Welcome all to a points ridden edition of the Dead Pool. Good old Harper Lee has decided to finally kick the bucket, which means that Toby, who listed her as a Cert, gets 111 points! Millie, Ashley, Sarai and John C, each get 61 points!! Well done all of you!!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Kenny Easterday, 42, American actor and “man with half a body” due to sacral agenesis.
• Nathan Barksdale, 54, American heroin dealer, dramatised in The Wire.
• George Gaynes, 98, Finnish-born American actor (Police Academy, Punky Brewster, Tootsie).
• Boutros Boutros-Ghali, 93, Egyptian politician and diplomat, Secretary-General of the United Nations (1992–1996), complications from a fall.
• Brendan Healy, 59, English actor and musician, cancer.
• Harper Lee, 89, American author (To Kill a Mockingbird).
• Umberto Eco, 84, Italian philosopher and novelist (The Name of the Rose, Foucault’s Pendulum).

 In Other News

Magician and entertainer Paul Daniels, 77, has been diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, his family has said. A statement on his website says: “We can confirm that one of our greatest magicians and entertainers of all times, Paul Daniels, has sadly been diagnosed with an incurable brain tumour. “On behalf of Paul, Debbie and their families, we thank you for your kind concerns and support at this sad time and ask that their privacy continues to be respected. There will be no further comments at this time.” Daniels launched his career by performing at parties, youth clubs and to fellow servicemen during his national service. He later began performing at evening shows in clubs, where it is said that he first developed his long-running catchphrase, “You’ll like this … not a lot, but you’ll like it,” to deal with a heckler. The Paul Daniels Magic Show regularly attracted audiences of 15 million in the UK, and was sold to 43 countries. In addition to performing magic, Daniels also hosted popular quiz shows for the BBC including Every Second Counts, Odd One Out and Wipeout. He also narrated the children’s TV show Wizbit.

Denise Robertson, resident agony aunt of ITV’s This Morning, has been diagnosed with cancer. The 83-year old explained: “A persistent health issue has turned into something quite a lot bigger. I’ve been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.” Robertson added that she is due to start chemotherapy soon. Ruth Langsford, one of the presenters of the mid-morning show, said the team were in a “state of shock”. “After almost 30 years of providing comfort to millions of viewers, agony aunt Denise Robertson is in need of a lot of love herself today,” Langsford said. Denise Robertson has been with the programme since it began in 1988. She said the diagnosis had “come as a surprise to me and my family” but added: “We know that many others have suffered and dealt with this condition and I don’t plan to give up without a fight.” She also thanked viewers of This Morning who had sent in messages of concern in recent weeks. She lost her first husband Alex Robertson to lung cancer in 1972, but kept his surname when she remarried. In 2006 her stepson, John, also died of cancer, at the age of 44.

Shane Warne has been bitten by an anaconda after plunging head first into a tank of snakes on the Australian reality television show I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here. The episode, which aired on Thursday night on Channel Ten, required Warne to dunk his head into boxes filled with African clawed frogs, scorpions, Madagascan hissing cockroaches and rats as part of the show’s “Tucker Trial”. He was then presented with a Perspex tank of snakes – reportedly his biggest fear. “Aw, no, come on,” the spin legend said. “A little warning, Shane,” the show’s host, Chris Brown, said. “You were just in with those rats for a long period of time. They may see you as being food.” Brown’s caution proved prophetic – Warne was struck on the head by the non-venomous anaconda. News Corp Australia reports that the bite was treated with antiseptic fluid and that a medic is monitoring Warne for signs of infection. “Shane has made no secret that snakes are one of his greatest fears so it’s amazing that after being bitten he bravely continued with the trial,” an executive producer of the show told News Corp Australia. “When Shane puts his mind to a task, he won’t let anything stop him.” Warne is believed to have been paid about A$3m to appear on the show.

Japanese police say an actor has died after getting stabbed in the stomach during a rehearsal with what is believed to be either a real or mock samurai sword. Daigo Kashino, a  33-year-old theatre group actor, was rehearsing with several people at a Tokyo studio on Monday when the incident occurred. He was rushed to a hospital, but died hours later. Media reports indicated nobody was watching exactly how it happened. Japanese public broadcaster NHK reported that other members of the theatre group rehearsing with Kashino said they saw him hunched over as they turned around after hearing him groan. Tokyo police said on Tuesday they were investigating whether the death was criminal or accidental.

Michael Schumacher’s manager hopes that the seven-times Formula One world champion “will be here again one day”. It is more than two years since Schumacher, 47, sustained brain injuries in a freak accident while skiing in the French Alps, and updates on his condition have been infrequent. Earlier this month the former Ferrari president Luca di Montezemolo said news regarding Schumacher’s condition “is not good”. However, speaking at the opening of an exhibition of Schumacher’s career in Marburg, Germany, his manager Sabine Kehm said: “Of course Michael is missing on days like today. Of course it is a great shame that he cannot be here, and no one should regret it more than him. “Unfortunately, however, we cannot change what has happened. We have to accept it – and patiently hope, supporting him with everything that we have, that he will be here again one day.” Kehm’s words will provide some hope to Schumacher’s fans that he may yet recover from the injuries he sustained in his skiing accident in December 2013.

On This Day

• 1804 – The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales.
• 1848 – Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish The Communist Manifesto.
• 1947 – In New York City, Edwin Land demonstrates the first “instant camera“, the Polaroid Land Camera.
• 1952 – The British government, under Winston Churchill, abolishes identity cards in the UK to “set the people free”.
• 1958 – The peace symbol, commissioned by Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament in protest against the Atomic Weapons Research Establishment, is designed and completed by Gerald Holtom.
• 1965 – Malcolm X is assassinated at the Audubon Ballroom in New York City.
• 1995 – Steve Fossett lands in Leader, Saskatchewan, Canada becoming the first person to make a solo flight across the Pacific Ocean in a balloon.

