Short and sweet this week, I’m sure you all have better things to do on a bank holiday weekend! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• C. J. Sansom, 71, British author (Shardlake), multiple myeloma.
• Brian McCardie, 59, Scottish actor (Rob Roy, The Ghost and the Darkness, Speed 2: Cruise Control) and writer. 
• Duane Eddy, 86, American guitarist (“Rebel-‘Rouser”, “Because They’re Young”, “Peter Gunn”), cancer. 
• Richard Tandy, 76, English musician (Electric Light Orchestra, The Move). 
• Josh Baker, 20, English cricketer (Worcestershire). 

In Other News

Jeremy Clarkson’s Clarkson’s Farm co-star Gerald has been diagnosed with cancer, with the news being broken to fans in the new Amazon Prime series. The latest instalment of the hit series reveals that Gerald, a cherished member of the farm crew, is battling prostate cancer. Fans of the show have come to adore Gerald, who regularly features in Jeremy and Kaleb’s farm antics, especially for his expertise in construction. In a touching update later in the season, Jeremy shares that Gerald is on the mend following a medical procedure, much to the relief of viewers rooting for his recovery. Jeremy has previously spoken fondly of his bond with Gerald, reminiscing: “It doesn’t matter if you can’t understand what he’s talking about, because he’s usually talking about Manchester United.” He added, “He’s fantastic. We’ve known each other for a very long time. He’s 72, also never been outside the village, but has worked on this farm for 50 years. He’s a great dry stone-waller, which is a dying art.” The dynamic duo of Jeremy and Kaleb found themselves in need of Gerald’s skills this year after they accidentally demolished a significant stone wall during their attempts at ‘unfarming’. 

Former Spandau Ballet musician Martin Kemp has predicted that he will die within 10 years. Kemp, 62, made the admission during a podcast recorded alongside his son, former  Capital Breakfast radio presenter and former I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out of Here! contestant Roman Kemp. Back in the 1990s, Kemp was diagnosed with two benign brain tumours, and successfully underwent radiotherapy and surgery to have the growths removed. However, one of the side effects of the experience was epilepsy, which Kemp has lived with ever since. The two Kemps discussed their mortality during the first episode of the new podcast series FFS! My dad is Martin Kemp. In the episode, titled “Death, Martin and Roman”, Kemp is asked by his son how much longer he expects to live. “I’ll be really honest with you, 10 years,” he responds. “I don’t know how long I’ve got left but I will tell you, since I was the age of 34, when I went through all of that brain tumour scare, I spent two years of my life thinking I was going to die. And I think, after that, everything else, every day, every year, every month that I’ve lived, every experience that I’ve had has been a bonus.” Kemp explained that he had been “practically resigned” to the notion that he was going to die, and had been “happy with his lot”. The bassist continued: “I thought: ‘If I go, do you know what? What a life’ and that was back then. So, every year that I live, every month that I’m alive now is like a bonus. “I would be happy if I got to 80, that gives me 18 years. My brain still wasn’t working properly from the operation,” he said. “To the point where sometimes if I wanted to walk left, I would walk right, or like I couldn’t think about putting things in order, or anything like that. Learning lines was just way out there.”  Kemp played bass guitar in Spandau Ballet from 1979 until the group’s dissolution in 1990, later returning for a decade after the band reunited in 2009. 

Mark Steel has shared the triumphant news he is now cancer free as he reveals doctors “saved his life”. The comedian and BBC radio star, 63, revealed he noticed his neck was “looking much bigger than normal” while shaving. He ignored it for two weeks but eventually saw a doctor after his neck continued to get bigger. After hospital visits and a lost biopsy, Mark was told he had cancer in at least two places, with the “primary cancer” in his throat. Mark shared his cancer diagnosis in October last year, and has now been able to reveal the news he is cancer free. In a post on Twitter, he said: “A nice man from UCL Hospital called this week, to say a scan of me showed the cancer I had has all gone. The treatment worked, the cancer bottled it and ran off, the wimp.” He added: “One thing I’ve learned through all this is I don’t recommend chemotherapy or radiotherapy as recreational drugs. I can’t see them taking off in the clubs. UCLH is an amazing place packed with wonderful souls. They’ve saved my life but I reckon this mention on Twitter makes us even. Also, I discovered my son and daughter are magnificent and that I know lots of brilliant people who are beautifully kind and funny and rude. And… lots of you sent me messages which was SO appreciated and I’d marry you all if there wasn’t a law against it. Now I’ll shut up about it, after the ‘my cancer journey’ book and tour and musical. And from now on I’ll be careful not to catch cancer again.” Mark’s pals shared their delight at the update as Janey Godley said: “I’m so happy for you.” 

