Our weekly round-up of outlandish and interesting information collected from the corners of the charity sector.
Pick up a penguin
The whole country seems to have gone batty for penguins, following the first airing of a seasonal advertisement for an upmarket department store. Diary can’t quite see the connection – penguins, Christmas? Nevertheless it’s gratifying to see some animal charities benefiting from penguin mania.
Some of those cynical people on social media have suggested that £95 for John Lewis’s stuffed version is a little on the high side and suggested people should instead adopt a live penguin from WWF or London Zoo. Both of these institutions have suggested donations that are less than half the price of the retailer’s cuddly Monty and Mabel. Diary wonders if they’ve got this the wrong way round: if the toy version is valued at £95, by a retailer with the slogan ‘never knowingly undersold’, surely the real ones should have a much higher value? And as penguins are this year’s must-have gift, shouldn't supply/demand economics dictate that charities ought to be suggesting donations of upwards of £100 per adoptive penguin?
That said, the spirit of giving isn’t entirely lost on John Lewis, as it has pledged 89p from the sale of the ad soundtrack by Tom Odell to WWF, and the retailer’s own website showcases the WWF adoption programme.
New remark from Brooks
It’s really about time that Brooks Newmark, the disgraced former charities minister, learned to keep his traps shut.
In an interview with the Braintree and Witham Times, Newmark said that the humiliation of getting caught sending lewd pictures of himself to people other than his wife felt like having a hole “drilled in his head” and being “mentally raped”.
Diary couldn’t put it any better than @louisehector and @thepotatofarmer did on Twitter:
“Dear Brooks Newmark, I'm sure being exposed as a cock-flashing text pest was humiliating, it was in no way comparable to any kind of rape.”
And: “Dear #BrooksNewmark: there's only *one* thing that's like being raped. That's *being* raped. Making a tit of yourself is NOT the same.”
Sainsbury’s Christmas advert: an analogy for modern life
The Sainsbury’s Christmas advert has sparked some debate in Society Diary Towers. Ought we to run it as our Film of the Week, given that at the end of the day its raison d’etre is to make money for Sainsbury’s? Eventually the yesses won the argument, because of the ad's association and fundraising deal with the Royal British Legion – not to mention the fact it’s had half the office in tears.
But the more cynical among us had to chuckle at this message from @TwopTwips, the hilarious Twitter feed that offers 'completely useless advice for modern living':
“Enjoy a Sainsbury’s family Christmas this year by spending 30 minutes swapping gifts & the next 4 years trying to kill each other.”