Deaths

• 1437 – James I of Scotland (b. 1394)
• 1938 – George Ellery Hale, American astronomer and academic (b. 1868)
• 1965 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (b. 1925)
• 2002 – John Thaw, English actor and producer (b. 1942)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Meg Tilly (56), Jane Seymour (65), Matt Groening (62), LeVar Burton (59), Elizabeth Olsen (27), Ice-T (58), John McEnroe (57), Hal Holbrook (91), Rene Russo (62), Lou Diamond Phillips (54), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (35), Michael Jordan (53), Paris Hilton (35), Yoko Ono (83), Cybill Shepherd (66), John Travolta (62), Matt Dillon (52), Dr. Dre (51), Molly Ringwald (48), Smokey Robinson (76), Jeff Daniels (61), Seal (53), Benicio Del Toro (49), Sidney Poitier (89), Brenda Blethyn (70), Cindy Crawford (50), Rhianna (28), Ivana Trump (67), Mike Leigh (73) and Patty Hearst (62).

The Last Word

I should never have switched from Scotch to Martinis. – Humphrey Bogart, actor, died January 14th 1957

Next week peeps!

Welcome all to a special ‘Fuck Off to Valentines Day Special Edition’ of The Dead Pool, where there will be no further mention to said consumer holiday. Alas no points to award, in fact we’re very thin on the ground this week for deaths. However we have plenty of deathly news for you to read and plenty of gruesome facts.

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Dan Gerson, 49, American screenwriter (Monsters, Inc., Big Hero 6, Chicken Little), brain cancer.
• Margaret Forster, 77, English novelist (Georgy Girl) and biographer, cancer.
• Wayne England, English artist (Magic: The Gathering).
• Christopher Rush, 50, American illustrator (Magic: The Gathering).
• Antonin Scalia, 79, American judge, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court (since 1986).

 In Other News

Barry Manilow is out of surgery and is “doing well” after being rushed to hospital “due to complications from emergency oral surgery”. The 72-year-old singer was taken to a Los Angeles hospital after playing a sold-out show on Wednesday evening. In a message posted on Manilow’s Facebook page, his management team said it was due to complications arising from an operation he had on Monday. “For the next 48 hours, Manilow has been instructed not to talk, sing, or rap,” an updated posting on the singer’s Facebook page said. Manilow is due to attend Monday night’s Grammy awards – it’s not yet known whether he will still be able to make it. He has suffered a series of health scares over his career – having to undergo regular dental treatment after a benign tumour ruptured in his mouth in 1986.

Richard Dawkins has had a stroke on the eve of his tour of Australia and New Zealand. Management for the 74-year-old author of The God Delusion said he had suffered a “minor  stroke” in the UK last Saturday but had already returned home from hospital. Management for the 74-year-old author of The God Delusion said he had suffered a “minor stroke” in the UK last Saturday but had already returned home from hospital. “On Saturday night Richard suffered a minor stroke, however he is expected in time to make a full or near full recovery,” the statement said. “He is already at home recuperating.

Ken Watanabe has revealed he is suffering from stomach cancer. The illness has forced the 56-year-old Japanese actor to delay his return to the Broadway musical The King and I in order to have treatment. The Oscar-nominated actor has had endoscopic surgery and is recuperating in a hospital in Japan, his agent said. Watanabe, who has previously battled leukaemia, was diagnosed “almost miraculously early” with stomach cancer last month and underwent surgery, he said. “I was really shocked, my wife and daughter pushed me to have a health check and the cancer was found. It was a very early stage and they operated immediately,” he added. The actor was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukaemia in 1989 but resumed acting while still undergoing chemotherapy. He became ill again in the early 1990s and, following further treatment, has been in remission since.

Rapper DMX is recovering after being found unconscious in a hotel car park and resuscitated. A representative of the rapper whose real name is Earl Simmons said he had suffered an asthma attack, although one source told the media it was actually a drug overdose. Police in Yonkers, New York, were first alerted to the report of an unconscious man in a Ramada Inn parking lot on Monday night. Lt Patrick McCormack of the Yonkers Police Department told CNN that officers escorted Simmons to the nearby Saint Joseph’s Medical Center, administering chest compressions and oxygen in the ambulance.

Britain’s most successful gymnast is walking unaided after neck surgery following a fall during training for Channel 4 show The Jump. Beth Tweddle, who won bronze at the London Games in 2012, could only walk a few steps assisted by medics after the operation, which involved having a piece of bone taken from her hip. In a statement, she said: “The medical staff here in Austria have been fantastic and I couldn’t have wished for better people to be around me at this time. I’ve started to feel a lot better in the past 24 hours and I’ve begun walking by myself. It’s still a case of taking one day at a time.” Surgeons took a bone from her hip and used it with pins to fuse together two fractured vertebrae in her neck. The number of injuries on the third series of The Jump – five celebrities have been forced to pull out – has prompted Channel 4 to review safety procedures on the show.

Hugh Jackman has appealed to people to wear sunscreen and get regular skin checks by posting a picture of himself on social media after having a fifth skin cancer removed. The picture shows his nose covered in a dressing after the removal of a basal cell carcinoma, a common and usually non-invasive type of skin cancer. The 47-year-old Australian actor, who starred as the Wolverine in the X-Men film series, says he had his first skin cancer removed in 2013 after his wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, suggested he should get a mole on his nose checked. Basal cell carcinomas are relatively common, accounting for about 70% of all non-melanoma skin cancers. They are not invasive, but can require treatment as some may develop into more aggressive skin cancers. About 95% are caused by UV exposure from sunlight.

The world’s longest-surviving heart transplant patient has died, 33 years after his life-saving operation. John McCafferty was told he had only five years to live when he received the transplant at Harefield Hospital in west London, on 20 October 1982. His widow Ann said: “The last 30 years we had together were brilliant. We’ve travelled the world.” Mr McCafferty, from Newport Pagnell in Buckinghamshire, died aged 73 on Tuesday at Milton Keynes Hospital. He was officially recognised as the world’s longest surviving heart transplant patient by Guinness World Records in 2013. At the time he said: “I want this world record to be an inspiration to anyone awaiting a heart transplant and to those who, like me, have been fortunate enough to have had one.”

