Bibliogryphon

This is now being reported on the BBC website. He might hang around long enough to make it into the Top 40 once more. (The top 40 DDP picks for 2015 that is)

Judging by the pictures on the BBC website Dawn French looked quite well. The front covers of the gossip mags with short one word titles (Crap, Lies, Whores) always seem to find a picture of her looking tired/fat/without make-up and suggest that her whole life is falling apart. Ade Edmonson was not photographed nor did I see any report of him attending.

What seems to make Ed Milliband a bad leader are newspaper headlines saying what a bad leader he is. Serious question - who as a potential floating voter would make you think that the Labour party was a palatable alternative? There is also the issue of where all the LD voters have gone. I do not think they would naturally go to the Conservatives but Labour needs to win them over to hope to form a government. Your comment about the issue of fidelity and potential for party leadership probably has more to do with attitudes in the rank and file party membership rather than a media conspiracy.

In defence of the DL Committee, the failure of the Deathrace to provide a winner within the first six months of the year demonstrates that the deaths that have occurred have been often off radar ones Kate O' Mara, Bob Hoskins, Sam Kelly, Bob Crowe, Rik Mayell etc. However I do not think that the list was as good as last years. That said I do not think that democratising the Deathlist selection process would have any benefits, I think that it would just weed out leftfield choices that may sometimes pay off (e.g. Peter O' Toole). I am disappointed we missed out on Tony Benn and General J but with only 5/60 in my DDP teams I am going to let the long game play out and not cast any stones.

There is currently an assumption that if Cameron loses or fails to win a majority at the 2015 election his leadership will be called into question with the four horseman of the apocolypse (Osbourne, May, Johnson & Gove) being touted as possible successors. But things do not always fall out the way that everyone expects. Who, for instance, could have predicted IDS replacing William Hague after his defeat in 2001. The question I have is will there be a leadership candidate who stands up for the centre right in the same way that Ken Clark always used to? Looking at the front bench it is difficult to see who such a champion might be but I have been wondering whether Zac Goldsmith's posturing in the media might be a precusor to such a challange. I also think that as well as the front runners you need to keep an eye on Eric Pickles, Grant Shaps and the possible unity candidacy of William Hague (again).

Goffin to coffin

I am very sorry I can't resist it and with so little else happening I thought that as we approach the halfway point of the year we can look at who are off the radar. I have done the easier ones of very old and the pre 70s where lifestyle tends to be a reasonable predictor but the 70-85 area is difficult often people have slipped out of the limelight but there are a lot of them left so I have just selected 20 in the 70-75 age range that are on my (very) wide radar but have not managed to make it on to this year's DDP. George Benson Vince Cable Paul Michael Galzer Julio Iglesias Jaqueline Pearce Charles Saatchi Lech Walesa Joe Biden Peter Greenaway Tabo Mbeki Peter Tork Chubby Checker Placido Domingo Geoff Hurst Miriam Margolyes David Puttnam David Hope John Mahony Ronald Pickup Peter Stringfellow Comments welcome.....

New documentry out. Maybe some publicity would be helpful

Or more likely wants some media attention.

Off to visit Northern Ireland today. Going to visit a prison with First Minister and Deputy First Minister followed by a trip to the set of Game of Thrones. I think that there was some negotiation about this trip "Liz if I have got to eat dinner with bloody McGuiness again I want to see some girls boobies in the afternoon"

I'm guessing you wouldn't know if she was talking or not. Undeneath the veal you can't see her facial expressions or can you? She has a calf on her face?

On a pro-rata basis we will be looking at a total of either 6 or 7 deaths for the year. I think this would be harsh looking at the talent on the list so I am going to pick 5 who I think should deliver the goods: Billy Graham Zsa Zsa Gabor Joao Havelange Clive James Kirk Douglas There are another couple who might get us up to double figures but I do not think we are on for a bumper year.

I did wonder about that I did set the rules of my works game to include her (turns 16 within the game year) but nobody took the bait. I would then replace her on that list with Daniel Radcliffe who has by his own admission enjoyed a lot of drink.

Unique pick for my DDP theme team. 3/20.

How long will it take him to communicate the offensive message he wants his wife to post on this forum?

Sun, sand, sea... There's no pleasing some miserable northerners, eh? I did go and check on that one; she is from Liverpool, he from Glasgow. However Madelaine was born in Leicester which makes her a proud member of the East Midlands community who are neither north nor south nor Brummies (despite what the ITV adaptation of Adrian Mole would have you believe). The school she was enrolled at before she went missing is close to my in-laws house. If this libel trial fails does this clear the way for UK publication of the Portugese detectives book?

and more controversially at the other end of the spectrum a list of 20 under 70's who I thought would generate more interest Paris Jackson Rihanna Calum Best Jensen Button Johnny Vegas Chris Christie Pal Waaktaar Michael Stipe Charles Kennedy Duncan Norvelle Eric Bristow Angus Deayton Rowan Atkinson Mike Nolan Bill Drummond Steve Tyler Peter Green Radovan Karodzic Gareth Thomas Ray Davies

Kate & Gerry back in Portugal for the libel trial which has now been postponed. They are angry and upset.

I am Spain as well If you were a World Cup team, you would be SPAIN. Your brand of obsessive perfectionism doesn't make you popular with everyone, but you are the ultimate team player and you should be proud of your success in life. You were erratic and unpredictable in your younger years but that flakiness has been replaced with a newfound mental sturdiness. You are confident, you know who you are and you have strong ideas about the meaning of life. You are a winner. If people are too jealous to appreciate you for who you are, that's their problem.

Sam Kelly was not a pick on the 2014 DDP and there have been a number of other surprising omissions as well so I have put together a list of 20 people over 85 who weren't on the list. I have held back some others who may feature on my 2015 team if they make it that far George Weidenfeld Alan Gwynne-Jones Joy Wright Roy Mason William Lucas Peter Brook William MacPherson Sydney Lotterby Frank Finlay Leonard Fenton Emmanuelle Riva Richard Johnson John Habgood Rosemary Harris (actress) Babs Chinnery Teddie Chinnery Jeanette Charles Nicolas Roeg C W McCall James Ivory Feel free to correct me if I have made a mistake.

With the demise of Francis "Captain Scarlet" Matthews yesterday and Casey "Shaggy" Kasem today, the same could be said for voice actors... Speaking of which, the last time I looked the legendary Ken Nordine (b. 1920) was still breathing. it is literally the case that most people are still alive. There are more people alive in the world today than have lived and died in t he whole of human history! I think that's the case anyway Pretty sure that's an urban myth... Many more dead people in the past than those still alive today. I forget the exacting maths behind the best study but off the top of my head it was something like 50 fold more dead down the years than those currently alive in our over populated world today. Try this link... http://www.prb.org/P...vedonEarth.aspx About 108 billion ever and currently about 7 billion alive today, that's more like 15 fold in the past. So, a new thread....name 101 billion dead people! Just get everyone to fill in their name on the way out....

It is testament to the regard in which Rik Mayall is held that I have not yet noticed a post that said Drop Dead Fred. Oh whoops!!!!

On a similar theme to that Peter Capaldi is the same age when he was cast as the Doctor as William Hartnell was in 1963 but no-one is referring to him as an old man.

Really to accompany these photos you should have one of her in her glamorous heyday just to provide the contrast. Some people might assumed she always looked like an extra from Fraggle Rock.

In the context of Michael Barrymore a dead pool is a rather unfortunate expression, now I come to think of it.