What about the many royals who have served in the forces?

I know it's trendy and risqué to come out with all this Russell Brand nonsense, particularly amongst self loathing middle class types but it just makes you sound like a bit of a plonker. We have arguably the greatest and oldest democracy in the world which we are lucky to be able to take for granted.

Maybe the royals go to Wimbledon and not to big rugby league games because the Wimbledon crowds are basically decent and well behaved people.

They can manage to go to a day's sporting entertainment without insisting on drinking 6 cans on the train on the way there, then stopping off at the pub to have a few more pints before the game starts, then making everyone on their row get up and down while they keep going between bar and toilets during the match. The stewards don't have to come in to kick out angry Federer fans who are lashing out at Djokovic fans after he lost.

The difference between going to a tennis event like Wimbledon or going to the Challenge Cup or Grand Final is the main focus of the tennis event is the match. In a rugby game the main focus is the beer and the lash up, the match is important to a point but it's mainly about getting bladdered with your mates.

couldnt give 2 hoots about the royals,or even if they watch any particular sport..i know one thing if any of us came out with any of the comments that phil the greek comes out with we`d be near flogged or is he just a bumbling old fool that should just be ignored

I'm sure that if you are still essentially working full time at 91, with every word you ever say in public scrutinised people will let you off for coming out with the odd politically incorrect clanger which was acceptable in 2014. Let's be honest, you already come out with your fair share of nonsense now!

I think it goes further than just right wing media. Everyone's in on the act now.

It scares me to be honest, how easily the public have been took in by it all.

Amen brother!

As chiswickwire said, the one good thing about the monarchy is it prevents us having to suffer President Cameron or President Blair. Heavens, think what President Brown might have inflicted on us.

If Warrington get to Wembley , The only member of the "Royal Family" that should be asked is Sue Johnson.

Thing is , train someone to kill on order , depersonalise people into 'targets' , do you then then wonder why some go off the rails ?

I served for 12 years and I struggled to re adjust to normal life , I was lucky , I could go and knock 3 bells out of other lumpy blokes every saturday .

Theres a lot to be said for compulsory rugby for all demobbed squaddies !

Well this thread has certainly livened up the board

Was intended as tongue in cheek, hence the

Apologies if any offence was caused!

The suggestion that a fair proportion of the armed services are "nutjobs" (I'm sure mental health charities across the country will thank you for that compassionate view) is rather abhorrent.

I know some Accountants who are nutjobs.
I know some Refrigeration Engineers who are nutjobs.

Obviously these people aren't in a vocation where they have access to firearms, but it decent people go to war and come back as "nutjobs" then society has to take some blame for failing to rehabilitate them, or ease them back into civilian life.

I assume the inference is aimed at service men in recent conflicts, given some reporting in the media and some isolated events? Would you consider servicemen who took part in the D-Day landings, for example, to be nutjobs?

Either way, I'm not a Russell Brand fan, or a right-on republican I just feel the monarchy is an outdated institution and it is vaguely obsceene in the era of food banks.

Still, as someone has posted, we have a wonderful democracy .............. thanks to the sacrifices of the armed forces and their ranks of nutjobs.

Beat me to it. Were the shell shocked volunteers and conscripts of the Somme "nutjobs"?

I have no problem with the Armed Forces at all - However, I have a massive gripe with members of these forces automatically being given the title of 'hero' at the whim of right-wing media, like The Sun.

Nobody is forced to join up - It is a job. It is not heroic to go invading foreign lands at the behest of the US Government.

As I said in my first post, there are other professions who deserve the tag 'hero' far more than those in the Armed Forces.