About a week to go, I hope you’re all working on your new lists! You might what to put David Walliams on there, who knows how he’ll react to his crumbling career following the revelations about his sordid past.  

If you are struggling to find names for 2026, I do have a Waiting Room of around 1500 names available, if the current poolers agree, I’ll make this available in the Members Area. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Anthony Geary, 78, American actor (General Hospital, UHF, Teacher’s Pet), complications from surgery.  
• Rob Reiner, 78, American actor (All in the Family) and film director (This Is Spinal Tap, When Harry Met Sally…), stabbed. 
• Michele Singer Reiner, 68, American photographer and film producer (Albert Brooks: Defending My Life, Shock and Awe), stabbed. 
• Antony Price, 80, English fashion designer.
• Gil Gerard, 82, American actor (Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Airport ’77, ), cancer.  
• Rachael Carpani, 45, Australian actress (McLeod’s Daughters, Home and Away).
• Ruth Bourne, 99, British codebreaker and World War II veteran. 
• William Rush, 31, British actor (Waterloo Road, Grange Hill, Coronation Street). 
• Frank A. Walls, 58, American convicted serial killer, execution by lethal injection. 
• Mick Abrahams, 82, English guitarist and singer (Jethro Tull, Blodwyn Pig). 
• Lorraine Cheshire, 65, English actress (Trollied, Ackley Bridge, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus). 

In Other News

Sir Cliff Richard has revealed that he has been secretly treated for prostate cancer for the past year. The British star, 85, said he was diagnosed after a health check for his insurance ahead of a concert tour of Australia and New Zealand. The singer was speaking to veteran broadcaster Dermot Murnaghan, 67, who has himself has been diagnosed with stage four advanced prostate cancer. Sir Cliff said his cancer had ‘gone at the moment’ and backed calls for a national screening test for men, calling it ‘absolutely ridiculous’ there is not one already. Sir Cliff said: ‘I don’t know whether it’s going to come back. We can’t tell those sort of things but we need to, absolutely, I’m convinced, get there, get tested, get checked. The good fortune was that it was not very old, and the other thing is that it has not metastasised. Nothing had moved into bones or anything like that.’ The singer, known for decades of hits including The Young Ones, We Don’t Talk Anymore and Summer Holiday, described the lack of a national screening programme as ‘absolutely ridiculous’. ‘We have governments to look after our country and those who live in that country, so I can’t see how you can say, “Oh we can do this, we can do that, but we don’t do this for these people”,’ Sir Cliff said. ‘We all deserve to have the same ability to have a test and then start treatments really early. It seems to me – I’ve only been for one year now in touch with cancer, but every time I’ve talked with anybody this has come up and so I think our Government must listen to us.’ Dermot Murnaghan, who is himself in the midst of a cancer battle, said: ‘Prostate cancer, we should put out there, is the most prevalent cancer amongst men and the biggest cancer killer of men. There is no national screening programme’.   

Michael Bolton’s daughters are opening up about their caregiving journey for their dad, two years after he was diagnosed with glioblastoma. The Grammy winner’s daughters Isa and Taryn — who along with their sister Holly have been caring for the 72-year-old singer — spoke to the Flying Monkeys about his condition. “We’re proud and happy to update anyone who has been interested in following our Dad’s journey that he is in very good spirits and very good health,” Isa told the outlet. “He has a lot of challenges, and we do have great days and some tough days, but in general, he’s very strong. His mobility and cognition have been terrific.” Taryn added that the vibe in the Bolton’s Connecticut home has been good, as the “How Am I Supposed to Live Without You” singer is “generally in a really good mood and just excited for the day.” Bolton was diagnosed with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer, in December 2023. He underwent emergency surgery that same month, and his doctors were able to remove a brain tumour. The musician finished radiation and chemotherapy in October 2024, and currently undergoes MRIs every two months to ensure his tumour has not returned, as glioblastoma has a recurrence rate of about 90 percent. Despite the challenges, the sisters said they’re relishing the fact that Bolton has pumped the brakes on his busy work schedule and is spending more time at home with them and his six grandchildren. “We probably had more meals with him in two years than we have our entire 50 years,” Isa said. “He’s with one of his children, or multiple children and grandchildren for all of his meals.” In a statement shared via email, Bolton praised his daughters, writing, “This past year has tested me in ways I never imagined… My daughters have been constant in a way that grounds me. Whenever you find yourself in any kind of challenging position, just to know that you’re not alone going through it is a big deal,” said Bolton, who has purposely not been given a prognosis and is choosing to remain hopeful. “It actually helps people to know. It reminds them that they’re not alone. I want to keep going. I feel there’s still a lot to do on the fight side,” he said. 

On This Day

• 1907 – The Chilean Army commits a massacre of at least 2,000 striking saltpetre miners in Iquique, Chile.
• 1910 – An underground explosion at the Hulton Bank Colliery No. 3 Pit in Over Hulton, Westhoughton, England, kills 344 miners.
• 1913 – Arthur Wynne’s “word-cross”, the first crossword puzzle, is published in the New York World. 
• 1937 – Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, the world’s first full-length animated feature, premieres.
• 1967 – Louis Washkansky, the first man to undergo a human-to-human heart transplant, dies in Cape Town, South Africa, having lived for 18 days after the transplant.
• 1988 – A bomb explodes on board Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, killing 270. This is to date the deadliest air disaster to occur on British soil.

Deaths

• 1945 – George S. Patton, American general (born 1885).
• 2014 – Billie Whitelaw, English actress (born 1932).
• 2017 – Bruce McCandless II, US astronaut who conducted the first untethered spacewalk (born 1937).

Last Meals

Frank Athen Walls was an American serial killer and rapist who committed five murders between 1985 and 1987 in Okaloosa County, Florida. He was initially convicted of two murders and sentenced to death on one count and to a 25-year-to-life term for the other. Years later, he was linked to a third murder via DNA and eventually confessed to the remaining two murders. He later pleaded guilty to avoid further prosecution. 

