Christopher Houseman
A Glasgow pantomime production of “Robin Hood” has changed the colour of the crosses on a nurse’s uniform from red to green after being informed by the British Red Cross that it might otherwise face prosecution for being in violation of the Geneva Convention.
A Red Cross spokesman explained that “Repeated and widespread misuse of the Red Cross emblem could dilute its neutrality and its ability to protect.”
Perhaps someone should explain to the dimwitted bureaucrats at the Red Cross that:
(i) A symbol has no intrinsic power to protect anyone or anything
(ii) Getting shirty about the use of a symbol in a pantomime is likely to bring a flurry of contempt in the direction of the Red Cross, and may therefore undermine the organisation’s image of “neutrality”.
Meanwhile, I await Dave Prowse’s response to the news that an improperly dressed person in a Green Cross uniform is at large somewhere in Glasgow…