Octopus of Odstock

Oh, I do hope so. 300 teams instead of the 500 odd scheduled for 2009 would be lovely... Amazingly, it hasn't consumed my life totally & have found a balance. In 09 though? Maybe the DDP is the exception to the rule and will grow? Anyway, my team is on the site, but for the lazy, I have two theme teams. Essentially, I know I won't win either but I find I can't really be faffed naming too strong a team & spend loads of time researching ill people as DDP takes too much time up. I would imagine my 2009 DDP team not to do quite as well as previous years as a result. Enough rambling: Normal Team: (all P) Peter Arundell Paul Birch Peter Broadbent Paul Madeley Paul Newman Paul O'Grady Pertwee, Bill Pincher, Chapman Maurice Strong (cos I couldn't think of a Canadian P apart from the obvious one...) Patrick Swayze Theme Team: (all hablar Espanol) Estanislao Basora Fidel Castro Leon Febres Cordero Luis Echeverria Alberto Fujimori Diego Maradona Ricardo Montalban Adolfo Suarez Yma Sumac Francisco Varallo

Excellent article on Dick here - although still working & upbeat, the article mentions the following:

Tommy Bolt, US Open winning golfer, has died aged 92. He should get a UK Obit & when he does VSBfromH will have a nice juicy 7 points!

Geoffrey Perkins, comedy head, scriptwriter & sometime perfomer has been killed in a car crash. Mournington Crescent Certainly it has been the year of surprise & sad young or young-ish deaths.

I know this fellow is covered in the motor racing thread, but in all fairness, the man deserves a thread of his own - he is, after all a World Champion in a sport that has a large worldwide audience. Phil was doing quite well, until a recent downturn and is now a shadow of the man he used to be. The problems with getting about that he now as is akin to Pinter's current state. Son Derek has quit racing himself to help Phil get about. The latest news with Phil was that he was at a dinner to celebrate the racing career of friend Chuck Daigh this weekend, so he's still getting around & about. But it might well be worth reading this article;- 1) It gives an excellent statement of his current health 2) It gives an excellent background into who exactly Phil Hill is. I appreciate many have named teams already for 2007 and the DL has candidates locked for next year, likewise, but this is no worse a candidate for 2008, then say, Jimmy Savile or Bruce Forsyth, I guess... perhaps more so. Admin/Mods, hope you understand why I've set up a separate thread and please feel free to move any posts from the motor racing thread into this one - especially the photos. The article, by the way, is here. Phil Hill remembers Monza and don't say that I don't give you any motor racing insider tips..... (at least, MIB, it isn't an African leader )

A little while back, young TMIB wrote that when certain famous people die, to the likes of some of us, it is so upsetting we don't quite know how to react to the news. (or something akin to that) Alas, it has happened to me tonight. Phil Hill, 1961 World Champion, motor racing legend, musician, restorer & above all, gentleman has died of complications of Parkinson's Disease this afternoon. Full obituaries to come very shortly. Phil.

Ta. Site has been updated, but because I'm having a problem - yet again - with outgoing e-mails & the server, the e-mail update will be a little.. how shall we say.. staggered...

Considering that a) he was interviewed two days ago and about to star in Celebrity Strictly Dancing USA one would think he is still well & active. There's not one blog, not one news mention to suggest Batman may have laid down his cloak (this written at 17.03)

Damn sheep.. following the Master There must be someone who did not do the same....

Although tempted to put it in the motor racing & the hospitalised thread, I'll put it here - Phil Hill was taken ill just before last week's Monterey Historic Festival & was hospitalised. He's still in there, but said to be recovering well, whatever that means...

I have entered CP, but as your DL mailbox is full & I can see no e-mail to enter the team on the site, I have emailed you the team. Hope this is okay.

Gladys Powers, believed to be the last female veteran of World War 1, has died.

Ooh I don't know, Fearne Cotton is almost certainly on something & certainly has been known to "mix in those circles" as it were. However a Cheryl Cole/Jade Goody double would rid the world of two of it's most annoying people...

Despite always beating me on xpert eleven , it would be remiss for me to mark this special occassion, so Happy Birthday HCW!

He's doomed. This snippet came from one of his best friends from the motor racing side (and in other words, a pretty reliable source) & after his visit to Lime Rock, his long association with motor racing is now finished. Looks like he'll be around a couple of weeks more if that. Great shame, but it's been coming I'm afraid. To lose Newman & Heston in the same year is a pretty bad deal for Hollywood's history fans.

