An Fear Beag

What is hypothetical about my lead? It is a very real, actual, honest to God, lead! I have never led in this pool, and you are not taking it away from me

In fact, this was the third year in a row that @DeathByArsenicpicked him in the Hare's pool. One of those brilliantly random picks that the Hare's throws up, and that leaves me scratching my head and wondering how the player came up with them.

No worries- I have disallowed so many of your picks that it must be difficult to keep up with them all! Congratulations on your first hit. I will be doing an update shortly, so will see yourself rocketing up the leaderboard. Which is an unsubtle hint to the rest of you to mention any other hits that may have occurred since the last update.

OK, I'm confused now. Are you talking about Harry or @The Old Crem here?

The reason for the sharp increase in price is that there is a worldwide shortage of coffee. The main cause of this is @Sir Creepstockpiling the stuff to pay off all his debts on this site. (I want my 10lb of coffee )

I will forgive your apparent rudeness, as it is likely part of your natural Soviet charm. Dosmukhamed Kshibekov was rejected from your team before the game started, on the grounds that he was a fairly nondescript university professor, with little obvious fame outside of his own academic circles. That was communicated to you before the start, and also mentioned in the summary post I made on January 8th (see page 5). Nothing in those links would suggest to me that I made an unfair decision. So no points for you. Get back to the start line, and wait for a proper hit.

Yes, there are no statue of limitations for subs in this game. It is almost certain that James C. Floyd is dead, so your sub Skinner moves up to your team.

Would you believe it - it's been almost a month since the last update - where has that time gone! By the looks of things, there have not been a huge deluge of hits in that time, although there have been a couple of very significant ones. I have been largely off the radar for the past month, so there is a fair chance I have missed a death or two along the way. If you notice any that I've missed, please be a dear and let me know. This is who I have: 5th July: Yvonne Furneaux 14th July: Mary Mears 17th July: Bob Newhart 19th July: Ray Reardon 24th July: Ray Lawler 27th July: Edna O'Brien 6th August: Billy Bean 8th August: Bhuddadeb Bhattacharjee 8th August: Chi-Chi Ridriguez 12th August: Salem Al-Ali Al Sabah Most of the scoring activity seems to have happened around the mid to lower reaches of the leaderboard, with players jockeying for position as we head towards the final 1/3 of the race. Only one of the top 10 managed a hit, and that Billy Bean hit is enough to see @Grim Up Northback on top of the pile. The other big winner was @arghtonwho jokered Salem Al-Ali Al Sabah to climb back up into third. They are a mere 3 points of the second spot, where @John Key now lies. Down at the bottom, @Shamalka Amarasekeragets their first hit of the game in Bob Newhart, leaving only two players, @cheland @TheKillingTimestill lingering in the changing rooms. Here is the top 5, which is everyone over 1000 points. You know by now where the full leaderboard is. GrimUpNorth (1185 points) 11 hits [Billy Bean, Dario G, Dave Myers, Derek Draper, Frank Field, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin*, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty, Simon Cowell, Toby Keith] John Key (1161 points) 9 hits [Anastasia Zavorotnyuk, Derek Draper, Frank Field, Joe Shannon, Jonnie Irwin, Josip Manolic, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty*, William Russell] Arghton (1158 points) 10 hits [Abdul Taib Mahmud, Beverly Lahaye, Jaako Valtanen, Ma Shitu, Paul Vachon, Salem Al-Ali Al Sabah*, Solihin GP, Swami Smaranananda, Tin Oo, Zhang Lixiong] Buffalo Phil (1149 points) 8 hits [Dario G*, Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Iris Apfel, Jonnie Irwin, Juan Vincent Perez, Shannen Doherty, Simon Cowell] Funeralopolis (1018 points) 8 hits [Dario G*, Dave Myers, Derek Draper, Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Simon Cowell]

Team is in, a, good 2 & 1/2 hours before the deadline. That's positively early for me! I certainly won't be winning on uniques. If I am to win, I think it will be 1 in each category, although I have a suspicion that the winner will be a clean sweep of political spouses. I had no issue finding Novello winners. Surprisingly I found the hardest category to be the footballers. I just struggled to find decent comprehensive lists of internationals.

I have put in many long hours of practice over the years. Mostly in the men's singles event

Oh I am up for that! Is it hard to enter?

