Welcome to the last newsletter for April, the general trend of the year is still with us, no amazing surprise deaths and still no points! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Ken Kercheval, 83, American actor (Dallas, Network, The Seven-Ups), pneumonia.
• Edward Kelsey, 88, English actor (The Archers, Danger Mouse, Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit).
• Terry Rawlings, 85, British film editor (Alien, Blade Runner, Chariots of Fire), heart failure.
• Jean-Pierre Marielle, 87, French actor (Cookies, Without Apparent Motive, The Da Vinci Code).
• Dick Rivers, 74, French rock and roll singer (Les Chats Sauvages), cancer.
• Larry “Flash” Jenkins, 63, American actor (Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Fletch, The White Shadow), heart attack.  
• Jessie Lawrence Ferguson, 76, American actor (Prince of Darkness, Darkman, Boyz n the Hood).

In Other News

A California prisoner is accused of beheading his cellmate in an attack officials described as “heinous”. Jaime Osuna allegedly mutilated, killed and beheaded Luis Romero at Corcoran State Prison on 9th March, in an overnight murder. Fuck knows what the other inmates and the guards were up to! Osuna is accused of removing several of Romero’s body parts with a sharp metal object which was wrapped in string and attached to a handle. Officials say it is unclear how long the victim remained alive during the torture. “We do believe that [Romero] was conscious during at least a portion of the time,” Phil Esbenshade, a district attorney, said. “This is the most gruesome case that I have seen in terms of heinousness in the slaying.” Prison guards found Romero’s body in his cell at around 7.30 am. An autopsy report concluded that the 44-year-old had bled to death after suffering “multiple sharp force trauma injuries”. Osuna was initially imprisoned in 2017, without the possibility of parole, after pleading guilty to killing a 37-year-old woman in a motel in 2011.   

More than 270 election staff have died in Indonesia, ten days after the country held the world’s biggest single-day vote, officials say. The workers have mostly died of fatigue-related illnesses caused by long hours spent counting millions of ballot papers by hand, according to one official. A further 1,878 workers involved in overseeing the ballot have fallen ill, Indonesia’s General Elections Commission (KPU) spokesperson said. Voting is still ongoing but concern is growing over the number of deaths. The country’s health ministry has also urged medical facilities to care for sick election staff. Indonesia’s elections commission has been criticised for its treatment of workers. The country held elections on 17th April, marking the first time it had combined a presidential ballot with national and regional parliamentary ones. Officials estimated that around 80 per cent of 193 million people participate. Each person cast up to five ballot papers in more than 800,000 polling stations across eight hours. If any of the Poolers have any idea how you can die from counting bits of paper, please send your answer on a postcard to the usual address…  

Last week we said farewell to Geoffrey Servante at the age of 99. I’d forgive you for not knowing who he was, however he was almost certainly the last surviving British member of the legendary International Brigades of the Spanish Civil War. Geoffrey joined the fight against General Franco’s fascist-backed rebellion in Spain in June 1937, 11 months after the outbreak of the war. As an 18-year-old merchant seaman, he jumped ship in Valencia and caught a train to the International Brigades’ main base in Albacete. Because he was not yet 21 he was refused admission into the British Battalion and was instead assigned to an Anglo-American artillery unit known as the John Brown Battery. Initially deployed in Extremadura in south-west Spain, the battery was transferred to the Toledo front south of Madrid in December 1937. There Geoffrey remained until the final months of the Spanish Civil War, which ended with Franco declaring victory in April 1939. Thanks to Millie for finding this one! 

On This Day

• 1503 – The Battle of Cerignola is fought. It is noted as one of the first European battles in history won by small arms fire using gunpowder.
• 1789 – Mutiny on the Bounty: Lieutenant William Bligh and 18 sailors are set adrift and the rebel crew returns to Tahiti briefly and then sets sail for Pitcairn Island.
• 1869 – Chinese and Irish labourers for the Central Pacific Railroad working on the First Transcontinental Railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched.
• 1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
• 1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are executed by a firing squad consisting of members of the Italian resistance movement.
• 1988 – Near Maui, Hawaii, flight attendant Clarabelle “C.B.” Lansing is blown out of Aloha Airlines Flight 243, a Boeing 737, and falls to her death when part of the plane’s fuselage rips open in mid-flight.