Walls was born on October 12, 1967, in Ocean City, Florida. He is known to have started committing crimes at an early age, ranging from burglaries to peeping on young women and even abusing animals. At the time his crime spree began, he worked as a dishwasher at a restaurant called “Quincy’s” and was roommates with a man named Thomas “Animal” Farnham. Farnham would later claim that he was wary of Walls, due to the fact that he often talked about morose topics such as raping and killing people.

Despite his criminal record and concerning behaviour, he managed to date the stepdaughter of a man named Mark Riebe – years later, he would gain notoriety in his own way for being a self-confessed serial killer. 

Walls committed his first murder in 1985, at the age of 17. He was on Okaloosa Island doing community service when he noticed 19-year-old junior college student Tommie Lou Whiddon sunbathing there. Brandishing a knife, he went up to her and slashed her throat, leaving her to bleed out. Walls then stole her car, which was found on the following day parked behind a random building. That same evening, Whiddon’s body was found by a random person walking on the beach.

In 1986, he killed a second woman in Wright, 24-year-old Cynthia Sue Condra, by stabbing her 21 times and then leaving her body on the side of a road.

In 1987, Walls broke into a mobile home near Fort Walton Beach, occupied by 47-year-old Audrey Gygi, an employee at a local Kel-Tec. While it is unclear what exactly transpired, it is believed that Walls raped her and then left, but later changed his mind, deciding to come back and kill her. After encountering Gygi a second time, he stabbed her to death, stole a fan and a radio, and left the crime scene. Her nude body was found early in the morning after a co-worker reported her missing after she failed to show up at her workplace. 

 In the early morning hours of July 22nd, Walls committed his most well-known and infamous murders. He broke into a mobile home in Ocean City’s Greenwood Mobile Home Park, at the time inhabited by 22-year-old Eglin Air Force Base airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, 20-year-old Anne Louise Peterson, and intentionally knocked over a fan to wake up the occupants.

When Alger and Peterson arrived to check what the noise was, Walls forced Peterson to tie up her boyfriend’s hands and ankles, before he did the same to her. At some point, however, Alger loosened up his bindings and attacked Walls, but was knocked to the ground and had his throat cut. Still alive, Alger bit Walls on the hand, causing him to drop the knife. Undeterred by this, Walls then pulled out a gun and shot Alger three times in the head, killing him.

Walls then returned to Peterson, removed her gag and started assaulting her. At one point, he grabbed his gun and shot her in the head – the shot proved to be non-fatal, at which point Walls put a pillow over her face and shot again, killing her. He then stole $200, a worn leather wallet and an oscillating fan, and then left. The couple’s bodies were found on July 23rd, after one of Alger’s superiors noticed that he had not arrived at work. 

The day after Alger and Peterson’s bodies were discovered, Walls was arrested after his roommate provided information to law enforcement officials. As a result, Walls was charged with two counts of first-degree murder, two counts of kidnapping, armed robbery, burglary, grand theft and possession of stolen property. An inspection of his trailer home led to the discovery of stolen items from the crime scene, and Walls himself later admitted responsibility for the murders.

While he was awaiting trial for the double murder, Okaloosa County Police Department created a special unit to re-examine recent unsolved murders in an attempt to link them to Walls, as they suspected that he had had previous victims. One case authorities paid special  attention to was the Gygi murder, as a search of Walls’ trailer led to the recovery of a fan similar to the one stolen from her mobile home and also had a single fingerprint, later identified to be hers.

On August 11th 1987, Walls was officially indicted on multiple charges, to which he pleaded not guilty. A year later, a 12-member jury was selected for Walls’ trial, with prosecutors seeking the death penalty against him. After only six days, Walls was found guilty on two counts of first-degree murder and was officially sentenced to death for the murder of Ann Peterson, and to life imprisonment with a chance of parole after 25 years for the murder of Edward Alger.

On November 18th 2025, Florida governor Ron DeSantis signed a death warrant for Walls, scheduling him to be executed on December 18th 2025. Walls’ crimes left a lasting impact on Okaloosa County, with many residents claiming that he permanently scarred the community. 

Walls was executed by lethal injection at Florida State Prison, and was declared dead at 6:11 p.m. His last meal was chicken, steak, baked potato, vegetables, cheesecake, and juice.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Samuel L. Jackson (77), Jane Fonda (88), Kiefer Sutherland (59), Steven Yeun (42), Jonah Hill (42), Jenny Agutter (73), Nicole de Boer (55), Lucy Pinder (42), Jake Gyllenhaal (45), Alyssa Milano (53), Kristy Swanson (56), Jennifer Beals (62), Richard Hammond (56), Brad Pitt (62), Steven Spielberg (79), Casper Van Dien (57), Katie Holmes (47), Emily Atack (36), Steve Austin (61), Christina Aguilera (45), Nina Wadia (57), Billie Eilish (24), Keith Richards (82), Bill Pullman (72), Katheryn Winnick (48), Milla Jovovich (50), Eugene Levy (79), Giovanni Ribisi (51), Ernie Hudson (80), Laurie Holden (56), Krysten Ritter (44), Miranda Otto (58), Billy Gibbons (76), Michelle Dockery (44), Don Johnson (76), Charlie Cox (43), Paul Kaye (60), Helen Slater (62), and Garrett Wang (57).

With a little over two weeks to go, I hope you are all working on your 2026 lists, we have points to award! Paul C, correctly guessed that Stanley Baxter would die in 2025, 51 points! Well done! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Raul Malo, 60, American musician (The Mavericks) and songwriter (“All You Ever Do Is Bring Me Down“, “Dance the Night Away“), colon and leptomeningeal cancer. 
• Jeff Garcia, 50, American comedian and actor (Jimmy Neutron: Boy Genius, Barnyard, Mr. Box Office), complications from a collapsed lung. 
• Sophie Kinsella, 55, English novelist (Shopaholic, Can You Keep a Secret?, The Undomestic Goddess), glioblastoma. 
• Stanley Baxter, 99, Scottish actor (Crooks Anonymous, Very Important Person) and comedian (The Stanley Baxter Show). 
• Harold Wayne Nichols, 64, American serial rapist and convicted murderer, execution by lethal injection. 
• Joanna Trollope, 82, English novelist (A Village Affair). 
• Peter Greene, 60, American actor (Pulp Fiction, The Mask, Clean, Shaven). 

