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Right been floored by a chest infection this week, but, yes, Terrance Dicks is, for me, the saddest loss of 2019 on a personal level. He (and RL Stine) was one of the biggest inspirations for me to get into books as a small child. He spent 50 years being asked the exact same questions by kids (and adults who took kids TV too seriously!) and never once talked down to them, or acted like a star. He was also a top class editor in his own right, which is why he was in demand for Play of the Day and the Dickens adaptations as script editor until retirement, and why he was writing and editing kids books (hundreds of them, The Baker Street Irregulars were good fun iirc) till he was in his 70s. He was also highly unassuming about his own talents. Once asked to produce 100 minutes of TV script in 3 days to replace something that fell through, he wrote a highly engaging ripping yarn about murders in a lighthouse which holds up far better than the stuff which had months of planning. His reputation for fixing problems actually produced his fast tracked career in the 1960s, as whenever scripts went down on Crossroads or The Avengers (or both at the same time) and then later stuff at the Beeb, the call would be "Terrance'll fix it!" and then he did. And then would say anyone could have done it! In his role of getting TV on the TV, he was the best, and he's the reason Dr Who is still going on. There's also his invaluable advice to writers: "If in doubt, bung in more characters. Then... you can bump them off!" So yeah 2 quick anecdotes. One night, Terrance was working late on scripts for Dr Who's big finale that season, The Daemons. (It's basically a Hammer Horror spoof.) One set piece involved the destruction of a demonic gargoyle, and the Brigadier's quote "Chap with wings - five rounds rapid!" Naturally, Terry went to axe that line from the script, and popped into a meeting with Producer Barry Letts and the BBC head honchos. Now, Barry Letts had actually written The Daemons but under union rules of the 1970s, couldn't have his own name on it or admit to writing it, so it went under a pseudonym. Dicks goes through his cuts to the episode and adds the "lousy line 'chap with wings". Barry Letts face fell and he apparently said "Oh I really enjoyed writing tha... reading that line when I first saw the script." The line got kept. Years later, when he was leaving Doctor Who, he had a quick meeting with his successors, and ended on the line: "And of course, I'll be happy to carry on with the precedent of the last showrunner writing the first new story, unless you guys have someone else in mind." The new pair were delighted and quickly lined up a contract for 4 episodes. "And that", said Terrance Dicks with a huge smile a few decades later, "Is how I got myself more work, with a precedent I had just invented!" He was a talent and character and he'll be much missed. RIP.

I'm going for yes.

Let me remind all of you to please not send any crowdsource list entries to me at this time, as it’s still about 4 months away before the starting line. I will let you know when I will start accepting entries. Yes, I think I just got a list for the crowdsource list...

Amended it's much more apt for Gove!

Michael Gove going with the Beach Boys approach to a select committee hearing asking him what happens after the 1st November.

Might need to check that Clock.

With his brother now gone BoJo's, lost his Brojo.

Cecilia Seghizzi turns 111. Her health declined a bit since last year.

This is right. Terrance is the writer who I have read most books by. This had the same impact for me as Terry Pratchett's death and this year ties with Paul Darrow for personal impact from a celebrity. His talent is simplicity and he books are so light and effortless to read he deserves to be mentioned alongside Isaac Asimov, John Wyndham, Enid Blyton and Jane Austen.

A fitting song for all those remainers, right Kinnock? You ginger cunt. I may not always love you But long as there are stars ( on the Euro flag) above you You never need to doubt it I'll make you so sure about it God only knows what I'd be without you If you should ever leave me Though life would still go on, believe me The world could show nothing to me So what good would living do me God only knows what I'd be without you God only knows what I'd be without you If you should ever leave me Though life would still go on, believe me The world could show nothing to me So what good would living do me God only knows what I'd be without you etc, etc......

Been having a big XTC kick lately, they're my favourite band, and despite the production flaws of their album The Big Express, I find this song to be among their very best, has a Synchronicity era Police feel to it.

It isn't. If that makes anyone here feel better about me ditching it. Have you ever met anyone under 50 called Ray anyway? Don't think there was a single one in any of my classes growing up. Also cheers Paul.

