msc

Not sure about that.I personally wish a long painful and diseased riddled existence. I tend to understand that point of view. There are some evil entities in the world which test that, however, like Tobin, Brady and my in-laws.

"I have never killed any one, but I have read some obituary notices with great satisfaction." Clarence Darrow

Only Grim and the Committee can confirm, but I've always assumed they were ranked 1-50 in the order the annual meeting deciding on them being on the list. For example, Martin Crowe was unanimously decided the first person that needed to go on the 2016 Deathlist so he is number one, then so on and so on. This works in my mind because I can well imagine them getting to say, 41, and thinking: "Right, we can use one more 2015 name, Norden or Kohl?" and a huge argument breaking out. Mind you, there's been talk of how they play it so often I suspect it changes every so often. Tony Hart was in the last 52 names for 2009, there was individual voting/tallying up at one point, and one time, a name (I want to say Princess Margaret, but not sure) was agreed on at the meeting, only for them to forget to add her to the actual list and then she promptly snuffed it that year! [source: various vaguely recalled posts on here from over the years...]

I've been hoping someone does that for Tobin's cell for some time now. Apparently when Huntley got attacked in jail about a decade ago, the attacker is alleged to have got a congratulatory postcard from Deathlist alumni Ronnie Biggs.

I had a pal from Sudan who was over here on business a number of years ago. It was a heatwave by Glasgow standards, 30C, and he was in a jumper claiming it was "freezing". Mind you, 21C and over is a heatwave to me, whereas its a terrible Winters day for others.

I don't think there's any new info here, but The Guardian do use the dreaded term "gravely ill" to describe our favourite Scrabble points gathering named King.

Update from The Mirror

Robbie Williams long term manager, David Enthoven, died of cancer.

Well, he did have to stand down from his own Foundation in 2015.

August is one of those months - there might be few major deaths, but when there is one, it tends to be a corker. Besides, these recent warm summers (too warm, to this Scots mind) are usually followed by harsh winters.

When asking that question, I always think to myself "Could I see this person on the Deathlist themselves?" If the answer is yes, then they tend to be worth their own thread. If not, well, they're Super Gran. I could certainly see Richard Wilson on the Deathlist front page.

Probably nothing, but Vince McMahon has missed the last two weeks of TV. He's also not expected at next weeks which brings his title of missed weeks to 4 this year. This might not seem odd, but Vince is a control freak workaholic. I'd say await more news, but as the man is phobic of sneezing (as he sees it as a sign of weakness), if there IS anything wrong, first we're likely to know is the obits.

When I was much younger I read a book of urban legends from the library which mentioned the whole Academie francaise betting on which of their members would be the next to snuff it legend. (I paraphrase from memory, this was a long time ago.) Naturally, and curiously, I wrote a list of really old famous people I thought would be likely to die soon after. The only names I remember from that list were Alec Guinness and Verity Lambert, neither of whom died that year.

My wife's gran died about a decade ago. She had several children, none of whom get on. They fought over the inheritance so long (and trying to block each other getting any of it) that when it was all settled, they all got about £20 each after lawyer fees ate up most of the dosh.

Who deadpools? From what I was once told, seemingly lots of MPs, advisors, types like that.

Aye, he certainly jumps from my proposed theme team shortlist to the main team shortlist, though 4 months is a long time for an 80 year old with the old pancreatic cancer. With the recent abundance of potential stars who jump the gun on the DDP these days, perhaps we can go the route of the old British youth swimming championships and their "You Swam too Fast" DQ certificates with "You Died Too Soon" ones for the Brian Sewells of the world.

We used to have all kinds of "have a go" types mismatched in the heats. Then after 2000, the killjoy Havelangists of the IOC changed the rules so you had to be in the Top however many in the world to qualify for an event. Arsehole.

Phelps did all right though. Bert who?????? Oh, Phelps is a great at his sport, there's no deny. But he comes across as a complete arsehole, the Ronaldo of his sport if you will. Bert Le Clos is Chad's (the swimmer) dad and an internet meme for his overabundance of emotion for his sons gold medal win in 2012. He was in the arena for Chad's silver the other day, but is now apparently badly ill with prostate cancer.

Eh, Bert Le Clos is a bigger legend than prima donna Phelps ever will be, personally. Watching him do his alpha male bow before me rubbish for winning the gold medal, really wanted him to fall flat on his arse.

Good news MSC! Hope your mum continues to thrive. Thanks!

A rare personal post, but after a few weeks of worry, my mum has gotten the all-clear on a cancer scare. I am much relieved, to say the least.

Donald Trump might be planning his DDP 2017 team's unnatural death bonus.

