you who are sick of this, you'd probably better give the news a news tomorrow, as it will be Tom's 100th birthday. They'll make a big show of his telegram from the Queen. There'll probably be a telephone call as well.

To be fair, why would they raise money for a privately owned business down the road
Private firms who close down all the time because of the little funding they receive, many reliant almost 100% on social care funding which we know is bad if worse than the nhs.

Not one poster has moaned about him as a person or the challenge he set for himself. The criticism goes to his family and media.

I’m with you OP. It’s getting silly now.

Do we hate the NHS again already? That didn't take long.

No, no, don’t worry they are all still up there on their pedestal of saving the world, doing their jobs whilst we pretty much ignore the much lower paid, less protected workers who are facing daily abuse from people for not putting their groceries in the right box, or trying to keep people apart, or not stocking their favourite organic quinoa. You know, the ones who are stopping us all from starving to death.

His daughter is very savvy. This whole thing was set up by her and the media bought into it.

And absolutely nobody can deny that the song with Michael Ball is fucking atrocious.

But I hope he has a lovely birthday. To be fair he's probably absolutely knackered and half wishing the circus would just go away now.

What a bunch of bloody miseries. Some people just want to suck the joy out of everything. ♟

others find it in bitching about someone raising money

And other find it by raising money for causes supporting people who are always at the bottom of the pile when it comes to hand outs and who will be facing a big cut to their services as charities are given nothing. E.g when sports England decide a charity which provides vital sports opportunities for people with disabilities are not a priority.

had to hire out a school hall to put them in It's Bedford School, the private school his grandson attends. I doubt it's being hired.

Private firms who close down all the time because of the little funding they receive, many reliant almost 100% on social care funding which we know is bad if worse than the nhs.

Most are private businesses though? Who is to say the any near Captain Tom are social care funding. They may all be private.

So saying he should have raised money for them is pointless. He and his dauchter set this. They decide who they wanted it to go to.

If peolle are raising money for a hospice, would you tell them it should go somewhere else?

you can't blame the old chap just because the nation needs someone to admire.

No-one is, @PigletJohn

Most are private businesses though? Who is to say the any near Captain Tom are social care funding. They may all be private
Highly unlikely, every councils will need homes that take social care funded patients.

He and his dauchter set this. They decide who they wanted it to go to
He is the good part of it, his daughter used it as a PR exercise. I bet that will feature high up in her CV.

I didn't give to the cause. I however give money monthly to a life saving pediatric helicopter service which rely fully on donation and whose medics and engineer are all volunteers.

I largely agree with you, OP. It is tiresome media attention now. I read somewhere (I know that is vague,but I really do not recall where) that his daughter works in PR.

There was the lovely man in the care home in Preston where the carer put a picture of his wife on the cushion? He had just as many wartime achievements as Captain Tom, but hasn't been escalated to the extent as CT.

Agree with you Op.

I clicked on this thread with some trepidation thinking "surely there aren't people on Mumsnet who want to see the negative in this story?" ... but, sadly, yes there are.

Good grief.

He is the good part of it, his daughter used it as a PR exercise. I bet that will feature high up in her CV.

Yes, if you read the thread I was the one that posted that she set it up in her busoness name and, part of this, is a PR stunt. I acknowledged that. Still up to her and him where the money goes.

I however give money monthly to a life saving pediatric helicopter service which rely fully on donation and whose medics and engineer are all volunteers.

Maybe you should be raising money for a local old people's home instead then.

Highly unlikely, every councils will need homes that take social care funded patients.

That doesn't make sense. Private homes charge for social care funded residents. Again, the home itself (if private and taking some social care residents) do so because its good business sense. They don't need fund raising. They have limits on how many social care residents they will take. They are still private busoensses running to benefit their owners. They arent taking social care residents for free.

You wouldnt have thought would you that there would be that many 100 year old birthday cards for sale? I am sure many would be home made but not all.

Hope he has a lovely day and can enjoy relative obscurity going forward.

People are weird about charities.

Charities need money. They need money for the things no one wants to fund. Raising £500 for your local food bank is great - but why object to someone who raises £28m?

If you are raising money for your local food bank or pet shelter or disabled kids sports club, then do your best to get profile and publicity as Captain Moore's Dd did. Why wouldn't you? It isn't more virtuous to raise a tiny amount without publicity than it is to use what PR you can get .

I very much doubt his Dd expected it to go this large. Whenever I know anyone who is raising money the first thing I do is put it on my informal but professional networks.

Of course something like this has all the right ingredients to capture the media's attention...either donate or don't, raise your own money for your own causes or don't but this carping is horrible.

And everyone with an opinion on what he 'should' have done, and what she 'shouldn't' have done.... it's up to them, and up to people whether they take an interest or not.

What good to the blinking Kardashians do? And yet they seem to be in the (admittedly second rate) media every day. I just don't watch or read. Because it's up to me - everyone else can chatter about them to their hearts content. Same with Captain Moore.

But people should definitely stop hiding in his garden.

He is the good part of it, his daughter used it as a PR exercise. I bet that will feature high up in her CV

Wow, what a vile thing to insinuate, that she is primarily cynically using it for her own benefit. Shame on you. Surely it is a good thing that she is able to use her skills help with this ?

Surely it is a good thing that she is able to use her skills help with this ?

Why was the fundraiser set up in her company name?

How is it vile to suggest someone whose busoness, is business growth created this, in part to help her business.
The out come is the same.

Why would you be so offended on behalf of someone else, at the suggestion its not completely 100% altruistic?

No-one is allowed to do anything positive without someone coming along and wanting to destroy it

FGS @ this and all the other cretinous outrage on this thread

No one is slagging off Capt Tom.
No one thinks he shouldn't have done what he did.
No one blames him.
No one wants to "destroy" something positive (wtf?)

Read the posts! OP and some others are uncomfortable or fed up about the endless media circus and the way the media whips up things like this instead of interrogating and dissecting what's going on in government as closely as they should. Captain Tom probably feels awkward about it too as many have pointed out.

The reality is more like "no one is allowed to indulge in a spot of critical thinking without some po-faced outrage-monger coming along and totally missing the point."

YANBU it's all a big distraction and as tedious as the weekly clapping.

I sent him a birthday card through Thortful...... I had just watched him on the news whilst drinking far too much wine and I got all emotional.

It was the alcohol I'm a sucker for fluffy kitten news

I think thortful were donating profits from his cards to charity?