VSBfromH

Hold on a minute...

I remember good old Bob Smithies Thanks, Handrejka. I should have said "or the Isle of Man"! ... and bits of North Wales also! I'm sure many people in those areas remember his wonderfully clear, deep tones very fondly!

No link yet, and I suspect that there might be a response of "who?" if you don't live in the NW of England, but "Granada Reports" has just reported that their long time stalwart Bob Smithies has died. He was also a crossword compiler for "The Guardian" under the pseudonym of Bunthorne. Apologies to those who think he's a bit "regional", but he was a well-known face to many for aeons in these parts! I will post a link once I can find one.

Has there been a drop in the sales figures for Mars bars and lard North of the border in the same period?

Joyce Hatto Concert pianist described by the Boston Globe as "The greatest living pianist that almost no one has ever heard of." (so not one for the "Near Misses" thread then!) Died of cancer some time last month according to Radio 3. Stopped playing in 1976 having contracted cancer, so she lasted a fair while since then. "...she was criticized by journalists for her appearance and had once been told that it is ''impolite to look ill." " !!!

MPFC, I am experiencing difficulties accessing the Whitehaven News website. Should I be concerned? Is something actually happening in Whitehaven?

I note that her IMDB entry has her birth details as "1 January 1907 Newton Abbot, Devon, England, UK" whilst the New York Times has "1907 - Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, UK" The use of 1st January (was she really a racehorse?) and the discrepancy over her birthplace suggests major doubt! I see CP has Updated Wikipedia!

Robert Cornthwaite Prolific American actor dead at 89. The name didn't ring any bells with me, but checked his IMDB entry and see that he played the minor but memorable role of Hives, Mr. Gaines' butler, in "Cheers".

So your not too keen on him either? Is anybody? Oh I already said that I predict he will dig up a fake death notice on Foot even if he has to submit it to the local papers himself... Whereas most of us treat this site as a bit of light-hearted fun, with an element of competitiveness thrown in, Iain seems to be bordering on (or possibly beyond) the obsessive with his eagerness to post deaths, and the apparent celebratory nature of some of his posts. One imagines he probably keeps a box of tissues by his PC in readiness for some post-post self merriment! Do we have a psychiatrist amongst us that could offer him some advice? I do not believe for one minute that our dear Iain will quit our merry band after the deadline he has set for the demise of Plymouth Argyle's nonagenarian striker.

Mr. Heesters got a mention today on Radio 3 on a programme repeated from January marking the 100th anniversary of the first performance of "The Merry Widow".

Iain, you keep making promises you don't keep. Ever fancied a career in politics?

That radio advert where the guy says, in a very headmaster-like tone "There's nothing clever about having a hernia". As if anybody ever said "Hey, look folks! I've got a hernia. Aren't I a clever bastard?!"

This highlights the problem of moving posts from one thread to another. Yes, OK, there is a John Spencer thread, so someone has moved all the earlier posts that were in THIS thread* to that one. Hence we can't blame IKYWN for thinking he's first with the news. * THIS thread being "Near Misses", just in case this subsequently gets moved also!

If these things come in threes as no doubt they do, we can expect a good break with Higgins and Hunter next to pot. If these things come in threes, as you say, shouldn't anyone called "John Spencer" be worried, seeing as the actor of the same name died in December (as reported on this site).

So I was wrong! I note that IMDB have at some stage updated the entry for Steve Plytas, who played the pissed-up chef in "Fawlty Towers" to state that he died in 1994.

Lip readers have now determined conclusively what Materazzi said to Zidane. It translates into English as "Hey, Zizi, don't forget that little arrangement we had that you would get yourself sent off in extra time!"

20-year-old shoots self in groin, dies Ouch! I thought that only happened in films!

Play-Doh - 50 years old this year Not something that troubles me unduly these days, but if I'd been asked to do a "Room 101" in my childhood, this would have been first pick. Why did it have to have such a revolting smell? It used to make me heave! I could not be in the same room as the stuff. Christ! They've even made a fragrance out of it! And the Americans have a National Play-Doh Day on September 18th!!!

"The Archers" Mrs. V. loves it. I wish I'd had "I renounce The Archers and will not insist on having it on in the car or at any time when you are in within a 2 mile radius" written into the wedding vows!

Man dies in bowling alley accident They couldn't spare him!

Ozzy really isn't trying hard enough: Blaze hits Osbourne family mansion Apparently caused an electrical fault in a lamp. And Ozzy wan't even in! How very un-rock-n-roll! That sawn-off witch Kelly "had left the house... shortly before the blaze was discovered". At this rate, Ozzy will be doing adverts for Stannah Stairlifts and Steradent before too long!

It's tata to Tata the "world's oldest" crow - dead at 59 Who will come forward to claim the title? (Claire Rayner's 75, surely she already had it?!)

He obviously took the phrase "lifelong learning" very literally - fair play to the man!

We are often accused of being insensitive on this site. But we are surely just reflecting human nature the world over. I propose this as the place to post those stories like this one: WE'LL KEEP YOUR DEPOSIT FOR THE NEXT TIME where a loved one's grief has been met with a cold, unsympathetic response, usually borne out of the money-grabbing greed of our wonderful consumer-driven society.

Lennie Weinrib Has died in Chile at the age of 71. Wrote "H.R. Pufnstuf" and provided the main character's voice. Also provided voices on shows such as "The Flintstones" and "Scooby Doo".