BBC considers dropping Rule Britannia from last night of the Proms.

originally posted by: SprocketUK

Good point, though you need to remember that the licence fee debt can be enforced by prison sentences.

Begs the question......

Are there enough prisons for ALL of us?

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: Freeborn

Wow....wish I'd seen what you wrote before it was removed.
Can't think of anything I wrote that would have got you so wound up?

It wasn't actually anything that bad, although I do admit, claiming to know someone in order to create a point in which to express your opinion does irritate me

And based on your reply:

but you give the impression some sort of sense of superiority over people enjoying The Last Night of The Proms

Not at all, I expressed a valid point and classical is great music

My take on people is simply that, my take on people based on their posts......I don't doubt for one minute that I'm pretty wide of the mark quite a lot.....exactly the same as I don't doubt people get the wrong impression of me at times.

I'm glad you understand that, I do find it strange though that I'm sure we've had a similar discussion on this exact point sometime previously.

a reply to: Zcustosmorum

...... I do find it strange though that I'm sure we've had a similar discussion on this exact point sometime previously.

I'm getting old.....and lockdown has made me mentally lazy.
I'm taking steps to address the latter.....unfortunately time and tide stop for no man.

originally posted by: Freeborn
a reply to: Zcustosmorum

...... I do find it strange though that I'm sure we've had a similar discussion on this exact point sometime previously.

I'm getting old.....and lockdown has made me mentally lazy.
I'm taking steps to address the latter.....unfortunately time and tide stop for no man.

Unless of course there's a lockdown, in which case it almost stops completely

a reply to: eletheia

These days you'd think not, but what's the betting against such things as Uber prisons? Haha

Just reading the BBC News website article on this.

www.bbc.co.uk...

Complete crock of the proverbial.

As usual the Beeb leads with the views of those motivated by political correctness.

A few comments struck me.

Chi-chi Nwanoku:

"For any conscious black person who is aware of their history, the empire and colonialism, for example, they will struggle to enjoy the patriotic jingoism of these songs."

Ok.
I understand that and fully respect it......so just don't watch or listen to it and let others do what they enjoy doing.
No-one is forcing anyone to attend or listen.

I dare say most of those attending would never want to go to a Blues Party and listen to songs about Jah, Babylon and The Lion of Judah but neither are they advocating any restrictions on them being played anywhere - I've been to lots of them and had some great times.

Norman Lebrecht:

"The Proms is the only time the BBC ever shows classical music on a live channel, the only time the nation unifies around it, and it's a prelude to what follows.

"It's the end of the summer, it's the beginning of what promises to be an extremely bleak winter of recession, it raises people's spirits, it brings us together."

Exactly.
A bit of a communal feel good factor before the long, hard winter months.
People just having a bit of fun.

No-one is celebrating slavery or anything racist......its about being British and enjoying British things.
If people don't want to be a part of that then fair enough......but lots and lots of people do!

"For heaven's sake, when the French President comes here we play La Marseillaise, which says, 'Let all alien blood be expunged from the soul'," he said.

"The day that we replace La Marseillaise with [French nursery rhyme] Frere Jacques when Monsieur Macron comes to Downing Street, we can consider replacing Rule, Britannia!"

I think that sums it up perfectly.
Could you honestly imagine the French even considering something similar?

a reply to: Freeborn


Good post.
I did read that BoJo and the culture secretary have let their displeasure be known.

I've got my doubts as to whether this Finn should even be asked to conduct last night since she plainly loathes us as a country.

a reply to: subfab

Well when someone not from your heritage or country tells you so.

They don't need to establish if theirs is better just that your bad and owe them for existing in a timeline they find easy to get stuff for.
But not so far back to be responsible for their ancient heritage or even current atrocious actions if not happening in your country.

So slavery is acceptable in their country forever and even today but your responsible for the unacceptable slavery 200 years ago in your country.

Got it?

a reply to: SprocketUK

Good news. I don't watch the Proms personally as not my type of music but I think it's abhorrent to remove the climactic song on the grounds one sentence in it may be offensive to some people if they apply a 'media studies'' style critical discource analysis to it instead of just enjoying the song.

If I remember correctly the Department of Culture, Media and Sport can threaten the BBC with removal of Liscence payer fundin for failure to uphold quality broadcast regulations in cases like this where just short of 20 million tune in to watch gets dropped because of five people claiming they find it offensive.

a reply to: bastion

Some people are just full of hate.

Here's a good little background to the song for anyone interested.

www.historic-uk.com...

originally posted by: SprocketUK
a reply to: Freeborn


Good post.
I did read that BoJo and the culture secretary have let their displeasure be known.

I've got my doubts as to whether this Finn should even be asked to conduct last night since she plainly loathes us as a country.

