Britain's Got Real Talent!

So George Sampson won ITV's Britain's Got Talent 2008 and Jodie Prenger won the role of Nancy on the BBC's I'd Do Anything talent show last night! While I must admit we missed both shows, (preferring instead to go to a close friends wedding), Elaine and I have been pleasantly surprised by the sheer quantity and quality of the entertainment talent on show to the nation.

In Britain today, I often feel we are all to ready to run ourselves and our nation down when in truth we have so much to show the world and even more to be proud of at home. Take our armed forces, our Royal Family and the emergency services. Professional, efficient and always on hand when we need them most they are the real heroes of the British people and yet they are also very often the people who bear the brunt of British scepticism when we look for people to blame.

The perception of our army, navy and airforce all suffered after our morally bankrupt Labour government sent them to fight a war in Iraq on a false prospectus. Any yet we know our armed forces personnel represent the very best of Britain at home and abroad. That is why we are now witnessing a grassroots fightback amongst ordinary citizens keen to show we understand the difference between the instructions given by politicians for our armed forces to execute and our understanding that they are our first line of defence against international terrorism and the war against illegal drugs. The brave men and women of our armed forces defend our freedom with their own lives and limbs and we are all truly grateful for this and to those who have lost either in order to preserve the British way of life.

In today's newspapers we learn that Prince William is off to serve in the Royal Navy on patrols aboard the frigate HMS Iron Duke searching for drug runners in the Caribbean seas. Like his brother Prince Harry, Prince William has been keen to show that he will lead from the front in the true tradition of our Royal Family, something they have always been prepared to do when Britain has needed them most. With us all feeling a little uneasy about the prospects for our economy and Britain's standing on the international stage we should all be proud to see members of our Royal Family making headlines for serving their country in a positive way when so many domestic and international leaders have previously failed to step up to the same mark.

And then there are the dedicated staff of our NHS, Police Force and Fire Service.

Our ambulance service personnel are always first to major incidents, regardless of personal risk, delivering the injured to teams of doctors and nurses prepared to work round the clock to save lives and limbs whenever they can. When things go wrong in our NHS the media and the public come down on the individuals involved like a tonne of bricks and yet no one suggests they deliberately go out of their way to fail. We would all do well to remember all that we owe to the dedicated personnel of our NHS and to express our thanks to them for all they do in a much more proactive and positive fashion.

The Police Force that patrol our streets do so despite a desperate lack of resource ,but with an undoubted desire to protect us all. Political interference and the endless drive of political correctness means they have been told to act and feel like a 'Service' instead of the 'Force' we need to have on our streets delivering safer communities and happier places to live. Like us all, our Police are human and they get things wrong from time to time, but for all the good they do we owe them our thanks and support!

Finally, whenever they are called upon our brave fire men and women put their lives in danger to help protect others. Whether it be a fire or a terrorist attack you will see fire engines delivering personnel to situations involving critical danger and yet reports of attacks on fire personnel are ever increasing with stone throwing and assaults now commonplace occurrences in some areas. These mindless idiots would be the first to demand the presence of Fire Service personnel if their lives were in danger and they would do well to remember this and show them the respect they have earned.

So congratulations to George and to Jodie on their respective wins and more power to our armed and emergency services who look after us all. While we all know there are many social ills we need to tackle Britain really has got an awful lot of talent and, no matter how the media portrays the broken society we live in today, that makes me really proud to be British!