When Doris Kettle’s brother, Ken, died at the age of 78 in January, his sister naturally expected his family to pay tribute to him in the usual manner by taking part in some futile project in his memory. But so far, says a disappointed Doris, nothing has happened.
“I think it’s appalling,’ said the Grandmother of six. “We had the funeral, the wake and then, of course, the memorial service and since then, nothing. The London Marathon came and went and none of the lazy buggers even bothered to take part in that. Not one of them has even had their head shaved. I can’t help thinking that Ken died in vain.”
Whilst noting the recent rise in people participating in ‘tribute acts’ of charity; social commentators say this is no new trend. Sir Edmund Hillary’s expedition to conquering of Everest was a tribute to Snowball, his cat, tragically killed in a road accident in 1952. Going further back, it is believed that Christopher Columbus’s discovery of the Americas only happened as he felt that a marathon sailing trip was the best way to pay tribute following the demise of his Great Aunt Clarissa.
According to statistics recently released, 76.5% of all cyclists are only on the road in the name of charity and the National Health Service would fall over tomorrow if it wasn’t for the kind acts of people ironically raising funds for the medical units where their loved ones died.
Meantime Doris hasn’t given up hope of her family doing the right thing. “Apparently they’re planning a holiday in Bournemouth, so perhaps if they tell the press that the tough drive down the M3 is a tribute to Ken, they may be able to raise some money in his memory for his favourite charity, ‘Burn Out’ a group that tackles the symptoms of charity fatigue.”
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