And finally, we’re wondering if everything okay with the Queen? The only reason we ask is that the Arts Council have just sent out a document entitled “Advice And Guidance: Category ‘A’ Death” which lets organisations know how they should conduct their affairs in the event of the death of a senior member of the Royal Family. Although they do try to broaden the advice out for other “notable persons”, they return to the theme of Queeny carking it regularly. The most interesting part? We learned that while Charles, Camilla, Wills and Kate all classify as a ‘Category A’ member of the Royal Family, Harry doesn’t, perhaps further fanning the fires that he’s Hewitt’s son, not Charles’.

On This Day

• 1400 – Richard II of England dies, most probably from starvation, in Pontefract Castle, on the orders of Henry Bolingbroke.
• 1779 – James Cook is killed by Native Hawaiians near Kealakekua on the Island of Hawaii.
• 1849 – James Knox Polk becomes the first serving President of the United States to have his photograph taken.
• 1852 – Great Ormond St Hospital for Sick Children, the first hospital in England to provide in-patient beds specifically for children, is founded in London.
• 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell applies for a patent for the telephone, as does Elisha Gray.
• 1924 – The Computing-Tabulating-Recording Company changes its name to International Business Machines Corporation (IBM).
• 1929 – Saint Valentine’s Day Massacre: Seven people, six of them gangster rivals of Al Capone‘s gang, are murdered in Chicago.
• 1966 – Australian currency is decimalised.
• 1989 – Iranian leader Ruhollah Khomeini issues a fatwa encouraging Muslims to kill Salman Rushdie, author of The Satanic Verses.
• 1990 – The Voyager 1 spacecraft takes the photograph of planet Earth later become famous as Pale Blue Dot.
• 2005 – YouTube is launched by a group of college students, eventually becoming the largest video sharing website in the world and a main source for viral videos.

Deaths

• 1400 – Richard II of England (b. 1367)
• 1744 – John Hadley, English mathematician, invented the octant (b. 1682)
• 1779 – James Cook, English captain and explorer (b. 1728)
• 1975 – Julian Huxley, English biologist and eugenicist, co-founded the World Wide Fund for Nature (b. 1887)
• 1975 – P. G. Wodehouse, English author and poet (b. 1881)
• 1996 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (b. 1919)
• 2010 – Dick Francis, Welsh jockey and author (b. 1920)

Why Are So Many Unnatural Deaths Not Investigated? 

The UK’s most prolific murderer, Harold Shipman, would have been 70 this year had he not killed himself 16 years ago in Wakefield Prison. He managed to kill at least 250 women without alerting suspicion. The whistle was blown by a relative of one of the victims. So why wasn’t the case picked up by a coroner and how many more unnatural deaths are officially missed?

What do coroners do? A coroner is an an independent judicial officer, appointed and paid for by the relevant local authority. He or she is usually a solicitor or doctor of five years standing, although all new appointments now have to be legally qualified. Their job is to investigate deaths that are violent, unnatural or of unknown cause with a view to determine who the deceased was, when and where they died and, crucially, how they died. There are about 507,000 deaths every year in England and Wales, of which about 45% will be reported to coroners. And there are currently 96 separate local coroner areas, each with their own senior coroner.

The coroner has three main decisions to make when a death occurs. First, should they accept the death for investigation? The general principles are that if the death was violent, unnatural or of unknown cause, it should be investigated. However, local reporting rules mean that what’s considered violent or unnatural varies from one area to another.

Second, once investigated, the coroner must decide whether to open an inquest. An inquest is opened when the original reason for accepting the death for investigation – violent, unnatural, or unknown cause – still holds after initial enquiries. Data for the same period showed that deaths advancing to inquest ranged from 6% in some areas to 29% in others.

The third and final decision for the coroner is to determine the appropriate verdict for the death. There are six common verdicts (now known as  “conclusions”): natural causes, accidental death, suicide, industrial disease, open verdict, and the increasingly used “narrative” verdict where the circumstances of the death are recorded in a brief story.

You might think that coroner areas would have a fairly similar profile of verdicts but, in fact, these too vary widely. For example, narrative verdicts for the period 2000-2010 ranged from almost zero in some areas, such as Carmarthenshire in south-west Wales, to 46% of all verdicts returned in another (Birmingham and Solihull). And in South Shropshire, just 3% of inquest verdicts were recorded as natural deaths, while that verdict accounted for an incredible 52% of all inquest conclusions in Sunderland. Suicide rates ranged from 4% to 27%.

Does this matter? Widely varying outcomes across the country prove that not all coroner areas can be striking the appropriate balance between the needs of the state and the rights of the bereaved. This is how Harold Shipman was able to kill people without anybody batting an eyelid. Had he been practising in another area he would have been caught much sooner or perhaps not at all!!!

Last Week’s Birthdays

James Spader (56), Garth Brooks (54), Chris Rock (51), Ashton Kutcher (38), Nick Nolte (75), Mary Steenbergen (63), John Grisham (61), Seth Green (42), Joe Pesci (73), Mia Farrow (71), Greg Norman (61), Glenn Beck (52), Laura Dern (49), Elizabeth Banks (42), Chloe Grace Moretz (19), Robert Wagner (86), Burt Reynolds (80), Taylor Lautner (24), Damien Lewis (45), Jennifer Aniston (47), Sheryl Crow (54), Darren Aronofsky (47), Arsenio Hall (60), Josh Brolin (48), Christina Ricci (36), Mena Suvari (37), Peter Tork (74), Jerry Springer (72), Peter Gabriel (66), Charles Yeager (93) and Robbie Williams (42).

The Final Word

Actress Joan Crawford yelled at her housekeeper, who was praying as Crawford died. Crawford said, “Damn it! Don’t you dare ask God to help me!”

Next week peeps!

Alas, no points to be awarded today, which is somewhat of a surprise after the glut of celebrity deaths we’ve been seeing lately. Either famous people are dying exponentially or you lot are getting clued up as to how to play this game!

