DevonDeathTrip

Joan Bonham, the mother of long deceased Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham and latterly the lead singer of The Zimmers, has died at the age of 81.

Guitarist Mark "The Kid" Ryan, one of Adam's Ants, died in January at the age of 51.

Jigme Norbu, 45, the nephew of the Dalai Lama, has been run over by a truck in Florida during a 300 mile walk to raise awareness of the Tibetan struggle for independence. Given the widespread media coverage of his his demise, it could be concluded that he succeeded in his original aim, although perhaps not in the way he might have liked.

Slayer guitarist Jeff Hanneman is in hospital, battling a flesh eating disease.

I wish my boss had a quarter of Mubarak's understanding and compassion when it comes to dealing with dissent in the ranks... Reports coming in suggest that Mubarak has fallen in to a coma and been airlifted to a hospital in Germany.

Betty Garrett bites the dust.

Alas no. I was there on Monday and we didn't deserve anything from the match. The word is that Carlisle banked about £300K when they were last seasons beaten finalists at Wembley, that's the sort of money that Exeter can ill afford to lose out on. Equally annoying was that a weakened team lost 4-1 to Huddersfield on Saturday, which included the venerable partnership of Rob Edwards and Marcus Stewart in midfield. Two great players, both sadly lacking in anything resembling pace these days. Meanwhile, spare a thought for Ebbsfleet's goalkeeper Preston Edwards,

Enjoy a bracing swim.

Dead. http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/world/67897/...-president-dies I'm gobsmacked that Ratu Iloilo hasn't got a UK obituary yet. He was a often mentioned in the British press when he was alive and was a significant figure in Melanesian politics for many years. The two teams who picked him on the DDP possibly have similar concerns. Iloilo was also the paramount chief of the district of Viseisei in Fiji's Ba Province (just up the road from the airport, for the benefit of anyone who's ever visited Fiji), where the consumption of kava is still practised with enthusiastic vigour. Traditionally when a great ruler such as Iloilo dies, the menfolk hold a several day long vigil consuming gallons of the stuff and getting so numbed in body and mind that they are unable to even speak for up to a week. I doubt that there is anywhere in the world right now where the male populace are more incapable of anything than they are here.

Indeed. No idea how old he was though. He was 67 in May 2010 according to The Sun.

Not mine, he can have the Duracells out of me' shaver, a Stanley knife and a roll of Clingfilm. If that's not enough, a box of rat poison, a pack of Paracetamol, a clothes line, some lighter fuel and a box of matches might help, all packed neatly into a "suicide, for the purpose of" hamper. He's probably a good lad at heart really, Godot. He may have strayed from the path of righteousness, but he was living in Hull at the time, so he surely deserves the benefit of the doubt. Thing is with Lianne Smith is that she's probably on suicide watch 24/7. It's easy to prevent someone from doing something dramatic with a rope or a packet of sleeping tablets, but with human rights laws as they are. it's much harder to stop someone slowly starving themself to death. As discussed on the hunger strikers thread, it's damned hard work to go "all the way" and I wonder if Smith might struggle to show the same fortitude of spirit that perhaps Griffiths does when it comes to turning one's nose up at a mouthwatering lasagne when it is proffered in her direction.

Canadian explorer and author Don Starkell, 77, is currently battling cancer. He holds the world record for the longest canoe journey, having paddled from Winnipeg to Brazil and back again. He also lost the tips of most of his fingers and toes when he tried to paddle to the Arctic and then sustained serious injuries when his house caught fire last year.

Fears are growing that Stephen Griffiths, who hasn't eaten since November, will soon die of starvation. To pass the time in jail, he has also "swallowed batteries, tried to suffocate himself and slashed his wrist and neck with broken glass".

Zsa Zsa Gabor offered solid gold coffin as a gift. She's another deserving recipient of a DL T-Shirt.

to be more exact, it's a triple heart bypass surgery. Having listened to his Christmas CD that he released in 2005 that contained a duet with Donald Trump, I just hope that the surgeon hasn't heard the same CD

On this day in 1979 Brenda Ann Spencer - she who didn't like Mondays - gunned down and killed her headmaster and another member of school staff, as well as injuring eight fellow pupils and a police officer. For Christmas in 1978 her father had given her a semi automatic rifle. Brenda Ann Spencer is still in prison.

More about Archbishop Munoz's health: I'm not entirely sure about his obit chances, though, particularly because of the ban on The Times as a valid source due to their paywall. But, as posted above by MPFC, the Telegraph like to give obits to clerics with a bit of character and this chap is a chain smoking, diehard Real Madrid fan, so that might count in his favour.

Ah! The elusive cricket thread....cunningly hidden in extra curricular section for some reason. The whereabouts of this thread caused Alphonsin to practically quit in disgust a few years ago.

Indeed. I selected my team at the last minute and, discombobulated as I found myself at that moment in time, picked old Eli twice. I have vague memories of sending you a correction by PM last night, Spade? Oh - so DDT put Eli Wallach in 12th place & again in 23rd! - Then he better have Wallach in 17th place between Cheney and Norden moving 13th to 12th etc. And 24th to 23rd. And 25th to 24th. Making way for his choice of a new 25th place pick. Oh and I would suggest it be Rooney - 'cus it makes very little difference to those silly numbers above. Making DDT's value 44,296. (if Castro = 44,255) (if Mugabe = 44,234) (if Marshall = 44,220) (if al-Megrahi = 44,212) etc etc etc. Oh - and best to do it before someone dies! RA, could you run that all by me one more time?

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse is in America for medical treatment and rumoured to be suffering from cancer...

All I can really remember about "Diary of a Teenage Health Freak" is that my teachers at school at the time were adamant that none of us should watch it because of it's "adult" content. I think the lead actor in it had some hella-pockmarked, General Noriega/Bryan Adams-esque skin as well. I had her as my first substitute for my line-up.... "terminally ill" I can go with but I couldn't find any other information as to what her ailment specifically was, and when a writer starts using vague "I'm totes dying y'all" shouts in order to put across Serious Political Points in broadsheet articles, I tend to think they've probably got more time than they're letting on (see also: Mike Marqusee, who could have featured on a "Former Trots Who Like Israel" theme team with Hitchens I suppose). She has incurable pancreatic cancer and is also an advocate of assisted suicide. I'm hoping that no one else has picked her (probably no chance!) and that she will end her own suffering on the thirteenth of any month. An excellent article on Dr McPherson in today's Independent.

Brian Lenihan launches Fianna Fáil leadership campaign .

STS9 bassist David Murphy has announced that he has cancerous tumours in his sinus cavities. I've never heard of STS9, but I'm sure Harry McNally will be along soon to give us the lowdown.

Norma Waterson, practically folk royalty, has been in very poor health recently - I got this off a Yahoo newsgroup, but I can't link to it: Edit - Also, although I have no links to back this up, I am reliably informed that Norma's brother and fellow folkie Mike Waterson underwent chemotherapy for cancer last year. I don't know what sort of cancer it was, or if he has recovered or not.

I hope no one minds me posting about a 60s Texan garage psych rocker no one will have heard of. A benefit concert is to be arranged for Ronnie "Mouse" Weiss, leader of long forgotten also-rans Mouse and The Traps, who is apparently in need of a lung transplant.