Deaths

• 1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian journalist and politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1883)
• 1992 – Francis Bacon, Irish painter (b. 1909)
• 1999 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and manager (b. 1920)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jenna Coleman (33), Sheena Easton (60), Russell T. Davies (56), Pablo Schreiber (41), Channing Tatum (39), Giancarlo Esposito (61), Kevin James (54), Jet Li (56), Joan Chen (58), Melania Trump (49), Renée Zellweger (50), Al Pacino (79), Hank Azaria (55), Talia Shire (73), Gina Torres (50), William Roache (87), Rory McCann (50), Aidan Gillen (51), Djimon Hounsou (55), Barbra Streisand (77), Shirley MacLaine (85), Rebecca Mader (42), Richard Donner (89), Gemma Whelan (38), John Cena (42), John Hannah (57), Lee Majors (80), John Oliver (42), Amber Heard (33), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (53), Jack Nicholson (82), Sheryl Lee (52), and John Waters (73).

A quick writeup this week, I know you’re all enjoying the holidays and can’t be bothered to read up on dead people. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Bibi Andersson, 83, Swedish actress (The Seventh Seal, Wild Strawberries, Persona), complications from a stroke.  
• Warren Adler, 91, American author (The War of the Roses, Random Hearts), liver cancer.  
• Les Reed, 83, English songwriter (“It’s Not Unusual“, “Delilah“, “The Last Waltz“).  

In Other News

Actress Joan Collins has praised the NHS and fire crews after a “terrifying” blaze at her flat in central London. The London Fire Brigade said they were called to a seven-storey building on Eaton Place, Belgravia, at about 16:30 on Saturday. About 10 firefighters tackled the blaze which was brought under control by about 17:35. The actress needed treatment for smoke inhalation and praised her “hero” husband. In a tweet, posted on Sunday, Collins thanked the NHS and ambulance service, as well as the Metropolitan Police for blocking off the street and the fire brigade for putting out the fire. She also thanked her husband Percy Gibson, who “doused the flames consuming the entire wall with handheld extinguisher.” A spokeswoman for the fire brigade said: “Part of a flat on the first floor of the seven-storey building was damaged by the fire. “Two people left the property before the brigade arrived.” A Metropolitan Police spokesman said two people were treated by the London Ambulance Service but did not require hospital treatment, adding that the fire was deemed non-suspicious.  

In an apparently Frankensteinian effort, US scientists have partially revived pig brains four hours after the animals were slaughtered. The findings could fuel debate about the barrier between life and death, thus provoke arguments over points, and also provide a new way of researching diseases like Alzheimer’s. The study showed the death of brain cells could be halted and that some connections in the brain were restored. However, there were no signals from the brain that would indicate awareness or consciousness. The surprise findings challenge the idea that the brain goes into irreversible decline within minutes of the blood supply being cut off. How was it done? Thirty-two pig brains were collected from an abattoir. Four hours later the organs were connected to a system made by the team at Yale University. It rhythmically pumped (to mimic the pulse) a specially designed liquid round the brain, which contained a synthetic blood to carry oxygen and drugs to slow or reverse the death of brain cells. 10 hours after the pigs were decapitated, there was no sign of the brain-wide electrical activity in an electroencephalogram (EEG brain scan) that would signal awareness or perception. Fundamentally they were still dead brains. The Yale scientists were so concerned the pigs might become conscious that they gave drugs to the disembodied brains to reduce any brain activity. And the team were constantly monitoring the brains to see if there was any sign of higher brain functions. 