On This Day

• 1902 – A stand box collapses at Ibrox Park (now Ibrox Stadium) in Glasgow, Scotland, which led to the deaths of 25 and injuries to more than 500 supporters during an international association football match between Scotland and England. 
• 1943 – World War II: United States Army Air Forces bomber aircraft accidentally cause more than 900 civilian deaths, including 209 children, and 1,300 wounded among the civilian population of the Belgian town of Mortsel. Their target was the Erla factory one kilometre from the residential area hit.
• 1974 – Carrie, the first novel by American author Stephen King, is published for the first time with a print run of 30,000 copies.

Deaths

• 1923 – George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon, English archaeologist & businessman (b. 1866).
• 1976 – Howard Hughes, American pilot, engineer, and director (b. 1905).
• 1994 – Kurt Cobain, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1967). 
• 2006 – Gene Pitney, American singer-songwriter (b. 1940). 
• 2008 – Charlton Heston, American actor, director, and political activist (b. 1923).
• 2012 – Jim Marshall, English businessman, founded Marshall Amplification (b. 1923).
• 2021 – Paul Ritter, English actor (b. 1966).

Last Meals

Willie James Pye was an American convicted murderer who was given the death penalty in 1996 for murdering his ex-girlfriend Alicia Lynn Yarbrough after he kidnapped and raped her. Pye acted together with two other people to commit a robbery at the home of Yarbrough’s boyfriend, which in turn led to the murder in 1993. 

Pye, who was convicted and sentenced to death three years after the crime, remained on death row for nearly 30 years before he was put to death via lethal injection on March 20, 2024. His case became a point of controversy due to the alleged inadequate legal representation he received during the trial, which allegedly left out details of Pye’s troubled childhood and other mitigating factors that may have spared his life. Pye was the first death row convict to be executed in Georgia after a four-year moratorium on executions due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

On November 17th 1993, Pye was involved in the rape-murder of his ex-girlfriend Alicia Lynn Yarbrough (aged 21 at the time), with whom he had an on-again, off-again romantic relationship prior to their final break-up. After their final break-up, Yarbrough ended up with another man, and she had a child, which Pye believed to be his, and he was angered that a birth certificate for the baby was signed with Yarbrough’s lover as the child’s father. On the day in question, Pye, armed with a newly bought .22 pistol, teamed up with two people, 15-year-old Anthony Freeman and 25-year-old Chester Adams, to commit robbery at the lover’s house, but after finding Yarbrough alone in the house with her baby, Pye and his accomplices abducted her and would later rape her at a motel, and also stole her jewellery. Afterwards, the trio drove Yarbrough down a dirt road, where Pye ordered her out of the car, told her to lie face down and shot her three times, which resulted in her death.

Yarbrough’s corpse was discovered on the same day of her murder, and the trio were arrested soon after. Pye and Adams denied their involvement in the crime, while Freeman confessed to the murder and implicated both Adams and Pye. DNA tests would later confirm that the semen found on the victim’s corpse belonged to Pye, which allowed the authorities to charge him as a suspect for Yarbrough’s murder. 

Pye’s lawyers urged for the state to grant Pye clemency and commute his death sentence to life in prison without parole, on the grounds of Pye’s low IQ and troubled childhood and the inadequate legal representation in his trial back in 1996. They also claimed that Pye suffered from foetal alcohol syndrome, as a result of his mother’s alcohol abuse while she was  pregnant with him, which may have damaged his brain and affected his mental responsibility at the time of the killing. Three former jurors who convicted Pye stated that they did not want Pye to be executed, after citing that they would have opted for life without parole had his childhood and low intelligence been revealed during his first trial. However the Georgia State Board of Pardons and Paroles officially turned down his clemency petition in 2024. 

Pye reportedly ordered a last meal of two chicken sandwiches, two cheeseburgers, french fries, two bags of plain potato chips, and two lemon-lime sodas. He was also visited by six family members, a clergy member, and an attorney for the final time before his death sentence was carried out. 