I haven't left much time for this, but Ill throw together a quick team in the next week. Quick clarification request: 5) Anyone credited in a movie featuring Batman (from "Batman" (1943) to "The Flash" (2023)) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Batman_in_film I take from this that anyone listed on the IMDB website with an "Uncredited" appearance is not acceptable?

Thanks for picking that up. Having read through the obituary, I am entirely happy with my decision to reject him.

Good for you. You can kill yourself for 1/3 the price. Save the money for your funeral.

UPDATE TIME! I've done the tedious quarterly google of all of the picks, so here is the half-time scoreboard (with 17 days of additional time for injuries). 3 names which had escaped the scorer attention prior to the last update: 29th April: Mollie Lentaigne - the medical artist gives added points to both @Death Impendsand @Famous6Eva, who I am fairly certain did not murder her. 9th June: Yoshiko Kuga - the Japanese actress got an acceptable obit in Japanese, giving a hit for @MalePoster 10th June: Steele Hall - who @WhoamIkindly alerted me to, after the last update had already been posted. Since then, we have said goodbye to the following: 23rd June: Foolio 29th June D. Srinivas 5th July: Vic Seixas 6th July: Mirta Diaz Balart 7th July: Bengt I Samuelsson 9th July: Jim Inhofe 11th July: Shelly Duvall 13th July: Shannen Doherty Shannen Doherty is the obvious big hitter of this update, with 21 players selecting her, making her the joint 6th most popular pick. Surprisingly however, only one player had her as a Joker, and that player was @John Key who returns to the top of the leaderboard. @BuffaloPhilused Doherty to hit the 1000 points mark and move into second place, just above @Funeralopolisin third. @Grim Up North's pick of Doherty, and @MariNisia's pick of Vic Seixas means that they make up the remainder of the top-5. Down at the bottom, 2 players have decided to join the race. @ThereWillBeDeaths7had a hit with Jim Inhofe, and liked the experience so much that they followed it up with Doherty 4 days later. Meanwhile @Sod's Lawused the forum down time to sneak in a hit with Shelley Duvall. The game starts to get a bit more interesting now as the points get bigger, so keep an eye on your picks and let me know if any of them should fall. Here is the full scoreboard: John Key (1161 points) 9 hits [Anastasia Zavorotnyuk, Derek Draper, Frank Field, Joe Shannon, Jonnie Irwin, Josip Manolic, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty*, William Russell] Buffalo Phil (1149 points) 8 hits [Dario G*, Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Iris Apfel, Jonnie Irwin, Juan Vincent Perez, Shannen Doherty, Simon Cowell] Funeralopolis (1018 points) 8 hits [Dario G*, Dave Myers, Derek Draper, Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Simon Cowell] GrimUpNorth (972 points) 10 hits [Dario G, Dave Myers, Derek Draper, Frank Field, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin*, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty, Simon Cowell, Toby Keith] MariNisia (867 points) 8 hits [Alice Munro, Glynis Johns, Gudrun Ure, Jack Burke Jr., Thomas Stafford, Tony Lo Bianco, Vic Seixas, William Russell] Gcreptile (797 points) 10 hits [Corey Williams, Frank Field, Franz Beckenbauer, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin, Josip Manolic, Paul Vachon, Simon Cowell, Thomas Stafford, Zhang Lixiong] Hell (794 points) 9 hits [Charlie Bird, Derek Draper, Frank Field, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Josip Manolic, Rob Burrow, Simon Cowell, William Russell] Toast (783 points) 8 hits [Anouk Aimee, Dave Myers*, Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Toby Keith] The RadGuy (760 points) 9 hits [Brian Barczyk, Charlie Bird, Francoise Hardy, Franz Beckenbauer, Joe Shannon, Jonnie Irwin*, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith] WEP (753 points) 7 hits [Charlie Bird, Dario G, Frank Field, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty] Wannamaker (749 points) 8 hits [Brian Barczyk, Dario G, Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns, Rob Burrow*, Roger Donlan, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith] Arghton (710 points) 9 hits [Abdul Taib Mahmud, Beverly Lahaye, Jaako Valtanen, Ma Shitu, Paul Vachon, Solihin GP, Swami Smaranananda, Tin Oo, Zhang Lixiong] Wormfarmer (704 points) 6 hits [Frank Field, Iris Apfel, Josip Manolic, Phillipe De Gaulle, Shannen Doherty, Simon Cowell] ZZZ - Boring Predictable Team (698 points) 8 hits [Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith] Etushispushingupdaisies (669 points) 8 hits [Derek Draper*, Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Simon