Derbyshire libraries ban poppies

[Bev]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/arti...s-manager.html

For decades they dutifully sold poppies without objection.

But then staff at nearly 50 libraries were ordered to remove their collection tins and boxes - in the name of equality.

Officials ruled they could not be seen to support 'particular charities at the expense of others'.

The ban, which applied to all 48 libraries in Derbyshire, was yesterday described as 'scandalous'.

Staff were sent an email on October 28 warning them to remove any boxes from public areas 'immediately'.

The memo, from Ann Ainsworth, the county council's 'Operations Manager, West', said: 'I need to reinforce that the County Council does not support specific charities and does not provide opportunities for any charities to collect donations via Derbyshire Libraries.

'This ensures it maintains a neutral position and does not favour particular charities at the expense of others.

'Clearly this also excludes collection boxes for the Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal.

'Please ensure that collection boxes have not been accepted for public display during this year's appeal in any of our buildings.'

A source said the order had angered staff at one of the affected libraries, in Whitwell.

Eddie Roper, who used to run the adjoining village community centre, said: 'The staff can't understand the decision. Nobody ever complained about it.


'Poppies raise money for the families of our war dead and our injured soldiers. By buying one we are honouring their memory.


Dorothy Reynolds, whose husband Dennis served in the Second World War, said he would not understand why poppies were not being sold

Dorothy Reynolds' late husband Dennis served in the Second World War and ran the Whitwell Royal British Legion for 50 years.

The 79-year- old said: 'My husband would walk five miles to make five pence for the Poppy Appeal. Now he would want to know why on earth the library cannot sell poppies.'

During the First World War, 140,000 men served in the county regiment - the Sherwood Foresters (Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire) Regiment. Some 11,409 were killed.

A further 1,520 out of 26,940 laid down their lives in the Second World War. The county's Rolls Royce factory also played a crucial role in the war effort, producing the Merlin engines used in Spitfires and Hurricanes in the Battle of Britain.

Last night, after being contacted by the Daily Mail, Conservative-run Derbyshire County Council caved in and reversed its decision.

Council leader Andrew Lewer said: 'We are wholehearted supporters of the Armed Forces and I am very happy for libraries to sell poppies on behalf of the British Legion.

'To avoid any confusion about past policies, I will be letting all libraries know they can sell poppies this year.'

On Saturday it emerged that poppy sellers from the Royal British Legion have been banned from shaking their collection tins in case they are seen as a 'public menace'.

And people think the Conservatives will be better!

[Gibson]

Originally Posted by Bev

And people think the Conservatives will be better!

Libs, Cons and Labs are all the same in most respects. The only difference was that McCameron promised a referendum on Lisbon, but now he's reneging on that promise.

Heseltine expects a hung parliament after the election, which means the big three will try to form alliances with each other, and to do that they will have to move their policies towards the centre, making them even more similar. If any one of them is politically too far from the other two (euro-sceptic, anti-immigration, etc), they will not be able to form an alliance, and will have no power.

Looking on the bright side though, some of the votes that would have gone to the Tories because of the promised referendum, might now go to the BNP and UKIP.

[fyc]

typical swp scum in positions of unelected power. wonder why the 4 genrals arent complaining about this.

[Kamerad Q]

But then staff at nearly 50 libraries were ordered to remove their collection tins and boxes - in the name of equality. Officials ruled they could not be seen to support 'particular charities at the expense of others'.

With egalitarianism even a Hobson's choice clearly demonstrates discrimination, so in the name our Lord and Savior of Equality, out with the Devil, be gone Demon, end Freedom-of-Choice now.

YouTube - Devo - Freedom of Choice

YouTube - Devo - Freedom of Choice

[Gibson]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/rss/-/1/hi/...er/8342958.stm

Store bans staff wearing poppies

War veterans have expressed their fury at a toiletries store in Wigan which has banned its members of staff from wearing poppies.

Bodycare in The Galleries threatened one member of staff with disciplinary proceedings if she did not remove the emblem from her uniform.

Wigan Borough Veterans' Council said it was a "disgrace" not to support the country's fallen and injured heroes.

A spokeswoman for the national chain refused to comment about its policy.

Des White, chairman of the veterans' council, said many members had been affected by the store's decision.

He said: "We have 400 members across the town and the phone has been going non-stop since the poppy ban was revealed.

"Many are hurt, confused and really angry about this decision. I rang the shop yesterday and asked why the staff couldn't wear the poppies.

"I was told the pin would damage their uniform. I even offered to send the company poppies with a magnetic clip so as not to damage their tabards.

"They refused, saying it was their policy not to allow any staff to wear any badge relating to any charity."

Wigan Borough Veterans' Council caters for ex-soldiers of all ages, offering them support, advice and giving them the chance to re-engage with life back home.

Mr White added: "Our lads need all the help they can get, it's not just about raising money it's about people remembering what those fighting have done for this country.

"Some are coming back from Afghanistan and choosing to sleep in tents in fields around the town rather than sleep back home, it has a great effect on their lives and mindset."

[Tom McReen]

A toiletries store chain which banned its staff from wearing poppies has reversed the policy after protests.

Bodycare UK's stance emerged after an employee in Wigan was ordered to remove the charity emblem from her uniform.

Wigan Borough Veterans' Council said it was a "disgrace" the Lancashire-based company did not allow staff to support fallen and injured soldiers.

But the firm has now reversed its stance and apologised after talks with Chorley MP Lindsay Hoyle.