In Other News

Ian Rush, the former Wales and Liverpool striker, has reportedly been admitted to the Countess of Chester Hospital’s intensive care unit after experiencing breathing difficulties at home. The Flying Monkeys report that the 64-year-old football legend, from Flint, spent approximately 48 hours in ICU, possibly due to the ongoing ‘superflu’ outbreak. Despite his health scare, Rush is reportedly ‘in good spirits’ and responding well to treatment. He continues to recuperate at the Countess of Chester, with hopes high he will be discharged in time for Christmas. The 64-year-old, is regarded as one of the finest British strikers of all time. He is Liverpool’s all-time leading scorer and is an ambassador at Anfield. Recent data from the NHS reveals an average of 2,660 patients being admitted to hospital with the flu each day last week. This sets a new record for flu hospitalisations for this period of the year and represents a 55% increase on the previous week. This could suggest a few celebrity deaths are incoming, especially if a former athlete has been brought low by the virus.  

Dead Pool favourite Dick Van Dyke celebrated his 100th birthday on Saturday, hitting the century mark some six decades after he sang and danced with Julie Andrews in “Mary Poppins” and starred in his self-titled sitcom. “The funniest thing is, it’s not enough,” Van Dyke said in an interview with the Flying. Monkeys at his Malibu home. “A hundred years is not enough. You want to live more, which I plan to.” As part of the celebration of Van Dyke’s birthday this weekend, theatres around the U.S. are showing a new documentary about his life, “Dick Van Dyke: 100th Celebration.” Van Dyke became one of the biggest actors of his era with “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” which ran from 1961-66 on CBS; appeared with Andrews as a chimney sweep with a ‘Cockney’ accent in the 1964 Disney classic “Mary Poppins” and, in his 70s, played a physician-sleuth on “Diagnosis: Murder.” In the 1970s, he found sobriety after battling alcoholism, and spoke out about it at a time when that was uncommon to do. Now that he has hit triple digits, Van Dyke said he’s gotten some perspective on how he used to play older characters. “You know, I played old men a lot, and I always played them as angry and cantankerous,” he told the Flying Monkeys. “It’s not really that way. I don’t know any other 100-year-olds, but I can speak for myself.” He recently imparted wisdom about reaching the century mark in his book, “100 Rules for Living to 100: An Optimist’s Guide to a Happy Life.” He said he and his wife Arlene Silver, whom he described as a “health nut”, go to the gym multiple times a week. “That’s good advice for anybody of course,” he said. Van Dyke said Silver, who is 46 years his junior, “keeps me young”. He explained: “She gives me energy, she gives me humour and all kinds of support.”. And what’s hard about being 100? “I miss movement,” he told the Flying Monkeys. “I’ve got one game leg from I don’t know what. I still try to dance,” he said with a laugh.  

Andy Dick suffered an apparent overdose on the streets of Hollywood Tuesday, disturbing new photos show. In photos obtained by the Flying Monkeys, the controversial comedian, 59, can be seen slouched over on the cement stairs of a building. His eyes are closed and he’s wearing blue plaid pajama pants and a tan jacket. An unidentified man on his knees tries to help the star by holding him up. In one photo, what appears to be Dick’s glasses are on the ground next to a drink can. A bystander shouted for someone nearby to grab Narcan, a life-saving medication that quickly reverses opioid overdoses. Dick was reportedly administered the shot and regained consciousness. First responders from the Los Angeles Fire and Police Departments were called to the scene. However, Dick reportedly refused additional treatment or transportation to a hospital for further evaluation. Dick was spotted on Hollywood Boulevard just last month, slurring his words and drinking something from a cup. The actor has had several run-ins with the law over the years. In May 2022, he was arrested for felony sexual battery after a man named “JJ” accused Dick of molesting him in his sleep. The charges were dropped when “JJ” stopped cooperating to move the case forward. Additionally, the actor was arrested in January 2023 for public intoxication and failing to register as a sex offender. A caller reported him drunk on a street in the Los Angeles suburb of Lake Elsinore at the time. During the incident, authorities found he wasn’t up to date on his sex offender registration stemming from a 2018 incident where he grabbed an Uber driver’s crotch.

On This Day

• 1287 – St. Lucia’s flood: The Zuiderzee sea wall in the Netherlands collapses, killing over 50,000 people.
• 1903 – The Wright brothers make their first attempt to fly with the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 
• 1911 – Roald Amundsen’s team, comprising himself, Olav Bjaaland, Helmer Hanssen, Sverre Hassel, and Oscar Wisting, becomes the first to reach the South Pole.
• 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: Twenty-eight people, including the gunman, are killed in Sandy Hook, Connecticut.

Deaths

• 1799 – George Washington, U.S. general & politician, 1st President of the U.S. (born 1732).
• 1861 – Albert, Prince Consort of the United Kingdom (born 1819).
• 1943 – John Harvey Kellogg, American physician, co-invented corn flakes (born 1852).
• 1947 – Stanley Baldwin, English politician, Prime Minister of the U.K. (born 1867).
• 2013 – Peter O’Toole, British-Irish actor (born 1932).

Last Meals

Harold Wayne Nichols, dubbed the Red-Haired Stranger, was an American serial rapist and convicted murderer, who was executed on December 11th 2025, at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville, Tennessee, for the 1988 rape and murder of 20-year-old Karen Pulley of Chattanooga. Nichols was also convicted of a series of rapes in the Chattanooga area between 1988 and 1989. 

Nichols was born on December 31st 1960, in Cleveland, Tennessee, to Mac Nichols and Nanny Lou, an abusive man and a mentally unstable woman. His childhood was marked by poverty, having to share a bedroom with his parents and older sister Deborah, while his paternal grandmother slept in the other room. The Nichols were members of the Church of God of Prophecy, and Mac didn’t allow any visitors to the house other than fellow churchgoers. In June 1961, Mac’s sister Betty Sampley and her husband drowned during a family outing. Two of the six Sampley children were taken in by the Nichols (Royce and Diana, 13 and 12 years old, respectively). For many of the years that followed, Mac exposed himself and threatened Diana with sexual violence, with police later suspecting that he also sexually assaulted the girl.  

