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Sir Tim Martin?

Should Tim Martin be Sir Tim?

  • Total voters
    30
A

Altonadvocate1

TS Member
Loved by many (including me), hated by just as many (sometimes, but not always due to misreporting of his activities during lockdown). Tim Martin becomes a Sir!

Does he deserve this honour?

Normally, I hate it when highly paid celebrities get the highest honours in the land for doing a modicum of work for charity or appearing on TV telecoms, urging cash strapped members of the public to to donate a significant portion of their income, whilst not doing the same themselves (are you there, BONO). I'm normally of the opinion that awards should more often go to rank and file members of the public who work hard in supposedly "mundane" jobs making life better for those around them year in, year out or for performing selfless or heroic acts for the greater good...

... But, I can make an exception for Tim Martin for his unwavering commitment to providing the great British public with great value for many years and his role in refurnishing old, but great historic buildings across the country.

Cmon, it is closed season!

Let the battle begin!
 
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As such a strong advocate of one of the greatest mistakes this country has ever made (Brexit), including propaganda in his pubs, absolutely not.
 
Personally, I'm pro Brexit done well, but against the Brexit we got. The real reasons the public voted for Brexit were swept under the rug, straw men created and demolished, and Brexit was taken over at every turn by people who never supported in in the first place to the extent that it can't work.

I'm on the fence for his reasons for getting a knighthood politically, but support it for his VFM to the public since 1979.

I can definitely see that he is a polarising figure though.
 
He doesn't, because no one does. The whole honour system, as mentioned in the opening post, is silly. Masters of the universe patting each other on the back.

I get that his business vehicle has taken on historic buildings, renovated them and allowed many places to retain the facilities of a local boozer, even if it has to be owned by a chain. I think pubs play an important role in British society, as central social hubs of the local community. It's very sad to see working class communities being priced out of them, and the fact that younger generations hooked on social media tripe now see them as little more than expensive ways of getting loaded. It could be argued that Timmy is softening decline with the way his chain operates. But let's not pretend that he's somehow doing this out of the kindness of his heart.

Spare me the hero worship, something that goes right to the heart of this outdated system of honours from Charlie. He has already been honoured quite significantly. In a capitalist system, he's been honoured most generously by way of his bank balances. He has been further honoured by the power this has now given him, the platforms not available to us little people to speak our minds, convince and manipulate people like he's done a few times with his personal views. He seems to have won over a number of people on this forum as there are regular occurrences of people showering praise on the soulless atmospheres and microwaved food his business provides on daily basis, as if Spoons is some Mecca of how to do everything right, when in reality the message that's probably trying to be conveyed is one of value for money.

Tim Martin always struck me as a Mike Ashley, Richard Walker, Ken Morrison type of character. His way or the highway. This is the way we did things before I became rich and powerful, so this is the way things will continue to be. May be wrong about that but that's the vibe I get from people that work for him.
 
I had to check if we were in the tavern, but...
As an individual he is a bit of a twit, but all those nice buildings, all those characters to chuckle at going down the prom outside the Velvet, good cheap food and drink for the many, and watching a whole wedding reception pop up out of nowhere, with brilliant staff support...
I go for a tentative thumbs up, if only for the nice thin drivers pint of cask Ruddles for £1.79.
 
I voted 'Yes'

Wetherspoons has become an institution . The prices make it affordable for all.

It was also one of the first pub chains to ban smoking, before the government actually banned it in public indoor spaces.
 
I can't think of a public figure I have more mixed (grill) feelings about than Tim Martin. His politics are terrible, his obsessive promotion of Brexit, and subsequent opposition of any kind of deal, were philosophically disingenuous and aesthetically appalling to boot. The 'Wetherspoons News' has an enormous whiff of Alan Partridge about it and he has literally printed hundreds of pathetic rebuttals on minor issues from the press to entertain his drinkers with. Drinkers who I imagine truly don't care. The very fact that the name of the chain is reportedly derived from that of two teachers who told him he'd amount to nothing compounds the feeling you are visiting not so much a successful business as a living ego space for a boring man who can't help but remind you that, "suffice to say, I had the last laugh..."

On the other hand, I generally like the product itself. The food is fine and has gotten better over the years, the drinks are cheap and in an era when the party he supports has so mercilessly destroyed any space for public gathering or socialising, Wetherspoons has essentially become the de facto centre of communities. It's quite nice to be in a space surrounded by people from such a diverse array of backgrounds, and the lack of music means it's also a great place to go and work or read over an afternoon. The coffee is good! A nicely maintained Wetherspoons in a medium-sized British town is something I have come to miss on the continent...

The company also pays a metric tonne of tax without complaining, the staff seem to enjoy working there and Martin himself is still extremely hands-on, maintaining relationships with managers all over the country. And despite his self-defeating Brexit leanings, he seems surprisingly liberal towards the need for a larger workforce from outside of the UK. Which of course, just makes his Mr. Brexit persona even more self-defeating and poorly considered, but as I observed, this is a man who clearly thinks of himself against the world.

I personally feel the Honours system is just thoroughly corrupt, post-colonial nonsense myself, but if I were to look at it neutrally, I can't see why he shouldn't receive one.
 
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I voted yes, I believe he should receive one purely based on the fact that his company has refurbished and brought back to life many, many spectacular buildings and spaces that are simply a pleasure to be in. This alone is worth the recognition of keeping some of Britons most spectacular heritage alive and essentially free for all to experience and enjoy. No one else can match what he has achieved in the UK in that respect, no one.

The bloke is a twit, Brexit and whatever else does not come into my consideration when I factor my vote, we are where we are now for better or for worse. He may have been a big spear head of leaving, but he did not lie to the public, he did not mislead the public and he was not the ultimate cause of us leaving the EU, he just supported it with a rather large audience. I think it is unfair in voting against someone when taking into account what they have done for this country, our heritage and our hospitality industry, purely because he exercised his right to have an opinion and vote. We do not live in North Korea here.

But what his company has achieved under his leadership, in terms of buildings and what they provide, (cheap beer and cheap food) are pretty commendable things, even more so in the tough times we now find ourselves in.

For me, I love those large breakfasts at £5.75 or whatever they are now, he would get my vote purely based on that!

Here was me thinking you had to be a paedophile to receive a Knighthood, I thought that was one of the pre requisites of getting the honours.
 
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Alsty said:
But why is the bacon so crap?
Click to expand...

I'll give you that one, it is. I am more of a hash brown, sausages and bean lover. They are perhaps the main draws for me for the Spoons breakfast....Plus you can enjoy it with your favorite pint, spirit in a triple or on the rocks configuration if that's what floats your boat. All at a lovely and crisp 8AM, if the night before has been particularly hard.
 
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