On This Day

• 753 BC – Romulus founds Rome. 
• 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII.  
• 1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France.  
• 1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph”, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail (in 1999, it is revealed to be a hoax).  
• 1989 – Nintendo launched the original Game Boy in Japan. The portable video game system had four Japanese launch titles; Super Mario Land, Alleyway, Baseball, and Yakuman.

Deaths

• 1910 – Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (b. 1835)  
• 2003 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (b. 1933) 
• 2016 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1958)  
• 2018 – Verne Troyer, American actor (b. 1969)

Last Week’s Birthdays

James McAvoy (40), Toby Stephens (50), Andie MacDowell (61), Tony Danza (68), Iggy Pop (72), Queen Elizabeth II (93), Veronica Cartwright (70), Andy Serkis (55), Jessica Lange (70), Clint Howard (60), Carmen Electra (47), Ryan O’Neal (78), George Takei (82), Nicholas Lyndhurst (58), Leslie Phillips (95), Michael Brandon (74), James Franco (41), Ashley Judd (51), Hayden Christensen (38), Tim Curry (73), David Tennant (48), Eli Roth (47), Rick Moranis (66), James Woods (72), Hayley Mills (73), Conan O’Brien (56), Sean Bean (60), Rooney Mara (34), Jennifer Garner (47), David Bradley (77), Victoria Beckham (45), Claire Foy (35), Ellen Barkin (65), Maisie Williams (22), Seth Rogen (37), Emma Watson (29), Luke Evans (40), Emma Thompson (60), Samantha Fox (53), Sarah Michelle Gellar (42), Adrien Brody (46), Robert Carlyle (58), Julie Christie (79) and Peter Capaldi (61).

Another week passes, so do a few more celebrities. Again, all of them are little known to most of us. Never mind, next week promises an endless stream of deaths for us to look forward to. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Nadja Regin, 87, Serbian actress (From Russia with Love, Goldfinger, Runaway).  
• Seymour Cassel, 84, American actor (Faces, The Royal Tenenbaums, Dick Tracy), complications from Alzheimer’s disease.  
• Sandy Ratcliff, 70, English actress (EastEnders).  
• Rex Garrod, 75, British roboteer (Brum, Robot Wars) and television presenter (The Secret Life of Machines), complications from Alzheimer’s disease.  
• Ian Cognito, 60, British stand-up comedian, heart attack.  
• Tommy Smith, 74, English footballer (Liverpool, national team), dementia.

In Other News

The Dalai Lama has been discharged from a Delhi hospital, three days after being admitted with a chest infection. The Tibetan spiritual leader, 83, had suffered from a “light cough” but was “doing very well”, his spokesman said. “He was discharged from the hospital at eight o’clock in the morning,” his spokesman Tenzin Taklha told us on Friday. The Dalai Lama is expected to spend several days resting in Delhi before returning to Dharamsala. China, which took control of Tibet in 1950, views the Dalai Lama as a dangerous separatist. The question of who will succeed him when he dies is highly contentious. In Tibetan Buddhist belief, the soul of its most senior lama is reincarnated into the body of a child, so this poses a little problem when awarding points when the elder lama dies/lives again.  

As you saw from the list above, the veteran stand-up comedian Ian Cognito has died on stage during a performance. The 60-year-old comic sat down on a stool while breathing heavily, before falling silent for five minutes during his show on Thursday. Compere Andrew Bird said the crowd at the The Atic bar in Bicester had thought it was a joke, and continued to laugh, unaware something was wrong. South Central Ambulance Service confirmed Cognito was pronounced dead at the scene. Mr Bird, who runs the Lone Wolf Comedy Club event at the venue, said Cognito had not been feeling well before the gig started, but insisted on going on stage. “He was like his old self, his voice was loud. I was thinking ‘he’s having such a good gig’,” Mr Bird said. Mr Bird said Cognito had even joked about his health during his set, telling the audience: “Imagine if I died in front of you lot here.” It was Mr Bird who first went on stage to check if his fellow comedian was ok. “Everyone in the crowd, me included, thought he was joking,” he said. “Even when I walked on stage and touched his arm I was expecting him to say ‘boo’.” Once it became clear something was wrong, two off-duty A&E nurses and a police officer began chest compressions and an ambulance was called. Audience member John Ostojak said: “Only 10 minutes before he sat down he joked about having a stroke. “He said, ‘imagine having a stroke and waking up speaking Welsh’.” Mr Ostojak said: “We came out feeling really sick, we just sat there for five minutes watching him, laughing at him.” Mr Bird said dying on stage would have been the way the veteran comic “would have wanted to go”, “except he’d want more money and a bigger venue”.  