The overcrowded Nichols home began losing members in August 1966, with the death of Nichols’s grandmother. Royce and Diana subsequently became legal adults and moved out between May 1967 and January 1968. Nichols’s mother, Nanny, died in January 1971, when Nichols was ten years old. He was left to live with his abusive father and 13-year-old sister. Mac Nichols physically and sexually abused Harold and Deborah for several months, until church leaders forced Nichols to accept a deal where Harold and Deborah would be taken to an orphanage in exchange for the abuse to be covered up and avoid being criminally charged. The Nichols siblings lived at the Tomlinson Children’s Home for many years, with Deborah marrying and moving out of state in May 1976. In June 1977, Nichols, then aged 17, was returned to the custody of his father. By then, Mac Nichols was receiving disability benefits, drinking heavily, and soliciting sex workers. With a teenage Nichols at home, Mac was not abusive, except for a single incident where he propositioned young Harold, who declined his advances. 

On August 30th 1984, Nichols broke into an apartment shared by two women, alleging that he had the intention to rob. When Nichols encountered one of the women, he attempted to rape her and fled. Police arrested Nichols on September 4th 1984, and he pleaded guilty to assault with intent to commit rape in December of that year. Nichols was sentenced to five years in prison, of which he served 18 months before being paroled after a psychological evaluation found nothing unusual in him. Still on probation, Nichols was sent back to jail for violating parole terms and was ordered to live with his father until marrying his partner, Joanne. Nichols and his wife married in November 1986, initially living with Nichols’s father. She recalled that Mac Nichols was verbally abusive and demanding, causing her and Nichols to move out to another house after Nichols found a job at a local Godfather’s Pizza. 

Nichols was arrested again in the summer of 1987, after a woman in East Ridge, Tennessee, called the police after seeing a man lurking near her house with a knife. For that arrest and his second parole violation, Nichols served a whole year in county jail, being released in June 1988. He returned to live with his wife and continued working at Godfather’s Pizza, getting a promotion to manager in September 1988. Joanne stated that Nichols was a loving and caring man who “treated her wonderfully” during their relationship. 

Beginning in September 1988 and until his arrest in January 1989, Nichols raped or attempted to rape at least 12 women in the Chattanooga area. His first victim (20-year-old Karen Elise Pulley) was attacked while sleeping. Nichols, who had broken into her house, struck her with a piece of lumber and raped her. He viciously beat Pulley, who was left bleeding on her bedroom floor until one of her friends found her alive but unconscious the next morning. She died later that day. Nichols continued with his crime spree, raping, attempting to rape, and assaulting women in the Chattanooga area. He was arrested on January 5th 1989, following a tip by a man named Chris Mull, who was jealous of Nichols’s relationship with his boyfriend, Larry Kilgore, who was best friends with Nichols. He confessed to the murder of Pulley and several rapes the next day, also confessing to his wife. Nichols was indicted on February 1st, and he was found competent to stand trial by mental health professionals in July 1989. He expressed remorse for his actions, but added that he would have continued with his violent crimes if not arrested.  

Nichols pleaded guilty to first degree felony murder, aggravated rape, and first-degree burglary. The judge accepted his guilty pleas and proceeded to the sentencing phase. As the state sought the death penalty against Nichols, defence counsel relied on Nichols’s cooperation and good behaviour as mitigating factors. Other witnesses for the defence were his own wife, Joanne, his best friend Larry Kilgore, and a local reverend who said that Nichols had been under the influence of an evil spirit. However. on May 12th 1990, the jury reached a verdict in less than two hours of deliberation, voting for the death sentence. The judge followed the jury’s recommendation and sentenced Nichols to death. 

In March 2025, after 35 years on Death Row, the Tennessee Supreme Court set an execution date for Nichols on December 11th 2025. He  was asked to select his method of execution between electrocution and lethal injection. Upon the expiration of the deadline in November 2025, lethal injection was chosen as his execution method per state law. 

For his last meal, Nichols asked for beef brisket, coleslaw, a baked potato, onion rings, devilled eggs, and cheese biscuits with fruit tea. 

On December 11th 2025, 64-year-old Nichols was put to death by lethal injection at the Riverbend Maximum Security Institution in Nashville. In his final words, he said, “To everyone I’ve harmed, I’m sorry. To my family, know that I love you. I know where I’m going, I’m ready to go home.” Nichols was injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital and was pronounced dead at 10:39 a.m.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Natascha McElhone (56), Miranda Hart (53), Steve Buscemi (68), Taylor Swift (36), Dick Van Dyke (100), Emma Corrin (30), Jamie Foxx (58), Robert Lindsay (76), Jennifer Connelly (55), Bill Nighy (76), Mädchen Amick (55), Mayim Bialik (50), Sarah Douglas (73), Kenneth Cranham (81), Hailee Steinfeld (29), Kenneth Branagh (65), John Malkovich (72), Judi Dench (91), Beau Bridges (84), Michael Dorn (73), Donny Osmond (68), Wendell Pierce (62), Dominic Monaghan (49), Teri Hatcher (61), and Kim Basinger (72).

With little over three weeks to go, it’s all to play for. With Abi leading us with over a hundred points, but with Neil and Lee chasing in second and third place but with their Cert and Woman spent, we might be looking at someone lower down in the league table to chase Abi’s lead! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Robin Smith, 62, South African-born English cricketer (Natal, Hampshire, England national team). 
• Hugh Wallace, 68, Irish architect
• Ludwig Minelli, 92, Swiss lawyer, founder of Dignitas, assisted suicide.
• Claude, 30, American albino alligator, liver cancer. 
• Arnfinn Nesset, 89, Norwegian convicted serial killer. 
• Steve Cropper, 84, American guitarist (Booker T. & the M.G.’s), songwriter (“In the Midnight Hour“) and record producer (“(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay“), two-time Grammy winner. 
• Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, 75, American actor (Licence to Kill, Mortal Kombat, The Man in the High Castle), stroke.  
• Frank Gehry, 96, Canadian-American architect (Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, Gehry Residence, Louis Vuitton Foundation), respiratory illness.

