Octopus of Odstock

Claude Pompidou, philanthropist & widow of the former French President, George Pompidou, has died.

According to Michael Ammermuller, the "launchpad" for Viso's crash, he and the drivers in front of him had slowed down as they saw the SC board & yellow flags for the safety cars. Viso had not, and was unsighted, and was going at normal race speed, whilst Ammermuller was slowing down for the pace car. Viso hit the back of his car at tremendous speed... and well, you know the rest...

Viso crash here as promised. How the chap is not more seriously hurt, I do not know... Note - the above is the crash slowed down - this is the crash as it happened in real speed Quicker than the Marshals

Ernesto Viso, a GP2 (next step down from F1) driver is VERY lucky to still be alive after a crash today. I'll post a video link to it soon unless someone beats me to it. Basically he crashed through a hoarding & nearly hit a bridge, yet escaped with a bruised arm & a bit of concussion. Written description link

Hugh Johns, commentator of the 1966 World Cup Final for ITV, and a long-time & much respected football, boxing, darts, snooker & bowls commentator, has died. He was 83 years of age. And just for the record, this is what Johns was saying when Wolstenhome was uttering his immortal words...

Ivory Coast PM survives rocket attack on his plane

Goodness me, I thought Tommy Eytle died years ago. Sorry to hear of this, however.

Kiichi Miyazawa, former Japanese PM, has died, at the age of 87. Those with longer recollections may remember George Bush Sr. was sick all over Miyazawa's trousers in the early 90's. Not Bush Sr's finest hour.... Congratulations to Canadian Paul on an unique hit on the DDP - it could be his 1st of two in one day if Melly's condition is as bad as believed.

He has had a Wiki page for some years, DDT, partly because his name is Eric TINDILL.

Yes, last year. It was widely covered in the news, and we had a fair few ranters here.

If the 2nd prediction comes true, I'd be extremely surprised. Not least because Runcie DIED 7 years ago...

Although it will be a DDP hit (and maybe some other hits too) for me, I echo Gwynhafyr's comments, and saying that I find this so immensely sad. But his decline, his final decline that is, has been so rapid, I don't think we can be surprised. The George Melly who is ill now is not really the larger-than-life George Melly of yesteryear and for that his death can only be a blessing of sorts for the family.

Seth Cook, the poor lad who suffered from progeria, a condition which causes accelerated aging, and who was sometimes mentioned here (and chosen on previous DDP's) as one of the prime examples of a sicker, darker choice for death pools, has died, from a heart-attack caused by his condition.

2 more religious men have just joined the heavenly throng - the former Archbishop of Lusaka and the Bishop of Norwich Although I note these are not on DDT's list, maybe one of those that IS on his list, will be happy to oblige & create a holy trinity of deaths. After all, they killed 6 clerics in one day in Iraq the other day....

Although, as always, things are never clear with Kim Jong Il, this report does seem to be remarkbly in-depth, and even admits there ARE things wrong, health wise, with the President, so one must feel that there is some truth in this report from the Daily Korea paper:- Kim Jong Il underwent a Percuteneous Transarterial Coronary Angioplasty (PTCA) performed by German doctors in mid-May. An inside Japanese source well acquainted with North Korea reported by telephone on the 20th that Kim Jong Il received medical treatment from doctors of the Berlin Heart Center in mid-May and was back at work a day later. This source said that North Korean authority asked the German doctors to closely examine Kim Jong Ils health and perform surgery if necessary. The examination revealed a myocardial infarction, but no other serious heart condition. According to the doctors, Kims health was not bad except for kidney hypertrophy and some symptoms of diabetes. After examination he received the relatively simple PTCA treatment instead of surgery. PTCA expands a narrow artery by inflating a tiny balloon. The balloon is introduced into the artery through catheter. It is an effective treatment for coronary artery diseases without the use of thoracotomy, and results in high success rates and few complications. Patients need just a couple of days¡¯ rest. Dr. Jung Yong Suk, a heart specialist at the Sunrin Hospital in Handong University, explained to the Daily NK that ¡°PTCA is a medical treatment for coronary arteries supplying blood into the heart. If Kim Jong Il required the procedure, he may have some problem in his coronary arteries, but it is uncertain if it is a stricture of the heart or myocardial infarction.¡± The Japanese source said that the ¡°German doctors promised to keep Kim Jong Il¡¯s procedure a secret and to coordinate a faked story with North Korea authority.¡± Therefore, the spokesperson of Berlin Heat Center revealed that 6 members of the center stayed in Pyongyang from May 11th to the 19th, treating only three laborers, a nurse, and a scientist. A North Korea expert speculated that Kim Jong Il might be addressing health concerns prior to the year end South Korean Presidential Election and further nuclear negotiations. Many groundless reports have circulated regarding possible Kim Jong Il heart surgery. A Japanese magazine, Shukan Gendai, claimed that Kim Jong Il received coronary artery bypass surgery for myocardial infarction.

According to this, BBC2 will have a documentary soon with Richard Hammond meeting Evel Knievel. Should be both entertaining & useful to see how bad Evel is with his lung condition.

Ruth Graham's funeral I think the one effort he made there to stand may be the last big effort he'll make. Everything he has said since points to the fact he is just waiting quite happily to die & rejoin Ruth. But I could be wrong...

Sir Bobby's cancer fight is "going well". Now, I know there's cries of "he would say that, wouldn't he?", I, for one, am glad to hear Sir Bobby is battling this latest scare as well as his previous cancer fights.

Brooke Astor's will published Yes, yes, I know, she isn't dead yet - I thought I'd missed something, but this is the document that was causing all the hoo-ha last year.

"Chemical Ali" sentenced to death Along with two others, including the former defence minister, but another three escape the noose. Faster, Pussycat, Kill, Kill, Kill! put all of the defendants in his/her team on the DDP, so I suppose it was worth the risk with the points for the three. Down more places I go.

Hmm.. she seems to be hospitalised quite frequently now, a la Gerald Ford & Kurt Waldheim..... Looks like she'll come out of this one, but I wonder how many more hospitalisations she can take. My guess is not that many.

Tammy Faye moves house Make of that what you will

Often famed US businessman die & I just go "Who?" but today was announced the death of one I've actually heard of - restauranteur Bob Evans, who has died, aged 89. Link

General Charles "Chinese" Gordon (however, he was never the best dinner companion but a man of his greatness would still be of interest.) Michael Palin James Stewart Sir Patrick Leigh-Fermor Sir Cecil Rhodes Sir Ralph Richardson Brian Clough Steve Coppell David Niven Stephen Fry whilst serving the dishes in scantily clad costumes would be Girls Aloud, Anna Friel & Liz McLarnon

Kenneth Williams' nostrils & Sid James thoroughly dirty chuckle have by themselves caused many hours of happiness in our household. My clear favourite is still Carry On Matron. Not only are Kenneth Cope & Terry Scott on fine form but Kenneth Williams is magnificent in that one & some of the one-liners, especially from him, in that one are among the best. I'm not going to rank it as one of my top movies of all time, but I'll happily sit down & watch it any time it appears on TV. Carry On films taught me a lot about how I live my life today.