A quick note about contributions towards the newsletter; I know you have all been enjoying Ceri’s excellent pieces of writing and you probably feel that you could manage a few paragraphs from time to time too. Don’t be shy, email in a short piece, if only to give the us a break from time to time as writing on the same subject on a weekly basis gets very difficult very quickly, as some of you might remember when you took over the Dead Pool when I took a vacation ;P

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Joe Alaskey, 63, American voice actor (Looney Tunes, Rugrats, Casper), cancer. 
• Benoît Violier, 44, French-Swiss chef, suicide by gunshot.
• Katie May, 34, American model (Playboy, Sports Illustrated) and online media personality (Snapchat), complications from a stroke.
• Kristine Miller, 90, American actress (I Walk Alone, Jungle Patrol, Too Late for Tears).
• Dave Mirra, 41, American BMX rider, suicide by gunshot.
• Edgar Mitchell, 85, American astronaut (Apollo 14).
• Axl Rotten, 44, American professional wrestler (ECW).
• Maurice White, 74, American songwriter and musician (Earth, Wind & Fire), complications from Parkinson’s disease.
• Raphael Schumacher, 27, Italian actor, hanged during performance.

In Other News 

The news on Michael Schumacher’s health is “not good”, according to Luca di Montezemolo, the former Ferrari president, in an unusual intervention which only added to the speculation and mystery surrounding the Formula One legend’s condition. What is known is that Schumacher is still receiving treatment in Switzerland after sustaining severe head injuries in a skiing accident in December 2013 in the Alpine resort of Meribel. The 47-year-old was put in an induced coma following the crash and has been recovering with a specialist medical team at home on the shores of Lake Geneva since September 2014. The seven-time world champion’s family have retained a dignified silence throughout, with updates few and far between. Sabine Kehm, the 47-year-old’s manager, declined to respond to Di Montezemolo’s comments when contacted by the media. “I have news and unfortunately it is not good,” Di Montezemolo told reporters on Thursday, refusing to elaborate in any way. “Life is strange. He was a fantastic driver and only had one accident with Ferrari in 1999 (Schumacher broke his leg in an accident during the British Grand Prix).” Very few people are known to have visited the former Ferrari and Mercedes driver, who won five straight championships from 2000 to 2004.

Talking about Schumacher’s, an Italian actor who was left in a coma after he accidentally hanged himself during a live theatre performance has been pronounced clinically dead. Raphael Schumacher, 27, was performing in a production of Mirages at the Teatro Lux in Pisa, Italy, when the incident occurred. He was taken to hospital on Saturday night and has been in a coma since. Doctors say his condition has worsened and that he was not responding to treatment. The BBC reports that following a six-hour procedure to establish brain death on Thursday, the hospital issued a statement: “The family and the prosecutor’s office have both authorised that his organs be donated, but their removal will be subject to a medical assessment to be performed in the course of the night.” Mirages is a six-scene immersive performance staged in different parts of the theatre, with audience members walking between them. At the time of the incident, Schumacher was reciting a monologue from Frank Wedekind’s Spring Awakening alone in a courtyard in front of just one spectator. The actor reportedly changed the ending of the scene by placing his head in a noose instead of using a gun. He was discovered unconscious by a second spectator, reportedly a medical student, who rushed to his aid. While it is assumed that the incident was accidental, an investigation has been launched into the theatre’s safety procedures. That investigation has shifted from grievous bodily harm to culpable homicide, or manslaughter, according to the BBC. Schumacher’s mother has rejected the theory that he may have tried to commit suicide. “My son recently lost his father and had ended a relationship but had found his serenity again,” she said. “He didn’t leave a suicide note and had no reason to kill himself.”

More than 40 years after Lord Lucan disappeared from a blood-soaked London crime scene, the high court has finally cleared the way for his only son to inherit the earldom. A presumption of death certificate was granted by Mrs Justice Asplin on Wednesday following a hearing that lasted less than an hour. George Bingham, 48, can now assume the family title as the eighth earl of Lucan. The hearing at the Rolls Building in central London had been scheduled to last three days but Neil Berriman, Rivett’s son, withdrew his objections to a death certificate being issued under the 2014 Presumption of Death Act. The judge made the declaration on the basis that she was satisfied Lucan had not been known to be alive for a period of at least seven years. The death certificate can be revoked if the peer, who would now be aged 81, reappears. The hearing was told that police had confirmed there were no live lines of inquiry into Rivett’s murder, although the case had not been closed.

Frank Bruno’s death wish of returning to the ring have been dashed after he was told his application for a licence would be declined. The 54-year-old former heavyweight boxing champion posted on Twitter that the British Boxing Board of Control had informed his agent that “should I apply for a licence this would not be granted”. His agent, Dave Davies, confirmed on Monday the board had been in touch, saying: “Frank, like many other former sports stars, misses the good times when he was in the boxing ring and watching his son train has reignited his wish to return to the ring. “However we have had confirmation today … that should an application for a boxing licence be received from Frank it would be declined. As agents for Frank we must respect and accept their decision.” Bruno, who has bipolar disorder, acknowledged he had “certainly set Twitter talking” after he announced on ITV’s This Morning that he was “coming back into boxing” to help him cope with the effects of his medication. Asked how drugs had affected him, he said: “They made me suicidal – mess up your head, mess up your clock – you can’t sleep. I’m walking around break-dancing I’ve got so much energy. Asked how drugs had affected him, he said: “They made me suicidal – mess up your head, mess up your clock – you can’t sleep. I’m walking around break-dancing I’ve got so much energy!”. Almost enough energy to die in the ring!