In Other News

Below Deck star Fraser Olender has revealed he suffered a heart attack due to “vape poisoning.” The 33-year-old reality star shared an update with his followers on Instagram Friday, sharing a carousel of photos showing him in hospital. “A few weeks ago I was rushed to hospital due to severe chest pains and difficulties breathing,” Olender wrote in the post’s caption. “Following this, I spent a week in London hospitals seeing specialists to identify the cause and possible damage of the incident. To keep it simple – I had vape poisoning, (an E-cigarette or Vaping-Associated Lung Injury (EVALI)) and I have never experienced fear or pain like it.” EVALI is “a serious inflammatory condition that damages your lungs,” according to the Cleveland Clinic. Healthcare experts still aren’t sure which components of e-liquids directly lead to inflammation. “Whatever was in my vape caused me to have a coronary artery vasospasm. Medically, that means the arteries supplying blood to my heart suddenly clamped down,” Olender continued. “That spasm reduced blood flow enough to cause an ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), better known as a heart attack – not because of a blockage, but because my heart wasn’t getting enough oxygen during the spasm. I’m grateful to still be recovering now, and I’m sharing this because I never realised something like this could happen. If this experience can help even one person rethink vaping, it’s worth telling. I haven’t touched a vape since this happened and never will. The pain I endured for 24 hours was inexplicable, 2 rounds of morphine didn’t touch the sides and eventually had to be given the strongest pain relief legal to administer in ER – and that only brought my pain from a 10 to a 7.” He concluded: “I could have died for the sake of something so ridiculously stupid, so please do yourselves a favour and give it up too – cold turkey. We do not know enough about these horrific things but I can tell you one thing; that was NOT cute, not even for the plot. Love you all, be safe, put your health first and thank you for all of your well wishes.” 

A teenager has been mauled to death in front of horrified onlookers after leaping into a lion’s enclosure at a zoo in Brazil. The victim has been identified as 19-year-old Gerson Machado, who had previously tried to stow away on a plane to Africa in a bid to pursue his dream of training big cats. Tragic Machado was well-known to police after an earlier incident when he breached airport security in a desperate attempt to reach Africa. The teenager, who had spent years in care and struggled with mental health problems, was filmed climbing down a tree to reach the lioness after scaling a 20-foot wall in the northeastern port city of Joao Pessoa. Horror video footage which captured the moment the lioness, later described by zoo veterinarians as “stressed” and “in shock,” attacked him as he neared the ground. Veronica Oliveira, a child protection worker who worked with Mr Machado for eight years, said: “Gerson was a child who suffered violations of his rights. He was the son of a mother with schizophrenia, with grandparents who also had mental health issues. He lived in extreme poverty. Gerson’s story is that of a boy who just wanted to get to know Africa to tame lions. He discovered too late that a lion isn’t a domestic cat and that we can’t tame them without the right knowledge. Sadly, he wasn’t sensible enough for that.” City hall officials confirmed that the Arruda Camara Park, also known as Bica, would remain closed while investigations continue. In a statement, they said: “The man killed scaled a 20-foot wall and managed to get into the animal enclosure using one of the trees. According to police it was a possible act of suicide. Although security staff tried to stop him, he acted very quickly and died as a result of the injuries the lioness inflicted on him. The park was immediately closed. We would like to express our solidarity with the family of the victim of this regrettable incident.” Brazilian politician Mr Matheus Laiola commented online: “A lioness did exactly what a lioness does. Instinct, defence, natural behaviour of a wild animal. Tragedy and error begin when humans ignore basic safety limits, risk their own lives and also endanger the life of the animal. Respecting wildlife is not a choice. It is a rule. When this boundary is ignored, it is always the animal that suffers, and this cannot continue to happen. Who do you think was the ‘animal’ in this situation?” 

A woman who was wrongly declared dead at home later woke up in the mortuary, an inquest has heard. Police, paramedics and family all attended Olive Martin’s address after she suffered a seizure. But instead of being taken to the emergency department to receive care, the 54-year-old was transferred to Darlington Hospital Mortuary, where staff discovered she was still alive. Coroner Jeremy Chipperfield told the court on Tuesday that brain damage was the cause of Ms Martin’s death, ‘albeit some time later’. Tom Barclay Semple, representing her family, said there was a period of two hours during which she received ‘no treatment at all’ and asked whether the outcome would have been different if she had been taken straight to hospital instead of to the mortuary. He asked: ‘What should that treatment have looked like?’ and questioned whether or not ‘her death could have been avoided or prolonged in some meaningful way’. Mr Barclay Semple said it should be up to an expert witness from either emergency or intensive care to answer those questions. The coroner told the court that he did not know how long Ms Martin had been starved of oxygen when she was found in her home. 

On This Day

• 1703 – The Great Storm of 1703, the greatest windstorm ever recorded in the southern part of Great Britain, makes landfall. Winds gust up to 120 mph, and 9,000 people die.
• 1941 – World War II: Attack on Pearl Harbor: The Imperial Japanese Navy carries out a surprise attack on the United States Pacific Fleet and its defending Army and Marine air forces at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
• 1944 – An earthquake along the coast of Wakayama Prefecture in Japan causes a tsunami which kills 1,223 people.
• 1946 – A fire at the Winecoff Hotel in Atlanta, Georgia kills 119 people, the deadliest hotel fire in U.S. history.
• 1972 – Apollo 17, the last Apollo Moon mission, is launched. The crew takes the photograph known as The Blue Marble as they leave the Earth.
• 1982 – In Texas, Charles Brooks Jr., becomes the first person to be executed by lethal injection in the United States.

Deaths

• 2011 – Harry Morgan, American actor (born 1915).
• 2015 – Shirley Stelfox, English actress (born 1941). 
• 2016 – Greg Lake, English musician (born 1947).
• 2020 – Chuck Yeager, American aviator (born 1923).
• 2023 – Benjamin Zephaniah, British writer and dub poet (born 1958).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Nicholas Hoult (36), Jennifer Carpenter (46), Jeffrey Wright (60), Ellen Burstyn (93), C. Thomas Howell (59), Kristofer Hivju (47), Tom Hulce (72), Colin Salmon (64), Noel Clarke (50), Tom Sturridge (40), Frankie Muniz (40), Catherine Tate (56), Jeff Bridges (76), Marisa Tomei (61), Pamela Stephenson (76), Amanda Seyfried (40), Brendan Fraser (57), Julianne Moore (65), Daryl Hannah (65), Lucy Liu (57), Lesley-Ann Brandt (44), Connie Booth (85), Britney Spears (44), Zoë Kravitz (37), Bette Midler (80), and Sarah Silverman (55).