I hope you’re not feeling squeamish! A Taiwanese woman was found by doctors to have four small sweat bees living inside her eye, the first such incident on the island. The 28-year-old woman, identified only as Ms He, was pulling out weeds when the insects flew into her eyes. Dr Hong Chi Ting of the Fooyin University Hospital told the BBC he was “shocked” when he pulled the 4mm insects out by their legs. Ms He has now been discharged and is expected to make a full recovery. Sweat bees, also known as Halictidae, are attracted to sweat and sometimes land on people to imbibe perspiration. They also drink tears for their high protein content, according to a study by the Kansas Entomological Society. Ms He was weeding around her relatives’ graves when the insects flew into her left eye. She was visiting the grave as part of the annual Chinese Qing Ming tomb-sweeping festival, which is traditionally observed by sprucing up loved ones’ graves. When a gust of wind blew into her eyes she assumed it was dirt that had entered, she told reporters. But hours later, her eyes were still swollen and in pain, leading her to seek medical help at the hospital in southern Taiwan. “She couldn’t completely close her eyes. I looked into the gap with a microscope and saw something black that looked like an insect leg,” Dr Hong, an ophthalmology professor at the hospital told us. “I grabbed the leg and very slowly took one out, then I saw another one, and another and another. They were still intact and all alive.” “These bees don’t usually attack people but they like drinking sweat, hence their name,” he said. Dr Hong added that Ms He was “lucky” that she did not rub her eyes while the bees were inside. “She was wearing contact lenses so she didn’t dare to rub her eyes in case she broke the lens. If she did she could have induced the bees to produce venom… she could have gone blind.” But what’s happened to the bees? “They are still alive, they’ve been sent as specimens to another organisation and will be studied,” said Dr Hong. “This is the first time in Taiwan we’ve seen something like this.” 

On This Day

• 1561 – A celestial phenomenon is reported over Nuremberg, described as an aerial UFO battle.
• 1865 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth; Lincoln died the next day.  
• 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 23:40 (sinks morning of April 15th).  
• 1944 – Bombay explosion: A massive explosion in Bombay harbour kills 300 and causes economic damage valued then at 20 million pounds.  
• 1986 – The heaviest hailstones ever recorded (1 kilogram (2.2 lbs)) fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92.  
• 1999 – A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$2.3 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history.

Deaths

• 1999 – Anthony Newley, English singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1931)  
• 2000 – Phil Katz, American computer programmer, created the zip file format (b. 1962)
• 2015 – Percy Sledge, American singer (b. 1940)

Last Week’s Birthdays

William Sadler (69), Ron Perlman (69), Edward Fox (82), Erick Avari (67), Peter Davison (68), Saoirse Ronan (25), Jennifer Morrison (40), Andy Garcia (63), Claire Danes (40), Ed O’Neill (73), Shannen Doherty (48), Nicholas Brendon (48), David Letterman (72), Matt Ryan (38), Joss Stone (32), Jeremy Clarkson (59), Lisa Stansfield (53), Jill Gascoine (82), David Harbour (44), Charlie Hunnam (39), Haley Joel Osment (31), Daisy Ridley (27), Steven Seagal (67), Max von Sydow (90), Peter MacNicol (65), Kristen Stewart (29), Dennis Quaid (65), Cynthia Nixon (53), Patricia Arquette (51), Robin Wright (53), Dean Norris (56), Russell Crowe (55), Jackie Chan (65), and Francis Ford Coppola (80).