Pye was executed by lethal injection at 11:03 p.m. at the Georgia Diagnostic and Classification Center in Jackson, Georgia. Pye was 59 years old at the time of his death. Reportedly, before he was administered with a single dose of pentobarbital, Pye accepted a final prayer but he did not make a final statement. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Henry Cavill (41), Zach McGowan (44), John Rhys-Davies (80), Lance Henriksen (84),  Richard E. Grant (67), Marc Alaimo (82), Michael Palin (81), Adele (36), Will Arnett 54), Christina Hendricks (49), Pom Klementieff (38), Rob Brydon (59), Sandi Toksvig (66), Ben Elton (65), Matt Berry (50), Dwayne Johnson (52), David Suchet (78), Lily Allen (39), David Beckham (49), Engelbert Humperdinck (88), Julie Benz (52), Jamie Dornan (42), Joanna Lumley (78), Uma Thurman (54), Michelle Pfeiffer (66), Daniel Day-Lewis (67), Jerry Seinfeld (70), Kate Mulgrew (69), Willie Nelson (91), Anita Dobson (75), Kirsten Dunst (42), Gal Gadot (39), and Sam Heughan (44).

A fairly quiet week again, I’d send out the Flying Monkeys, but I’ve misplaced the cage key. 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Terry Carter, 95, American actor (Foxy Brown, McCloud, Battlestar Galactica). 
• Mike Pinder, 82, English Hall of Fame musician (The Moody Blues) and songwriter (“The Best Way to Travel”, “A Simple Game”).
• Frank Field, Baron Field of Birkenhead, 81, British politician, MP and member of the House of Lords, prostate cancer. 
• Marla Adams, 85, American actress (The Young and the Restless, The Secret Storm, Splendor in the Grass). 
• Maria Feliciana, 77, Brazilian singer, worlds tallest woman 7ft 3in.

In Other News

The ITV News presenter Rageh Omaar is “receiving medical care” after becoming unwell live on air. Omaar, who is the network’s international affairs editor, was leading Friday evening’s News at Ten programme when he appeared to have difficulty reading the bulletins on the autocue. In a statement released after the programme aired, ITV News acknowledged viewers’ worries and provided an update on the situation. “We are aware that viewers are concerned about Rageh Omaar’s wellbeing,” an ITV News spokesperson said. “Rageh became unwell while presenting News at Ten on Friday and is now receiving medical care. He thanks everyone for their well wishes.” The nature of Omaar’s illness during the broadcast is currently unknown. Across social media, the hashtag #itvnews began to trend in the UK, as viewers shared messages of support and worry for the newsreader. ITV pulled the show from its scheduled re-runs on ITV+1, with a message instead telling viewers that ITV was “temporarily unable to bring you our +1 service. We will resume shortly.” it read. Many on Twitter have admonished others for sharing the footage or Omaar’s broadcast, during which he stumbled over reading some words. Omaar has worked on ITV News since 2013, beginning his tenure as a special correspondent and presenter. Update: Following medical treatment at hospital, he is now recovering at home with his family. The nature of Omaar’s illness during the broadcast still remains unknown.

Harvey Weinstein, the former movie mogul and convicted sex offender, has been hospitalised in New York City, his lawyer said on Saturday. Arthur Aidala, a lawyer for Weinstein, told The Flying Monkeys that Weinstein was moved to Bellevue Hospital in Manhattan after he arrived to the city jails from a prison in upstate New York. “They examined him and sent him to Bellevue. It seems like he needs a lot of help, physically. He’s got a lot of problems. He’s getting all kinds of tests. He’s somewhat of a train wreck health wise,” Mr Aidala said. The news comes just days after a New York appeals court vacated his rape conviction after finding the trial judge made “egregious errors” by allowing prosecutors to call witnesses whose allegations were not related to the charges at hand. Weinstein was moved from Mohawk Correction Facility in Syracuse to Rikers on Friday after his 23-year prison sentencing was vacated. The 72-year-old remained in custody due to his 2022 rape conviction in Los Angeles.   