Er.. it's his 12th hit actually. Well done regardless, and all the last week's deaths, including that of Leroy Sievers (who hasn't got an obit yet but was younger than previously mentioned) who died yesterday, to be updated tomorrow morning.

Because of her age, her manner of death and her influence still on both music & people's memories (although both are waning), I would have to agree that Karen Carpenter's death was probably the most significant. But I would strongly argue the case of Joan Miro, one of the most influential & best known artists of the 20th century, who died just after his work became globally famous because of the 1982 football World Cup. His work is still popular now & is often "en vogue" as they say, long after his death. But I actually voted for Aunt Dorothy. Others not on the list who I would've added include Dennis Wilson (Beach Boy), Carolyn Jones, Norma Shearer, Gloria Swanson, Jack Dempsey, Billy Fury & Herge.

I'm on there, under my real name, of course. I am friends already with one DL'r who I will admit looked nothing like I expected them to.

A little while back BCAlum 2000 was commenting that Bernie Mac had made a recovery from illness & was one of many that had done so recently. Well, his recovery was short lived. I still have no idea who this chap is, though, but 50 is no age at all.

Off on holiday for a week (or just under) to Prague. By God, do I need a holiday too. Chance to get away from crap & worry.. I hope. Have a good week all & see ya next week.

Akam was married last week & reports she is "responding well" to treatment. She looks reasonably well in the photo in the magazine too. I still don't think it's worth the risk putting her on any DP's unless they accept ANY British source.

Dr David Kelly, Robin Cook... Britain is no stranger to dissenter accidents likewise

Nonsense. We won fair & triangle. Once again, a real bloodthirsty battle between the two old rivals. 2nd place is really up for grabs for anyone from about 2nd-7th right now.

Fair enough, good reply. But if you're going by the media, well, just don't be taken in too much. They were saying Elizabeth Taylor was near death in 1994! I think basically the news outlets, who would've normally ignored illnesses in the past as a "privacy" thing if nothing else, now are under so much pressure from the continued rise of celebrity news outlets & interests in celebrities that they have to keep updating what is often non-news about people just to grab headlines & sales - I usually trust a few papers for some kind of truth, but if it's in certain publications (ie The Guardian or The Mirror) I ignore it. You'll probably hate me for saying it, but I like Fidel Castro. I would be quite sorry to see him go, although less so now he's out of the political scene. Yitzhak Shamir is the one I'd like to see go. Nasty piece of work under that "cuddly" Grandad exterior & not only that, I've chosen him for numerous DP's & he hasn't died - very rude.

Why are you so desperate for celebrities to die? I think there is only one regular on here (MPFC) who thinks like you do, but he is not on such a wide range, and certainly not so intensely. I find his whoops of celebration that certain people have died a bit much sometimes, but each to their own. The only person on here who was ever like yourself was the village idiot that was dave/iain etc. We might have the odd "hate" figure (Thatcher for some, Katona for me), the odd figure on our DP's who has thrawted us for years & years (Gloria Stuart for me, for example), but I am not aware of anybody who wishes so much ill on so many people. Life isn't always easy & fair, but that doesn't mean death is deserved on celebrities as a result of any hardships you have in life. I personally hope Freeman recovers fully, likewise Applegate. I have a lot of time for Grammer, Liz Taylor & particulary Patrick Swayze. This "teasing" as you call it, has gone on for aeons, it's hardly a new thing. Perhaps it's more noticeable in the days of 24 hour media, but rumours were flying around about John Barrymore & Humphrey Bogart (I doubt you will have heard of either, knowing your past posts) It's also a bit rich to say Grammer, Applegate, Freeman, Thatcher & Winehouse were "near death". I'm also getting a bit tired of you saying the same thing in every single thread. I'm sure, as the above posts prove, I'm not the only one. One comment, in one thread - fine. This must be the 20th time in 2 days I've read a post like this from yourself. Anyway, Paul Newman DOES look near death, so then he can die & then you can jerk off over his death & that'll keep you satisfied & smug for a day or two. Never mind the fact that one of the greatest (whatever you think of him, his status as a great is undeniable) writers of the 20th Century has died, you're still whinging about the fact that a pretty young actress fighting a deadly disease has not died one day after being diagnosed.