Quite a few famous deaths last week, however we’ve all failed to score. Submissions for 2026 have opened, so if you want to send in your list for ’26, you can do so via the entry form, or by email. Just remember you can still change your list up to Midnight on the 31st December.  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Sir Terence English, 93, South African-born English cardiac surgeon, complications from a stroke. 
• Skye Gyngell, 62, Australian chef and food editor (Vogue), cancer.
• Udo Kier, 81, German actor (Flesh for Frankenstein, My Own Private Idaho, Blade). 
• Jimmy Cliff, 81, Jamaican reggae singer-songwriter (“Many Rivers to Cross“, “You Can Get It If You Really Want“) and actor (The Harder They Come), pneumonia. 
• Dharmendra, 89, Indian actor (Ayee Milan Ki Bela, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Life in a… Metro) and politician, heart disease. 
• Viola Fletcher, 111, American civil rights activist, survivor of the Tulsa race massacre.  
• Jill Freud, 98, British actress (Torchy the Battery Boy, Love Actually), inspiration for Lucy Pevensie. 
• Jack Shepherd, 85, English actor (Wycliffe, Bill Brand, Wonderland).  
• Mike Watkins, 73, Welsh rugby union player (Cardiff, Newport, national team).  
• Pam Hogg, 74, Scottish fashion designer.  
• Fuzzy Zoeller, 74, American golfer, Masters  and U.S. Open champion.  
• Bob “Bongo” Starkie, 73, Australian rock guitarist (Skyhooks), leukaemia. 
• Sir Tom Stoppard, 88, Czech-born British playwright (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead) and screenwriter (Shakespeare in Love, Empire of the Sun), five-time Tony winner. 
• Billy Bonds, 79, English footballer (West Ham United F.C., Charlton Athletic F.C.). 

In Other News

A motorcyclist stuntman died after a daring stunt went wrong during a circus show, in front of a shocked audience, at a town near Naples in southern Italy on Friday evening. The fatal incident occurred while three professional motorcyclists were riding inside a steel sphere, part of the ‘Globe of Death‘ acrobatic performance staged by the Imperial Royal Circus at Sant’Anastasia, located about 13 km northeast of Naples. The three men – a 26-year-old Chilean, a 43-year-old Mexican and a Colombian of the same age – performed the hypnotic show in darkness, illuminated only the LED lights on their costumes. According to an initial reconstruction of events, the Chilean motorcyclist lost control and fell suddenly into the centre of the cage. The other two tried to avoid him by slowing down, but the space was too cramped and they collided in a violent impact that stopped the show. When the lights came back on, the situation was already dire, the Flying Monkeys report, and the 26-year-old Chilean died moments later. The Mexican stuntman was rushed to the Ospedale del Mare hospital in critical condition while the Colombian motorcyclist was relatively unharmed. The tragic accident occurred in front of spectators, many of whom were children, with many people filming the performance on their cell phones. In one of the videos circulating on social media, the circus announcer – likely unaware of the gravity of the situation – can be heard saying: “Ladies and gentlemen, these things happen. It’s a live show.” Police have been collecting amateur video footage recorded by circus-goers as part of their investigation into the dynamics of the incident which was described by the town’s mayor Domenico Esposito as “devastating”. “I know that many children were present, who witnessed this tragedy” – Esposito said – “We join in the grief of the families affected by this tragic event”. Carabinieri police said on Friday night that they did not immediately release the names of those involved because their relatives are living abroad and were still unaware of the tragedy. The Imperial Royal Circus, a historic company run by the Dell’Acqua family since the early 1900’s, has suspended its performances.  

Two of the world’s oldest quadruplets have died, just weeks before they would have celebrated their ninetieth birthday. Ann, Ernest, Paul and Michael were born on 28th November 1935 at their family home in St Neots, Cambridgeshire, gaining global attention in 1935 because they were the first British multiple birth babies to survive for more than a few days. They became known as the St Neots Quads. The family announced last month that Paul and Michael Miles had passed away within nine days of each other last month. There remain two surviving St Neots Quads, Anne and Ernest. A statement from their elder brother Gordon, two years older than the quadruplets, in local media, said: “Our entire family is very sad to lose Michael and Paul. Their story is extraordinary. Back in 1935 I don’t think anyone could have imagined that premature quadruplets would live so long. We are grateful that, after such a precarious start, they were able to enjoy long and happy lives raising their own families. We will miss them.” Parents Walter and Doris Miles were expecting twins when they discovered they were pregnant. A few months before the birth, three babies were identified in an x-ray and a fourth was later spotted. The babies were delivered over seven weeks early by a local GP, a district nurse, and Mrs Miles’ mother. As premature births, all four babies were small, thin and incredibly week without fully developed finger and toenails according to the St Neot’s Museum, which runs a display dedicated to the family. Michael, the last to be born, struggled to breathe directly after birth and had to be given artificial respiration for over 50 minutes before he could start to breath unaided. The quadruplets had to be fed sterilised water from a teaspoon by their grandmother as they couldn’t be breastfed properly. News of the quadruplets spread as they survived past the first few days. In order to protect the infants, who were unable to maintain body temperatures without assistance and needed to be kept free of infection, they moved in with GP Dr E.H. Harrisson. A team of four specialist nurses were sent from Great Ormond Street Hospital, free of charge, to care for them. For the first few weeks, the babies were not bathed, but were rubbed all over with olive oil, according to the museum. They were fed with milk fetched twice daily from Queen Charlotte’s Hospital, London, that had to be skimmed and diluted by 50 per cent for the babies to digest properly. Mr and Mrs Miles were eventually able to take their four babies home and money was raised to help raise them after the doctor estimated it would cost at least £5,000 at the time, an equivalent to £310,383.65 in modern day currency. Mrs Miles received £4.00 from the Keeper of the Privy Purse shortly after the birth of the babies and donations flooded in from across the country.

