Congratulations to Ashley for predicting Murray Walker, 53 points!!! Well done that man! Not a lot to say this week, so let’s just get on with it! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Trevor Peacock, 89, English actor (The Vicar of Dibley, Hamlet, Fred Claus), complications from dementia.   
• Cliff Simon, 58, South African actor (Stargate SG-1), kiteboarding accident.  
• Goodwill Zwelithini kaBhekuzulu, 72, South African royal, King of the Zulus (since 1971), complications from diabetes.  
• Murray Walker, 97, British motorsport commentator (Channel 4, BBC Sport, ITV Sport).  
• Marvelous Marvin Hagler, 66, American boxer, undisputed middleweight champion (1980–1987). 

In Other News

For those of us of a certain age, between buying your records on vinyl and then on CD, the cassette tape was your goto for music, especially if you wanted to record the Top 40 to play in the car. Such joy and wonder was brought to you by Lou Ottens, who sadly died at the age of 94 last week. Ottens, the head of product development at the Belgian Hasselt branch of Philips during the 1960’s wanted to make something small and more user friendly than a LP record. Unsurprisingly, Ottens’ invention was a great success worldwide, especially after the release of Sony’s Walkman. More than 100 billion cassettes have been sold since its launch in 1963, but the cassette tape more or less disappeared after the release of the Compact Disc, which was also developed by Ottens and his team of engineers twenty years later. Decades later, Ottens revealed in an interview that back in the 1960s he was completely unaware of the groundbreaking research he and his colleagues were doing. “Well, no. We were little boys who had fun playing. We didn’t feel like we were doing anything big. It was a kind of sport.” How all tapes morphed into a Queen album whilst stored in your car glove compartment is still unknown, scientists believe it could be a kind of magic…  

Sarah Harding was told by a doctor that Christmas 2020 “would probably be her last” following her breast cancer diagnosis. In August, the Girls Aloud star shared a selfie from hospital to social media as she announced that the cancer had advanced to other parts of her body. In an extract of her book Hear Me Out, the singer has now revealed that she underwent a mastectomy and intensive chemotherapy since her diagnosis in August. While it initially “seemed like the chemo was working”, she writes, the cancer has spread further, with a secondary tumour growing on either the base of her spine or her brain. “In December my doctor told me that the upcoming Christmas would probably be my last,” Harding said. “I don’t want an exact prognosis. I don’t know why anyone would want that. Comfort and being as pain-free as possible is what’s important to me now.” The 39-year-old said that while she is considering treatment options, she doesn’t want to have radiotherapy and lose her hair “with no guarantees at the end of it”. “It might seem vain thinking about my hair, but my thinking was that if there’s a chance I’ve only got six months, then I’ve got six months,” she wrote. “Losing my hair probably wasn’t going to change that, so if there’s another way to manage the disease or treat it, then let’s do that. I don’t want to feel like I have to spend whatever time I have left hiding away.” She also revealed that she nearly died of sepsis in hospital and had to be put into a coma for two weeks. 

On This Day

• 1900 – The Gold Standard Act is ratified, placing the United States currency on the gold standard.  
• 1926 – The El Virilla train accident, Costa Rica, kills 248 people and wounds another 93 when a train falls off a bridge over the Río Virilla between Heredia and Tibás.  
• 1964 – Jack Ruby is convicted of killing Lee Harvey Oswald, the assumed assassin of John F. Kennedy

Deaths

• 1883 – Karl Marx, German philosopher and theorist (b. 1818).  
• 1932 – George Eastman, US inventor & businessman, founded Eastman Kodak (b. 1854). 
• 1999 – Kirk Alyn, American actor (b. 1910). 
• 2010 – Peter Graves, American actor (b. 1926). 
• 2014 – Tony Benn, English politician, Postmaster General of the UK (b. 1925). 
• 2018 – Jim Bowen, English stand-up comedian and TV personality (b. 1937). 
• 2018 – Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author (b. 1942). 

They’re Sill Alive?!?!  

Dead Pool favourite Pete Doherty was always top of the class. Born in Hexham, Northumberland, his dad John was a major in the Royal Signals and his mum Jacqueline Michels a lance corporal in the Royal Nursing Corps. An exemplary student, despite moving around the country as a military child, he achieved 7 A*s in his GCSEs, two As at A-Level and went on a poetry tour of Russia with the British Council when he was 16 after winning a competition. After college, he moved to London to study English Literature at the University of London but quit a year in; got a flat with muso Carl Barat and co-founded The Libertines in 1997.  

By 2002, their album Up the Bracket had turned the band into mainstream indie stars, but less than two years later, Pete – who turned 42 on 12th March – got kicked out of the band for abandoning rehab amid a spiralling drug addiction. Years of turbulence followed, from an explosive relationship with Kate Moss to a string of arrests and failed rehab stays and the tragic drugs deaths of some of those closest to him. But what became of Pete after his initial foray into fame….  

He met Kate Moss in January 2005 at Kate’s 31st birthday party and had planned to marry in the summer 2007. Pete famously drew a picture of them using his own blood, which sold for £5,000 last year. But their split was an acrimonious one, with the star accusing his ex of burning his beloved teddy Pandy – claims she has never responded too. Then in 2012, when Kate was married to The Kills star Jamie Hince, Pete claimed she called him out of the blue to make peace and check on his welfare. “I got a call which came as a surprise as we haven’t exchanged a word since it ended. And believe me, it ended nastily. But she was friendly and just asked me what I was up to. She wanted to know why I hadn’t written any songs recently and whether I was still taking drugs. She told me that despite everything that had happened between us, she was still rooting for me and that was nice. It means a lot to me to know that.” Meanwhile, he fathered a son, with Liam Gallagher’s ex Lisa Moorish in 2003 and a daughter with South African model Lindi Hingston in 2011. 