Gone With The Wind actress Olivia de Havilland, who –  at 99 – is the oldest living Oscar winner, is honoured by satirical magazine The Oldie. However she was unable to travel from her home in France to collect her Oldie of the Year award in person at Tuesday’s ceremony in London. But in a recorded message she said she was “utterly delighted” the judges deemed there was “sufficient snap in my celery” to win the accolade. The tongue-in cheek awards are given out annually by The Oldie, set up by former Private Eye editor Richard Ingrams to take an irreverent stand against ageism. De Havilland said: “It is deeply gratifying to thus find myself in the company of the Queen Mother, whose record I have long wanted to match as well as that of so many other distinguished recipients.” She shared her Oldie of the Year award with 101-year-old former barrister and member of the House of Lords, Jeremy Hutchinson.

A father of three choked to death as he tried to eat a McDonald’s cheeseburger in one mouthful, an inquest heard. Darren Bray, 29, blacked out when he attempted to fit the 99p burger into his mouth whole following a night out with friends. Cardiff Coroner’s Court heard that Mr Bray, of Barry, South Wales, had been drinking cans of beer, but not enough to affect his judgement, although eating a McDonald’s would be considered bad judgement in our book! He died from a food blockage to his airway and a coroner recorded a conclusion of death by misadventure. The hearing was told that Mr Bray had told friends to “watch this” as he picked up the burger, “rolled it into a ball” and put it in his mouth. However, Mr Bray went “blue” in front of two friends and started choking. Friend Sam Bisgrove told the inquest: “I could see him trying to cough it up and he was making horrible coughing noises. I tried to hit his back to help him clear his airway.” Paramedics arrived and performed CPR on Mr Bray, who was at a friend’s house in Barry, but were unable to restart his heart and he was pronounced dead at the scene. Dr Rhiannon Trefor told the hearing there was a 3in by 1.9in (8cm by 5cm) ball of food stuck at the back of his neck. The moral of the story, avoid McDonalds at all costs!

And finally, Antonio Docampo García, who died last week at the grand old age of 107, attributed his longevity to his drinking habits – four bottles of red wine a day, and no water. Mr Docampo liked to have two bottles of wine with lunch, and another two with dinner, his family told reporters. “He could drink a litre and a half all at once,” said his son Miguel Docampo López. “When we were both at home we could get through 200 litres of wine a month. He never drank water.” Mr Docampo, of Vigo in north west Spain, owned his own vineyard and was founder of the wine company Bodegas Docampo. (A cynic might suggest that tales of the wine’s life-giving properties could contain a teensy trace of marketing spiel.) Mr Docampo’s nephew Jerónimo Docampo, who now runs the vineyard, told La Voz de Galicia: “He sold the majority of the wine he produced, but still kept a decent amount back for himself.” “If he produced 60,000 litres a year he would keep 3,000 litres for himself. He always said that was his secret to living so long.”

On This Day

• 1497 – The Bonfire of the Vanities occurs in which supporters of Girolamo Savonarola burn thousands of objects like cosmetics, art, and books in Florence, Italy.
• 1935 – The classic board game Monopoly is invented.
• 1940 – The second full-length animated Walt Disney film, Pinocchio, premieres.
• 1984 – Space Shuttle program: STS-41-B Mission: Astronauts Bruce McCandless II and Robert L. Stewart make the first untethered space walk using the Manned Maneuvering Unit (MMU).
• 1992 – The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union.
• 1997 – NeXT merges with Apple Computer, starting the path to Mac OS X.

Deaths

• 1871 – Henry E. Steinway, German-American businessman, founded Steinway & Sons (b. 1797)
• 1938 – Harvey Samuel Firestone, American businessman, founded the Firestone Tire and Rubber Company (b. 1868)
• 1979 – Josef Mengele, German SS officer and physician (b. 1911)

Why Do OAP’s Die Every Seven Minutes During the Winter?

Over the last four winters, according to the latest official figures, nearly 120,000 people in England and Wales have died of cold weather, or factors associated with cold weather such as a virulent strain of influenza. But campaigners argue that these excess winter deaths, defined as the difference between the number of deaths that occur each winter (from December to March) and the average number of deaths during the preceding four months (August to November) and the subsequent four months (April to July), have more to do with poverty than freezing temperatures.

And excess winter deaths seem to be increasing: despite last year’s mild winter, an estimated 43,900 excess winter deaths occurred – a rise of 140% on the previous year and the worst statistics since 1999-2000.  Female deaths leapt nearly 150% in a single year, from 10,250 to 25,500 between 2013-14 and 2014-15. Poverty rates for women remain higher than for men, which compounds health problems.

Weather seems to be a minor factor in explaining these deaths. Across Europe, England and Wales have some of the highest rates of excess mortality in winter months. All Nordic countries have far lower winter mortality rates, despite much harsher weather. Norway’s rate is a quarter that of England and Wales, while Finland reports no difference in mortality rates between the summer and winter months. In contrast, Spanish and Portuguese climates are milder than Britain’s, yet excess winter deaths are far higher.

“The UK has an appalling record on cold-related deaths, with one older person dying every seven minutes from the winter cold. Colder countries like Sweden are better at protecting older people from the cold,” says Caroline Abrahams, charity director at Age UK. Abrahams argues the issue is not so much cold weather as increasing fuel poverty, where people cannot afford to heat their homes adequately.

“Cold homes are a bigger killer across the UK than road accidents, drug abuse or alcohol abuse,” says Maria Wardrobe, director of National Energy Action. She agrees that the key to tackling winter deaths is to make sure older people have a well-insulated, warm home and the income needed to pay the fuel bills. The NPC wants a fuel poverty inquiry, and more suitable homes built specifically for older people, extra money for insulation and winter fuel payments.”

Of course, fuel poverty isn’t the only reason for excess winter deaths. The main problem with these statistics is that the measure itself is simplistic. The myriad factors that exacerbate illness, vulnerability or susceptibility aren’t collated. Inequality levels, access to hospitals and social care, loneliness and poverty worsen physical and mental health, and increase people’s vulnerability to dying during the winter months.

So keep all this in mind when you’re hoping for a rich celebrity death during the Winter!

