Capt Tom RIP

[Wowbagger]

Oops...

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jun/30/family-of-captain-sir-tom-moore-face-formal-inquiry-into-charity-setup

[Wowbagger]

And as an echo of the previous "Ooops"...

Oooops! https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2023/jul/07/captain-tom-foundation-spa-complex-central-bedfordshire-council

I had a quick look through the first few posts of this thread and I remember thinking when all this started off, how weird it was.

An old cynic like me can't help thinking that there was some Tory cabinet member behind the whole stunt from start to finish.

[liam_whippet]

You do know Marston Moretaine is in the parliamentary constituency of, er, Mid-Bedfordshire??



And so's its new 'sex pond'  ...

Now, can I sell you some mind bleach?

[Tim Hall]

And so's its new 'sex pond'  ...

Currently earworming Tom Jones...

[Wowbagger]

You do know Marston Moretaine is in the parliamentary constituency of, er, Mid-Bedfordshire??



And so's its new 'sex pond'  ...

Now, can I sell you some mind bleach?

It's just too good to be true... isn't it?

Estuary airport, garden bridge, sex pond... well, one out of three is better than his usual success rate.

[Polar Bear]

I wonder if Mad Nads has enjoyed some hospitality there ...

[liam_whippet]

You do know Marston Moretaine is in the parliamentary constituency of, er, Mid-Bedfordshire??



And so's its new 'sex pond'  ...

Now, can I sell you some mind bleach?

It's just too good to be true... isn't it?

Estuary airport, garden bridge, sex pond... well, one out of three is better than his usual success rate.

The reason it's better than his usual success rate, is that it's not one of his successes ....

PB has it!

[Wowbagger]

You do know Marston Moretaine is in the parliamentary constituency of, er, Mid-Bedfordshire??



And so's its new 'sex pond'  ...

Now, can I sell you some mind bleach?

It's just too good to be true... isn't it?

Estuary airport, garden bridge, sex pond... well, one out of three is better than his usual success rate.

The reason it's better than his usual success rate, is that it's not one of his successes ....

PB has it!

I was speculating concerning with whom Mad Nads was sharing the sex pond.

[rogerzilla]

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2023/aug/16/captain-tom-charity-faces-scrutiny-after-report-of-payments-to-daughter

More alleged grift.

[Bledlow]

The professional manager with charity experience who was appointed to sort out the charity after the daughter ran it for nine months (paid £85,000 annual rate) left after only four months, after which it didn't have a chief executive.

Apparently, it spent more on admin than it gave in grants (its supposed purpose) in its first year, & the family pocketd a fair bit of that, & would have had more if the daughter hadn't been prevented by the Charity Commission from taking charge for a mere £100,000 a year.

[Regulator]

The professional manager with charity experience who was appointed to sort out the charity after the daughter ran it for nine months (paid £85,000 annual rate) left after only four months, after which it didn't have a chief executive.

Apparently, it spent more on admin than it gave in grants (its supposed purpose) in its first year, & the family pocketd a fair bit of that, & would have had more if the daughter hadn't been prevented by the Charity Commission from taking charge for a mere £100,000 a year.

It's not unusual for new charities to spend more on admin than in grants in their early years.  I think what sets alarm bells ringing for me is the involvement of the family, what grants have been given to date (for some rather odd activities) and the repeated failure to appoint someone suitably qualified and experienced to run the organisation (and as you say, the qualified person who was initially appointed leaving so soon).

That said, I think the whole Cap't Tom thing was overdone and overhyped, pushed politically to deflect attention from policy problems.