Although the flying monkeys were sent to do their worst, they have failed miserably to give us some point scoring, however they have ensured that there is plenty of news to read. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Tania Mallet, 77, English model and actress (Goldfinger). 
• Vonda N. McIntyre, 70, American science fiction author (Dreamsnake, The Crystal Star), pancreatic cancer. 
• Dan Robbins, 93, American commercial artist, created paint by number. 
• John Quarmby, 89, English actor (Fawlty Towers, K-9 and Company, A Christmas Carol).

In Other News 

EastEnders veteran June Brown has said she can no longer recognise her friends as she deals with age-related macular degeneration at the age of 92. The actress, who plays Dot in the BBC One show, says she has lived with the condition for 10 years. The sight-losing condition is common and can first affect people in their 50s and 60s. Brown said she has no central vision at all and can no longer respond to fan mail. “I haven’t driven for years and I can’t really go out socially due to my eyesight,” said the actress. Brown has starred in EastEnders since 1985 and revealed in 2018 that this will be her last year on the show. The actress said her condition was getting worse despite undergoing eye surgery in 2017. “I never go to soap awards or suchlike now.” she said. “I don’t recognise people that I know and they would think I was snubbing them. “Just pray for your health and strength, hearing and eyesight, and an active mind,” she added. 

The Rolling Stones frontman Sir Mick Jagger has said he is “on the mend” and “feeling much better” after receiving hospital treatment. The singer has  reportedly undergone heart valve replacement surgery. In a tweet Jagger, 75, thanked hospital staff “for doing a superb job” as well as fans for their messages of support. The band postponed their tour of the US and Canada after Jagger was advised by doctors that he needed medical treatment. Jagger previously apologised to fans for postponing the tour, writing that he was “devastated” and would be “working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can”. 

Ozzy Osbourne has postponed all of his 2019 tour dates after aggravating an old injury while falling at his Los Angeles home. Osbourne, 70, will remain under doctor’s care in L.A as he “recovers from an injury sustained while dealing with pneumonia.” The illness forced the metal legend to axe large parts of his No More Tours 2 tour earlier this year. It’s the latest in a serious of health issues for the rocker, who – according to his wife Sharon – stopped breathing and his heart stopped beating after a quad bike accident in 2003. In a statement on Facebook, Osbourne said: “I can’t believe I have to reschedule more tour dates. “Words cannot express how frustrated, angry and depressed I am not to be able to tour right now.” He added: “I’m grateful for the love and support I’m getting from my family, my band, friends and fans, it’s really what’s keeping me going. Just know that I am getting better every day… I will fully recover… I will finish my tour…I will be back!”  

Britney Spears has checked into a mental health facility after suffering from emotional  distress. The pop star is expected to be in treatment for a month after being admitted more than a week ago. It’s believed that Spears, who announced a hiatus from music in January, has been concerned by her father’s health crisis over the past year. The singer halted her Las Vegas residency to look after her parent, writing on Instagram: “A couple of months ago, my father was hospitalised and almost died. We’re all so grateful that he came out of it alive, but he still has a long road ahead of him. I had to make the difficult decision to put my full focus and energy on my family at this time.”  A source said, “Her dad being sick has taken a toll on her. He nearly died and actually had another surgery a few weeks ago. He’s not doing well. They’re so close and it has been a lot. There is nothing dramatic going on with her, she just realised she needs to make sure to take time to care for herself.”  

Pele has fallen ill again, this time in Paris but is not in a life-threatening condition. The 78-year-old recently met up with Paris Saint-Germain star Kylian Mbappe in the French capital for a promotional campaign. There are conflicting reports on whether Pele was admitted to hospital, as was initially claimed by French radio station RMC Sports. But the Brazilian’s team claim he was treated in his hotel after suffering from a fever.