In 2015, Pete’s friend and former Libertines bandmate Alan Wass, 33, died from a heart attack after being ‘unlawfully’ given an injection of heroin, an inquest at Westminster coroner’s court ruled. Five years earlier, Goldsmith heiress Robyn Whitehead, 27, died at a Hackney flat where she had been making a documentary with Pete and his friend, fellow musician, Pete Wolfe, in January 2010. The inquest at Poplar Coroner’s Court in September 2011 found she had died from heroin poisoning and recorded a verdict of misadventure. As a result of the investigation, Pete was sentenced to six months in jail for possession of cocaine. In 2006 Mark Blanco fell from the balcony of a flat in Whitechapel, east London after rowing with people inside. Pete was caught leaving the scene on CCTV as Blanco lay dying on the pavement. Pete denied any involvement in his death and said he ran away because he was in possession of drugs. He told NME: “I can understand it does look dodgy. How ashamed do you think I am that I stepped over the body and legged it down the street? The film footage made me feel sick, sick to the stomach. Completely ashamed. I’m stepping over a dying man… I was on bail at the time. I had pockets full of drugs.” The coroner ruled out suicide and ordered the Metropolitan police to reopen the investigation, but in 2011 the CPS rules that there was insufficient evidence to charge anyone in relation to his death. Asked about the tragedies he has been associated with, Pete said: “I wasn’t even in the fucking country when Alan died. I saw Robyn the night before. Mark Blanco … well, fuck knows what happened to him.” 

Before her death from alcohol poisoning in July 2011, tragic Amy had been good friends with Pete. But in 2012 he claimed they’d actually been lovers but said it ended badly. “This is difficult for me to admit. But, yes, it’s true. Amy and I were lovers,” he said. “I loved her then and, well, I still do today. But towards the end, as only lovers can, she became quite mean and cruel to me. She didn’t suffer fools… and believe me, she had a mean right hook.” 

In his early days in London, Pete has told how he funded his addiction by working as a gay prostitute. In Libertine’s biography, Kids in Riot, he said: “I was working in a bar, selling drugs, working on a building site, writing poetry in the graveyard shift at The King’s Head – and I was wanking off old queens for like £20.” 

He’s attempted rehab numerous times over the years, and EastEnders’ star June Brown, who played Dot Cotton, even once stepped in and offered him a lifeline. June, 94, ran a charity that helped pay for addicts to get treatment at a Thai monastery called Thamkrabok, which claims to have one of the highest success rates in the world. “Anyone can go,” she said at the time. “We will pay your fare, all you need is to commit to treatment. I’m a huge Libertines fan. It’d be a marvellous place for Pete to kick his addiction.” Pete signed up but sadly only lasted a few days before he fled for the bright lights on Bangkok. After a second stint in Thailand in 2014 he declared that he’d beaten his demons once and for all, but  unsurprisingly relapsed within ’10 minutes’ of getting home to Margate. 

During his last major interview in 2019, he admitted he was still as addicted as ever but lamented what he could be and achieve if he wasn’t controlled by his hunger for drugs. “A part of me would like to be clean. Just so I can feel things. There are so many people in my life who deserve better. It really is a mental deficiency.I’d be a force to be reckoned with! I’d have money and self-respect and clean hands.” 

Pete still lives in Margate and was hospitalised in 2019 after pricking his finger on a hedgehog spike and at 42 years of age is still a very good shout as a Maverick. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jaimie Alexander (37), Michael Caine (88), Jamie Bell (35), Billy Crystal (73), Quincy Jones (88), Harry Melling (32), Annabeth Gish (50), William H. Macy (71), Danny Masterson (45), Titus Welliver (59), Aaron Eckhart (53), Liza Minnelli (75), Jodie Comer (28), Thora Birch (39), Johnny Knoxville (50), John Barrowman (54), Olivia Wilde (37), Sharon Stone (63), Jon Hamm (50), Chuck Norris (81), Oscar Isaac (42), Juliette Binoche (57), Freddie Prinze Jr. (45), Aidan Quinn (62), Cynthia Rothrock (64), and Micky Dolenz (76).

I bet those of you who listed Jimmy Greaves are kicking yourselves now that his commentating partner Ian St John has died! Anyhow, a news light edition this week, everyone must have been keeping their heads down. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Ian St John, 82, Scottish football player (Motherwell, Liverpool, national team) and manager.  
• Dick Sheppard, 90, British stuntman (The Italian Job, James Bond films).  
• Jahmil French, 29, Canadian actor (Degrassi: The Next Generation, Soundtrack, Remedy).  
• Bunny Wailer, 73, Jamaican reggae singer (Bob Marley and the Wailers) and songwriter, complications from a stroke.  
• Nicola Pagett, 75, British actress (Upstairs, Downstairs, Anne of the Thousand Days, There’s a Girl in My Soup), brain tumour.  
• Tony Hendra, 79, British comedian and actor (This Is Spinal Tap), complications from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.  