In a statement, the company said that its staff were banned from wearing all badges which could portray personal beliefs to avoid offending other staff or customers.

Company apology

"Our understanding has always been that, for this policy to be valid, it has to apply to all badges or emblems, including poppies," a spokesman said.

Mr Hoyle assured managers that the wearing of the poppy was "unique" and would not be seen as a relaxation of the policy, he added.

"Having received that assurance, we are happy to change our policy and allow our members of staff to continue wearing their poppies.

"As our policy has always been intended to ensure that we do not cause offence to anyone, we hope we have not done so and sincerely apologise if that has been its unintended effect.

Mr Hoyle told the BBC it was an emotive issue and that the company should be commended for changing the policy.

"Common sense has prevailed and quite rightly they're allowing their staff to wear the poppy," he said.

"I think we must congratulate the company for reversing their stance."

Des White, chairman of the veterans' council, said he was "over the moon" with the reversal of policy.

He said: "I'm glad that common sense eventually rules. It's nice to know they are now supporting the veterans.

"It caused a huge amount of upset - our phone was ringing constantly all day from members.

"Hopefully the shop will now not only let them wear them, but they will actually let us put a box in and sell them."

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/m...er/8343553.stm

[Tom McReen]

Spare us the phoney poppy apoplexy

The vitriolic campaign to bully all Premier League clubs into wearing a poppy on their shirts shames the memory of the fallen

Marina Hyde Thursday 5 November 2009 00.10 GMT guardian.co.uk

With a tedious inevitability, the Daily Mail's campaign to divide the whole of Britain into people who wear poppies and people who are subhuman scumbags has reached the Premier League. But then, based on that taxonomy, where else was it ever going to end up?

In case you are not familiar with what we would be encouraged to refer to as "the growing row", the facts are these. At the time of writing 15 Premier League clubs have applied for special dispensation to embroider a poppy on their shirts for games between now and Remembrance Sunday, while – far more thrillingly for the Mail – five clubs have not. They are Blackburn, Bolton, Liverpool, Manchester United and Stoke, and while some have declined to explain their decision, a Manchester United spokesman has stated: "We don't think it's particularly necessary. We sell poppies around the ground and all our officials wear them and we work with armed forces charities in a lot of other ways throughout the year." Is hanging too good for them? Doubtless we shall find out.

Before we proceed any further I should make clear that I am an ardent supporter of the Royal British Legion's Poppy Appeal. Indeed, I am wearing a poppy as I sit typing this, and will replace it as soon as I lose it, and indeed the next 12 that go the same way before Remembrance Sunday.

But why must the build-up to Remembrance Day be characterised by these incredibly cheapening, confected rows? What does that sort of focus say? Thank you for fighting for our freedom to ring talk-radio programmes and explain why this is "typical Man United"?

"An absolute disgrace," spluttered a caller to Nick Ferrari on London's LBC radio of the failure of the Strictly Come Dancing contestants to pin a poppy to their sequins last Saturday night (although all the judges were wearing them). Having pointed out that the X Factor contestants were wearing them – as though that were the most meaningful comparison – Ferrari solicited his listeners to phone in and have their say on Strictly's act of near-treason. He appeared to be under the delusion that fanning a non-argument somehow proved his point, as opposed to being disrespectful in itself.

After all, isn't frothing yourself into demented indignation at the Blackburn squad's lack of a poppy the very definition of having way too much time to indulge in fatuous rows? It's redolent of that long-running, now mercifully expired argument about footballers not singing the national anthem in a manner acceptable to whichever Middle Englander wasn't really watching the game anyway.

The point so often ignored is that the second world war, in particular, was fought to allow people the choice in this and many other matters. Victory meant freedom from fascism, which makes Jon Snow's choice of words for this annual hounding of any public figure pictured without one – "poppy fascism" – particularly significant.

As Snow says, he wears one off screen. Yet whether players of the five refusenik clubs are wearing poppies off the pitch seems to be a matter of sublimest indifference to the critics, despite this being the newest of new traditions, having been dreamed up in 2002, and even last year adopted by only a handful of clubs.

Of course, it's nice that some of the shirts will be auctioned in aid of the British Legion – though shirts are auctioned every week, and it remains to be seen whether the poppy will confer any added value. But rest assured that all the positives will be lost in the argument about whether Rio Ferdinand's shirt has a poppy sewn into it. For two weeks of the year, certain elements stop insisting that footballers are not role models, in favour of demanding to know why they aren't wearing poppies when their job is to set an example.

At base, this is just another way of presenting footballers as cosseted ingrates. It was a matter of genuine surprise to me that the Mail's reaction to the pictures of Wayne and Coleen Rooney leaving hospital with their new baby wasn't a headline screaming "But where is Kai Wayne's poppy?"

So on Saturday, know that every late challenge, every sending-off, will be in the memory of those who fell in battle. Then accept the fact that media campaigns to foreground the poppies that are not being worn, as opposed to the ones that are, serve not as a memorial to the sacrifices made on our behalf, but as a reminder of our hard-wired one‑upmanship and infinite capacity to find ways to divide ourselves.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/b...premier-league

[Bev]

From Tom's Guardian article, (Strictly contestants didn't wear poppies and neither did one day old baby Rooney - lolwut?!) it seems to me that there is a concerted yet top-secret campaign amongst "stars" and "celebrities" to reclaim the poppy from Griffin.

I have never known as much fuss being made over a poppy as there has been this year.