Gooseberry Crumble

I was merely taking my cue from MSC. Yes of course now you mention any big death could be the equivalent eg Liza Minnelli, Paul McCartney, Justin Bieber etc

At a quick glance of celebrity births in 1952 and 1953 the biggest names from showbiz seem to me to be Sharon Osborne Liam Neeson Nile Rodgers David Hasselhoff Cyndi Lauper Chaka Khan Tom Hanks Kim Basigner I don't think generally any of those would be as big a deal or as big a shock as David Bowies death but me personally Chaka Khan, Cyndi Lauper or to a lesser extent Sharon Osborne dying would be pretty big and would resonate.

Is that a good thing?

@Sean Oh in some ways I am the opposite to you. Now that a bottle or two of Bucks Fizz has left my body I am actually more optimistic about the list not less. I am sceptical of the wisdom of some of the drops like Barbara Walters and Pope Benedict but I do feel this list will outperform last years. I also feel there's an element of spreading their bets a bit more in this list both in terms of risk of success and making the list more interesting with the spice of variety added in. In relation to Vanessa Redgrave when someone is given a big gong or prestigious form of recognition like a damehood, knighthood,, honorary oscar etc etc it can sometimes signify two possible things to deadpoolers that can hand in hand or not. One that the authorities who bestowed the honour think that the person both really deserves the honour and are anxious if they try to leave it to next time it will be too late- in other words there are concerns about their health in the medium term. Frank Field may arguably fall into this category. One example of this would the lifetime achievement award the Baftas gave Elizabeth Taylor in 1999. As a unique iconic figure born in the UK , it was rumoured they probably always wanted to give her this honour but after her brain tumour in 1997 they didn't want to take the risk of leaving it to long. The significant thing for deadpoolers is that such prestigious honours and awards do seem to give a real psychological and emotional boost sometimes to its recipients and add to their longevity. So it can either be a panic measure or have the effect of keeping the receipents ticking over for longer! I have a vague memory in the early 2000s of reading an article in a broadsheet that went through the statistics and said on average actors and actresses that won an oscar or multiple Oscars tended to live longer than those who didn't or those who were nominated but never won. A psychological benefit of a win and acknowledgement from your peers was perceived to be a likely explanation. So maybe we should expect Meryl Streep to live as long as Olivia De Havilland!

You beat me to it by seconds!!

@John Key Are you in? I would like the opportunity to go head to head with you again!!

I never knew she was one of the notches on his bedpost!!

Alzheimers afflicted hollywood actress Stella Stevens 83 who has been in a care home, or facility I think her Wikipedia page said , for over five years.

Count me in please! My sphincter is ready to loosen and have impact!

Mexican footballer Raul Jimenez who plays both for the national team and premier league club Wolverhampton wanderers has announced he and his wife are expecting another baby.

https://www.independent.ie/news/rte-sports-broadcaster-evanne-ni-chuilinn-gives-birth-to-miracle-baby-boy-after-successful-ivf-treatment-41209611.html Irish sports TV presenter Evanne Ni Chuilinn who presents on Irelands rte has given birth to a baby boy her third child.

I recommend you Google him @Lafaucheuse I think you will enjoy and experience it as a real treat!

I am rubbish at resizing and downloading photos! I am sure I could have done it in an easier way with a larger photo when you click through! The man in the photo is an american bodybuilder and bit part actor Ed Fury who is still with us and in one of my Derby Dead Pool Crumble Teams! A brilliant physique that he modelled in photoshootsin the 1940s and 1950s as well as being in films with actresses like Jane Russell as a mainly non speaking bit of gorgeous eye candy!

I'm sensing the beginnings and stirrings of a bowel movement. Something is on its way and I think we can expect a January hit for the DeathList. Just getting that feeling I've had sometimes before there is a major plop....

Thank you for your kind words in your last paragraph and I apply the same sentiments towards you. Currently the royals family and the Queen have approval ratings that most politicians would be very envious of. How much of that popularity and approval for the monarchy is about the Queen personally will be something we can't be sure about until the end of the second Elizabethen era. It will be interesting to see. I do think the royal family in future will be more scandinavian in style and less grand. That will help their popularity and good will towards them. At the moment neither of the major political parties of government support abolishing the monarchy. That would need to change for your hopes to be realised. And I will end my post by staying on topic and saying God save the Queen!! God save the Queen!!

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4C7n39h1YG1Wfpm23H1jfo?si=4o7-GL-hQaqIRf5kgQF1sQ&utm_source=copy-link Podcast tribute discussing Betty White after news of her death was annoyed.

I will say one thing the monarchy now is reliant on public support and goodwill for its survival . I don't believe the monarchy could survive a really bad monarch the way it could hundreds of years ago. I believe there's value up to a point in the saying necessity is the mother of invention. By this I mean I think those opposed to the monarchy shouldn't pin lots of hope on its abolition anytime soon. So people should just assume its going to continue and work on creating a fairer society alongside that and not see the abolition of monarchy as intergrel to achieving a better society.

https://www.digitalspy.com/tv/reality-tv/a38660814/gogglebox-georgia-bell-expecting-baby-instagram/ Goggle Box star Georgia Bell has announced she is pregnant with her first child.

Of course questioning things is healthy rather than being an automatic adherent. But I also question the virtues , benefits and desirability of the alternative. Take the US for example, no monarchy but lots of defacto political dynasties, huge inequality . I think it could be argued that monarchy is more honest about the fact that life is not totally fair, society is not totally fair. In the US in place of an established monarchy you have substitutes and alternative justifications to explain why life is 'unfair' . The uber wealthy in the US can and often do hide behind the religion of the American dream and the logic of meritocracy ie if I'm wealthy and your not I deserve it, I have earned it, I have earned my own natural level in society. If you haven't succeeded then it's because of a lack on your part. Celebrities and deference to people's wealth seem to replace monarchy. I am of course oversimpliying but I would argue that your argument is also an oversimplification in describing monarchy as always unjust as if there is a society or system in the world that doesn't have significant unjust elements to it. Get rid of monarchy and the name changes and the phenomenon changes form and is disguised but you still have the same fundamental things you object to there but arguably harder to deal with or alleviate as the less transparent alternative becomes baked into the fabric of society. So to me monarchy is one of many unsatisfactory , imperfect systems not a system that is obviously much worse than the other choices. If monarchy were to end so be it but I won't be dewy eyed about the alternatives being better or more virtuous. Just my thoughts!

Some of the countries in the developed world most lauded for their modernity, forward thinking ,liberal values, egalitarianism etc are monarchies. I give you Denmark, The Netherlands and Sweden. That may suggest that it's not monarchy itself that is the inhibiting factor in terms of holding us back or being backwards as you put it?

I thought they did have a period of grace??

Given quite a few big names or long servers died in 2021 Prince Philip, Bob Dole following the loss of big names Kirk, Olivia , Vera Lynn in 2020 I think they've done really well to come up with so many decent quality picks this year. At times the list seemed vary reliant on the old favourites that became like furniture or deathlist stalwarts! That is more an observation than criticism.

Now that I have had several days to digest and absorb the new list . I actually like it even more and rate it that bit more overall. Not withstanding my reservations about some of the drops and omissions eg Pope Benedict, Liza Minnelli, Linda Nolan etc Anyone else feel the same?

Why do you think the monarchy will die with William?

Many thanks!! Better known as Jean Warboys the neighbour of Victor Meldrew in One foot in the grave! Gosh you are harsh lol but admittedly her teeth ain't the best!