In Other News

The Duke of Edinburgh has undergone a successful procedure for a pre-existing heart condition but will stay in hospital for a few more days to recuperate. The 99-year-old was treated at St Bartholomew’s Hospital in central London on Wednesday. He has now spent 16 nights since he first went to hospital last month, his longest ever stay. In a brief statement, Buckingham Palace said Prince Philip’s procedure was to treat a “pre-existing heart condition” but did not give any further details as to his condition. “His Royal Highness will remain in hospital for treatment, rest and recuperation for a number of days,” the statement added. The Queen’s husband was first admitted to the private King Edward VII’s Hospital in London more than two weeks ago as a “precautionary measure” after feeling unwell. However, on Monday he was transferred to the NHS St Bartholomew’s Hospital – which is a specialist cardiac centre – for “testing and observation” on his heart condition, the Palace reported. On Wednesday his daughter-in-law Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall, said he had “slightly improved” but still “hurt at moments”. He has also been visited by his eldest son Prince Charles, who made a 200-mile round trip and stayed for around 30 minutes. The Duke of Edinburgh has been rarely seen in public after he retired from royal duties in 2017. He has however been treated at hospital for various ailments, most recently spending four nights in December 2019 at King Edward VII’s Hospital for what was only described as a “pre-existing condition”.  

The Wanted singer Tom Parker’s life fell apart last year when he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour at the age of just 32, but after a number of months of treatment, his wife Kelsey has given some positive news. Appearing on an episode of Loose Women, Kelsey confirmed the amazing news that Tom’s tumour has shrunk, revealing ‘we’ve had a significant reduction’. Chatting to the panel via a video stream, mum-of-two Kelsey said, “Tom’s doing really well. We had a meeting last Thursday and he’s just had another stable scan, so he’s doing so well. We’ve only just started our second round of chemotherapy, so we’ve had radio and chemo, we’ve had a bit of a break, because he had a bit of a dodgy liver, and now we’ve just started the second round of chemo. The tumour has shrunk, we’ve had a significant reduction. We were all just in tears when we got that news in January.” Speaking about her positivity, and how it’s hard to keep up, she said: “Not so much now, in the beginning yes because Tom had lost so much weight, he wasn’t eating, he was down to 8 and a half stone, Tom’s a slight person anyway, him losing weight, he couldn’t afford to. It was more the frustration, that’s what made me upset. I found it really hard to remain positive then. Now, after we’ve had this good news as well, we’re on this rollercoaster, we’re going forward and we’ve just to remain as positive as we possibly can.” 

On This Day

• 1876 – Alexander Graham Bell is granted a patent for an invention he calls the “telephone”.   
• 1965 – Bloody Sunday: A group of 600 civil rights marchers is brutally attacked by state and local police in Selma, Alabama.
• 1989 – Iran and the United Kingdom break diplomatic relations after a fight over Salman Rushdie and his controversial novel, The Satanic Verses. 

Deaths

• 1809 – Jean-Pierre Blanchard, French inventor, pioneer in balloon flight (b. 1753). 
• 1988 – Divine, American drag queen and film actor (b. 1945). 
• 1999 – Stanley Kubrick, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1928). 
• 2004 – Paul Winfield, American actor (b. 1941). 

Last Woman Executed in Canada 

Marguerite Ruest-Pitre, was a Canadian conspirator in a mass murder carried out when Albert Guay bombed an airliner, killing all 23 people on the plane. She was the 13th and last woman to be hanged in Canada, she was executed on 9th January 1953 in Montreal, Quebec. 

Pitre was born in Saint-Octave-de-Métis, Quebec. She ran a boarding house at Saint-Roch, and became known by her neighbours and later by the press as “Madame le Corbeau” (“Madame Raven”) because she always wore black clothes. 

Self-described jeweller and watchmaker Albert Guay—although at his trial it was suggested that he was actually a watch and jewellery salesman—was having an extramarital affair with 19-year-old waitress Marie-Ange Robitaille. Marguerite Pitre helped to arrange liaisons between them. Guay decided to murder his wife, the former Rita Morel; after he considered poisoning her, he finally decided to kill her by bombing an airliner on which she was embarked as a passenger. He asked Pitre’s brother, clockmaker Généreux Ruest, to manufacture a bomb using dynamite, batteries, and an alarm clock. Pitre purchased the dynamite at a hardware store, claiming it was to be used to clear a field. 

On 9th September 1949, Rita Guay was scheduled to board Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 108, a Douglas DC-3 aircraft, at L’Ancienne-Lorette, a suburb of Quebec City, where it made a scheduled stopover during a flight from Montreal to Baie-Comeau. On the day of the flight, Albert Guay purchased a $10,000 insurance policy on his wife, which he would attempt to collect three days later. Pitre delivered the package containing the bomb to the plane, supposedly for mail delivery, Albert secreted it in Rita’s luggage, and Rita boarded the plane for the flight to Baie-Comeau, unaware of the danger. 

The flight was delayed five minutes at takeoff; this apparently thwarted Guay’s desire to have the explosion take place over the Saint Lawrence River, which would have made forensic examination of the crash impossible with the technology then available to forensic scientists. The bomb instead exploded over Cap Tourmente near Sault-au-Cochon in the Charlevoix region of Quebec, causing the plane to crash and killing Rita Guay and all of the other 22 people on board.  

Guay was arrested two weeks after the crash and put on trial in February 1950; he was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging, and was executed in Montreal on 12th January 1951.  

