Blog: Oh, the relief of hearing that Bruce Forsyth has finally been awarded a knighthood.

Though it’s hardly a surprise… I imagine the Queen got as tired of listening to “spokesmen for the star” whining about how much he deserves the honour and how tragic it is that he has been passed over in previous years, as we all have.

Thing is, I’m sure he does deserve to be honoured: his contribution to the world of entertainment is indisputable. But the Queen’s failure to knight him up to now is, in my book, far from tragic – tragedy being a somewhat more serious word than could ever be applied to the life and times of Bruce Forsyth.

It’s not like he wasn’t paid for his trouble, and paid handsomely. And I don’t dispute he earned every penny of his bloated showbiz salary but I’m not sure how doing his job very well into doddering old age qualifies him as some sort of hero…?

But I can’t fault Her Majesty’s reasons in choosing another name on her birthday list this year… Mrs Margaret Kerr – soon to be Mrs Margaret Kerr MBE – of Whittington, Oswestry is to be honoured for her many years of charity work in the local community and beyond and my warmest congratulations go out to her this week.

I first met Margaret when she was the physiotherapist responsible for the ward I attend at the orthopaedic hospital in Oswestry. I was young and angry and the last thing I wanted to do was stand around in hospital with a bunch of arthritic old ladies being told to “tickle the trout” and “play the piano” by Mrs Kerr.

She, however, was patient and professional and incredibly good at her job. Over the years she helped me grow up and learn to accept and live with my condition. She eventually retired from her post on the ward but never quite managed the same in her heart and has continued to be a great support to me and many others over the years. She works tirelessly for the charities she is involved with and I credit her with being one of the people who taught me how to live with rheumatoid arthritis.

Conditions like RA are often misunderstood by the general population. Most hear the word “arthritis” in the title and assume we’re talking aches and pains. Hopefully, my weekly ramblings on the ups, downs and rounds of living with the condition have helped to show readers the truly awful, relentless and cruel reality of rheumatoid arthritis. If so, I will have succeeded in my intention of raising awareness of this unfashionable disease.

In remembering someone like Margaret in her birthday list, Her Majesty not only rewards her for the endless work she has quietly put in over the years but rewards everyone she has helped too by raising public awareness further still.

So well done Margaret, congratulations to you and the other local heroes and heroines, honoured by the Queen this year.

Because they did what they did out of nothing but empathy and love for their fellow man…whereas Bruce Forsyth did have a few million other reasons to do his job well… kerrrching!