Gordon Comstock

Won't be long before the clean sweep.. It's not like there is a curse of Bjørge Lillelien. Four of the eight were already dead when he said it. Five, actually....only Diana, Henry Cooper and Maggie were alive at the time. You're right of course. For some reason I was confusing Eden with Macmillan

Won't be long before the clean sweep.. It's not like there is a curse of Bjørge Lillelien. Four of the eight were already dead when he said it.

Looks like Peter Tatchell's mate is on his last legs: Mugabe losing the battle against cancer.

Charlie Watts looked a bit shakey on Jools Holland tonight. Boogie-woogie is all very nice but it really doesn't require the stamina or power of a street fighting man.

What prescience honez: Pugwash creator Ryan dies aged 88 Of course, all that nonsense about Seaman Staynes, Master Bates and Roger the cabin boy was just an invention of that bloke who used to be funny, Victor Lewis Smith.

Thanks for the recommendation - excellent reading. If it's not too late to join in with the various nominations: Lifetime acheivement: Wendy Craig - not only awful shows but a holier than thou god-botherer to boot - oh how I enjoyed it, when it turned out she'd shagged that old goat Mortimer. I found the original Russ Abbot show rather entertainingly surreal. Admittedly took a dive shortly after. As for sitcoms, surely the worst was that one, whose name thankfully escapes me, about an ineffectual young policeman who lived at home. Something like "PC Pansy" or something equally hilarious. It should have been called PC Pansy, but sadly delighted in the less memorable title of Rosie. Written by Roy Clarke, it must have bombed due to the lack of old men whizzing down Yorkshire hills in converted bathtubs. That was it. Truly execrable. But it is odd: looking at the dates on that website, I cannot understand why I would have watched it. At the time I was pogoing to the Vibrators, the Damned etc and running away from Teds on the Kings Road. Surely as an even halfhearted punk, that crap wouldn't have held my attention for more than twenty seconds.

And another thing... For those of you amused by palexandersquires' reviews on imdb, you might also find that those of neonsamurai raise a titter. I wonder if they could in any way be related?

Thanks for the recommendation - excellent reading. If it's not too late to join in with the various nominations: Lifetime acheivement: Wendy Craig - not only awful shows but a holier than thou god-botherer to boot - oh how I enjoyed it, when it turned out she'd shagged that old goat Mortimer. I found the original Russ Abbot show rather entertainingly surreal. Admittedly took a dive shortly after. As for sitcoms, surely the worst was that one, whose name thankfully escapes me, about an ineffectual young policeman who lived at home. Something like "PC Pansy" or something equally hilarious.

Anyone see him on Jonathon Woss the other night? Had difficulty walking unaided, rambled a bit but although obviously frail, probably not doing too badly for an 83 year old.

Lucky Lucan was to Goldsmith as Steve Fosset is to.... Branson? Will Private Eye have to start up a beardieballs fund?

It's a bit cloudy, but from what I can see, I'm still here in Geneva.

Maybe there should be a new thread entitled "Piers of the Realm". They're all getting to that age now where renovation becomes prohibitively expensive. If you think about ships, which are exposed to the same elements, how many are still carrying out their original function? There are one or two museum pieces, but they are very coddled. Sad as it might seem, I don't think we should grieve too much at their passing. Maintain one or two good examples maybe, but general splurging by heritage funds is pissing in the wind. There are much more worthy causes for lottery money. Opera for instance. Talking of piers that could be set afire - that Piers Morgan would be top of my list.

I live and work about 5km from CERN. If tomorrow I see a black hole coming, I'll post immediately on this board. Give you lot a few more minutes of this miserable existence. So watch this space... BTW I agree with all the mature posters here. I think it was all summed up rather amusingly in Francis Wheen's Mumbo Jumbo book. How people are prepared to believe any old bollocks without being troubled by rational thought processes.

I see the news was announced by Max Clifford. What a wonderful opportunity for her public rehabilitation. Anyone else smell a rat? My cynicism worries me sometimes.

Publisher Anthony Blond confessed that his career had been "flawed by intemperance, volatility and quarrels". Still he lasted to seventy nine and was a guarantor for Private Eye's bank account so can't have been all bad. I like this bit - Arthur Daley would have been proud: Jonathan Aitkin - what family loyalty; such a loveable chap.

Having taken my ease reading the obits in the Telegraph, I turned the page to come across this article. Seems Sir Peter is still going strong and is about to be ninety. Mind you the article is by Sue Mott, who I understand is the inspiration for Private Eye's Sally Jockstrap, so he could keel over tomorrow.

Alphonsin - Hats off to you sir!

I can't believe this farce. What is the point of asking the head of MI6 anything? He is always going to say what is convenient for the service. So even if he is telling the truth, which in this case he probably is, what's the point? He could just as easily being lying through his teeth. Fayed is really a sad delusional old f****r. He simply can't come to terms with the fact that one of his trusted employees killed his son, thus making him ultimately responsible. If we really want to know who is responsible we have to ask that old detective fiction staple: "cui bono?" In this case it's a bunch of grubby lawyers. Having milked the Stevens enquiry they're now getting fat pandering to the phoney pharaoh. Should be strung up, the lot of 'em. Sorry about that, I'm just a little incensed at the moment. I'll now go and lie down in a darkened room.

Saw her in The Heiress the other night (bit old for the part if you ask me) which got me looking her and the film up on the interweb. Turns out she's not only still going strong but is slated to appear in a movie (I-59 South) later this year. See the writer's website. Aside - take a look at this cove's "About Me" page. Turns out he's a god-bothering loan shark with a distinctly dodgy taste in music who writes in his spare time.

In the early eighties, I was a student at a midlands university where John Martyn was playing. At the time some of us had occupied the university senate building for some reason that escapes me now but then seemed terribly important (it was not an infrequent occurrence – and rather good fun). In order to raise our spirits, John Martyn was asked to come over after the gig and play for the strugglers against capitalist oppression. He generously agreed on the understanding that we found him some grass. After a quick whipround, muggins was sent off to acquire a quarter from a well know dubious character on campus. Having rolled himself a huge spliff, Martyn mounted a small dias in the senate chamber and gave an impromptu gig for about an hour – gradually getting more and more stoned until he pretty well had to be helped off stage. Can’t say I liked the music much, but he struck me as a top bloke.

Errol Flynn was 49, Heath was 28! So you basically saying Errol couldn't act?! Or perhaps that Ledger was hung like a carthorse. I didn't see Brokeback - did we get to find out?

Guardian this (23) AM.

Are we sure this current bout of under-the-weatherness is genuine? It could just be a smokescreen. As the latest Economist points out in this article about dealing with nasty old dictators: While not wishing to deprive anyone here of their fun, it would be nice to see the bastard behind bars before he shuffles off.