Magere Hein

Burkina Faso's President Blaise Compaore out after a 27-year rule. Military chief General Honore Traore in. regards, Hein

Strange thing for an East End Boy to collect though. Money > Sense Collins' sense of sense may be questionable, but his sense of making money isn't. I'm not much of a collector (apart from sins, supposedly), so I see little difference in strangeness in collecting Alamo memorabilia compared to, say, cigar bands. I do wonder how many original Bowie knives owned by Jim Bowie during the Battle of the Alamo exist, though. regards, Hein

My guess is that he thinks death is a bourgeois method of oppressing the masses he'll take no part in. regards, Hein

They subscribe to the theory that if you keep predicting something long enough it'll come true eventually. I guess they're right. regards, Hein

He's supposed to play in the TivoliVredenburg theatre in Utrecht tonight. According to a Dutch news web site one part of his contract stipulates that neither meat nor fish is served in the theatre all day. This caused some grumbling among pianist playing in a competition there, and the judges, regards, Hein

Agreed, but one I'd find difficult to include on mine for the same reason some folk on here used to have with Harry Patch. I'm not British enough to get the fine point, but I do know who Sir Nicholas is without consulting Wikipedia. From the remark about Harry Patch I take it that your point is: last of the war heroes, or summat. I picked Miep Gies for DDP 2010 without hesitation. She kindly obliged, as the only one in that team, of which 11 members still live. regards, Hein

Oi! Oh, look what I trolled. Actually, when I was in 'Straya I had no trouble understanding the people there, who were all non-celeb. They often made remarks on my Pommy accent, though. regards, Hein

In related news: South Korean prosecutors are seeking the death penalty for the captain of the Sewol ferry, Lee Joon-seok. That may cheer up cpt Schettino a bit. regards, Hein

It looks like Simon is trying to get the cancest of the lot. regards, Hein

That's a shame. I rather fancy his work. regards, Hein

I thought when this thread started it was meant for people from foreign language countries(Ie non english speaking) since there is already a thread for Australian and Canadian celebs. Do you mean that Australian and Canadian celebs speak English? regards, Hein

Fine DDP material, then. That Uzzaman, I mean. From the report you linked to I glean a horrible attrition rate. regards, Hein

Surely you're not suggesting that he timed his death to help promote his new album? It is a solid marketing strategy. regards, Hein

I presume Miniluv has made sure they all really wanted to do this. regards, Hein

Dutch illustrator Marnix Rueb died last night from lung cancer, aged 59. Self portrait of Rueb. He's world famous in The Hague for his comic strips in the local dialect, mostly centered on his creation Haagse Harry: regards, Hein

Oh shite. My thoughts are with you, LG. regards, Hein

Ah well. This time next week he'll be in custody. Please may it be so! How can you say that when cunts like James Corden and Noel Edmonds are still at liberty. Fry is a minor irritant by comparison. I rather like Fry's TV persona. Perhaps he's a bark in private. That irritating minors does hint that way. Does he confuse cats too? regards, Hein

Cees Stam, aged 68. Fell of his bike and was run over by a derny. Ouch. regards, Hein

I remember that. In that time, as an amateur photographer, I bought film and print paper, which contain some silver, in quantity. Manufacturers increased their prices almost weekly. After Silver Thursday they didn't reduce them to pre-swindle level, of course. regards, Hein

Who was he the Dutch equivalent of? Imagine a slightly posh and impeccably dressed stand-up chappie, can't sing, can't dance, whose 'jokes' are mostly puns and who likes to explain them. Think of the "nudge-nudge" character in the Monty Python skit. He had an excuse for being daft: both his parents were Mennonite vicars, but he didn't have to visit that on the public. Add a dash of camp and he could pass for Larry Grayson? I had to Youtube Grayson to get an idea what he was about, but yes, remarkably so. Until a few minutes ago I knew nothing about Gaaikema's private life, but Google taught me that in 2008 he married the man he had lived with for 27 years. There was nothing camp about his act. He was faintly critical of contemporary society, with a penetrating odour of christian weltschmertz. I failed to mention that he wrote and translated song texts and other material for other comedians and musicals, to general acclaim. In the 70s I lived with my parents in Heerlen, a provincial town in the southernmost part of the Netherlands. I regularly accompanied me mum to the local theatre, a slightly run-down concrete structure that seated some 700 spectators. Big acts rarely played it. Me mum loved theatre, especially comedy. The single performance of Gaaikema we saw in that time was ghastly. regards, Hein

Well yes. At 99 he's the second oldest living state leader. There's a reason why I picked him for my theme team. Here's a picture of him, taken 15 may 2014: regards, Hein

Who was he the Dutch equivalent of? Imagine a slightly posh and impeccably dressed stand-up chappie, can't sing, can't dance, whose 'jokes' are mostly puns and who likes to explain them. Think of the "nudge-nudge" character in the Monty Python skit. He had an excuse for being daft: both his parents were Mennonite vicars, but he didn't have to visit that on the public. He was biggish in the 70s and 80s. Me mum liked him. regards, Hein

Today in 1805 Horatio Nelson, 1st Viscount Nelson, was shot and killed in the Battle of Trafalgar, aged 47. regards, Hein

Good news everyone (at least for all Dutch). The entertainment value of Dutch comedy has risen sharply today. Dutch 'comedian' Seth Gaaikema, the most boring one by far, died aged 75. regards, Hein

No more sax life... regards, Hein