You're onto a winner there, yes why not ?

Its one thing to ask the general population to dip into their pockets and chuck a quid in a tin, but a giant leap forward to ask those who would not notice one days worth of their fees to donate such and maybe gain a bit of free publicity for the charity and themselves too.

Very good idea, I do hope you weren't being sarcastic.

On a general charity thing I have always been of the opinion that if you do one thing per year, pick one charity to support, then you have the automatic right to smile at the tin-wavers at the supermarkets and say a polite "no thank you" as I do - I already gave this year.

Sign up for one of those £2 a month standing orders (or usually a fiver now) or do an event once a year and feel the smug satisfaction of having done your bit.

there re edit for you I was in the forces and ive seen death ive seen kids in Bosnia butchered in playgrounds. my main point is to remember my comrades brothers to the grave. i came home wounded and surrounded by body bags in a aircraft. i will never forget the horrors i saw. im didn't post it to critical analysis or intellectual debate about the poem. ok it may be a flag waver but i remember the fallen not the poem

As most people do and as I will be doing on Friday and Sunday.

Its a nice poem and its now used in a totally different context to when it was written and to be honest until I looked it up I hadn't realised that it was written in a different context to what it is used now - you might argue that we live now and so the only context that counts is our context and that because we only use it as a poem to remember the fallen then thats its only use.

However I'm sure that you, with all of your experiences will be the first to admit that war is not a glorious thing and not something to be promoted as a worthy thing for a young man/woman to sacrifice themselves for particularly on a scale that existed when the poem was written - it was written to justify the mayhem that was already becoming apparent as being something honorable for a young man to die for - I'm sure that you in particular wouldn't want to see a return to that sort of attitude ?

Not particularly, no.

I would say that I find the obsession (not having a dig at you personally, BTW) with footballers' renumeration is, I think, a diversion – and a class thing. You just don't hear the same whinges about those playing the other sports I mentioned, which just happen to be considerably more middle class. For that matter – and maintaining the entertainments theme – you could say the same of Hollywood and rock stars: I can't recall a conversation where I've heard their money being slammed so widely.

Apologies for the slight drift, but I do remember that, up until at least 12 years ago (when I stopped being a sports hackette), the Times published an annual list of the best paid sportsmen/women. No women ever featured – and nor, at that time, did any footballer. On a number of occasions, one Will Carling made the list, though.

I think there must be some mistake surely

Mr Carling did not play in the professional era and made no earnings from the game at all, absolutely not

Well indeed.

Yes.
AND it gives one the perfect right to say "Feck right off" to chuggers.

Anything gives me the right to do that.

England footballers have donated their match fees to charity for many years now - without exception

can't speak for the other Home Nations tho'