As a child I was fascinated - and impressed - by the Honours system. As a teenager, I was virulently opposed, seeing it as no more than a snob-accumulation-of-pseudo-status.
Age has mellowed me, and I am now broadly in favour of the Honours system. The different classes leave an unpleasant taste - for example, Senior Civil Servants and their NHS/Local Government equivalents tend to get a C, whereas Admin Officers get the M - but overall, I think it's a good thing.
As usual, I looked through the list. People seemed to have got them for a variety of reasons. There are clearly a few who have got them for giving enormous amounts of money to Charidee. A cynic would say that they gave the money in order to buy an honour - to be honest, it has limited cache, except, perhaps when reserving tables in a restaurant.
More frequent are people who have got them for "Services to the Community" or services to a specific voluntary organisation eg the Guides or the Lifeboats. I don't for a moment think that people give hours of their time, unpaid, to these organisations, in order to get an honour. But it is good thing that the State recognises the enormous contribution made by such people
Quite a lot of people get them for their paid job in public services. One could ask why should they get a gong over-and-above their salaries. The theory used to be that by going into the Civil Service, you sacrificed the chance of a vast salary, and things like the honours system were a compensation. Most of my immediate colleagues could significantly increase their salary by working in the private sector. Most, like me, have made a conscious decision to work for less pay, but better work-life balance, holidays, flexi etc. Nevertheless, the people I know over the years who have received gongs have either been very junior staff who have been a linchpin over many years, or who have gone beyond the call of duty - eg by being seconded to set up an Audit Service in a former warzone.
As for the celebrities - sports, music, showbiz. I have mixed feelings. It's interesting to see
Loyd Daniel Gilman Grossman. For services to Patient Care, especially Hospital Catering andGerard Marsden. Entertainer. For services to Charity in Merseyside.. The likes of Anish Kapoor or Charles Mackerras, who are barely household names, are, I think, a way of saying, "You're not household names, but you have brought pleasure to many."
I would be harder pressed to make a logical argument for the likes of David Beckham and Helen Mirren, much as I admire them . There again, I don't think that there is any harm done, and they will always get the restaurant reservation, gong or no gong. You can look back, and remember the public annoyance at the slowness in awarding Bob Geldof, or can imagine the outcry if Steve Redgrave hadn't got his. In conclusion, I think most people take them for what they are, a nice pat-on-the-back, without putting too much significance on them.
Just as a postscript, I will also admit to a liking for Trooping the Colour. I was shocked as a teenager when my sister, seventeen, insisted on watching it, and was clearly brainwashing my brother, seven, into deference to the Establishment. She pointed out that she couldn't care less about the whole Establishment/tradition thing, but loves the music. And she certainly has a point. I also like the display, and often watch Trooping the Colour and the Edinburgh Military Tattoo.