BBC Middle East editor Jeremy Bowen has revealed he has been diagnosed with bowel cancer. The former BBC Breakfast host said he was undergoing chemotherapy after noticing “funny pains in my legs and in my back” whilst in Iraq last May. April is bowel cancer awareness month and Bowen shared his diagnosis to encourage others to get tested. Doctors initially believed the veteran journalist’s pain was due to scarring from previous surgery, he told BBC Breakfast, the show which he presented alongside Sophie Raworth between 2000 and 2002. “I had no symptoms – none of the classic bowel cancer symptoms. Nothing at all. But I thought I should get a test,” the 59-year-old said. Bowen said he received a positive result and had a colonoscopy – a camera inserted into his colon to look for signs of cancer. Surgeons found a tumour, which they removed, and he started chemotherapy, he said. Bowen, born in Cardiff, and a BBC journalist for 35 years, said his diagnosis “could have been earlier, but had it been later it would have been much more serious”. Bowel cancer is the fourth most common cancer in the UK, with 42,000 people diagnosed every year.

On This Day

• 1827 – John Walker, an English chemist, sells the first friction match that he had invented the previous year, arsonists rejoice!  
• 1968 – Motor racing world champion Jim Clark is killed in an accident during a Formula Two race at Hockenheim.  
• 1978 – Development of the neutron bomb is cancelled by President Jimmy Carter. 
• 1999 – The World Trade Organization rules in favour of the United States in its long-running trade dispute with the European Union over bananas.

Deaths

• AD 30 – Jesus Christ of Nazareth, (possible date of the crucifixion) (b. circa 4 BC) 
• 1739 – Dick Turpin, English criminal (b. 1705) 
• 1891 – P. T. Barnum, American businessman and politician, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1810) 
• 1947 – Henry Ford, American engineer and businessman, founded the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863) 
• 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Paul Rudd (50), Zach Braff (44), John Ratzenberger (72), Billy Dee Williams (82), Mitch Pileggi (67), Jane Asher (73), Pharrell Williams (46), Robert Downey Jr. (54), Hugo Weaving (59), Xenia Seeberg (51), Eddie Murphy (58), Alec Baldwin (61), Amanda Bynes (33), Paris Jackson (21), Pedro Pascal (44), Michael Fassbender (42), Linda Hunt (74), Clark Gregg (57), Penelope Keith (79), Mackenzie Davis (32), Ali MacGraw (80), Annette O’Toole (67), Ewan McGregor (48), Christopher Walken (76), Rhea Perlman (71), and Richard Chamberlain (85).

Another week, no points. I hate to say it, but we need the evil flying monkeys out and about this week. Look out for some big names dropping from Monday onwards, last time we sent them out we got a good crop! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Scott Walker, 76, American-born British singer-songwriter (The Walker Brothers), composer and record producer.  
• Larry Cohen, 82, American film director (It’s Alive, The Stuff).  
• Lyle Tuttle, 87, American tattoo artist.  
• Yoji Harada, 46, Japanese tattoo artist and reality show personality (Miami Ink).  
• Stephen Fitzpatrick, 24, British rock musician (Her’s), traffic collision. 
• Audun Laading, 25, Norwegian rock musician (Her’s), traffic collision.  
• Shane Rimmer, 89, Canadian-born British actor (Thunderbirds, Dr. Strangelove, The Spy Who Loved Me).

 In Other News

The Rolling Stones have postponed their latest tour of the US and Canada so that Mick Jagger can receive medical treatment. The band announced on Saturday that Jagger was told by doctors “he cannot go on tour at this time”. Jagger, 75, “is expected to make a complete recovery so that he can get back on stage as soon as possible,” the group added. The singer-songwriter tweeted: “I’m devastated for having to postpone the tour but I will be working very hard to be back on stage as soon as I can. I’m so sorry to all our fans in America and Canada with tickets. I really hate letting you down like this.” A rep for the band declined to elaborate on Jagger’s medical condition. The band’s No Filter world tour officially started in September 2017 with a concert in Hamburg, Germany.

