Dead Pool 2nd December 2018
A points extravaganza!!! With the sad passing of George H.W. Bush, twelve of us have scored! Well done to Paula, Jemm, Debbie, Julia, Christine, Sarai, Doug, Mark, Nick, Laura and Julie who all score 56 points, but an extra gold star to Paul G. for scoring 156 points by having Bush down as his Cert. With only this month left to go, the top end of the table looks quite static as they’ve already scored with their Cert & Woman and just below them are a few of you who have yet to score your big points, who knows what will happen!!
Look Who You Could Have Had:
- Bernardo Bertolucci, 77, Italian film director (Last Tango in Paris, The Last Emperor, 1900), Oscar winner (1988), lung cancer.
- Stephen Hillenburg, 57, American animator and director (SpongeBob SquarePants, Rocko’s Modern Life), amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
- Jean Barker, Baroness Trumpington, 96, British politician and socialite, member of the House of Lords (1980–2017).
- George H. W. Bush, 94, American politician, President (1989–1993), Vice President (1981–1989), Director of Central Intelligence (1976–1977).
In Other News
Fernando LaFuente says he has been “watching my own death” after a club he had played for reported he had died. When Ballybrack FC told the Leinster Senior League that LaFuente had died in a traffic accident, one of their matches was postponed and others were preceded by a minute’s silence. The club has apologised and the league has started an investigation. “My work started sending me all these news articles – that’s how I found out I was dead,” LaFuente told RTE Radio. The Spaniard, who has moved to Galway and no longer plays for Ballybrack, said the club contacted him last week to let him know he may hear reports he had been involved in an accident. He added: “I was aware there was going to be some story on me but I thought it was going to be me breaking a leg or something like that. LaFuente acknowledged the idea of a man in his 20s “with his whole life in front of him” dying in a car accident was “sad” but added: “It’s funny for me because I’ve been watching my own death.” Ballybrack’s game against Arklow Town was called off following their announcement, and the league placed a death notice in an Irish newspaper offering its “heartfelt condolences” to his family and the club. LaFuente said: “I have a really good relationship with the club. As soon as I heard the news, I wrote to them. They got straight back to me and told me what was going on and they apologised. “I had to call my mum straight away and she basically didn’t know anything. She saw this morning my photo on all the newspapers. I haven’t spoken with her yet because she didn’t answer any of the messages I sent.” League chairman David Moran told us the club’s secretary had resigned on Tuesday.
A British rower is in a coma in a US hospital after falling down some stairs. Anna Thornton was hurt in the fall earlier this month in Seattle, Washington, where she is studying. British Rowing confirmed she was in a “stable but serious condition” and are supporting her and her family. The 21-year-old, from Nottingham, defended her double scull title at the World Under 23 Championships in July. In a statement, the University of Washington said: “We have been closely monitoring the condition of Anna Thornton, a member of the UW women’s rowing programme who is in a stable but serious condition with injuries resulting from an accident earlier this month. “At this time our focus is on supporting her, her family and teammates in any way possible. Anna’s family has requested for their privacy to be respected at this time.” Miss Thornton started rowing at the Nottingham Rowing Club at the age of 12 and represented Team GB Juniors at the 2014 Youth Olympic Games in Nanjing, China. She is currently in her third year of studying public health at the University of Washington. The statement from British Rowing added: “At this time our focus is on supporting her and her family in any way possible.”
A multimillionaire farmer died after his dog hit a lever inside the cab of his tractor, putting the vehicle in motion and crushing him as he was building a rookery, an inquest has heard. Entrepreneur Derek Mead left the JCB farm loader with the engine running and with the animal inside, as he worked on the structure in his garden. The father-of-three was crushed against a gate and suffered a fractured vertebrae and traumatic asphyxia in the accident on 4th June 2017. He was found by his son who called the emergency services. Paramedics tried to save him but he died at the scene. It is thought the small dog may have jumped up to see where the 70-year-old was, and hit the lever, which was apparently as easy to turn on as a car indicator, putting the vehicle into motion, the inquest at Flax Bourton, Bristol, heard. Son Alistair, who cried throughout the one-hour hearing, found Mr Mead trapped against the gate and unresponsive. In a statement read at the inquest, he said: “Dad was crouched down facing the machine with his back to the gate as if he had seen the machine coming towards him and ducked to avoid it.” Summing up, assistant coroner Dr Peter Harrowing said: “Mr Mead was very experienced in using the piece of equipment. “The most likely explanation is that the dog inadvertently moved the shuttle lever, causing Mr Mead to be trapped against the gate. “The death of Mr Derek Mead was one of a very tragic accident.”
On This Day
- 1697 – St Paul’s Cathedral is consecrated in London.
- 1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
- 1999 – The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive following the Good Friday Agreement.
Deaths
- 1547 – Hernán Cortés, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1485)
- 1594 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician and cartographer (b. 1512)
- 1814 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher, author, and politician (b. 1740)
- 1957 – Harrison Ford, American actor (b. 1884)
- 1982 – Marty Feldman, English actor and comedian (b. 1933)
- 1985 – Philip Larkin, English poet, author, and librarian (b. 1922)
- 1993 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord
- 1997 – Shirley Crabtree, English wrestler (b. 1930)
Last Week’s Birthdays
Sarah Silverman (48), Woody Allen (83), Deep Roy (61), Bette Midler (73), Ben Stiller (53), Ridley Scott (81), Mandy Patinkin (66), Billy Idol (63), Gemma Chan (36), Joel Coen (64), Don Cheadle (54), Diane Ladd (83), Gena Lee Nolin (47), Karen Gillan (31), Judd Nelson (59), Ed Harris (68), Martin Clunes (57), Jon Stewart (56), Armando Iannucci (55), William Fichtner (62), Sharlto Copley (45), Kathryn Bigelow (67), Robin Givens (54), Bill Nye (63), Rita Ora (28), Hafþór Júlíus Björnsson (30), Kristin Bauer van Straten (52), Tina Turner (79), DJ Khaled (43), Christina Applegate (47), John Larroquette (71) and Bruno Tonioli (63).
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