Norway’s king plans to scale back his participation in official duties “out of consideration for his age”, the country’s royal household has said. Officials said the move would see King Harald, 88, make a “permanent reduction” to his public engagements. Harald is one of Europe’s longest reigning monarchs, serving since 1991. But he has battled illness in recent years and was admitted to hospital in Malaysia in February after falling sick while on holiday. He was treated for an infection he contracted while staying on the resort island of Langkawi. He was later fitted with a pacemaker to compensate for a low heart rate. Harald has not been seen in public since his hospitalisation. His son, Crown Prince Haakon, has carried out the king’s duties in his absence. In a statement on Monday, the royal household said “practical arrangements will also be made in the conduct of his official activity”, but offered no further details on what the arrangements would be. Monday’s announcement comes just days after Harald formally resumed his constitutional duties, having taken two months of sick leave after being released from hospital. His official diary listed three separate meetings, including a summit with the head of the country’s armed forces. Last year, the king carried out 431 public engagements. They included chairing cabinet 35 times and holding 110 audiences with leaders such as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Nato Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg. Despite his advancing age and ill-health, King Harald has openly ruled out abdicating. In January, he told reporters that he had taken an oath that “lasts for life”. “It’s that simple for me,” he added. “We’re at it until the bitter end.” Despite his health issues, polling suggests that the king remains extremely popular with Norwegians. A survey earlier this year showed that 64% of the population did not want him to abdicate in favour of his son, while some 72% of Norwegians remained supportive of the monarchy. Harald has been known to hold progressive views throughout his time on the throne. In 2016, he made an impassioned speech in support of LGBT equality and refugees, paying tribute to his fellow citizens from “Afghanistan, Pakistan and Poland, from Sweden, Somalia, and Syria,” and saying that Norwegians “are girls who love girls, boys who love boys, and girls and boys who love each other”. 

On This Day

• 1869 – Chinese and Irish labourers working on the First transcontinental railroad lay ten miles of track in one day, a feat which has never been matched.
• 1881 – Billy the Kid escapes from the Lincoln County jail in Mesilla, New Mexico.
• 1923 – Wembley Stadium is opened, named initially as the Empire Stadium.
• 1945 – Benito Mussolini and his mistress Clara Petacci are shot dead by Walter Audisio, a member of the Italian resistance movement.
• 1973 – The Dark Side of the Moon by Pink Floyd, recorded in Abbey Road Studios goes to number one on the US Billboard chart, beginning a record-breaking 741-week chart run.
• 1986 – High levels of radiation resulting from the Chernobyl disaster are detected at a nuclear power plant in Sweden, leading Soviet authorities to publicly announce the accident.

Deaths

• 1945 – Benito Mussolini, Italian politician, 27th Prime Minister of Italy (b. 1883). 
• 1992 – Francis Bacon, Irish painter (b. 1909).
• 1999 – Alf Ramsey, English footballer and manager (b. 1920).
• 2021 – Michael Collins, American astronaut (b. 1930).

Gods of Death

Hades, Pluto, and Hel are some of the most well-known gods of death and the underworld from ancient mythology, but nearly all ancient cultures have one. Each death god from around the world represents the unique views different cultures have of death. Let’s have a  look at a few. 

Hades – Greek God of Death: In Ancient Greek mythology, the Greeks believed many gods ruled over the various elements of life and death. They would often perform ceremonies and sacrifices to earn favour, be it a good harvest, wealth and prosperity, or entrance to the afterlife. Among these gods, Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, ruled over the dead. Often depicted with a somber expression and a beard, Hades was known for his helmet, the Helm of Darkness or the Cap of Invisibility, and his companion, Cerberus, the three-headed dog that guards the entrance to the Underworld. His name means Unseen One, but he is also known as the Giver of Wealth, or Pluton. He is most known for his roles in the mythological stories about his parents, the Titans, and his niece, Persephone. As the god of the underworld, Hades typically remained in his realm and does not appear in as many myths as other gods.

Pluto – Roman God of Death: The foremost of the Roman chthonic (“subterranean”) deities, Pluto was god of the dead and lord of the underworld. A figure of enormous dread and terrible might, Pluto dispensed luck and controlled the fates of all mortals. As commander of the subterranean realms, he was the master of ores, metals, and the precious stones found within them. For this reason, he was celebrated by many as the bringer of wealth. Pluto was the Roman counterpart to Hades, who ruled the underworld of the same name. Pluto lived underground in a gloomy palace, and seemed to have little interest in the world of men. Likewise, Pluto seldom involved himself in godly affairs. He rode a chariot, carried a staff, and was often depicted wearing a warrior’s helm. Pluto was often accompanied by Cerberus, a three-headed hound that served both as his pet and guardian of the underworld.