Last Week’s Birthdays

Carol Channing (95), Johnny Rotten (60), Minnie Driver (46), Justin Timberlake (35), Brent Spiner (67), Lisa Marie Presley (48), Michael C. Hall (45), Stephanie of Monaco (51), Graham Nash (74), Shakira (39), Morgan Fairchild (66), Rebel Wilson (36), Isla Fisher (40), Alice Cooper (68), Natalie Imbruglia (41), Charlotte Rampling (70), Christopher Guest (68), Bobby Brown (47), Cristiano Ronaldo (31), Michael Sheen (47), Zsa Zsa Gabor (99), Rip Torn (85) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (54).

The Final Word

Murderer James W. Rodgers was put in front of a firing squad in Utah and asked if he had a last request. He replied, “Bring me a bullet-proof vest.”

Next week peeps!

We awoke this morning to hear on the radio that Terry Wogan has died. A great loss to the BBC and those who loved him, however two of us thought that his death would be worth listing, well done to Nick M and Ceri J, both get 73 points!! No only this, but Shân E stuck to her guns and kept Abe Vigoda on her list and managed to score 156 points as a Cert. So now we have a new points leader and if the celebrity deaths keep on coming as they are, I think we’ll all be scoring something pretty soon!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Henry Worsley, 55, British adventurer, multiple organ failure.
• Colin Vearncombe, aka Black, 53, British singer-songwriter (“Wonderful Life“), head injuries sustained in a traffic collision.
• Abe Vigoda, 94, American actor (The Godfather, Barney Miller, Late Night with Conan O’Brien).
• Paul Kantner, 74, American musician (Jefferson Airplane, Jefferson Starship) and songwriter (“Wooden Ships“), multiple organ failure.
• Gordon Goody, 86, British criminal (Great Train Robbery), heart attack.
• Cecil Parkinson, 84, British politician, cabinet minister, cancer.
• Frank Finlay, 89, British actor (Othello, The Pianist, The Three Musketeers).
• Sir Terry Wogan, 77, Anglo-Irish broadcaster (BBC), cancer.

In Other News

Israel’s former president Shimon Peres has been rushed to hospital after experiencing chest pains, 10 days after he had a small heart attack. A spokeswoman has said medics treated him at his home on Sunday night and detected a “light irregular heart rate”. She said the doctors decided he should spend the night in hospital for observation. Mr Peres, 92, underwent minor surgery last week for a constricted artery. Despite his age, Mr Peres has maintained an active public schedule, mostly through his non-governmental Peres Centre for Peace, which promotes closer ties between Israel and the Palestinians.

Lord Lucan’s body was fed to a tiger after he shot himself, a member of the missing peer’s gambling set has claimed, the latest twist in the decades-old mystery surrounding the fate of the aristocrat. The account comes days before a procedural hearing at the High Court to determine whether a death certificate should finally be issued for Lucan. The Eton-educated 7th Earl of Lucan vanished after Sandra Rivett, nanny to his three children, was found murdered at his family home in Belgravia on November 7, 1974. He is said to have mistaken her for his wife Veronica and bludgeoned her to death. Three days later, the peer’s blood-soaked car was found abandoned in Newhaven, East Sussex, and an inquest jury declared him to be Miss Rivett’s killer a year later. Now, more than four decades later, a member of the set of wealthy gamblers to which Lord ‘Lucky’ Lucan belonged has given a grisly account of what is said to have happened to the peer. In an interview, Philippe Marcq says he was told by Stephen Raphael, another regular at the Clermont Club in Mayfair, shortly after Lucan’s disappearance that the peer travelled to a private zoo in Kent owned by his close friend John Aspinall. According to 73-year-old Mr Marcq, Raphael claimed he was among a group of friends at Howletts zoo who discussed with Lucan about what he should do next. The peer was said to be concerned that he would never see his children again and his wife would get both them and the family trust. In order to  make sure his estranged wife didn’t get a penny from his trust, he was advised the only way to avoid this was for him to vanish without a trace. His friends allegedly told him that, without proof of death, probate could not be granted on his estate for at least seven years – by which time his children would be old enough to look after their own affairs. They allegedly dismissed the idea that he flee abroad, saying he was not cut out for a life on the run and he would be returned to the UK. Instead, Mr Marcq said a pistol was placed in front of Lucan, who picked it up, went into the next room, and shot himself. The body was then fed to a tiger named Zorra. Police reportedly investigated the tiger theory at the time after Aspinall’s mother, Lady Osborne (the grandmother of Chancellor George Osborne) told them: “The last I heard of him (Lucan), he was being fed to the tigers at my son’s zoo.” When police visited Howletts, Aspinall is said to have responded: “My tigers are only fed the choicest cuts – do you really think they’re going to eat stringy old Lucky?”

I don’t know how I missed this last week, but Nickie  pointed out that Mustafa Koç, 55, Turkish businessman (Koç Holding), died of a heart attack. There’s a whole family of very successful Koç’s if you care to take a look on their Wiki. What I like most is that this Turkish family have made their fortune from hard work and graft and have since shared their wealth with their country by donating towards a Koç Museum, a Koç School and a Koç University. Who knows, maybe we will see his kind arise again.

A grieving family and funeral congregation were left horrified when a pornographic video was accidentally played during the service. Hundreds of people gathered at Thornhill Crematorium in Cardiff to pay their respects to Simon Lewis, 33, and his baby boy, Simon Lewis Jnr, who were killed in a head-on collision. Mourners at Wednesday’s funeral described their shock after a crematorium blunder saw pornographic footage played by accident, instead of a tribute made in remembrance of Mr Lewis. Cardiff council, which runs the crematorium, has launched an urgent investigation. “It was absolutely disgusting, the priest turned around to play the video of Simon, but instead a hard-core pornography video was played on the big screen,” said a funeral-goer, who wished to remain anonymous. “Everyone was in shock, Simon’s father-in-law was furious, he shouted at the staff present and told them to turn it off. “It took them nearly four minutes to turn it off, people couldn’t believe what they were seeing. “To the priest’s credit he handled it extremely well. He apologised on behalf of Cardiff Council and said that in 30 years of doing the job, he had never seen such filth.” Reverend Lionel Fanthorpe, who led the funeral service, said: “I remember looking up at the screen and seeing some type of video came on and a very loud noise. “I look at my congregations instead of the TV screen, but when I heard this noise and members of the congregation moving towards the screen, I realised something was wrong. “Members of the family were very distressed, and Simon’s father-in-law was desperately upset. “Thankfully an engineer came to fix it and turn it off. It seems to be some kind of electronic accident. A Cardiff council spokesman said: “We are carrying out an urgent investigation. There were four television screens used. “We are trying to establish whether the smart TV could have picked up a broadcast by accident from Bluetooth or a Wifi connection. The other TVs were not affected. “We are clear that it is not possible for any member of staff to play or download anything onto the computer to be shown on the screen.