After his conviction, Guay issued a statement, claiming that Ruest and Pitre had knowingly abetted his plans; it has been speculated that Guay’s motive in denouncing his accomplices was to buy time to delay his own execution, believing that he would be called to testify at their trials. As a result, Ruest was arrested on 6th June 1950, and Pitre on 14th June 1950. Ruest maintained his innocence, claiming that he thought the bomb was to be used to clear tree stumps from a field. He was tried, with Guay testifying against him, and convicted in November 1950; sentenced to death by hanging, and he was executed in Montreal on 25th July 1952. 

Pitre attempted suicide, but failed. Her trial began on 6th March 1951. She, too, maintained her innocence, claiming that Albert Guay had told her that the package she was transporting on the day of the bombing contained a statue. Albert Guay already had been executed and therefore could not testify against her, but she was convicted and sentenced to death by hanging.  

Marguerite Pitre arrived at Bordeaux Prison in Montreal at midnight on 8/9th January 1953, accompanied by two nuns, and climbed to the prison’s third floor. After a few moments with her escorts, she entered the ante-room where the hangman was waiting for her. She walked to the gallows at 12:35 a.m. on 9th January 1953, and was pronounced dead 15 minutes later. Jail authorities said she displayed no fear and that “everything was normal.”. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Bryan Cranston (65), Tobias Menzies (47), Rachel Weisz (51), Ellen Muth (40), Tom Arnold (62), Amy Okuda (32), Shaquille O’Neal (49), Alan Davies (55), Jolene Blalock (46), Eva Mendes (47), Dean Stockwell (85), Jake Lloyd (32), Matt Lucas (47), Paul Blackthorne (52), Fred Williamson (83), Penn Jillette (66), Catherine O’Hara (67), Patsy Kensit (53), Dominique Pinon (66), Julie Bowen (51), Jessica Biel (39), Miranda Richardson (63), Charlie Brooker (50), Bryce Dallas Howard (40), Daniel Craig (53), Nathalie Emmanuel (32), Rebel Wilson (41), Gates McFadden (72), Jon Bon Jovi (59), Chris Martin (44), Alexander Armstrong (51), Zack Snyder (55), Jensen Ackles (43), Ron Howard (67), Javier Bardem (52), Lupita Nyong’o (38), Jack Davenport (48), Dirk Benedict (76), Justin Bieber (27), Paul Hollywood (55), Roger Daltrey (77), and Harry Belafonte (94).

What a shit week for deaths! I struggled to find anyone noteworthy in the Wiki listings up until 11am on Sunday when Johnny Briggs was announced; you’d think that there would be one or two we’d know, especially since we’re still in the middle of a pandemic! Anyhow, read on… 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Ronald Pickup, 80, English actor (Darkest Hour, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Mission).  
• Peter Gotti, 81, American mobster (Gambino crime family).  
• Mike Burns, 84, British-born Irish newscaster (RTÉ News at One, This Week, World Report).  
• Johnny Briggs, 85, English actor (Coronation Street, Man About the House, Carry On England)

In Other News

Tiger Woods is “fortunate to be alive” following a serious car crash in California, police said on Tuesday. The golfer was conscious and had serious injuries to both legs when found at the crash scene. Authorities said the 45-year-old was in a “serious” condition but was able to communicate with them when they arrived on the scene in Rancho Palo Verdes, California. His car was going downhill on a steep and winding road when it crossed the centre, crashed into the curb and rolled over several times into brush and a tree. A neighbour who lives about 15 metres (50 ft) from the accident spot, a notoriously dangerous stretch of road in the area, called 911 at 7:12am local time. Authorities say that the airbags deployed inside the Genesis GV80 SUV, which was loaned to Woods for the week, and that he had been wearing a seatbelt. Fire chief Daryl Osby said that firefighters used pry tools and an axe to remove Woods from the car through the windscreen. Sheriff Alex Villanueva told a press conference that deputies had found “no evidence of impairment” from drugs or alcohol at the crash site. “No impairment was found at this time but it will be the subject of the investigation,” he said. “It would have been a fatal if the interior of the Genesis GV80 SUV had not remained intact in the crash. The interior of the car was intact which kind of gave him the cushion to survive,” said Mr Villanueva. Mr Villanueva added that there were no signs of braking or skid marks on the road and that it appeared Mr Woods had been “going at a relatively greater speed than normal. Because it is downhill, it slopes, and also it curves. That area has a high frequency of  accidents. It’s not uncommon.” 

Deputy Carlos Gonzalez was the first officer on the scene and described Mr Woods as “calm and lucid” when he spoke to him. “Unfortunately, Mr Woods was not able to stand up under his own power. Mr Woods was seated in the driver’s seat, I made contact with them and made sure he was able to speak to me,” he said. “He seemed calm and lucid at that time. I kept him calm until LA County Fire arrived on the scene. I spoke to him, I asked him what his name was and he said his name was ‘Tiger’. And at that moment I immediately recognised him. I asked him if he knew where he was, what time of day, to make sure he was oriented. He seemed as though he was lucid and calm. He did not seem concerned about his injuries at the time, which is common in traffic accidents when people are in shock. It’s a traumatic experience. It’s not uncommon for people to be focused on unimportant things or even if they are in pain, they may not feel it until much later.” The deputy added that Woods was wearing a seatbelt may have contributed to saving his life. Woods was due to tape two “teaching lessons” at the Rolling Hills Country Club with NFL quarterbacks Drew Brees and Justin Herbert when the accident happened. Officials said there was also a second vehicle accident caused by people slowing to see what had happened, but no one was hurt. 