The only forum you can see "Breaking News" and be beaten by 2 people to reporting it. Sudden heart attack or the like by sounds of it

People with 5 or more appearances on the Deathlist: 16 – Clive Dunn 14 – Kirk Douglas, Ronald Reagan, Queen Mother 13 – Fidel Castro, Ronnie Biggs, Bob Hope, 12 – Jake Lamotta, Eli Wallach, Pope John Paul II 11 – Michael Foot, Kurt Waldheim, Katharine Hepburn, Barbara Cartland 10 – Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rev Billy Graham, Gen. Pinochet, John Mills, Alistair Cooke, Don Bradman 9 – Olivia de Havilland, Oscar Niemeyer, Yitzhak Shamir, John Demjanjuk, Princess Alice, John Gielgud, Lord Denning 8- Vera Lynn, Fats Domino, Chapman Pincher, Mickey Rooney, Nelson Mandela, Herbert Lom, Patrick Moore, Simon Wiesenthal, Jim Callaghan, Red Adair, Jacques Cousteau 7 – Al Molinaro, Norman Wisdom, Claude Levi-Strauss, Karl Malden, Albert Hofmann, Alexander Solzhenitsyn, Max Schmeling, Fay Wray, Boris Yeltsin, Alec Guiness, Deng Xiaoping, Jimmy Stewart, George Burns 6 – Denis Healey, Peter O’Sullevan, Margaret Thatcher, Eric Sykes, Ariel Sharon, Betty Ford, Ernest Gallo, Gerald Ford, PW Botha, Lord Longford, Frank Sinatra, Mother Theresa 5 – Joao Havelange, Herman Wouk, Nancy Reagan, Henry Kissinger, Helmut Schmidt, Jerry Lewis, Ian Brady, Anna Wing, Elizabeth Taylor, Dom Mintoff, Dino de Laurentiis, Cyril Smith, Suharto, Bill Deedes, Joseph Barbera, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Lord Scarman, Hardy Amies, Thora Hird, Billy Wilder, Lord Hailsham, Gene Sarazan, Helen Wills Moody, Catherine Cookson, Glyn Worsnip, Harold Larwood, Derek Jarman Biggest Misses Patrick Moore (8 appearances) d. 2012 Boris Yeltsin (7 appearances) d. 2007 Alec Guinness (7 appearances) d. 2000 Ariel Sharon (6 appearances) d. 2014 Dom Mintoff (5 appearances) d. 2012 Biggest Possible Miss in 2016 Jerry Lewis or Ian Brady (5 appearances) Number of People with 5 or more appearances per year: 1993 – 2 (Dunn, Queen Mother) 1994 – 6 (Jarman, Burns, Queen Mother, Cartland, Cousteau, Dunn) 1995 - 12 (Xiaoping, Burns, Gielgud, Cartland, Larwood, M Theresa, Reagan, Queen Mother, J Stewart, Denning, Cousteau, Hope) 1996 – 11 (Xiaoping, Burns, Cartland, Denning, Queen Mother, Reagan, J Stewart, Worsnip, Bradman, Cousteau, Hope) 1997 – 17 (Xiaoping, M Theresa, Queen Mother, Sinatra, Reagan, Pinochet, Cousteau, J Stewart, Gielgud, Hope, Guiness, Cartland, Denning, Bradman, Hepburn, Dunn, Adair) 1998 – 16 (Pope, Yeltsin, Queen Mother, Sinatra, Reagan, Gielgud, Cartland, Denning, Hope, Moody, Cookson, Bradman, Guinness, Adair, Waldheim, Hepburn) 1999 - 14 (Pope, Yeltsin, Queen Mother, Reagan, Gielgud, Cartland, Denning, Hope, Bradman, Guinness, Sarazan, Cooke, Hepburn, Pinochet) 2000 – 15 (Queen Mother, Pope, Yeltsin, Reagan, Gieldgud, Cartland, Hope, Bradman, Longford, Cooke, Hepburn, Pinochet, Alice, Dunn, Mills) 2001 – 11 (Bradman, Queen Mother, Hope, Alice, Longford, Hepburn, Hailsham, Cooke, Mills, Pope, Reagan) 2002 – 13 (Queen Mother, Hope, Wilder, Alice, Hepburn, Wray, Cooke, Wiesenthal, Pope, Reagan, Mills, Callaghan, Waldheim) 2003 - 15 (Hope, Pope, Schmeling, Alice, Wray, Hepburn, Cooke, Mills, Wiesenthal, Amies, Reagan, Hird, Callaghan, Adair, Waldheim) 2004 – 17 (Pope, Wray, Schemling, Reagan, Wiesenthal, Foot, Alice, Mills, Cartier-Bresson, Cooke, Scarman, Callaghan, Adair, Pinochet, Waldheim, Rooney, Dunn) 2005 – 11 (Pope, Biggs, Schmeling, Wiesenthal, Mills, Callaghan, Ford, Foot, Pinochet, Botha, Waldheim) 2006 – 13 (Biggs, Hofmann, Gallo, Moore, Barbera, Ford, Foot, Botha, Waldheim, Solzhenitsyn, Rooney, Pinochet, Dunn) 2007 – 15 (Castro, Hofmann, Foot, Biggs, Levi-Strauss, Gallo, Deedes, Malden, Wallach, Douglas, Solzhenitsyn, Waldheim, Demjanjuk, Moore, Dunn) 2008 - 16 (Hofmann, Biggs, Niemeyer, Levi-Strauss, Wisdom, Foot, Castro, Malden, Wallach, Shamir, Solzhenitsyn, Douglas, Demjanjuk Suharto, Moore, Dunn) 2009 – 16 (Biggs, Niemeyer, Levi-Strauss, Foot, Malden, Wallach, Castro, Wisdom, Shamir, Douglas, Lom, Demjanjuk, Lamotta, Rooney, Moore, Dunn) 2010 – 18 (Biggs, Niemeyer, Foot, Wallach, Wisdom, Castro, Douglas, Shamir, Ford, Lom, Graham, de Laurentiis, Mandela, Demjanjuk, Lamotta, Sykes, Smith, Dunn) 2011 – 15 (Biggs, Gabor, Niemeyer, Douglas, Shamir, Ford, Lamotta, Taylor, Pincher, Wallach, Mandela, Mintoff, Lom, Sharon, Dunn) 2012 – 19 (Biggs, Niemeyer, Wallach, Douglas, Gabor, Graham, Pincher, Shamir, de Havilland, Lom, Thatcher, Castro, Mandela, Demjanjuk, Lamotta, Sykes, Domino, Sharon, Dunn) 2013 – 14 (Biggs, Pincher, Gabor, Wallach, Mandela, Douglas, de Havilland, Castro, Lynn, Thatcher, Graham, Molinaro, Lamotta, Domino) 2014 – 16 (Graham, Wallach, Gabor, Pincher, De Havilland, Healey, Castro, Lynn, O’Sullevan, Douglas, Molinaro, Rooney, Lamotta, Lewis, Domino, Brady) 2015 – 11 (Gabor, Graham, De Havilland, Healey, Schmidt, Castro, Douglas, Molinaro, O’Sullevan, Lamotta, Lynn) 2016 - 12 (Gabor, Havelange, de Havilland, Graham, Wouk, Douglas, Reagan, Kissinger, Lynn, Castro, Domino, lamotta) 2017 (potentially 19 – (Gabor, Havelange, de Havilland, Graham, Wouk, Douglas, Sallis, Prince Philip, James, Dole, Kissinger, Bush Sr, Lynn, Castro, Domino, Lamotta, Norden, Brady, Lewis) Deaths of People with 5 or more appearances on Deathlist per year: 1994 - 1 1995 - 1 1996 - 2 1997 - 4 1998 - 3 1999 - 2 2000 - 2 2001 - 3 2002 - 2 2003 - 4 2004 - 7 2005 - 5 2006 - 4 2007 - 3 2008 - 3 2009 - 2 2010 - 4 2011 - 2 2012 - 6 2013 - 4 2014 - 3 2015 - 4 2016 - 1 (so far) So does the numbers back up my Logjam theory, in which people who hang on the list for years tend to go in sudden bursts? Well, yes and no. Obviously, everytime someone goes, others build up their number of appearances, so the culls never look as impressive in the stats as they might do otherwise. However, it is evident that the last two times the "always theres" got so high in number, law of averages brought on a spring cleaning from the Reaper soon after. So it is my current theory, based on precedent, that if nothing much happens in the next four months, at least a good half dozen will fall in 2017 from the list below. 14 – Kirk Douglas, 13 – Fidel Castro, 12 – Jake Lamotta, 10 – Zsa Zsa Gabor, Rev Billy Graham, 9 – Olivia de Havilland, 8- Vera Lynn, Fats Domino, 5 – Joao Havelange, Herman Wouk, Henry Kissinger, Jerry Lewis, Ian Brady, (potential 5s) – Sallis, Prince Philip, C James, Dole, Bush Sr, Norden, And now, if you don't mind, I have a meeting to catch at Bibliogryphon's Listaholics Anonymous...

Her husband is too ill to attend her funeral: http://royalcentral.co.uk/other/king-michael-of-romania-too-ill-to-attend-the-funeral-of-his-wife-queen-anne-67893 Days/weeks rather than months, most likely. There was me thinking he might just make the "random old royal type" the Deathlist likes to play now and again.