Hel – Norse God of Death: Hel is a giantess/goddess who rules over the identically-named Hel, the underworld where many of the dead dwell. Her name’s meaning of “Hidden” has to do with the underworld and the dead being “hidden” or buried beneath the ground. Hel is the daughter of Loki and the giantess Angrboda, and therefore the sister of the wolf Fenrir and the world serpent, Jormungand. This makes her part of a highly dangerous and disreputable family. Hel is generally presented as being rather greedy, harsh, and cruel, or at least indifferent to the concerns of both the living and the dead. However, her personality is little-developed in what survives of Old Norse literature. Her appearance is described as being half-black, half-white, and with a perpetually grim and fierce  expression on her face.

Kali – Hindu God of Death: Kali is the Hindu goddess of death, time, and doomsday. She is often associated with sexuality and violence but is also considered a strong mother figure and symbol of motherly love. Kali is most often represented in art as a fearful fighting figure with a necklace of heads, skirt of arms, lolling tongue, and brandishing a knife dripping with blood. Kali’s name derives from the Sanskrit meaning ‘she who is black’ or ‘she who is death’. As an embodiment of time Kali devours all things, she is irresistibly attractive to mortals and gods. 

Anubis – Egyptian God of the Underworld: Anubis was a jackal-headed deity that guided souls and dead kings to the afterlife. There they were judged by Osiris through the weighing of the heart. Anubis would also embalm the dead and protect them. Anubis was one of the most important gods in Ancient Egyptian history. People viewed him with respect as a god of the underworld. He was depicted as a jackal-headed god because jackals were frequently seen roaming around tombs in Ancient Egypt. Anubis was said to have invented the mummification process. In world mythology, gods of death are often associated with evil. However, this wasn’t the case for Anubis. The Egyptian people viewed him as a good, protective deity. 

Ah Puch – Mayan God of Death: Ah Puch is an extremely fearsome deity usually depicted as a skeleton, often with rotting flesh. Ah Puch is the god of death, darkness, and disaster and yet also apparently represents regeneration, child birth, and beginnings. Ah Puch likes to surface at night and skulk around, there is only one way to escape his attentions. Howl! 

Mictlantecuhtli – Aztec God of Death: Mictlantecuhtli was the Aztec god of death who ruled over Mictlan, the land of the dead. Mictlan was where most people would spend their afterlife, regardless of moral standing. His name comes from his status as the ruler of Mictlan, and simply means “Lord of the Land of the Dead.” Mictlantecuhtli was most commonly depicted as a skeletal figure, though reliefs have also been found depicting him as a skull with eyes. He was sometimes shown with his mouth open, ready to receive the setting stars that disappeared during the day. As the Aztec lord of the underworld, Mictlantecuhtli didn’t act as the judge of the dead, Mictlantecuhtli simply tried to maintain order in his domain.

The Shinigami – Japanese Death Gods: In Japanese folklore, the Shinigami are death gods who play an essential role in the afterlife. People believed them to be spirits who guided the dead to the next world. In most cases, they are considered benevolent beings who guide the dead to the afterlife. Though many assume they are look similar to the Grim Reaper, most literature portrays them as something less frightening. They are said to wear black kimonos and have long white hair and can hide in plain sight or be invisible until you are  close to death.

Maman Brigette – Haitian and Voodoo Death God: Maman Brigitte is a lwa, or intermediary between the human and divine, of both life and death in Haitian Voodoo. She is always seen drinking rum infused with hot peppers, or sometimes she simply seen eating the peppers. She’s also said to swear frequently, and is associated with black roosters. She’s the partner of Baron Samedi, the male lwa of life and death. She protects the dead, gravestones, tombs and cemeteries. Maman Brigitte use of obscenity is a reminder not to be afraid to tell the truth and speak from the heart. She likes to have fun and is not afraid to say what is on her mind. Maman Brigitte is tough, serious, fun loving, the life of the party, caring, protective, religious, respectful, loud, rowdy and wild. Despite the fact of her rude and foul mouth she is also well spoken and behaves in a regal manner. Even though she has the power over the dead Maman Brigitte is priestess and teacher in healing.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Jessica Alba (43), Penélope Cruz (50), Mary McDonnell (72), Ann-Margret (83), Jay Leno (74), Jenna Coleman (38), Russell T. Davies (61), Giancarlo Esposito (66), Pablo Schreiber (46), Channing Tatum (44), Tom Welling 47), Kevin James (59), Jet Li (61), Joan Chen (63), Melania Trump (54), Renée Zellweger (55), Al Pacino (84), Gina Torres (55), Hank Azaria (60), Talia Shire (78), Djimon Hounsou (60), Jack Quaid (32), Joe Keery (32), Shirley MacLaine (90), Barbra Streisand (82), Rory McCann (55), Dev Patel (34), John Cena (47), Lee Majors (85), John Hannah (62), Gemma Whelan (43), Blair Brown (78), John Oliver (47), Jeffrey Dean Morgan (58), Amber Heard (38), Jack Nicholson (87), and Sheryl Lee (57).

