Give like a pirate day
Ahoy there, dear readers, and avast ye as this scallywag updates you on the week’s highlights in charity news.
Wednesday was of course #TalkLikeAPirateDay and Society Diary was impressed to find that this year, a charity angle was introduced to the otherwise entirely random event.
Paris Hilton-fronted gambling company BGO.com launched the Pirate Factor – you know, like the X Factor but with pirates – whereby it pledged to donate £5 to charity for every clip uploaded by a member of the public, with 20 per cent going to GamCare.
And Diary would encourage you to check out the great entries so far and vote for your favourite. They certainly vary in style, aggression and length.
Diary was impressed by Abigail’s entry, but is suspicious that it sounds like it was recorded professionally. Elllis’s three second “Avast me hearties” sounds too sweet, God bless him.
Brittany-Ann seems to be going for a South African accent when she says: “Polly, Pollay, where are you you good-for-nothing bird? You better not be hiding in me quarters or you’re shark bait!”
But Diary’s favourite, without a doubt, has to be the four second gem from EmNudge, who growls: “ALL ABOARD, BRING ME THE SWORDS!”
On Twitter, meanwhile, the Lloyds Bank Foundation entered the spirit of things when it posted: “Ahoy mateys! Have ye given your feedback on the #CharityDigitalCode yet? Whether you're a #digital landlubber or old salt, we'd love to hear your thoughts.”
And the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity quite reasonably suggested: “If ye be lookin' t' support a charity this Wednesday, how about choosin' th' aRRRRNRMC #TalkLikeAPirateDay.”
If ye be lookin' t' support a charity this Wednesday, how about choosin' th' aRRRRNRMC #TalkLikeAPirateDay pic.twitter.com/obuMd9hCO5
— Royal Navy & Royal Marines Charity (@RNRMC) 19 September 2018
Diary was just disappointed to see some people trying to be clever by aping a different kind of pirate. Eternal child actor Macaulay Culkin posted: “Hey how about you hit me with that torrent for the new Game of Thrones?”
Still, it’s nice to see Diary’s childhood hero is still knocking about and looking well.
What Katie didn’t
Diary joined the rest of the country in sharing their condolences with the third-worst former Apprentice star Katie Hopkins this week after news broke that she had filed for insolvency.
Hopkins’ lawyers submitted a long-term Individual Voluntary Arrangement (IVA) repayment plan to the Insolvency Service, designed to help her pay the outstanding costs of losing a £130,000 libel case brought by anti-poverty campaigner Jack Monroe.
Monroe brought the case after Hopkins mixed her up with columnist Laurie Penny and accusing her of supporting vandals who had daubed “F*** Tory scum” on a Whitehall war memorial in 2015.
Hopkins could have avoided the subsequent legal case if she had made a £5,000 donation to charity.
Diary is convinced that Hopkins is actually very liberal, tolerant and a casual fan of Muslims, the EU and poor people. So Diary can understand how difficult it must have been for the real Hopkins not to give money to charity at Monroe’s request, in order to keep up her appearance as a hard-nosed reactionary commentator. It is a shame that tactic didn’t work out for her in this instance.
But Diary is sure we have not seen the last of Hopkins. She will regenerate in a new guise a few years down the line, maybe as a game show host or agony aunt, and win over the nation’s heart.
Mr Saturday afternoon
Hopkins need look no further for inspiration than former charities minister Rob Wilson, who last weekend began co-hosting a late afternoon political show on talkRADIO.
Starting a new role this Saturday as co-host of @talkRADIO 4-7pm political slot. Yet another new adventure. More tomorrow...
— Rob Wilson (@RobWilson_RDG) 14 September 2018
Less than eighteen months after losing his seat at the 2017 general election, Diary is pleased that Wilson has landed on his feet.
Diary didn’t manage to catch Wilson’s show as we were busy hanging out at the local vape café, but if it is anything like the marvellous Telegraph columns he’s emitted over the past year or so, then radio listeners in need of a political fix on a Saturday afternoon are in for a treat.
Whether it is a hit or not, Diary is just pleased to see another non-journalist taking up a top broadcasting role.
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