Norm, I was surprised not to see a comment on your blog about the furore surrounding the knighthood awarded to Sir Ian Botham.
I understand that the British High Commissioner was called in by the government in Canberra and given a dressing down for the way in which the Queen has insulted the Australian people by her provocative act. Sources close to the Australian government say that it is quite clear that the Queen's intention in awarding a public honour of this kind to the superannuated sports star was simply to provide an excuse for the British media to replay TV footage of the 1981 Headingly Test, thereby humiliating Australians by reminding them of how they suffered at the hands of the English. Further, sources said that instead of taking the opportunity to honour Ricky Ponting and his team for their outstanding performances in the recent Ashes series, the Queen has impugned the sporting prowess of Australian men and insulted the whole Australian nation. Consequently, the Australian government is calling on Australians everywhere to go into English pubs and pour beer over anyone who dares to mention the name "Botham".
The British government has yet to comment officially on these reports. However, Shirley Williams was quoted as saying that the Australian government did seem to have a point, and although she had never really understood cricket it didn't seem right to upset people over a game that happened a long time ago. Will Self was reported to have said that since Ian Botham was a controversial figure in cricket, it was not obvious why he accepted the knighthood anyway.
Do you have any views on this breaking story?
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