Cowell, Toby Keith] Diego (640 points) 6 hits [Alice Munro, Glynis Johns, Janis Paige, Iris Apfel, Josip Manolic, Vic Seixas] JoeMoneypenny (634 points) 4 hits [Alice Munro*, Dario G, Franz Beckenbauer, Shannen Doherty] Nantonian (630 points) 8 hits [Derek Draper, Francoise Hardy, Frank Field, Jack Burke Jr., Mario Zagallo, Petyer Oosterhuis, Rob Burrow, Stan Bowles] Drol (606 points) 9 hits [D. Srinivas, Frank Field, Jonnie Irwin, Ma Shitu, Mario Zagallo, Manohar Joshi, Toby Keith, Yuri Solomin, Zhang Lixiong] Zsa Zsa’s (588 points) 4 hits [Jim Inhofe, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith, Willie Mays] The Unknown Man (576 points) 5 hits [Francoise Hardy, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith] Death Impends (560 points) 4 hits [Gudrun Ure, Janis Paige, Mollie Lentaigne, William Russell] Book (543 points) 6 hits [Iris Apfel, Joyce Randolph, Mario Zagallo, Roger Corman, Ruth Maria Kubitschek, Vic Seixas] An Fear Beag (537 points) 7 hits [Charlie Bird, Frank Kitson, Imogen Stuart, Jonnie Irwin, Mike Sadler, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty] The Old Lady (535 points) 6 hits [Derek Draper*, Frank Field, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith] Captain Chorizo (529 points) 7 hits [Glynis Johns, Jaime De Arminan, Lynne Reid Banks, Paul Vachon, Philip De Gaulle, Rob Burrow, Roland Bertin] The Immortal (505 points) 5 hits [Bengt I. Samuelsson, Dries Van Agt, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith, Wilson Fittipaldi] Prophet (504 points) 5 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Malachy McCourt, Shannen Doherty, Stan Bowles, William Russell] The Old Crem (495 points) 5 hits [Frank Field, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty] TQR (495 points) 5 hits [Frank Field, Glynis Johns, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow, Shannen Doherty] Tracey (487 points) 4 hits [Dabney Coleman, Glynis Johns, Shannen Doherty, William Russell] WhoamI (474 points) 5 hits [Glynis Johns, Joyce Randolph, Roger Corman, Steele Hall, Willie Mays] Death By Arsenic (472 points) 5 hits [Glynis Johns, Maryse Conde, Mirta Diaz Balart, Toby Keith, Parnelli Jones] Msc (454 points) 6 hits [Glynis Johns, Gudrun Ure, Laurie Johnson, Norman Jewison, Roger Corman, William Russell] Yorkshire Banker (438 points) 3 hits [Laurent De Brunhoff, Lynne Reid Banks*, Willy Mays] Lady Fiona (415 points) 4 hits [Jonnie Irwin, Shannen Doherty, Toby Keith, William Russell] LizLemon (402 points) 5 hits [Frank Field, Glynis Johns, Iris Apfel, Jonnie Irwin, Shannen Doherty] Salmon Mousse (397 points) 6 hits [Adam Lewis, Dave Myers, Frank Field, Jason Smith, Jonnie Irwin, Roy Battersby] Famous4Eva (385 points) 3 hits [Foolio, Mollie Lentaigne, Veljko Bulajic] ThereWillBeDeaths7 (384 points) 2 hits [Jim Inhofe, Shannen Doherty] Imelda (378 points) 6 hits [Charlie Bird, Derek Draper, Frank Field, Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow] MalePoster (352 points) 4 hits [Chita Rivera, Josip Manolic, Nikolai Ryzhkov, Yoshiko Kuga] CharlesDeGaulle (350 points) 3 hits [Francoise Hardy, Janis Paige, Toby Keith] DeathBecomesThem (336 points) 4 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin, Richard M Sherman, Rob Burrow] Time (335 points) 2 hits [Chita Rivera, Jeanette Charles*] Guy From Future (328 points) 2 hits [Alice Munro*, Eleanor Collins] Pedro69 (325 points) 3 hits [Anouk Aimee, Mike Sadler, Rob Burrow] Willy Wonka422 (298 points) 3 hits [Brian Tobin, Jonnie Irwin, William Russell] Great Uncle Bulgaria (298 points) 3 hits [Frank Field, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow] Dying Probably (290 points) 3 hits [Frank Field, Josip Manolic, Phillipe De Gaulle] Yvonne (273 points) 2 hits [Bud Anderson, Dabney Coleman] Captain Hemlock (265 points) 3 hits [John Okafor, Toby Keith, Willie Mays] Etib80 (257 points) 4 hits [Franz Beckenbauer, Glynis Johns*, Micheline Presle, Shannen Doherty] GooseberryCrumble (251 points) 3 hits [Dickie Rooks*, John Savident, Joyce Randolph] Ghost of Christmas Past (245 points) 3 hits [Iris Apfel, Jonnie Irwin, Rob Burrow] Torva Messor (242 points) 6 hits [Glynis Johns, Jack Burke Jr., Jonnie Irwin, Joyce Randolph*, Robert M. Young, Roger Corman] Bibliogryphon (204 points) 2 hits [Jeanette Charles, John Savident] Sod’s Law (192 points) 1 hit [Shannen Doherty] Thatcher (171 points) 2 hits [Francoise Hardy, Roy Battersby] YoungOne (168 points) 2 hits [Francoise Hardy, Franz Beckenbauer] Sean (151 points) 3 hits [Frank Field, Franz Beckenbauer, Jonnie Irwin] BabyBlue (125 points) 1 hit [Cesar Luis Menotti] CalebH (86 points) 2 hits [Dries Van Agt, Micheline Presle] Chel (0 points) 0 hit Shamalka Amarasekera (0 points) 0 hits TheKillingTime (0 points) 0 hits