David Cameron has revealed he was diagnosed with prostate cancer last year. The former Prime Minister, who is now sadly cancer free, said that he discovered the disease after his wife Samantha urged him to undergo tests in 2024. The 59 year old ex-Tory leader, famously known for fucking a dead pigs head, explained how he was listening to Soho House founder Nick Jones talking about his own 2022 diagnosis on the radio late last year. This prompted Samantha to encourage him to ask his GP for a similar test. Cameron said he then went and had a prostate specific antigen (PSA) test, which looks for proteins associated with prostate cancer, that came out worryingly high. He told the Flying Monkeys: “You always hope for the best. You have an MRI scan with a few black marks on it. You think, ‘Ah, that’s probably OK. But when the biopsy comes back, and it says you have got prostate cancer? You always dread hearing those words. And then literally as they’re coming out of the doctor’s mouth you’re thinking, ‘Oh, no, he’s going to say it. He’s going to say it. Oh God, he said it. I am a cunt!’” The ex-PM, who also had a brief stint as Foreign Secretary under Rishi Sunak, said he opted for a “focal” therapy as part of his treatment. This type of care uses needles to deliver electric pulses to destroy cancerous arsehole cells, again, Cameron survived this despite being a massive asshole. It was less invasive and gruelling than a prostatectomy or radiotherapy, Cameron said, quite unlike Brexit. The successful treatment saw him give another MRI scan before he was given the all clear. Cameron said that following his diagnosis, he wanted to “add his name” to the long list of people calling for a targeted screening programme, the long list refused.

Alex Reid has been rushed to hospital with a suspected bleed on his brain. The ‘star’, who is Katie Price’s ex-husband, shared a worrying photo with fans on social media on Tuesday evening. Alex, 50, looked downcast as he sat in A&E with a green t-shirt on and a cannula in his arm. He penned to his followers: “I’ve been in hospital since 9am this morning. I’ve already had a CT scan, and I’m now waiting for an MRI to check if there’s a bleed on the posterior part of my brain. I honestly can’t believe how I’ve been walking lately — so “punch drunk” that people keep assuming I’m drunk when I’m out. I’m not. This is just how my body moves these days, and it’s a horrible feeling not knowing why. The pain, the imbalance, the uncertainty… it’s all become really hard to live with.” Alex, who was married to Katie for 11 months in 2010, went on: “This isn’t a negative post about martial arts, fighting, or “don’t do combat sports.” I love this sport. It’s my life. But after around 300 fights, years of martial arts training, and being hit more times than I can count — plus my cauliflower ears to prove it — I want young lads coming up in the sport to start training smarter. Wear your headgear. Look after yourselves. Think long-term, not just about the next fight.” Sharing an update on his current health, the cage fighter continued: “Thank God the scans so far have shown no tumours. My dad passed away at 77 from a brain tumour, so hearing that today was a massive relief. Now we’re just waiting to see if there’s any bleed or any signs of brain damage that might explain what’s been happening with my walking and balance.” Alex ended his message by writing: “I’ll keep everyone posted when I get the results. Thank you to everyone who’s sent messages and support today.” 

On This Day

• 1954 – In Sylacauga, Alabama, United States, the Hodges meteorite crashes through a roof and hits a woman taking an afternoon nap; this is the only documented case in the Western Hemisphere of a human being hit by a rock from space. 
• 1995 – Official end of Operation Desert Storm.
• 2022 – The AI chatbot ChatGPT is launched by OpenAI.

Deaths

• 1900 – Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright, novelist, and poet (born 1854). 
• 2007 – Evel Knievel, American motorcycle rider and stuntman (born 1938).
• 2013 – Paul Walker, American actor (born 1973). 
• 2018 – George H. W. Bush, American politician, 41st President of the United States and 43rd Vice President of the United States (born 1924). 
• 2023 – Alistair Darling, British Politician and Chancellor of the Exchequer (born 1953).
• 2023 – Shane MacGowan, Irish frontman of The Pogues (born 1957).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Ben Stiller (60), Ridley Scott (88), Kaley Cuoco (40), Woody Allen (90), Mandy Patinkin (73), Jeff Fahey (73), Gemma Chan (43), Don Cheadle (61), Alan Ritchson (43), Mary Elizabeth Winstead (41), Karen Gillan (38), Ed Harris (75), Colman Domingo (56), Judd Nelson (66), Martin Clunes (64), Ellie Taylor (42), Jon Stewart (63), Richard Osman (55), Bill Nye (70), Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (37), Rita Ora (35), Christina Applegate (54), Bruno Tonioli (70), Katherine Heigl (47), Colin Hanks (48), Shirley Henderson (60), Sarah Hyland (35), Stephen Merchant (51), Denise Crosby (68), Billy Connolly (83), Dwight Schultz (78), and Conleth Hill (61).

Short and sweet this week, I’d never heard of any of the celebrities who died over the last few days, which probably makes it impossible to predict their passing. 

A reminder that I’ll be opening the gates for 2026 submissions on 1st December, so get your thinking caps on!  

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Rebecca Heineman, 62, American video game designer and programmer (The Bard’s Tale III: Thief of Fate, Dragon Wars), co-founder of Interplay Entertainment, adenocarcinoma.
• Alice Kessler and Ellen Kessler, 89, German singer (Kessler Twins) and actress (Love and the Frenchwoman, Dead Woman from Beverly Hills), assisted suicide. 
• Spencer Lofranco, 33, Canadian actor (Gotti, Unbroken, Jamesy Boy). 
• Mani, 63, English rock bassist (The Stone Roses, Primal Scream). 
• Tommy Recco, 91, French convicted serial killer. 
• Carl Ciarfalio, 72, American actor & stuntman (The Fantastic Four, Casino, In the Line of Fire). 