I saw they were Finnish.

What do you expect from the Axis powers?

a reply to: Ohanka

Lots of foreigners perform and/or conduct at The Last Night of The Proms.

Czech conductor Jiří Bělohlávek described the Proms as "the world's largest and most democratic musical festival"

en.wikipedia.org...

Looks like the BBC have backed down finally.

link

About time.
Though I still have my doubts they won't try turning it into some soy light kind of version.

originally posted by: SprocketUK
linky

For those that are unaware, the annual Prom Season ends with a raucous, often gently nationalistic night of sea shanties and patriotic songs culminating in a rousing rendition of Rule Britannia.
Flags, sing alongs, comic car horns and speeches usually.

Now though, BLM types and anti British lefties who have long hated this country and its people look like they are finally winning against the working class whites.

Last night is often the only exposure ordinary people have of the classical scene.

I've watched it since I was a kid, then as an adult with my kids.
It's a glorious celebration of some of our finest national myths.

Changing it into some rubbish, inclusion event so that people who hate us feel better is utter idiocy.

It will probably be the end of me tuning in and I suspect I will not be alone in this.

On the other hand, the Proms have always been inclusive and are increasingly so.

I went to my first Prom in 1983, a working class herbert with dirt under his nails who had discovered classical music from LPs in the public library. The only time I didn't feel welcome was my first and last Last Night, in 1988, that felt more like a mason's dinner at a provincial golf club than a celebration of all that is great.

The Proms have changed over the last ten years ago, not entirely successfully to my mind, but it is still a space where anyone, for the price of a corporate coffee, can stand in the Gods and see some of the best culture the world can offer. The Last Night has increasingly felt like a little enclave, a last holdout of the High Victorianism that brought us the Great Exhibition and Albertopolis, an artefact.

Ordinary people have more access to classical music than ever before. As a youth from a home with no books and a couple of Elvis LPs, I had to listen to Radio 3 or get LPs from the library. Now, I have four classical music stations to choose from on digital, at least two TV channels with high orchestral music content, all the music I can listen to online (even the youngest can say "Alexa play some Chopin" at bedtime) and there are any number of affordable concerts, often open air, with a crowd pleasing programme that even my mother-in-law (hobbies: soaps, bingo and talking about her grandchildren) enjoys.

Britain has moved on. Culture has moved on. The Proms have moved on. There is no point in preserving some of them in aspic for a decreasing minority.

And don't get me started on the kneejerk snowflake culture that some of our tabloids encourage...

originally posted by: SprocketUK
a reply to: Freeborn


Good post.
I did read that BoJo and the culture secretary have let their displeasure be known.

I don't think anyone takes Johnson too seriously any more. Not even his lapdogs at the Daily Mail.

And who is the culture secretary? Would you recognise him if he stood in front of you and gave you a fiver?

a reply to: Whodathunkdatcheese

That was a really good view into your musical life.

I remember rushing home from the library when they finally told me my turn to have Das Rheingold had come

a reply to: Whodathunkdatcheese


Whether you decide they are great statesmen or not, the fact remains they potentially have the power to turn off the money tap for the BBC.

a reply to: SprocketUK

maybe because its a #e song !

and written by drunk scots no less

I dont think Ive ever sung this song in my life

dont even know the lyrics apart from the opening two lines
just like I dont know the lyrics to god save the queen

oh and its a good opportunity to write a catchy new anthem

a reply to: sapien82

It's your choice, feel free to continue not singing it....but that doesn't mean that other people shouldn't be free to sing it.

This is all absolute bollocks and I for one am sick to #ing death of the pandering to the politically correct, the hyper sensitive and those who take delight in finding offense at the slightest #ing thing.

Have you ever heard anyone being offended by Flower of Scotland?
It's a song that revels in the defeat of those bastard English!

But its part of Scottish culture, your heritage, your very being.
Why would I or anyone else be offended and seek to stop you singing it?

I've never benefited from slavery and the last thing on earth anyone could describe me as is racist......but once a year I like to have a drink and sing along to Rule Britannia, Land of Hope and Glory and Jerusalem just for a bit of fun.
And a bunch of self-important, pompous, up their own arse, champagne socialist, social justice warriror types should not be able to dictate to the British people or bully the British public funded BBC into what they can or can not listen to.

They can # off.....orchestral arrangements my #ing arse, play them as they are enjoyed or not at all.
At least have the balls to not play them at all instead of some lame arsed compromise that sounds as if it'll be totally #e and hardly anyone will be bothered to listen to.

This is the straw that broken the camels back, why anyone would even consider paying their licence fee after this is beyond me.

I really am sick of all this apologising, cancel culture, 'cringing embarrassment' etc.....its truly pathetic and its alienating huge swathes of this country.

Rant mode off.