On This Day

• 1606 – Gunpowder Plot: Guy Fawkes is executed for plotting against Parliament and King James.
• 1747 – The first venereal diseases clinic opens at London Lock Hospital.
• 1865 – The United States Congress passes the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, abolishing slavery and submits it to the states for ratification.
• 1930 – 3M begins marketing Scotch Tape.
• 1953 – A North Sea flood causes over 1,800 deaths in the Netherlands and over 300 in the United Kingdom.
• 1990 – The first McDonald’s in the Soviet Union opens in Moscow.
• 2010 – Avatar becomes the first film to gross over $2 billion worldwide.

Deaths

• 1606 – Guy Fawkes, English conspirator, leader of the Gunpowder Plot (b. 1570)
• 1956 – A. A. Milne, English author, poet, and playwright; wrote Winnie-the-Pooh (b. 1882)
• 1974 – Samuel Goldwyn, Polish-born American film producer; co-founded Goldwyn Pictures (b. 1882)

Ceri’s Grisly Corner

On our “how to die horribly list” this week is Necrotising Fasciitis, a rare Flesh Eating Bacterial Infection where the full thickness of whole areas of skin become infected, goes gross, black and dies in a short period of time and although the skin dies, the tissue beneath it is generally left untouched. The thing that marks it out as special is that it travels so fast, racing over your body like a flashover or backdraft or something leaving large areas of tissue beneath it either open to infection or dead.

NF can spread at the rate of 3cm per hour which, as I’m sure you can imagine is a right bugger when there’s only so much body to race around. Around 25% of people who get it die from it and many people lose loads of skin and require skin grafts, quite often large areas of tissue and or limbs need to be removed to try to stop this flesh eating menace’s spread.

Caused by relatively innocuous flora living on the surface of the skin, there’s no reliable way to avoid Necrotising Fasciitis other than practicing good hygiene and avoiding having a compromised immune system as most cases are in people who would be able to fight it off were their immune systems’ not taking a snooze or otherwise MIA. Very small scratches or wounds can start it off and then it’s holding a huge rave with only antibiotics or surgery as options for treatment and on top of all that lovely stuff it can also cause systemic shock and cause organ failure and ultimately death.

Many famous types have had their flesh metaphorically eaten by this infection such as Alan Coren (call my bluff), Jeff Hannerman (guitarist of Slayer) and there seems to be some confusion over whether Jim Henson (Muppets) died from it (or TSS). Either way it seems to me that it’s a safe bet for the monkeys of misfortune.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Aaron Neville (75), Neil Diamond (75), Nastassja Kinski (55), Kristen Schaal (38), Alecia Keys (35), Scott Glenn (75), Eddie Van Halen (61), Ellen DeGeneres (58), James Cromwell (76), Mimi Rogers (60), Bridget Fonda (52), Alan Cumming (51), Patton Oswalt (47), Alan Alda (80), Elijah Wood (35), Ariel Winter (18), Jessica Ennis-Hill (30), Tom Selleck (71), Heather Graham (46), Gene Hackman (86), Vanessa Redgrave (79), Phil Collins (65), Christian Bale (42) and Dick Chaney (75).

Next week peeps!

Points galore this week!!! With the passing of the world’s oldest living man, Yasutaro Koide at the age of 112, Kaz scores 138 as she had him down as her Cert, and Paul C. and Dave J. both score 38. But not only this, Stu had Sheila Sim, so a further 57 points are awarded! Well done to all of you! This has now moved things along somewhat on the leader board and it’s barely mid-way through January!

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Dale Griffin, 67, British drummer (Mott the Hoople), Alzheimer’s disease.
• Glenn Frey, 67, American musician (Eagles), songwriter (“Take It Easy“, “Hotel California“, “Tequila Sunrise“) and actor (Wiseguy, Jerry Maguire), complications following intestinal surgery.
• Andrew Hatch, 117?, American supercentenarian, world’s unverified oldest person claimant.
• Yasutaro Koide, 112, Japanese supercentenarian, world’s oldest living man, heart failure and pneumonia.
• Sheila Sim, Lady Attenborough, 93, English actress (A Canterbury Tale, Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, West of Zanzibar), dementia.
• Jimmy Bain, 68, Scottish bassist (Rainbow, Dio).
• Jennifer Guinness, 78, Irish socialite and kidnapping victim, cancer.

In Other News

British-born astronaut Piers Sellers says he is now living life at “20 times normal speed” after being diagnosed with terminal cancer. Dr Sellers, originally from Crowborough in East Sussex, is the deputy director of Nasa’s science and exploration division. The 60-year-old was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer in late October. “It did motivate me to concentrate my thoughts,” he told the BBC. “I’d been feeling rough for about six or nine months, getting progressively more ill. The outlook in terms of expected longevity was a bit of a shocker.” Speaking of his diagnosis and treatment, Dr Sellers said: “The prognosis right now is 12 to 18 months.” Dr Sellers had to become a US citizen to fulfil his dream of becoming an astronaut and has campaigned for the British government to develop its own space programme.