Former Scotland, Manchester United and Leeds United defender Gordon McQueen has been diagnosed with vascular dementia, his family have confirmed. The 68-year-old, whose career began at St Mirren, played 30 times for Scotland and won the English First Division with Leeds and FA Cup at Manchester United. McQueen went on to manage Airdrie and coach at Middlesbrough, before working as a television pundit. His family said that the former centre-back was formally diagnosed in January. “As a family we felt it was important to let people know, particularly if raising awareness can help others in similar situations,” they said in a statement. “Whilst as a family we’ve found it hard to come to terms with the changes in dad, he has no regrets about his career and has lived life to the full. He had unforgettable experiences in his playing days with Scotland, Manchester United and Leeds United, and also took so much from his coaching and TV work in more recent times.” The family statement, attributed to McQueen’s wife Yvonne, daughters Hayley and Anna, and son Edward, said that McQueen “wants footballers of today’s generation to know there may be risks with persistent heading of the ball”.    

A rooster that had been fitted with a knife for an illegal cockfight has killed its owner in southern India. The bird’s owner was impaled in the groin by the knife as the animal tried to escape. The man died on the way to hospital from a loss of blood. Police are now searching for 15 more people involved in the event, which took place in the village of Lothunur in Telangana state earlier this week. The animal was held at a police station before being transferred to a farm. Police said the animal was being readied to take part in a fight when it tried to escape. Its owner attempted to catch it but was struck by the 7cm-long knife on the animal’s leg during the struggle. Those involved in the event face charges of manslaughter, illegal betting and hosting a cockfight. Cockfighting was made illegal in India in 1960 but fights are still relatively common in rural areas such as Telangana with many falling around the Hindu festival of Sankranti. It’s not the first time an owner has been killed by their rooster. Last year a man in Andhra Pradesh died after he was hit in the neck by a blade attached to his rooster. 

On This Day

• 1935 – DuPont scientist Wallace Carothers invents nylon. 
• 1947 – February 28 Incident: In Taiwan, civil disorder is put down with the loss of an estimated 30,000 civilians.  
• 1953 – James Watson and Francis Crick announce to friends that they have determined the chemical structure of DNA; the formal announcement takes place on April 25 following publication in April’s Nature.  
• 1954 – The first colour television sets using the NTSC standard are offered for sale to the general public.  
• 1958 – A school bus in Floyd County, Kentucky hits a wrecker truck and plunges down an embankment into the rain-swollen Levisa Fork river. The driver and 26 children die in what remains one of the worst school bus accidents in U.S. history.  
• 1975 – In London, an underground train fails to stop at Moorgate terminus station and crashes into the end of the tunnel, killing 43 people.  
• 1983 – The final episode of M*A*S*H airs, with almost 106 million viewers. It still holds the record for the highest viewership of a season finale.  
• 1993 – The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms agents raid the Branch Davidian church in Waco, Texas with a warrant to arrest the group’s leader David Koresh. Four ATF agents and six Davidians die in the initial raid, starting a 51-day standoff.  
• 2013 – Pope Benedict XVI resigns as the pope of the Catholic Church, becoming the first pope to do so since Pope Gregory XII, in 1415. 

Deaths

• 1998 – Dermot Morgan, Irish comedian and actor (b. 1952). 
• 2011 – Jane Russell, American actress and singer (b. 1921). 
• 2016 – George Kennedy, American actor (b. 1925). 
• 2019 – André Previn, German-American pianist, conductor, and composer. (b. 1929). 
• 2020 – Freeman Dyson, British-born American physicist and mathematician (b. 1923). 

What will happen when  Prince Philip dies?

After marrying in 1947, the Duke of Edinburgh has been the longest-reigning consort in British history, standing beside The Queen for over 73 years. At the age of 99, the Duke has rarely been seen in public in the past few years, but earlier this week it was reported he was admitted to hospital ‘as a precautionary measure’. 

We know Buckingham Palace is prepared with two very different protocols when the Royals die. The plan in place for when the Queen passes is known as “London Bridge is Down.” But what will happen when Prince Philip dies?

The Dukes not-so-secret codename is called “Operation Forth Bridge”. The name refers to a railway bridge linking Edinburgh to Fife.

When Philip pegs it, the Lord Chamberlain will consult with the Prime Minister, and then seek the Queen’s specific wishes regarding the death announcement. The rest of the world won’t find out the news until Buckingham Palace officially announces it to the media, most likely through the BBC, probably within hours. If the death occurs overnight, it is expected the death announcement will come at 8am. The UK will then enter a period of national mourning, where flags will be lowered to half-mast. 

During this time the Queen will be given an eight day period of mourning where she is able to forgo her Royal duties and let someone stand in her place if needed. Following this time, she will likely return to her role but behind closed doors. Britain will then enter a 30 day mourning period. Once this longer period of mourning is over, the Queen will return to more public Royal duties and appearances.

As he is the Queen’s husband, the Duke of Edinburgh is entitled to a full state funeral. But in typical Prince Philip style, he has apparently requested for people to not ‘make a fuss’ over his funeral, so although he is entitled to a large funeral, it’s unlikely to happen. 

