Leaderboard

Very sorry Phil, and nice tribute - can tell you were a good friend. Take it easy man.

Another family of.. Serge Aurier's brother dead.

Several debatable. One definite who may have become a future DLer but died before the forum's creation was MT Graves, who won the DDP posthumously in 2000.

Wilko Johnson celebrates another birthday he didn't think he'd see, reaching 73.

Christine McVie has reached the grand old age of 77

I'm officially old. Brooklyn Beckham has announced his engagement and I can remember a time before his dad had even met Victoria.

The mistery was solved for Arthur Conan Doyle on this day 90 years ago, aged 71.

Shafi was once again in a critical condition last month and plans of succession were made. Anyway he was somehow discharged. Can't wait for another good riddance...

Hu Qili, the last living Politburo Standing Committee member during Tienanmen, who notoriously cried for the protests and was the only one, along with Zhao Ziyang, to vote against the martial law, is 90 and was gravely ill two years ago. A modern hero.

Green Acres wasn't the place to be anymore for Eva Gabor on this day 25 years ago, aged 76.

Rota Onorio, Bill Graham and Gunther Schwagermann are almost certainly deceased. They’re just missing dates of death on Wiki.

Just gatecrash the wedding Graduate-style and put forward your reasons. Mind you, women do love a bastard... Believe me, I am going to have to try very bloody hard to keep my mouth shut at the 'does anyone know of any just cause blah blah' - the only thing stopping me is that I know it will upset my sister. But believe me, when she is no longer in a fit state to know, I will be making damn sure that everyone from Land's End to John O Groats knows this little fuck's name and address. Object on the grounds that you slept with him last week. Might work... Oh Windsor please! I do have SOME standards! My mother's going, maybe I could tell everyone it was her, they'd believe that.

Just gatecrash the wedding Graduate-style and put forward your reasons. Mind you, women do love a bastard... Believe me, I am going to have to try very bloody hard to keep my mouth shut at the 'does anyone know of any just cause blah blah' - the only thing stopping me is that I know it will upset my sister. But believe me, when she is no longer in a fit state to know, I will be making damn sure that everyone from Land's End to John O Groats knows this little fuck's name and address.

Well what a joyous day today is going to be. My sister, who is still with us, just, is getting married. She is getting married to a man who, over the last few months, has denied her care in the home, denied her equipment to make her life easier, denied her a decent car to be taken to hospital appointments in, instead making her climb up wooden steps into a transit van, coerced her into changing the share of ownership of their house in his favour, coerced her into changing her will to give him everything and deny her children of their fair share of her money and property, and who, when he was sussed out as the money-grabbing, conniving little cunt that he is and thus my sister changing her will back so that her kids don't miss out, coerced her into marrying him as he thinks it will void her will, and because he found out that if they're married, he gets extra benefits when she's dead. She has always said she would never marry the devious little bastard because she's never trusted him, and because he is a mean, angry little fuck that makes her life hell when he doesn't get his own way, she has agreed so as to keep the peace. She cannot walk, is incontinent, doesn't even know what day it is half the time, but apparently she is still deemed to have the mental capacity to agree to the marriage, so there is not one thing we can do about it. This wedding was arranged ten days ago. Why didn't he ask her when she was told she was terminal way back in March-ish? Because he's a cunt, that's why. I'm not very happy.

Also last night, my wonderful aunt. 94 but if you spoke to her on the phone you would have thought she was fifty years younger. Last of her generation and fount of all family knowledge. I know it's a good innings but still .... some people you just want to be immortal.

While we've been expecting my sister to go fairly soon, sadly my absolutely brilliant mother-in-law-to-be died last night following a sudden stroke a few days ago. Absolutely devastated. She was sharp, funny, so very clever, took no shit, and lived for her family and her two dogs, and was too young to go - she welcomed me and my children into her family so warmly, I will be forever grateful to her for that. Wherever you are now J, thank you

She fell unconscious yesterday, admitted to hospital, now regained consciousness and stable, but sounds like she may already be into her last few days.

My dad rang me up yesterday to tell me that he just found out he had a heart attack four weeks ago! Considering the family history - his father had a quadruple bypass a few years back, and his grandad died of a heart attack - I reckon Dad might be a fair bet for the list. He'd definitely get an obit in our local paper

Wondering where to put this post but I guess here is as good as any. My brother's ex-next door neighbour died in the last few days - not unremarkable you may say, but Mr Jim the Gas Man was told he had only about six weeks to live after a diagnosis of a fast growing lung tumour. He died only 6 days after being told this bad news! - and at only 63 years of age, what a thing? We look at all these ill famous people but how many die within 6 days?

I'm sorry, Cap'n.

I spent an hour or so this afternoon digging a very deep hole in the garden in which to bury our little cat. He was only 14 months old but was no longer able to eat or drink as a result of multiple cancers caused by the feline AIDS virus which he had had probably since his birth. Following a (false) negative test result a month ago, today's diagnosis and sad ending was rather a shock. He was a gentle trusting friend and is very much missed by the humans in the family.

I don't usually do slush, but give your kids an extra hug today. My friend's 18 year old son was killed in the early hours of today, lost control of his car on a bend. There but for the Grace of God go any of us. Life can be turned upside-down in an instant. Make the most of it while you can.

It is with great sadness that I must pass along news of the death of one of my houseplants, Robert. I'd inherited him from a friend who moved to another country, but after three years of faithful watering and nurturing in the sunlight, he photosynthesised for the last time over the weekend. His death will not be in vain, for from his mulchy remains new life shall surely spring.

I've found the reverse (so far). I seem to be surrounded by death this last year. One of my boyfriends' best mates was shot dead very publically last summer. My cat fell unexpectedly ill between Xmas and New Year, and died 10 minutes into New Years (we took the call from the vet with Auld Lang Syne still being played on the telly). And now I am about to go and visit my father who was diagnosed with liver cancer back in January. He had some chemo but the quackage tell him that the tumour is getting bigger, so they are taking him off the chemo as he is 74 and too frail to take it. So I am flying home to NZ this Sunday to spend time with him before he dies - I have no idea when that will be, no idea when I will return to my family in London. I started lurking on DL somewhere in the middle of all that lot: it seems to me that the contemplation of other people's potential demises is a helpful diversionary tactic from feeling one's own grief too deeply. So I reckon this will be one of the several places I will take refuge from the onslaught of waiting to see how my dad gets on (or not). I like Deathlist: I like its irreverence; the academicness (is that a word? it should be!) of the amazing research you lot of mad geeks actually DO into your unseemly passion; the acceptance that hijacking of threads into random other subjects will make no difference to the end product; and the attention to detail ... even the "heckling" of the Guests. Ah life/death/taxes/everything in between