Someone mentioned Don Tidey in another thread, and it reminded me of a programme I saw recently on RTE about his kidnapping. It featured something that is a real bugbear of mine: the tendency of the makers of history programmes to use the present tense when referring to historical events. I can't remember the exact text, but it went something like: " As Tidey approaches his car, three men leap out of a waiting van. They strike Tidey over the head, bundle him into the van and drive off at high speed." I presume they do this to make the events more vivid, but I just find it jarring to the ear. The events happened in the past. What is wrong with using the past tense to describe them? Do you think that I am incapable of imagining the scene if you said " As Tidey approached his car, three men leapt out of a waiting van. They struck Tidey over the head, bundled him into the van, and drove off at high speed"? This style of presentation seems pretty much ubiquitous now in history programmes, so I guess that is now the accepted way of narrating. However I have almost given up watching these programmes, as I find myself getting increasingly irritated by it. "Richard's army leaves the place of concealment, and catches the opposition completely off guard". Do they? What, every Thursday afternoon? Why the fuck have the opposition not copped on to this by now?

Stick it in a double with Nigel Farage to be leader of the Conservatives within the next 4 years. Easy money.

And that will be absolutely nothing compared to the tsunami of reactions that @TQRwill unleash if he finally gets the "dickhead" emoji he has been looking for!

I'm telling you now, it will all end in tears. Wait a month, until Diego has gone back and "loved" the 50,000 old posts that he previously "liked", and then tell me you are happy with the new emoji. You have been warned!

Ah no. That would be very harsh for a first offence. I reckon that forfeiture of the points, and a stern warning as to his future conduct, should suffice.

OUT Bridgette Wilson Sampras Eric Idle Janey Godley Mark Steele Rhod Gilbert IN Georg Koch Jane McAlevey Linda Tirado Rupert Keegan Sven Goran Eriksson

Forgive the accent pedantry, but the second fada in his name should be on the a, thus pronouncing it mee-HAUL, rather than on the e which would make it mee-HALE. At least you made some effort to put in the fadas, which is more than the useless fuckers at the BBC managed. I suppose all hits are welcome, but this is a particularly sad one for me. Mícheál was the voice of football and hurling when I was growing up, and listening to some snippets of his commentary this week brings back a lot of happy memories. It is not an exaggeration to call him a legend of Irish sport - a wonderful colourful commentator and by all accounts an absolute gentleman as well. Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal May he rest in peace.

Rapper Foolio is a hit in this pool, having been killed in a shooting over the weekend. Tampa police are apparently seeking the whereabouts of a certain @Famous6Eva

This site has really gone to the dogs. A dozen or more replies to @MortalCaso's post. Over 20 reactions. And not a single person has asked the obvious question. Will you obit?

Do you know who else was a hit? Simon Cowell, Adam Lewis , Francoise Hardy, Tony Lo Bianco, Dario G (Paul Spencer) and Anouk Aimee. That's why they were all in the last update. So was Steele Hall, apparently. Only somebody forgot to mention it.