Philip, who is currently fighting an infection, has been closely involved in the arrangements for his funeral. They are being co-ordinated by the Lord Chamberlain’s Office at Buckingham Palace. Based on Prince Philip’s wishes, it is believed only family, friends and heads of state from Commonwealth countries will be allowed to attend the funeral. Once it comes to laying his body to rest, his body will be buried in the grounds of Windsor Castle in Frogmore Gardens. This is a very personal place for the Queen and Prince Philip as it’s closed off to the public and is often where she walks her dogs. 

Codenames have also been used in the past relating to plans for their funerals. These codenames were first invented so that switchboard operators couldn’t learn of Royal deaths ahead of any public announcements. For example, when King George VI passed away in 1952, the phrase “Hyde Park Corner” was used to communicate with government officials about his death. 

For 21st century Royals, bridges have been used as codenames. For Queen Elizabeth, Operation London Bridge will be used for her death and funeral. Operation Tay Bridge was the name used for the Queen Mother and Diana’s deaths. Operation Menai Bridge refers to the funeral plan for Charles, Prince of Wales. Let’s see if they survive the week… 

Last Week’s Birthdays

John Turturro (64), Rae Dawn Chong (69), Mercedes Ruehl (73), Stephanie Beacham (74), Kate Mara (38), Adam Baldwin (59), Timothy Spall (64), Richard Coyle (49), Chase Masterson (58), Bill Duke (78), Michael Bolton (68), Téa Leoni (55), Sean Astin (50), Lee Evans (57), Daniel Kaluuya (32), Billy Zane (55), Ben Miller (55), Edward James Olmos (74), Dennis Waterman (73), Emily Blunt (38), Dakota Fanning (27), Kelly Macdonald (45), Samara Weaving (29), Josh Gad (40), Thomas Jane (52), Drew Barrymore (46), Jeri Ryan (53), Kyle MacLachlan (62), Julie Walters (71), James Hong (92), Josh Helman (35), Sheila Hancock (88), and Nigel Planer (68). 

Let’s dish out some points!!! With the tragically delightful death of the first class malicious  idiot known as Rush Limbaugh, 80 points are happily awarded to Abi, Lee, and to myself! But not to be outdone, Ceri listed him as her Cert, so an amazing 180 points awarded; which cements her position at the top of the table for the time being, but has she peaked too soon? Well done everyone! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Carlos Menem, 90, Argentine politician, President (1989–1999), complications from urinary tract infection.  
• Doug Mountjoy, 78, Welsh snooker player.  
• Rush Limbaugh, 70, American radio host (The Rush Limbaugh Show), author and political commentator, lung cancer.  
• Prince Markie Dee, 52, American rapper (The Fat Boys), heart failure.  
• Suzy Miller, 72, British model, Page 3 Girl, actress, dancer, & choreographer, lung cancer.

 In Other News

Somehow, the Prince of Wales has managed to visit the central London hospital where his father, the Duke of Edinburgh, remains after feeling unwell. Philip was admitted to the King Edward VII’s hospital as a precaution on Tuesday. A Buckingham Palace source us the duke is likely to remain in hospital into next week. The exact reason for his admission has not been disclosed but his stay is not related to coronavirus as he and Betty had their jabs a few weeks ago. A palace source previously said the duke, who is due to turn 100 in June, had walked into the hospital in Marylebone unaided. Prince Charles, 72, spent about 30 minutes at the hospital on Saturday afternoon, regardless of us peasants not being allowed to do the same. He returned to his Highgrove residence after the visit, a  local 208 mile round trip. Apparently, under England’s current coronavirus lockdown rules, visiting someone in a hospital is considered a “reasonable excuse” to leave home, although many hospitals have put significant limits on visitors. The King Edward VII’s hospital website says visitors “will only be considered in exceptional circumstances” during the pandemic. Does that mean he’s at death’s door or just privileged? 

Linda Nolan has told us that she’s “so scared” of dying. The Nolans star is living with incurable breast cancer, which has now spread to her liver. “I am scared, I won’t lie. I am so scared of dying,” she shared with us at Dead Pool Towers. Linda added that she and her sisters were raised Catholic, and as such she thinks a great deal about whether there’s an afterlife – and whether she’ll get to see her husband Brian and sister Bernie again, both of which died to cancer. “I look at my great-nieces and nephews and think how much I’d love to see them growing up. That’s hard,” she continued. “I want to be here when they have fabulous moments at school and their prom. Then other times I think to myself, ‘Well, you will be here, so shut up! I am really positive, but there are some days when I just give in.” Linda currently has chemotherapy tablets, five in the morning and five at night, and heads to the hospital once every three weeks to have her bloods done and to speak with her consultant. Meanwhile, there’s “no sign” of cancer at all in her sister Anne anymore. “It’s amazing news,” Linda said bitterly, “She got that news the week before I went in and mine had fucking spread like melted butter over a toasted crumpet.” Meanwhile Linda’s launched her own gin, vowing her cancer won’t stop her from cashing in as much as she can. With that mind, you might want to read her upcoming book Stronger Together, out in April, which tells how the sisters came together to exploit the dying one for a mediocre amount of cash and media coverage.  

Bob Dole, the former longtime Kansas senator and 1996 Republican presidential nominee, said on Thursday that he has stage 4 lung cancer. “Recently, I was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. My first treatment will begin on Monday,” Dole, 97, said in a statement. “While I certainly have some hurdles ahead, I also know that I join millions of Americans who face significant health challenges of their own,” Dole added. Dole served as a U.S. senator from Kansas from 1969 to 1996 and also served as both the Senate majority and minority leader during his long career. He was the GOP presidential nominee in 1996, losing to Bill Clinton. President Joe Biden visited his ‘close friend’ and said the former Republican Senator is ‘doing well’. 