Jamie Foxx has been praised for putting his own life at risk by saving a man who was trapped in a burning truck. Brett Kyle’s pick-up went off the road and rolled over into a ditch close to Foxx’s California home. Foxx said the truck became engulfed in flames “within five seconds” after he got the driver out. “I don’t look at it as heroic”, he told reporters, “I just look at it like, you know, you just had to do something. And it all just worked out.’’ The Oscar-winning actor said he heard the crash from his house and called 911 before running to the scene. An off-duty paramedic who was driving by also stopped to help. They used his emergency room scissors to break the window and cut the man’s seatbelt and pull him out. “I told him as we were talking, as I’m getting him out, I said ‘you’ve got to help me get you out because I don’t want to have to leave you'”, Foxx said. The driver’s father Brad Kyle met Foxx to thank him for his actions. He said he had been shown surveillance footage of the crash site and said several cars had passed by the scene without helping. The 32-year-old driver has broken bones and a punctured lung, but he is expected to recover.

American Pie singer Don McLean was arrested on a misdemeanour domestic violence charge on Monday in Maine, a jail supervisor said. In a statement on his official website, McLean blamed “hard emotional times for my wife, my children and me”. “What is occurring is the very painful breakdown of an almost 30-year relationship…. There are no winners or losers but I am not a villain. I hope I will not be judged in this frantic media environment,” he said. The 70-year-old was arrested on 18 January after police were called to a property in Camden, Maine, at 02:00 local time. He was later released on bail. It is understood his wife was granted a temporary restraining order against the singer after she cited a pattern of abuse going back three decades. She claimed she feared for her life when she called police earlier this week, writing: “Don terrorised me for four hours, until the 911 call that I think might have saved my life.” McLean, “vigorously denies” his wife’s allegations. One thing is for sure, this clusterfuck ain’t over yet!

The Ryder Cup star Jamie Donaldson has suffered a potentially severe finger injury following a mishap with a chainsaw. The  Welshman, who claimed the decisive point when Europe  defeated the United States in September 2014, posted a graphic photo on Twitter of what seems to be a laceration to the little finger on his left hand. The 40-year-old wrote: “So folks in my time off decided to have a fight with a chainsaw and lost! Oops!! C u in Dubai.” It is not yet known whether Donaldson hacked off the finger completely, although the image shows he required multiple stitches. Further details remain unclear, but his post seems to indicate he will play at the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, which gets under way on 4th February.

On This Day

• 41 – Roman Emperor Caligula, known for his eccentricity and sadistic despotism, is assassinated by his disgruntled Praetorian Guards. The Guard then proclaims Caligula’s uncle Claudius as Emperor.
• 1848 – California Gold Rush: James W. Marshall finds gold at Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento.
• 1908 – The first Boy Scout troop is organized in England by Robert Baden-Powell.
• 1961 – Goldsboro B-52 crash: A bomber carrying two H-bombs breaks up in mid-air over North Carolina. The uranium core of one weapon remains lost.
• 1984 – The first Apple Macintosh goes on sale.
• 1986 – Voyager 2 passes within 81,500 kilometres (50,600 mi) of Uranus. Hehe 

Deaths

• 1965 – Winston Churchill, English colonel and politician; Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
• 1986 – L. Ron Hubbard, American religious leader and author, founded the Church of Scientology (b. 1911)
• 1989 – Ted Bundy, American serial killer (b. 1946)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Betty White (94), James Earl Jones (85), Jim Carey (54), Kid Rock (45), Zooey Deschanel (36), Michelle Obama (52), Kevin Costner (61), Dolly Parton (70), Katey Segal (62), Bill Maher (60), Buzz Aldrin (86), Rainn Wilson (50), Geena Davis (60), Billy Ocean (66), Emma Bunton (40), Jack Nicklaus (76), Placido Domingo (75), Dj Jazzy Jeff (51), Linda Blair (57), Piper Laurie (84), John Hurt (76) and Rutger Hauer (72).

Why is Leslie Nielsen STILL dead?  BBC Blog by Anisa Subedar 

Is this a familiar experience? You wake up. Check the internet and there’s news of the passing of a much-loved celebrity. Then some time later after scrolling through screens of social media tributes you discover that person had actually died before… several times.

This week there have been waves of online sympathy over the passing of actor Leslie Nielsen prompting many to quote their favourite and most memorable lines from films such as Airplane! and The Naked Gun.

The only trouble is Nielsen actually died in November 2010 aged 84.

That didn’t stop thousands of online users sharing this BBC story without checking the date and so it appeared that Nielsen had just died.

As a result the article popped up in the “Most Read” section which resulted in even more people sharing it. And the snowball rolled on gathering weight. Many people shared their own personal tributes on Twitter and then felt foolish when they discovered the truth.

Leslie Nielsen isn’t the only celebrity who has experienced Multiple Death Syndrome, as we’re calling it. Artist and children’s TV presenter Tony Hart and Columbo actor Peter Falk have also been mourned more than once.

So why does this happen and why will it keep happening?

BBC technology correspondent Rory Cellan Jones says the intricacies of how stories spread on social media are complex and mysterious. “It’s no surprise that the deaths of Leslie Nielsen or Tony Hart are stories that people want to share. But they’re at an interesting level – not people whose death makes the traffic stop like David Bowie or Princess Diana, but big enough in people’s childhoods to mean something.”

So if a person’s celebrity is below a certain level some of their fans may have missed news of their original death. And if they randomly search to find out whatever happened to a star, they may discover a report of their hero’s death, but not notice the date stamp. And so another snowball starts rolling downhill. It’s chaos theory making its presence known via social media. An entirely innocent variation of the Butterfly Effect – very different from the malicious “RIP” trolling of celebrities who are still alive.

So what fuels the need to share the death of someone famous online in such a hurry without checking the facts? Rory thinks it’s obvious that there’s a natural urge to be first with breaking celebrity news. “Everyone now sees themselves as a celebrity reporter! I’m sure there’s an element of mischief involved – which sometimes descends into malice. Social media is now where you see all kinds of human behaviour reflected – from kindness to one-upmanship to sheer nastiness.”

So there you go, we’re all a bunch of nasties!

Next week peeps!