It is an old joke, but a good one.
Under our arcane system of honours, members of the diplomatic service may be awarded a rank in the Order of St Michael & St George.
In ascending order these are:
CMG (Companion)
KCMG (Knight Commander)
GCMG (Grand Cross)
The initials are said to stand for:
Call Me God
Kindly Call Me God
God Calls Me God
There is also, in these days of sexual equality, DCMG (Dame Commander). I have not heard any rumour of what that stands for – Don’t Call Me God, perhaps.
‘Home’ civil servants may get the Order of the Bath, with the same progression from C to K to G.
It is quite rare to be given the GCB but this year that honour has gone to Sir Gus O’Donnell, who of course has always been God.
Perhaps in this case God Called Back.
Mervyn King, Governor of the Bank of England, has also been awarded a knighthood in this list, but in his case it is in the Order of the British Empire, namely GBE.
Perhaps because God Beats Economics.