Jeanette Lee, the professional pool player often known by her nickname “The Black Widow,” is battling stage 4 ovarian cancer. Lee, 49, announced her terminal diagnosis last Wednesday.  A single mother to three girls — Savannah, 10, Chloe, 11, and Cheyenne, 16 — Lee said in the release, “I intend to bring the same resolve I brought to the billiards table to this fight.” A GoFundMe has been created in Lee’s name, and its purpose is to “ensure that the girls are appropriately cared for and can afford to go to college.” “Jeanette’s largest and most pressing concern is the well being of her three young girls,” the fundraiser’s description reads, in part. “The future care, well-being and education of her girls is the biggest cause of anxiety for her.” It also went into more details about her diagnosis: “The cancer has fully metastasized into her lymph nodes and the prognosis is dire. At this stage, her doctors say she has a few months to a year left to live.” Lee began playing pool in 1989, and has been in the sport professionally for 30 years. She was ranked the world’s No. 1 female pool player in the ’90s and has come out on top of various competitions over the years. 

On This Day

• 1804 – The first self-propelling steam locomotive makes its outing at the Pen-y-Darren Ironworks in Wales. 
• 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”. 
• 1965 – Malcolm X is assassinated while giving a talk at the Audubon Ballroom in Harlem. 

Deaths

• 1965 – Malcolm X, American minister and activist (b. 1925; assassinated). 
• 2002 – John Thaw, English actor and producer (b. 1942). 
• 2018 – Billy Graham, American evangelist (b. 1918). 
• 2019 – Peter Tork, American musician and actor (b. 1942). 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Elliot Page (34), Jennifer Love Hewitt (42), Sophie Turner (25), Tuppence Middleton (34), Kelsey Grammer (66), Tyne Daly (75), Tituss Burgess (42), Anthony Daniels (75), Martha Hackett (60), Charlotte Church (35), Chelsea Peretti (42), Anthony Head (67), Sidney Poitier (94), Brenda Blethyn (75), Rihanna (33), Cindy Crawford (55), Trevor Noah (37), Millie Bobby Brown (17), Benicio Del Toro (54), Jeff Daniels (66), Ophelia Lovibond (35), Ray Winstone (64), Leslie Ash (61), John Travolta (67), Molly Ringwald (53), Matt Dillon (57), Cybill Shepherd (71), Dr. Dre (56), Yoko Ono (88), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (40), Rene Russo (67), Bonnie Wright (30), Lou Diamond Phillips (59), Dominic Purcell (51), Paris Hilton (40), Rory Kinnear (45), Alejandro Jodorowsky (92), Barry Humphries (87), Patricia Routledge (92), Brenda Fricker (76), Michael Jordan (58), Ed Sheeran (30), Elizabeth Olsen (32), The Weeknd (31), Christopher Eccleston (57), LeVar Burton (64), Ice-T (63), Amanda Holden (50), June Brown (94), John McEnroe (62), Jane Seymour (70), and Matt Groening (67).

Welcome to the not so Valentine’s Special, where I have endeavoured to not mention it… Oops! A fairly run of the mill edition this week, no points awarded but a few small bits to read. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Dai Davies, 72, Welsh footballer (Wrexham, Everton, national team), pancreatic cancer.
• Rynagh O’Grady, 66, Irish actress (Far and Away, Father Ted, Breakfast on Pluto). 
• Anthony Sowell, 61, American serial killer.  
• Mary Wilson, 76, American singer (The Supremes), hypertensive atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease. 
• Larry Flynt, 78, American publisher (Hustler), founder of Larry Flynt Publications, heart failure.  
• Rowena Morrill, 76, American fantasy illustrator.  

In Other News

Ashley Judd has been taken to hospital following a “catastrophic” accident in the Congo after suffering a shattered leg.. The actress, 52, revealed the news during an an Instagram Live that she was resting in a “trauma unit in beautiful South Africa” after sustaining “massive catastrophic injuries” during a rainforest excursion. Judd said that she had been travelling in the Congo when she tripped over a fallen tree. She recalled lying on the forest floor for five hours, and “howling like an animal” while being carried back to her camp by her “Congolese brothers”. She added that she faded in and out of consciousness during the journey out of the rainforest and to the capital of Kinshasa, and had kept herself awake by reciting Bible passages. She was finally taken to hospital in South Africa after what she described as an “incredibly harrowing” experience. In the Instagram Live, Judd, said that the accident was a reminder of her privilege as a person of means travelling in the Congo, explaining: “The difference between a Congolese person and me is disaster insurance that allowed me, 55 hours after my accident, to get to an operating table in South Africa.” 

Fernando Alonso suffered a broken jaw after he was involved in a road accident while cycling, his Formula One team have confirmed. The 39-year-old suffered the accident while riding in Switzerland on Thursday. The Spanish driver was due to return to the grid this season following two years away. And while his injuries are understandably serious, Alpine F1 expect him to be “fully operational” by the time the season begins in Bahrain next month. A statement from the team read: “Following his cycling accident yesterday Fernando Alonso was kept under observation in hospital in Switzerland. “Medics discovered a fracture in his upper jaw and conducted a successful corrective operation. The attending medical team are satisfied with his progress. Fernando will remain under observation in hospital for a further 48 hours. Looking forward, after a few days of complete rest, he will be able to progressively resume training. We expect him to be fully operational to undertake preparation for the season.” In 2018, Alonso quit the sport and set his sights on becoming only the second driver since Britain’s Graham Hill to complete the so-called Triple Crown – winning the Monaco Grand Prix, Le Mans 24 Hours and Indy 500. Although he won the famous sportscar endurance race in 2018 and 2019 he has not been able to crack the Indy 500, despite a remarkable effort on his first appearance back in 2017.  