In Other News

A vulnerable British woman was found buried in a shallow grave after reportedly asking for ‘a violent death’ Sonia Exelby, 32, flew to Florida after arranging to meet ‘online individuals who would be willing to kill her violently’, according to a police affidavit. Dwain Hall, 53, was arrested on charges of first-degree murder and kidnapping after the victim’s remains were found in a shallow grave in Marion County, Florida. Fears for the well-being of Ms Exelby were heightened after she missed her flight home. Her body was discovered on Friday October 17th by officers. Despite declaring her wish to be killed, police fear she was being threatened and ‘controlled’ before being stabbed to death. According to police, she sent a message to a friend about Hall, seemingly having second thoughts. She wrote: ‘He made it clear there was no way out unless I shoot him. I was questioning it last night. I can’t kill anyone.’ The police affidavit said this message showed ‘Hall was controlling her, that she was afraid, and had made a mistake’ ‘The remains were determined to be those of the missing woman from England and further examination revealed that her death was ruled a homicide,’ the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) said. The affidavit said Exelby made contact with Americans in the hope of travelling to the US and being killed last year — but was prevented. Evidence allegedly left on her laptop showed she became suicidal again and wanted to travel ‘to be possibly sexually abused, tortured, and murdered by unknown individuals living in the United States.’ Police said Hall and Exelby met at an Airbnb property on October 10th and had sex. Hall then allegedly made a video of Ms Exelby in which she was covered in bruises and made to answer disclaimer questions about her wish to be killed. It was deleted but police managed to retrieve it. ‘Throughout the conversation Exelby is subdued, rarely looks up towards the camera where Hall would be positioned, becomes visibly upset with tears in her eyes, exhales deeply, swallows hard, and very hesitant to answer Hall’s questions,’ the affidavit says. The police affidavit said this message showed ‘Hall was controlling her, that she was afraid, and had made a mistake.’ Her boyfriend, Stevie Hunt, had shared a desperate plea for information last month, saying Sonia was ‘vulnerable’ and struggling with mental health. He believed she flew to Florida to meet someone, putting herself in an ‘extremely vulnerable situation.’ Hall was identified as a suspect after police traced him to a bank account that allegedly attempted to transfer money from Ms Exelby’s bank several times since her death. In a voluntary interview Hall claimed that an unknown woman was begging for help by the roadside when her cards were declined. He insisted he didn’t know Ms Exelby before admitting that he had sex with her several times and debated her desire to have someone kill her, according to the document. ‘Hall knew Exelby suffered from severe mental illness and was suicidal. He claimed that he wanted to help Exelby and did not want her to die but his actions show differently,’ the police affidavit said. ‘This type of violent crime and disregard for human life will not be tolerated in our state — those who commit such heinous crimes will be held fully accountable,’ FDLE Commissioner Mark Glass said in a statement.

A Miss Universe contestant is still in hospital days after suffering a fall during the pageant, with her family saying she “isn’t doing as well” as hoped. Miss Jamaica, Gabrielle Henry, had to be carried away in a stretcher after she fell off the stage on Wednesday during the preliminary evening gown round of the international major beauty pageant held in Thailand. In an update from the Miss Universe Jamaica Organisation released on her Instagram Story on Friday, it was explained that Henry’s sister, Dr Phylicia Henry-Samuels, is currently with Henry and their mother, Maureen Henry, at the hospital where she is being treated. According to Dr Henry Samuels, however, “Gabby isn’t doing as well as we would have hoped, but the hospital continues to treat her accordingly”. The pageant star will be remain in the intensive care unit for a minimum of seven days as “doctors continue their close monitoring and specialised care”, reads the statement. Elsewhere in the update, the organisation asked for “Jamaicans at home and across the diaspora to continue keeping Gabrielle in their prayers” during this “profoundly difficult time”. “We respectfully ask the public and social media users to avoid sharing negative comments, misinformation, or speculation that may cause further distress to the family,” the statement continued. “Our primary focus remains on Gabrielle’s recovery and the well-being of her loved ones. We kindly request continued compassion, sensitivity, and privacy as the family navigates this challenging period.” In footage of the incident circulated online, Henry could be seen posing at the front of the stage in an orange bejewelled gown and high heels when she abruptly falls to the ground. Hours later, the Miss Universe Jamaica Organisation issued a statement on Instagram informing fans that she had been rushed to Paolo Rangsit hospital near Bangkok where “medical professionals are attending to her care and have advised that she is not suffering from any life-threatening injuries”.

On This Day

• 1910 – Johan Alfred Ander becomes the last person to be executed in Sweden.
• 1921 – Warren G. Harding, 29th President of the United States, signs the Willis–Campbell Act into law, prohibiting doctors from prescribing beer or liquor for medicinal purposes.
• 1924 – Edwin Hubble’s discovery, that the Andromeda “nebula” is actually another  galaxy far outside our own Milky Way.
• 1963 – The first episode of Doctor Who (An Unearthly Child) is broadcast by the BBC, which is now the world’s longest running science fiction drama.
• 1991 – Queen lead singer Freddie Mercury announces in a statement that he is HIV-positive. He dies the following day.

Deaths

• 1910 – Hawley Harvey Crippen, American physician and murderer (born 1862).
• 1990 – Roald Dahl, British novelist, poet, and screenwriter (born 1916).
• 2001 – Mary Whitehouse, English educator and activist (born 1910).
• 2012 – Larry Hagman, American actor, director, and producer (born 1931).
• 2016 – Andrew Sachs, German-born British actor (born 1930).

Last Week’s Birthdays

Kelly Brook (46), Miley Cyrus (33), Michelle Gomez (59), Scarlett Johansson (41), Mark Ruffalo (58), Jamie Lee Curtis (67), Mads Mikkelsen (60), Terry Gilliam (85), Goldie Hawn (80), Alexander Siddig (60), Björk (60), Ming-Na Wen (62), Sean Young (66), Bo Derek (69), Jodie Foster (63), Adam Driver (42), Meg Ryan (64), Terry Farrell (62), Robert Beltran (72), Owen Wilson (57), Chloë Sevigny (51), Delroy Lindo (73), Linda Evans (83), Martin Scorsese (83), Tom Ellis (47), Rachel McAdams (47), Babou Ceesay (47), Danny DeVito (81), Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio ( 67), Kerry Godliman (52), and RuPaul (65).