Sadly no points to award this week, In fact a quiet week all round! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Pooch Tavares, 81, American singer (Tavares). 
• Vincent Friell, 64, Scottish actor (Trainspotting, Restless Natives, The Angels’ Share).
• Derek Underwood, 78, English cricketer (Kent, national team), complications from dementia.  
• Michael Donovan, 54, English convicted kidnapper (Kidnapping of Shannon Matthews), cancer. 
• Willie Limond, 45, Scottish boxer and footballer (Albion Rovers), complications from a seizure.
• Dickey Betts, 80, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band) and songwriter (“Jessica”, “Ramblin’ Man”), cancer and COPD. 
• Leighton James, 71, Welsh footballer (Burnley, Swansea City, national team). 

In Other News

Shocking footage captured the moment a shameless woman dragged her dead uncle into a bank in a bid to take out a loan in his name. The dead man’s head could be seen swaying back and forth as her niece tried to get hold of his neck at a bank counter in Rio de Janeiro. The Brazilian woman, identified as Erika de Souza Vieira Nunes, can also be seen using her hand to keep her dead uncle’s neck upright as she asked him to sign off a four-figure loan. Pretending to have a conversation with him, she said: “Uncle, are you listening? You have to sign it. I can’t sign for you. “Sign here and stop giving me a headache,” she added as she asked the deceased old age pensioner to hold the pen between his fingers. But her shameless drama was met by a silent response from the dead man. One of the bank workers present at the scene said: “I don’t think this is legal. He doesn’t look well. He’s very pale.” To which Erika quipped: “He’s like that,” before asking her uncle if he is unwell and wants to go to the hospital again. Seeing the ordeal, the bank staff grew suspicious and started filming the pair before calling an ambulance. And her shocking con rumbled soon after the paramedics confirmed Paulo Roberto Braga, 68, had passed away before she shamelessly hauled his body into the bank in a wheelchair. Cops soon arrested Erika for the scam and revealed she tried to take out a loan for 7,000 Brazilian Reais (£2,500), local media reports. Police chief Fabio Luiz confirmed after the arrest Mr Braga was already dead when he was wheeled into the bank. He added: “The investigation is continuing to identify other family members and to find out if he was alive when the loan was arranged and when it dates from.” 

Warwick Davis has announced that his wife of over 30 years, Samantha Davis, died on March 24. “My wife and soul-mate, best friend. Devoted mother. My favourite human. My most trusted confidant and an ardent supporter of everything I did in my career, has passed,” the 54-year-old said in a statement. “Her passing has left a huge hole in our lives as a family. I miss her hugs.” While Samantha’s cause of death has not been shared, Warwick explained that her mobility had become impaired in recent years. He said she was “determined that it would not impact her quality of life and limit what she did and was able to achieve.” Samantha’s death follows her 2019 battle with sepsis. Her health dramatically declined ahead of a family caravan holiday. Warwick previously said: “The next few hours were the longest of my life as I waited on the ward with our children in the empty space left by Sam’s hospital bed. I hoped it would not symbolise a future for us without her.” It’s believed she contracted the deadly bacterial infection, sepsis, after undergoing decompression surgery on her spine. Samantha said: “We went home a week later and suddenly I couldn’t feel my legs. I thought I was still recovering from the surgery so I went to bed, but the next day I felt awful, as though I had been hit by a truck. I stayed in bed all day while Warwick and Harrison went to a family party and the next morning I woke at 4am feeling even worse.” She recalled her deteriorating condition, “As the day went on I couldn’t concentrate, I lay on the sofa and when I tried to get up I collapsed on the floor.” Warwick hopes that following her death, Samantha “continues to inspire through the things she did and that her love, warmth and generosity will be her legacy. She always lived her best life. Although the pain of losing Sammy and being without her is unbearable, I feel so fortunate I was able to be close to her and experience her magic for 35 years.” 

