Comic Relief

[PassingStranger]

The local radio were talking about Comic relief and trying to raise money today?
Is it still a thing. Does anyone watch it on the TV?

Well, yeah, what with it being a BBC event and everything. Who else would promote it?

I remember in my early days of teaching Comic Relief was massive and everywhere, really big in schools.
I've literally just caught the last five minutes on BBC one, culminating in Anna Wintour (with her customary dark glasses) saying always look on the bright side of life......no thanks Anna.
Not any more, I'd rather give to local charities.

Reports aren't good on Twitter.
Billy Monger good some good tweets though.

Considering all the millions that have been raised in the last 40 years for 'poor' countries there should be no poverty left but instead these countries have corrupt leaders who are eventually kicked out of office and leave with millions in the bank accounts and tons of bling.

Those kind of videos don’t really happy on the programmes anymore. Haven’t done for a while iirr.

they still appear to raise a fair amount of money, even if less people watch.

I think most schools still get involved via dress up events.

The charity was set up in 1985.
The telethon began in 1988.
Before that there was a live event but it was not televised. It was done in a theatre I think.

I'm watching for the first time in years. I'm surprised how much I'm enjoying it.😃

Just been discussing this in relation to Omaze and the national lottery with DH. I actually buy tickets for Omaze when I support the charity they’re fundraising for (and if I like the house!). I won’t fund the national lottery now as so much money goes to dubious charities (and, in the past Stonewall and Mermaids). I want to know where my money goes and no longer trust these big umbrella fundraisers.

I dug out a photo of me in a red nose in 1988, same age in it as my youngest son is now.

All these years of donations, and countries still have kids fetching dirty buckets of water, starving, dying of preventable illnesses, etc.

We have all caught on that corruption and greed are what keep these people suffering, not lack of charitable donations from working class and middle class families in the UK!

Yes I think you are absolutely spot on.

I think this is part of the problem - FiL is very involved with the local Round Table. They fundraised to build a well in an African village. Took a year and then the free skills of local people who went out to build it. Within 6months the villages had dismantled it and sold the pipework. To them the value on the resale of the metal components was more higher than the ability to safe the elderly and the babies, of being able to have young children in school rather than walking 4miles a day to the nearest clean water… because it had always been thus and it was seen as the imposition of western values (education) or working against the natural order of things as they culturally understood it (ie the elderly die and not all babies survive infancy because adversity weeds out the weak and ensures the strong endure etc).

They no longer do those sorts of projects and, increasingly, focus on local projects where they have immediate oversight.

Sainsbury's used to be partner for noses, badges and deely-bobbers but I think they're only from Amazon now 😳🙄🤦🏼‍♂️. TKMaxx did (possibly still do?) official t-shirts.

Roll on 2026 when it can pass us all by again.

I always wonder how we still had the need to have the for £2-£4 a month can help “child” have fresh water than have been on tv long before I was born according to my mum. Wondering how many wells or taps
where needed how many cut off villages because that’s many years of fundraising on tv alone.

But if the locals don’t actually want it and will dismantle it what is the point. You can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink. Ironically here.

Yes, my FiL and his colleagues were nonplussed. They’d had to raise thousands and for it to simply be dismantled was staggering. But I think sometimes we do this benevolent western thing because it arises from our own moral/cultural values on the assumption that these values are right (and to us, they are ‘right’) but other peoples, other cultures, don’t share them. And they don’t necessarily want the help that we’ve given. As an adult I’ve learned not to leap in with anyone and just give a hand - I’ve learned to ask a) whether they would like some help as I am happy to give it and b) what help it is that they actually want - even if I personally feel that what they need is something else!