Gooseberry Crumble

A sad development and adds to my feeling that the committee fell into error dropping her from the list.

Indeed. I can't imagine EastEnders with the character of Dot permanently written out but it's going to happen one day.Hardly onscreen as it is these days but you know the character is alive and could and will infrequently reappear.

American Illustrator Barbara Remington most famous for her cover illustrations of Lord of the rings paperbacks passed away aged 90 in January. I couldn't find her death reported on here when I did a quick search so decided to post. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/15/books/barbara-remington-dead.html

Pun intended I do think he is burning the candle at both ends and needs to be careful. All of this long distance international travel can become too much for the body when excessive especially when you get on in years. Los Angeles last week , New Zealand this week.

Actress June Brown who plays the legendary soap icon Dot Branning (Cotton) in EastEnders turns 93 today.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8009411/Barbara-Windsor-82-tells-husband-used-work-bar-watch-EastEnders.html Some more news and sad anecdotes on how far Barbaras alzheimers has advanced with her watching old episodes of EastEnders and believing that she is the one behind the bar working as a landlady/barmaid not her character Peggy.

Annus horribulus

Frightening

Insane!

Tonight is a difficult time to discuss such a complex, sensitive and thorny subject after todays tragedy so I will try to be careful what I am saying and the words I choose. I want to stress that I am NOT talking about or referring to Caroline Flack when I say this. But I have no patience and little time for SOME celebrities who clearly love embracing the fame celebrity game and the shortcut to big money that it offers them but very quickly develop an attitude that being a celebrity and not receiving any scrutiny or attention that is uncomplimentary or critical in anyway is their divine right. An almost entitled victim mode develops as if their fame and fortune has evolved and developed in a bubble totally unconnected to anything else but their own greatness .There is a childlike mentality amongst some that only the nice good bits of fame are legitimate and should exist.The bad bits, or the downside is unfair on them and shouldn't exist.This is regressive,unrealistic and immature. It is much more pronounced amongst hollow vessels or reality tv stars with little talent and who rely on an initial leg up from the press or a tv show that makes them famous eg Big Brother or The Only way is Essex etc. Celebrities with a bit more talent and substance tend to be more likely to take a more balanced and mature attitude to the business of fame and celebrity. I'm thinking of people like say Katie Price who seems in permanent poor me victim mode, craving the attention to stay relevant , setting up staged photoshoots in public places whilst bemoaning being harassed. No recognition that she has made a trade off .A totally vacuous selling off her private life to the highest bidder, craving relevance and attention whilst simultaneously acting all hard done by the media and its interest in her and morally outraged at the fact any kind of criticism of her exists at all. It's all rather cake and eat it combined with cognitive dissonance. Anyway rant over but I don't get her or why people are still interested in her 'story'.

Morons all round.

I'm not sure if accurately speaking he should be classed as a celebrity,although he may have wished to be classed as one previously who knows? Getting involved in fame and celebrity in the 21st century really is opening a pandoras box.Much more than previously. For me , I won't deny I'd love to be wealthy, even fabulously wealthy but I've never been interested in being rich and famous. Just rich .The thought of being a famous celebrity, even if people were interested in me as a potential celebrity which is unlikely is horrendous and a nightmare prospect that makes me shudder. So to my mind the real issue or question is a few steps before a celebrity decides to join social media but rather why do they want to be famous?Why do they want to be a celebrity?I think seeking fame ,wanting fame and in many cases craving fame is absolutely insane, unhealthy or unwise. I genuinely dont understand people who have being famous as their ambition. The money with none of the downside of public recognition or scrutiny seems a much better option. It is worth noting that a few of the worlds biggest celebrities either don't have social media or only have an account on one platform rather than being on all the main platforms. Brad Pitt, Angelina Jolie, George Clooney, James McAvoy, Jennifer Aniston (only on Instagram) Meryl Streep, Julia Roberts etc .So it is nowhere near as necesary as many in the industry think it is arguably. I suspect right now that Lewis wishes he had never become part of or an adjunct to the world of celebrity in any way.

Apparently he has now switched off comments on some of his Instagram posts especially the older pics of him with Caroline because absolute vile kn****ds have been posting abusive comments saying it is his fault Caroline committed suicide.

I have just been on twitter and there is an awful unedifying spectacle of one group of people saying the media killed Caroline Flack,another saying Twitter and Instagram killed Caroline Flack,another saying the public who buy newspapers killed Caroline Flack and then there is the pushback against all of that and debates about how females accused of domestic violence are treated better than men and nobody would care if a man accused of domestic violence died etc. There are virtue signalling arseholes seeking attention from all sides /angles of the debate or issue and using it to point score. Its really cheap and frankly a cesspool and a number of celebrities are in the driving seat on twitter adding petrol to the bonfire. Very disheartening and disappointing.

She was sublimely divine in Strictly.

Regardless of her sins or guilt or innocence in relation to the courtcase ,I cant help but feel very sad and sorry at this news.A very tragic tale.

A close adviser and trusted friend of the Prime Minister of Pakistan Imran Khan has died of cancer. Naeem -ul-Haq was also the leader and a founding member of the PTI.

The only thing I am certain of is that Rebecca Long Bailey doesn't cut the mustard and would be a disaster for labour as leader! The liberal Democrats are also off most peoples radar and I am beginning to wonder if their haul back to significant level of relevance is going to take as long as it took after their electoral wipeout in the early 20th century?

Clayton Williams jnr 54, a legendary Texan Oilman and philanthropist has passed away aged 88.

Any other factors?I recall a Twitter storm about her not too long ago because she was involved in a row over trans rights ?Or am I confusing her with someone else? Accusations she wasn't truly a feminist because of her trans stance?

Irish rugby in mourning as former Munster Rugby CEO Garrett Fitzgerald passes away.

Many months ago I had high expectations of how Elizabeth Warren would perform but fairing so poorly in New Hampshire, a state next to her home state and of a political character most suited to her was a real eye opener. Why did it go so wrong for her?

I'm operating on the assumption that the tory majority is of such a large size that labour are out of office for the best part of a decade regardless of who their leader is.I think we are in the territory currently of who can make the most progress in cutting that majority not overturning it.

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-8005931/British-scientist-leading-coronavirus-fight-says-forecasts-400-000-UK-deaths.html Well some in the scientific community are saying that around 400,000 deaths in the UK alone as a result of coronavirus is not unrealistic.

Love that movie.A great trip down memory lane reading this post alas though in the context of sad news.