Toast

Well, I feel sad. My friend told me in the pub at lunchtime that Patrick Moore had died and my eyes filled up. He has been there all of my life and was a one-off. (PM, that is, and not the friend) I had never had the heart to put him on my DDP team but was finally about to cave in.

Yes, but sad to see this marvellous old lady go. She was still riding out in her eighties.

Good for you, Lardy. I've got similar plans pencilled in next week re Bruce Springsteen. Booked for Bruce and have just found I've won £500 on the premium bonds, woo hoo! Now shall I book for Coventry as well or wait and see if they drop another Wembley date in? Tough decisions If you really would like an opinion Coventry, Wembly is so anty-septic a venue. Best regards Syd Coventry would be a change but the attraction of a Wembley Night 2 is that Bruce usually pulls out an almost completely different setlist on second nights. Although the Coventry setlist will not be a repeat of Wembley, you never get two shows the same with Bruce.

That had already been established by the passing of Clive Dunn. Keep up! David McCallum is still with us of course ....

Good for you, Lardy. I've got similar plans pencilled in next week re Bruce Springsteen. Booked for Bruce and have just found I've won £500 on the premium bonds, woo hoo! Now shall I book for Coventry as well or wait and see if they drop another Wembley date in? Tough decisions

Thatcher!

Wonder if anyone said "You were only supposed to blow the bloody doors off".

Perhaps he's run off with Zsa Zsa.

The problem with Rotten.com is that you have to pick from people on their list, which being very USA-centric, misses out a lot of good candidates. I think you can submit suggestions, but it's a matter of being arsed.

The only change I would make is to do with ease of navigation. Currently at the top it says DeathList Forum → DeathList → DeathList extra-curricular Surely DeathList Forum is one of the three (four counting the ladies' section) boards This always confuses me when I want to switch to a different board. Mind you, I can be quite dim at times.

Good for you, Lardy. I've got similar plans pencilled in next week re Bruce Springsteen.

Ooh... Always did feel a bit uneasy about that Jake the Peg

Here ya go

I like it that guests can post. Admittedly most of them post trite unnecessary stuff but the occasional Mitch Winehouse makes up for that, and of course the occasional genuine celebrity.

Who the fuck is Helen Flanagan? (don't bother to answer that)

If he pops his clogs,I wonder if his daughter will get back his medals???? http://www.thesun.co...phies-back.html What a horrible man. Who ate all the pies, indeed. I hope he explodes like Mr Creosote.

I have long suspected that David McCallum may be immortal.

I think the word you are looking for is 'consort'.

PP is royal, but he isn't a monarch. Just saying. As for the 'British' bit, we'll let that go, too complicated.

So we can make an informed guess as to where he's heading, then?

Shoe shops, or the lack of. When I were a young lass there was Freeman Hardy Willis, Saxone, Lilley & Skinner, Barratts etc etc and if you wanted to go a bit more exclusive there was the likes of Ravel and Bata and what was that other one. Now we have .... Shoe Zone or Shoe Zone. (And Clarks) Shoe Zone just sells cheap plastic crap. Apparently if you want leather shoes, you have to order them on the web from "our sister store" Stead & Simpson (rapidly disappearing from our high streets as I speak). So they deliver shoe of your choice to Shoe Zone, from where I may collect them and (I'm not making this up, this is what the woman said) "try them on in the comfort of my own home". Clearly that's bollocks, you would try them on in the shop in case they don't suit - no point in taking them home to find that out. And so what then if they don't fit? You can't go "Oh, they pinch a bit, can I try on a (next size up)?" No, you can't, because they haven't got any - you have to order them in, remember? What sort of moron thought this was a good way to sell shoes? All I want is a comfy pair of leather slip-on shoes that are flattish but with a little bit of height to lift me above the puddles and without paying silly money. Clarks have a few but not exactly what I want. Lots of fashion shops have shoes, well I say shoes, but it's wall-to-wall ballet pumps or boots and fuck all in between. Bring back proper shoe shops. And let Shoe Zone be consigned to the hottest circle of hell, where their nasty plastic pumps should flare up nicely.

Oddly enough, I've been suffering that as an earworm all day. Criminal records, both of 'em.

double post, sorry

I wonder who chose a photo of Gilbert O'Sullivan to head that article. Let's just remind ourselves of one of his greatest hits: Clair, the moment I met you I swear I felt as if something somewhere Had happened to me Which I couldn't see And then the moment I met you again I knew in my heart that we were friends It had to be so It couldn't be no But try as hard as I might do I don't know why You get to me in a way I can't describe Words mean so little when you look up and smile I don't care what people say, To me you're more than a child Oh! Clair, Clair Clair, if ever a moment so rare Was captured for all to compare That moment is you It's all that you do But why in spite of our age difference do I cry Each time I leave you I feel I could die Nothing means more to me than hearing you say I'm going to marry you Will you marry me Uncle Ray? Oh! Clair, Clair Clair, I've told you before Don't you dare Get back into bed Can't you see that it's late No you can't have a drink Oh! all right then but wait just a bit While I, in an effort to baby sit, Catch of my breath what there is left of it. You can be murder at this hour of the day But in the morning this hour will seem a lifetime away Oh! Clair, Clair Oh Clair

Before we start a search for causes we should perhaps establish as fact that spelling and grammar are indeed deteriorating or have deteriorated. Of course we see lots of errors in that regard, especially in online media, but that may just as easily be explained by the fact that ordinary people's writing is much more visible today than before the arrival of webfora, tweets and blogs. Before the arrival of the internet most writing I read was done by professional writers. I have no indication that professionals' writing skills have deteriorated since. So the question is: did non-professional writers before the internet write better than today's? Did people spell their shopping lists, or letters to their relatives, better than they write online? I rather doubt it. The fact that there's a thing called "grocers' apostrophe" is evidence that crimes against orthography are of all times. No. I'm not talking about pre-internet stuff. I mean that people (on various forums, blogs etc) who used to post in reasonably grammatical and properly spelled English now increasingly post gibberish. And they follow up the gibberish with phrases such "Bloody iphone!" or similar. I think it's just stealth boasting to let us all know they've got the latest web gadgetty thing. Whatever that might be at this precise second - I can't keep up, and have no intention of trying.