As you all know, I had written a piece on Capt. Tom Moore for last weeks edition, but I chickened out publishing it because I felt it was edging on going a little too far. Well, somebody didn’t listen to their own inner monologue and has now been charged in connection with an offensive social media tweet about the dead Captain. The 35-year-old man is due to appear in court in Lanarkshire later this week! A Police Scotland spokeswoman said: “On Friday 5th February 2021, we received a report of an offensive tweet about Sir Captain Tom Moore who died on Tuesday 2nd February. A 35-year-old man has subsequently been arrested and charged in connection with communication offences and is due to appear at Lanark Sheriff Court on Wednesday 17th February.” I have no idea what was tweeted, but I’m fairly sure it wasn’t as bad as what I wrote last week! Maybe I did make the correct judgement call? Looks like you can’t make offence online nowadays without finding yourself cancelled or arrested. 

On This Day

• 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.  
• 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. 
• 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 that later becomes famous as Pale Blue Dot. 
• 2005 – YouTube is launched.

Deaths

• 1779 – James Cook, English captain, cartographer, and explorer (b. 1728). 
• 1975 – P. G. Wodehouse, English novelist and playwright (b. 1881). 
• 1996 – Bob Paisley, English footballer and manager (b. 1919). 
• 2010 – Dick Francis, Welsh jockey and author (b. 1920). 
• 2018 – Morgan Tsvangirai, 2nd Prime Minister of Zimbabwe (b. 1952). 

Last Meals

Anthony Sowell was an American serial killer and rapist known as the Cleveland Strangler. He was arrested in October 2009 after the bodies of eleven women were discovered by police at his home, in the Mount Pleasant neighbourhood of Cleveland, Ohio.  

Sowell was one of seven children born to single parent Claudia “Gertude” Garrison. Seven other children belonging to Sowell’s sister also lived in the household, having moved in after her death following a chronic illness. According to Sowell’s niece, Leona Davis, Garrison subjected them to physical abuse while her own children watched from adjacent rooms. In one incident, Garrison forced Davis to strip naked in front of the other children, then whipped her with electrical cords until she bled. Sowell himself began raping his niece on an almost daily basis for two years, starting when she was 10. It was also reported by Davis that the other males in the household also participated in the rapes. 

In 1989, Sowell attacked Melvette Sockwell, who was three months pregnant at the time, when she attempted to leave his home. He tied her up and choked her so badly that she thought that she was going to die. He was charged with kidnapping, rape, and attempted murder for which Sowell pled guilty and served a 15-year sentence. He was released from prison in 2005.

Unfortunately, this did not serve as a deterrent for his murderous actions. He said he was a master looking for a submissive partner to “tame” and neighbours complained of a foul odor coming from his home. He also, somehow, dated the niece of the Cleveland Mayor Frank G Jackson for a time, who smelled the decaying bodies but was told various different stories by Sowell. Somewhere between 2007-2008, she moved out. 

No one knew about the bodies until 2009 when Latundra Billups was invited to Sowell’s home for a drink. After he had a couple of drinks, he assaulted, choked, and raped her. Billups went to the police who arrived with an arrest warrant. Sowell had fled, but he was captured two days later. Either way, police went inside which is when they started to find the bodies. 

Much like John Wayne Gacy, Sowell’s 11 murder victims  were found in and around his home. Bodies were found in the basement, in crawl spaces, in the backyard. One skull was found in a bucket. Most victims were killed by manual strangulation, leading to the name the Cleveland Strangler. Some of the bodies still had the ligatures used to kill them on them.

In addition to the murders, Sowell also raped three women. He would invite them home to smoke crack cocaine with him and then assault them. He would be charged with 11 counts of aggravated murder and 74 counts of rape, kidnapping, tampering with evidence, and abuse of a corpse. Initially, he pled “not guilty by reason of insanity”, but later changed it to just “not guilty”.  Sowell was convicted of his crimes and sentenced to death. He was still exhausting his appeals as late as May 2020. 

On January 21st 2021, he began receiving end-of-life care at the Franklin Medical Centre for a terminal illness and died on the 8th February. His last meal has not been released.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Simon Pegg (51), Danai Gurira (43), Andrew Robinson (79), Neal McDonough (55), Mena Suvari (42), Stockard Channing (77), Kim Novak (88), Josh Brolin (53), Christina Ricci (41), Michael Ironside (71), Arsenio Hall (65), Maud Adams (76), Natalie Dormer (39), Jennifer Aniston (52), Damian Lewis (50), Thomas Turgoose (29), Sheryl Crow (59), Chloë Grace Moretz (24), Elizabeth Banks (47), Keeley Hawes (45), Laura Dern (54), Robert Wagner (91), Philip Glenister (58), Holly Willoughby (40), Tom Hiddleston (40), Michael B. Jordan (34), Rose Leslie (34), Joe Pesci (78), Ciarán Hinds (68), Mia Farrow (76), Mary Steenburgen (68), Seth Green (47), Nick Nolte (80), and Ethan Phillips (66).