Sunday, December 22, 2024

Nationalistic Nonsense – National Anthem & GB News

Failing GB News’ attempt at becoming more patriotic by playing the National Anthem daily gets slated; dimwit Darren Grimes, of course, had to weigh in

This morning at 5:59am prompt – in what seemed like something from an episode of Dad’s Army gone wrong – the comedy channel with bad lighting that is GB News played God Save The Queen “to kick off live programming.” They bragged that they will do so “every day from now on,” but used accompanying imagery that amongst other things included a pile of rocks (pictured above). It was hardly a show of Britain at its best; it was more like tepid tea, in fact – bland and boring.

 

In an email sent last night, GB News enthused of their laughable attempt at bigging-up Britain:

 

“The anthem will play out across GB News Television and GB News Radio at 5.59am, ahead of Breakfast with Eamonn and Isabel on weekdays, and Breakfast with Stephen and Anne at weekends.

 

“As you know, the anthem used to be a regular feature at the BBC, who dropped it from their television service 24 years ago. It means GB News will be only British television broadcaster to play the anthem daily.”

 

“We promised that GB News would celebrate what’s good about our country when we can, and the Queen’s 70 years on the throne is definitely cause for celebration.”

 

“We’ve selected an uplifting instrumental version which, for our television viewers, will play over photographs of beautiful British scenes at dawn.”

 

“We think this moment of quiet reflection will be a lovely way to start the day. We hope you do too.”

 

Though lauded as a “proud moment for British broadcasting,” according to an article this morning in the MailOnline, the version played was subsequently mocked widely online. Of it, one commentator remarked: “If all GB News has got as imagery to promote modern Britain is a falling down castle, they must truly be getting desperate. They’ve lost Andrew Neil and all they have left, aside from [“condom campaigner”] Tom Harwood, is this. What a joke.”

 

God Save The Queen
In another image shown to accompany the airing, the ruins of a castle feature. Is this all that the production team could come up with? Are they trying to suggest that once Great Britain is nothing but a land of ruins? Perhaps they were hinting at Boris Johnson’s premiership being akin to a pile of rubble even.
Darren Grimes and David Poulden
David Poulden and Darren Grimes – both of whom work for GB News – have been amongst those to predictably bang on about the matter on Twitter in recent days. As is to always be expected of him, ‘Dim Darren’ has got especially worked up.
We would argue that ‘We Are The Brits’ by Anton Lorien and his subsequent ‘Like A Diamond’ present a better set of imagery that is frankly at least relevant and joyous. Why didn’t GB News take a look at his videos prior to producing their utterly boring version?
Lorien’s ‘Like A Diamond’ has been watched by over 1.1 million on YouTube since it was uploaded in April 2012. It features amazing footage of the Queen – including a video clip of her running to watch one of her racehorses.

The National Anthem – As described on The Royal Family’s Website

The British National Anthem in its present form dates back to the eighteenth century. The words and tune are anonymous, and may date back to the seventeenth century.

 

God Save The King was a patriotic song first publicly performed in London in 1745, which came to be known as the National Anthem at the beginning of the nineteenth century.

 

In September 1745, the ‘Young Pretender’ to the British Throne, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, defeated the army of King George II at Prestonpans, near Edinburgh.

 

In a fit of patriotic fervour after news of Prestonpans had reached London, the leader of the band at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, arranged God Save The King for performance after a play. It was a tremendous success and was repeated nightly.

 

This practice soon spread to other theatres, and the custom of greeting monarchs with the song as he or she entered a place of public entertainment was thus established.

 

There is no authorised version of the National Anthem as the words are a matter of tradition. Additional verses have been added down the years, but these are rarely used.

 

The words used today are those sung in 1745, substituting ‘Queen’ for ‘King’ where appropriate. On official occasions, only the first verse is usually sung.

 

The words are as follows:

 

God save our gracious Queen!

Long live our noble Queen!

God save the Queen!

Send her victorious,

Happy and glorious,

Long to reign over us,

God save the Queen.

 

Thy choicest gifts in store

On her be pleased to pour,

Long may she reign.

May she defend our laws,

And ever give us cause,

To sing with heart and voice,

God save the Queen.

 

The British tune has been used in other countries. European visitors to Britain in the eighteenth century noticed the advantage of a country possessing such a recognised musical symbol.

 

In total, around 140 composers, including Beethoven, Haydn and Brahms, have used the tune in their compositions.

 

The decision of GB News to begin the day with the National Anthem was preceded by a discussion about whether the BBC should play it daily on 16th January. In it, ex-MP Michael Portillo and Paul Embery agreed that this “isn’t a huge burning issue,” yet Arlene Foster claimed viewers were all asking: “Why wouldn’t the national broadcaster play the National Anthem?”
Romford MP Andrew Rosindell has been a leading figure in attempts to get all broadcasters to play the anthem every evening during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee year.
Matthew Steeples
Matthew Steeples
A graduate of the London School of Economics, Matthew Steeples is a writer and marketing consultant. He conceived The Steeple Times as a media arena to fill the void between the Mail Online, The Huffington Post and such organs as the New York Social Diary in 2012.

9 COMMENTS

  1. You are right!!!!!!!!!! Anton Lorien version far more UPLIFTING!!!!!!!!!!!! If they played that instead they’d be onto a winner!!!!!!!!!!! National Anthem with no picture of the Queen!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! What a joke!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  2. I agree with Rod on this occasion. Where is the Queen? Where are people? It’s not uplifting. It’s miserable and dull. Whoever came up with it should be shot. Treason I cry, high treason!

  3. I really enjoyed watching it (it is in the link in the Mail article). It has some beautiful images. GB News is really good. Better than the biased BBC and useless ITV.

  4. Not at all inspiring – the GB News version; Anton Lorien – always loved him and remember him from the days of The Steeple Times launch party in 2012 at Blakes Hotel. That was a great party with so many legends.

  5. ……one day the little groper fish who had spent its life clinging to the fast flowing comforting river bottom lost his grip and found wonderous the flowing new vistas now before him…..

  6. I do agree that Anton Loriens version is more modernist and uplifting but playing God save the Queen is fantastic. It’s a real nod to how it used to be here in England. Nothing wrong with that. However my personal favourite is infact Rule Britannia which is I feel more uplifting. I once met Darren Grimes along with Michael Heaver in a Westminster boozer pre a Farage big rally. Darren is very inoffensive and small. (😂Smaller than me even). I’m all up for this. Celebrate our great country! Wow the things we did with the likes of Francis Drake, defeating the Spanish Armada and many more feats and ruled the waves for centuries. Amen. ❤️

    • Is Julie Randall a real person or some kind of deranged bot? The use of all those smiley faces and hearts is the sign of a psycho.

  7. In the top picture, do I see a migrant boat lying empty on a shore after a successful channel crossing?

Comments are closed.

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