Small Beer?

[Margaret Pilkington]

But is the poppy appeal business masquerading as charity?
Doesn't more of that money go to those it is supposed to help?
I just think it is a cynical advertising ploy.....Now whether that is just my anti cynicism pills wearing off, I'm not sure.
I don't drink beer, but I would give a donation if say there was a stall in the market hall that had a collection box and perhaps some information about the young men who lost their lives.....heaven knows that should be possible to organise.

[cashman]

The way i see this, is all soldiers were equal no doubt at all, Any business producing anything expects not to lose money, no doubt yon either, The fact that our MPs grandad is on the bottle, with him being a public figure who all are aware of, no doubt yon either, Then its more likely to produce "More" revenue for the cause, than if it was my grandad, damn sure thats fact also. I also don't grasp how anyone can't see this?

[Margaret Pilkington]

It will also produce more revenue for the brewer....and the government in duty.

[Michael1954]

Originally Posted by Margaret Pilkington

I don't drink beer, but I would give a donation if say there was a stall in the market hall that had a collection box and perhaps some information about the young men who lost their lives.....heaven knows that should be possible to organise.

You could offer your services to Retlaw's daughter and organise it yourself.

[gpick24]

I don`t understand the arguement about the brewery, OK you don`t drink beer so what if it was something you did use? What if it was something like washing up liquid? You go to your usual shop, and in there they sell two brands, both equally good at doing their job but one is donating all it`s profits to a good cause (obviously taking out production costs and wages etc.) the other is keeping all the profits to itself, which would you buy?

[Eric]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

If you want to contribute to the fund, buy some Pals Ale, mate. It's crackin' stuff and you'll be helping a good cause!

Amen to that, brother.

I doubt very much that I'll be able to get it over here. But on the first of July, I'll hoist a few to the memory of my grandad, who fought on the Somme.

Come to think of it ... and this shouldn't get lost in the noise of petty bickering ... this year is it for the big commemorations. In 2116, if humans are still around on this [deleted]ed up planet of ours, the Somme will be ancient history. All power to Retlaw and those like him who work so diligently to make sure that that history is accurate. There are fewer and fewer of us left who actually knew men who fought on that day, in whatever regiment.

[Wynonie Harris]

Don't understand where you're coming from, Margaret. You say it's a "masquerade" but as far as I can see, those involved in the project have been totally upfront about it - ie, the profits from the sale of the beer will be used for the 2016 commemorations. Secondly, you say that "the battles of these brave men have been hijacked to make money for a brewer". How can it make money for the brewer, if the profits are going to a good cause?

[Neil]

Originally Posted by cashman

The way i see this, is all soldiers were equal no doubt at all, Any business producing anything expects not to lose money, no doubt yon either, The fact that our MPs grandad is on the bottle, with him being a public figure who all are aware of, no doubt yon either, Then its more likely to produce "More" revenue for the cause, than if it was my grandad, damn sure thats fact also. I also don't grasp how anyone can't see this?

Isn't that good then? The whole idea is to make money for the commemoration event and if this advertising works then well done to all involved. The label design isn't chosen by the brewery.

[Retlaw]

Originally Posted by Eric

Amen to that, brother.

I doubt very much that I'll be able to get it over here. But on the first of July, I'll hoist a few to the memory of my grandad, who fought on the Somme.

Come to think of it ... and this shouldn't get lost in the noise of petty bickering ... this year is it for the big commemorations. In 2116, if humans are still around on this [deleted]ed up planet of ours, the Somme will be ancient history. All power to Retlaw and those like him who work so diligently to make sure that that history is accurate. There are fewer and fewer of us left who actually knew men who fought on that day, in whatever regiment.

Well said Eric I knew a lot of ex WW1 Heroes when I was growing up, when we were at that age all our non relatives were referred to as Aunt or Uncle, and because 2 of my real uncles had fought in WW1 and were well known, I had a lot of pretend uncles, they always rubbed top o me head, and say to my dad, he's the dead spit of your Walter.
Like you I don't think there'l much going on in 2116, the human race will have been wiped out,, or become muslims. I'm teetotal, So raise a glass a glass or two to my Uncle Sam & Uncle Walter & the 226 Greater Accrington Lads who didn't make it through the battle of the Somme July 1/5th 1916.

[Hill Walker]

Slightly off topic I'm afraid but as the underlying theme of this thread is the commemoration and remembrance of those who took part in WW1 I feel justified in mentioning here this relatively recent initiative by the Imperial War Museum.

https://livesofthefirstworldwar.org/

In brief it is an attempt to record as much as possible of ALL who took part, an immense task but they have made a good start with over 7.5 million already listed. Over and above the obvious listing of obvious data (name, rank, unit etc) it is possible to add details of the person's life and also to positively record your remembrance of the person.

I'm mentioning this simply because as yet this project does not seem to be well known, possibly because the IWM wanted a head start to get a substantial amount of data added from the official records in order to get the ball rolling.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Michael1954

You could offer your services to Retlaw's daughter and organise it yourself.

Yes, I could. But having an elderly mother who has returned home from hospital today after a heart attack makes that really difficult, along with the fact that I have a chronically sick daughter who depends on me too.
I am not an inexhaustible resource, and family has to come first...I hope you will understand this.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by gpick24

I don`t understand the arguement about the brewery, OK you don`t drink beer so what if it was something you did use? What if it was something like washing up liquid? You go to your usual shop, and in there they sell two brands, both equally good at doing their job but one is donating all it`s profits to a good cause (obviously taking out production costs and wages etc.) the other is keeping all the profits to itself, which would you buy?

Are the brewery donating ALL their profits to the cause?
And the question you posed is a no brainer.

[Margaret Pilkington]

Originally Posted by Wynonie Harris

Don't understand where you're coming from, Margaret. You say it's a "masquerade" but as far as I can see, those involved in the project have been totally upfront about it - ie, the profits from the sale of the beer will be used for the 2016 commemorations. Secondly, you say that "the battles of these brave men have been hijacked to make money for a brewer". How can it make money for the brewer, if the profits are going to a good cause?

So the brewer is making nothing out of the sales?
All the profits are going to this cause?

[Wynonie Harris]

Accrington Pals Commemorative Ale | The Local Herald

Yes, according to this newspaper article which includes the quote: "our Pals Ale is run by volunteers and all profits supports Accrington Pals small projects."

[Margaret Pilkington]

I am pleased that all profits are going to the charity, that wasn't clear at the start of the article and I have to say that I am always a bit sceptical about when business does something and says it is supporting a charity.......call me a cynical old baggage if you like...but many times it is trumpeted that a company are helping a charity, but the small print says something like 2p from each item sold donated to ...whatever charity.