Keith Duffy of Boyzone was rushed to hospital in Bangkok, Thailand on Thursday 29th March, leading to him missing out on the band’s show. Keith, 44, is currently on tour with Ronan Keating, 42, Shane Lynch, 42, and Mikey Graham, 42, as they perform their final series of concerts. Boyzone have now given an update on Keith’s health, revealing that he is still receiving care in hospital and will not be able to fly to Australia with the band. A post on the band’s Instagram account read: “@officialkeithduffy remains in hospital in Bangkok where doctors will continue overnight with treatment of a viral infection. “Keith will now be unable to fly to Perth in time to join the Boyz for the first night of their Australian tour. As difficult as Ronan, Shane & Mikey find it to perform without their brother, they are determined that the show must go on and look forward to seeing everyone at the HBF Stadium, Perth on Saturday night. The update comes after Ronan opened up on the hospitalisation, claiming that Keith was on a “downward spiral.” “He came to the gig, he had a really high temperature, the doctors arrived at the gig and they said it wasn’t possible for him to go on in the state he was in.” “We assumed it was food poisoning or something like that but there may be something else going on.

Britain’s two oldest men are marking their 111th birthdays. Alf Smith, from St Madoes, Perthshire, and Bob Weighton, from Alton, Hampshire, were both born on 29th March 1908. Mr Weighton, who grew up in Hull, said he had requested not to have a birthday card from the Queen in order to save public funds. The men have never met but have exchanged birthday cards in recent years. It is not known which of them was born first. Mr Weighton is celebrating his birthday by officially launching his new book of poems, to raise funds for elderly people in Alton. The former teacher and engineer has two sons and a daughter, 10 grandchildren and 25 great-grandchildren. He said the world had changed “enormously” in his lifetime but people had mostly stayed the same. Mr Weighton said the most common question he was asked was about the secret of his longevity. But his only advice on the matter was “to avoid dying”, he said. 

On This Day

• 1889 – The Eiffel Tower is officially opened.  
• 1985 – The first WrestleMania, the biggest wrestling event from the WWE (then the WWF), takes place in Madison Square Garden in New York City.  
• 1990 – Approximately 200,000 protesters take to the streets of London to protest against the newly introduced Poll Tax.  

Deaths

• 1837 – John Constable, English painter and educator (b. 1776)  
• 1855 – Charlotte Brontë, English novelist and poet (b. 1816)  
• 1913 – J. P. Morgan, American banker and financier (b. 1837)  
• 1993 – Brandon Lee, American actor and martial artist (b. 1965)  
• 2002 – Barry Took, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter (b. 1928)  
• 2003 – Anne Gwynne, American actress (b. 1918)  
• 2016 – Ronnie Corbett, Scottish comedian, actor and screenwriter (b. 1930)

Last Week’s Birthdays

Robbie Coltrane (69), Warren Beatty (82), Donna D’Errico (51), Céline Dion (51), Eric Clapton (74), Piers Morgan (54), Lucy Lawless (51), Christopher Lambert (62), Marina Sirtis (64), Brendan Gleeson (64), Elle Macpherson (55), Eric Idle (76), Lady Gaga (33), Julia Stiles (38), Vince Vaughn (49), Nick Frost (47), Dianne Wiest (71), Chris Barrie (59), Quentin Tarantino (56), Nathan Fillion (48), Julian Glover (84), Michael York (77), Mariah Carey (49), Fergie (44), Jessie J (31), Keira Knightley (34), Jennifer Grey (59), James Caan (79), Martin Short (69), Billy Warlock (58), Diana Ross (75), Steven Tyler (71), Lee Pace (40), Sarah Jessica Parker (54), Paul Michael Glaser (76), Elton John (72), Richard O’Brien (77), Jessica Chastain (42), Lara Flynn Boyle (49), Alyson Hannigan (45), Jim Parsons (46), Kelly LeBrock (59), and Mary Berry (84).