time

If the Tories have got any sense they'll elect a leader who has no connection to Johnson or his government. I'm not sure how many that leaves, but there must be one or two backbenchers still untainted. If they do go this route that rules out all those names you mention plus Gove, Braverman Dorries etc. Unlikely they'll show any sense though...

Manny Charlton Link

Singer & songwriter Syreeta (Wright) died 18 years ago today. A long-time collaborator with Stevie Wonder (they were married for 18 months), she has writing credits on his albums, as he does on hers, as well as producing her first 2 albums, the second of which, 1974s "Stevie Wonder presents Syreeta" spawned her biggest solo hit, "Your Kiss is Sweet", which reached number 12 in the UK chart; this was eclipsed by her duet with Billy Preston "With You I'm Born Again" (1979) which reached number 2 in the UK and number 4 in the US. She aged 57 of congestive heart failure brought on by chemo- and radiation therapy she was receiving for breast and bone cancer.

Claudio, with a chance of death. Claudio Hummes has died aged 87. (checks age before submitting)

Ron Kovic, activist & subject of the film Born on the Fourth of July, is 76 today.

*Note to self* Proofread before sending! 87! I initially typo-d 97, deleted the 9, pressed 8 but obviously not firmly enough!

Ni Kuang, screenwriter of Fist of Fury, and other films, TV series, and novels, has died aged 7.

I see you assumed he was unfamiliar with the word; I assumed he was questioning the spelling. He's wrong either way you look at it.

FACT, all words are 'made up'. Anther FACT: The Oxford dictionary gives 'cineast' as an alternative to 'cineaste'. So does Merriam-Webster. One would have thought, with a language that favors (see what I did there?) dropping letters, you'd support this spelling.

Harmonica player Tommy Morgan who it is estimated played on more than 500 films, died 23rd June, aged 89. Obituary from www.harmonica.uk

Dermot O'Neill, gardener, broadcaster (RTE & BBC Northern Ireland) & editor of Garden Heaven, has ascended to gardener's heaven, aged 58. No cause of death as yet, but he'd previously suffered from, and recovered from, stomach cancer & lymphoma.

Former Darlington player Gary Pearson has died aged 45. Had a heart attack a couple of weeks ago, stent fitted and recovering at home, collapsed and died.

I recently rewatched Boys From the Blackstuff, which I'd been planning to do since Michael Angelis' death last year. Everyone raves about Bernard Hill, but for me, Angelis' performance was the outstanding one. What's really depressing is how much of what was written 40 years ago is still (or again) relevant today.

Unlikely pearly gates mates, Mollie Sugden (86) & Karl Malden (97) both died on this day 13 years ago. Mollie has a thread named in her honour, while Karl was 2009's 4th DL hit, headlined "Deceased of San Francisco".

Jamie Farr, best known as Corporal Max Q Klinger, of the 4077th, is 88 today.

Chap, Man Pincher.

My half-year standing is as good as usual. Two down from my main team (Parkinson & Parks); two from my theme team (both in January; shame it's an annual thing not a monthly thing!) and of my 'Randoms Who Might', none have.

I think its what she would have wanted as well - there's no such thing as bad publicity!

Former Warwickshire & England Cricket captain MJK Smith is 89 today. Born in, and played for Leicestershire before moving to Warwickshire to become their captain (back when you needed to be an amateur to Captain a county side, and Warks. had no-one suitable), a role he held for 10 years. He made his Test debut in 1958 and was in and out the side, making the last of 50 appearances in 1972, captaining the side 25 times. He retired from playing in 1975. He's the last Englishman to become a double-international (i.e. represent the country at two different major sports) by virtue of his sole Rugby Union international appearance (v Wales) in 1956 to add to his cricket caps. He's also Sebastian Coe's father-in-law. Pictured at the official unveiling of the "MJK Smith Gates" at Edgbaston, August 2019.

Now a full formal inquiry.

Former Brighton & Hove Albion winger Peter O'Sullivan (71) collapsed last week and was on life support; now said to be recovering in hospital. Spent over a decade at the Goldstone, which encompassed the brief Brian Clough era and the Alan Mullery era and Albion's promotion to Division One.

Hershel 'Woody' Williams reportedly dead.

Ireland's richest man, construction magnate Pallonji Mistry, has died aged 93. Born in India, he became Irish citizen through his wife in 2003. Estimated worth of $15Bn to $29Bn, depending on who you believe.

Its 58 years since the death of American Jazz musician & composer Eric Dolphy, who died in Berlin aged 36. In June 1964, he travelled to Berlin to perform at a Jazz club, The Tangent. He was so ill, he was barley able to perform, and was taken to hospital, where he lapsed into a diabetic coma and subsequently died. The exact circumstances surrounding his death are disputed - one version says he was diagnosed as being in a diabetic coma, given insulin, which caused him to die of insulin shock, whereas another version says he was taken to hospital, where it was assumed that, as a black jazz musician, he was under the influence of narcotics, and left to sleep it off (he was in fact a teetotal non-smoker, who'd never taken drugs).

Swedish politician and diplomat Hans Blix is 94 today. Tasked by the UN to investigate weapons of mass destruction allegedly held by Saddam Hussein's Iraq, approximately 700 inspections were carried out but no WMDs were ever found. The USA chose to ignore his findings and went to war anyway. The USA ordered the CIA to find dirt on him to undermine his findings; they failed, but USA went to war anyway.