Children in Need

I saw a little girl walking home from school today wearing her pyjamas and dressing gown. She was about 10 and looked very vulnerable walking home alone, dressed like that. I'm not watching Children in Need tonight. Luckily we have the option of watching irish television, when UK stuff doesn't appeal.

The TV remains off in our home tonight, I can not tolerate CIN. Today I have donated to DEC, RNLI and The Eve Appeal, instead of gifts for the adults in the family.

While we're on the subject of charities - DS1 is growing face fungus for 'Movember' and at the moment resembles nothing so much as Ming the Merciless. Scary! He has posted his picture on FB but I won't inflict that on my friends. However, it's in a good cause - for men's health concerns like testicular cancer which gets a great deal less publicity than women's cancers. Not to mention DS2 who is doing a Santa fun run with the two boys, all three dressed as Santa! All this sponsorship in the month before Christmas.

I seem to be in the minority because I enjoy Children in Need and love the antics people can get up to. The children love to get involved and seem to get great enjoyment from what they do. The Super Choir singing by the children was amazing.

Watched quite a bit if CIN tonight. Mainly because DD came for supper and DGC love One Direction. Have to say that on the whole I thought it was an absolute load of rubbish. I would have pledged anything to make Terry Wogan disappear !

Yes I do agree with you about Terry Wogan gillybob it is time he gave up. His reading of the auto-cue is so obvious and the lady is Olivia not Olive Terry!

I wish they would stop referring to the children as being 'underprivileged'.
Yes, many of them are lacking in opportunity but what about the ones who have loving families who do the very best for them. Life can sometimes throw some horrible challenges at children and calling them underprivileged is wrong when they respond with courage and tenacity.

I recorded some of CIN just in case there was something worth watching - I did want to catch Torville and Dean dancing but that was that. They were, as I'd expected, just about at professional level. All else was a load of rubbish and I wiped the recording long before the end.

The only thing I watched on television last night was Unreported World, about a magnificent Midwife working in the Central African Republic. Just one of 15 working in an area about the size of France.

I think the thing to really remember about Children In Need is that all the cash does go to children living in this country, possible some of them immigrants, and we do see the good work which is done by the various charities supported by Children In Need. I agree the programme does grate a bit, but all in a good cause as far as I am concerned, and I believe the government has a hefty sum put by for 'foreign aid' which in fact is our money, and might well be used on occasions for things I am not in favour of. If that sounds uncharitable, so be it, but charity begins at home.

Oxfam and DEC for me.

I don't like the "in need" bit. It gives the wrong impression of what they do which is very useful stuff supporting voluntary organisations to get good facilities and special resources going.

I wonder though how much money could be raised by upping income tax by say 2p in the pound to assist the state to provide stuff to support the statutory concept of providing support for children in need.

These support facilities were were once supposed to be a local authority duty but so much funding has been withdrawn there is now a need for charity.
Yes charity makes people "feel good" but could they not just feel as good paying for this through taxation or national insurance. As a sort of social insurance in case our children need it. As per the ideals of our welfare state concept.

Nellie there was an interesting discussion on the Moral Maze the other day about charity donations.
Amongst many other things, including your point about charitable donations making people feel good, it raised the question of compulsory donations, ie tax.
Every man, woman and child in this country donates £140 per year to overseas aid. Voluntary donations pale into insignificance.
I can't agree with you that people feel as good about compulsory donations as they do about voluntary ones.
Most people seem to begrudge paying taxes, whether nationally or locally. Letters complaining about the cost to the taxpayer of this or that frequently appear in both the national and local press.

Sorry should have made clear that the £140 per person per year is the Government Overseas Aid budget, ie what is raised through taxation.

Interesting that they have raised more money than before - maybe the Phillipines has prodded our altruism and reminded us how lucky we are?
On the down side though - with well over £100million getting bet on the Grand National a year - that is a single horserace - how deep do Britons really dig?

Oh Nelliemoser, what a radical notion, that higher income tax would lift so many children out of poverty.... I do some work in a Children's Centre, one of the few that haven't been closed as a result of cuts. The impact of cuts on families, and on the staff working at the centre is impossible to ignore when trying to support staff, who are trying to support families.
I despair that so many good, and much needed services are being closed or in a constant state of flux as staff try to respond positively to endless interference by ministers/government who know little, and seem to me to care less.
I was driving through a large, and very deprived, housing estate at school home time yesterday. All those children, in new onesies or pj's that their parents could ill afford to buy, but simply had to, to avoid their children being left out, bullied etc for not joining in CIN. Sorry for continuing to grump - I accept that some people need to be reminded that giving to people with less than you have is something we should do. Does Terry Wogan still charge the BBC a bomb for hosting CIN - if so, he should donate the cash

JaneA I did ask "why could they not feel as good" paying by Tax not that they did. Its just down to changing ones view point.

I used to enjoy the moral maze I keep missing it I must listen again.

Sorry Nellie missed the nuance
Can't answer that one I'm afraid!

To be fair, the CIN funds probably reach organisations that state funding wouldn't, such as small charities that help parents of children with obscure hereditary diseases.

I wonder how many people watch the total flashing up on the screen with their jobs in mind?

Mishap and others thank you for giving me the courage to admit I loathe CiN and all those charity events that think shouting and celebrities are everybody's idea of a good time. These events make my skin crawl.

Like others I make my own private arrangements for charitable giving. I avoid all charitable giving jollies/sponsorship etc.

Probably not quite the right place to ask this, but why is the UK still funding India, when they are now considered part of BRIC? Yes, I know that there is still massive poverty in some parts of India, so why the recent rocket?

DH recorded CIN last night and has just run it through at high speed, I have never seen such unmitigated tripe in all my life, BBC you ought to be ashamed .