Different guys I think. The Richard Selly petroleum expert and professor emeritus at Kingston University: Richard Selley about to die tomorrow:

Lord Kerr speaking in the house of lords.His voice is very croaky and he looks a horrible colour.Former British Ambassador to the US and he helped write Article 50.Very obitable.

Mr Fucking Loophole - but your right.... On which note an amendment to the rules! Enacted after the granting of the above exception. If a match is abandoned and you fail to predict a match due to your own negligence you also forfeit the right to predict that match should that match have had more than 5 mins active play during competition. As your prediction is made upon the unfair advantage having already seen the two teams play each other. I'm going to need better lawyers than the government when they try and claim the Cabinet Manual isn't legally enforceable and only they can attempt to form a government under FTPA at this rate.

I didn't predict this originally. There doesn't seem to be a rule stopping me predicting now so Grimsby 2 Macclesfield 1

OK. I'll do it when I get in from work. Need to rush now.

I think it is a hard sell to say Labour are committed to leaving when Watson Thornberry Starmer actively want to remain.It appears they are pro referendum with the aim of remaining.Interestingly though Corbyn based on his 32 year backbench career as very much anti EU as we're many of the supporters of Tony Benn.Issue is he has had to support the remain stance as given the majority of his supporters and MPs are very committed remainers.

He died in 1979.

Roger Etchegaray dead at 96: https://www.catholicculture.org/news/headlines/index.cfm?storyid=43254 Adieu.

SCATTERING OF JOHNNY'S ASHES IN AFRICA 9/50 16th July 2019 South African superstar Johnny Clegg has succumbed to pancreatic cancer in order to bring another score to the crowdsource list. In his early days, Clegg pursued an academic career in anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand and the University of Natal. However, it was his music career that he will be most remembered for. He formed Juluka after meeting Sipho Mchunu, a Zulu migrant worker, which it was named after Mchunu's bull. Eventually Juluka was a multiracial band which grew to 6 members, 3 black and 3 white people in the band. Their style included a mix of European and African influences. By the release of their first album Universal Men in 1979, they were already facing threats of harassment and censorship in South Africa. Clegg later recalled that it was impossible to perform in public in South Africa. However, he was really popular elsewhere. In 1986, he formed his second group Savuka which further pushed them into stardom, with their song "Scatterlings of Africa" included in the film Rain Man. In the end, Clegg was arguably influential in ending apartheid in South Africa due to his two multi racial bands. Clegg was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2015, which eventually killed him 4 years later. Many of the voters noticed a downturn for him late last year, which secured him the 38th spot on his first time on the list.

Sept Teams msc theoldlady bibliogryphon paddyfool (1) cap'n chorizo carter prince philip k johnson QE2 s lloyd deHavilland k johnson reiner carter rogers dole stiller cardin nakasone nolan greaves nolan nakasone prince philip alagiah james deHavilland gascoine de cuellar vervoort kissinger newton-jophn bowie kissinger pope b XVI QE2 gilbert s lloyd escheverria redstone cardin escheverria escheverria pope b XVI greaves stiller scales cruickshank r mccain stiles trintignant trintignant kumar mugabe escheverria

Yeah he will outlive her by at least a year.

First detective to suspect Sutcliffe, Andrew Laptew, reportedly dead at 68: https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/people/andrew-laptew-detective-1-9972073

My Father in law died this morning aged 65, would of been 66 later this week, been expecting it for a while but the end came quite quickly after he had been stable for a while. He had diabetes for years but he didn’t look after himself when younger eventually he had to have his leg amputated due to infection caused by diabetes about a 2 years ago but he never really recovered and infections kept coming back about a month or so ago we thought that he was about to die as he went into organ failure and were told to prepare for the worse but he sort of stabilised much to the amazement of Doctors until the early hours this morning when he died. Sad but probably a blessing long term as he had no quality of life. In fact death seems to be following me around today found out today my next door neighbour died aged 74 over the weekend, went to tell my Grandma about Father in laws death and there was an ambulance and Police outside one of her Neighbours house and one of them had died during night granted didn’t know them but still then went to work and found out managers Dad died over weekend of a Brain Tumour again didn’t know him but that’s 4 deaths I have found out about today and it isn’t even midday yet.