On This Day

• 1509 – Henry VIII ascends the throne of England on the death of his father, Henry VII. 
• 1918 – World War I: German fighter ace Manfred von Richthofen, better known as “The Red Baron”, is shot down and killed over Vaux-sur-Somme in France. 
• 1934 – The “Surgeon’s Photograph“, the most famous photo allegedly showing the Loch Ness Monster, is published in the Daily Mail. 

Deaths

• 1509 – Henry VII of England (b. 1457). 
• 1910 – Mark Twain, American novelist, humorist, and critic (b. 1835). 
• 2003 – Nina Simone, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and activist (b. 1933). 
• 2016 – Prince, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor (b. 1958). 

Last Meals

After spending countless years incarcerated and having only prison chow to tide you over, you’d think the majority of death row inmates would have their final meal order all sorted out in advance.

It’s arguably the only thing that people facing capital punishment have to look forward to, as being put to death isn’t the most exciting prospect.

But this bloke’s dietary request should serve as a cautionary tale to any other death row prisoners, as what he asked for was so ridiculous that prison officials refused – and saddled him with a pot of plain yoghurt instead. 

Let’s have it right – who would want to leave this world with just a dairy product on their stomach? I for one, do not.

James Edward Smith, on the other hand, had no choice.

The convicted killer, 37, was slapped with a death sentence after he was found guilty of fatally shooting Larry Don Rohus, while he was robbing an office building in Houston, Texas.

On March 7, 1983, Smith strolled up to a Union National Life Insurance Company branch brandishing a gun and wearing a stocking mask, before he started to demand money.

The employee who he first encountered refused and hid behind a filing cabinet, leaving the district manager, Rohus, to deal with the situation.

Rohus complied with all the demands and began to retrieve money from the cash drawer before putting it in a plastic bag.

He gave the money to Smith and then began walking away – only for the gunman to open fire. 

The 44-year-old was shot twice – once through the heart – and was later pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.

Smith fled the building on foot and was chased down by one of Rohus’ co-workers as well as other Good Samaritans.

Ultimately, the Kentucky-born killer was convicted of capital murder and was sentenced to death by lethal injection.

The former tarot-card dealer – who also confessed to six ‘ritualistic’ deaths at trial which were never proven – even waived his final appeals which could have potentially stalled the process in the hopes of speeding up his execution.

Prior to his first scheduled execution on 11 May, 1988, Smith was quoted as saying: “Life is a temporary situation. The spirit moves on. Death is like eating a prune in the morning. It’s a  natural function.”

He really ran with this take on life and then requested a last meal of rhaeakunda dirt – which is exactly what it sounds like. 

Smith intended to eat the soil as part of a voodoo ritual, which he both practiced and believed in, as he reckoned that it would assist his journey into reincarnation.

Sadly for him, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice turned down the bizarre request because, as you would expect, dirt was not included on the list of approved foods.

After all that rigmarole, Smith ended up getting a last-minute stay of execution – although his death sentence was then rescheduled for two years later.

He again refused his appeals, expressed his wishes to die and his hunger for dirt to be his last meal.

Again, Smith’s strange snack was denied and the last ever item of food he ate on this earth was a plain yoghurt.

Not even flavoured.

Last Week’s Birthdays

James McAvoy (45), Toby Stephens (55), Andie MacDowell (66), Tony Danza (73), Rob Riggle (54), Iggy Pop (77), Jessica Lange (75), Andy Serkis (60), Clint Howard (65), Carmen Electra (52), Veronica Cartwright (75), George Takei (87), Ruth Connell (44), Michael Brandon (79), Nicholas Lyndhurst (63), James Franco (46), Tim Curry (78), Ashley Judd (56), Hayden Christensen (43), Kate Hudson (45), Simu Liu (35), David Tennant (53), Rick Moranis (71), Hayley Mills (78), Conan O’Brien (61), James Woods (77), Jennifer Garner (52), Rooney Mara (39), David Bradley (82), Victoria Beckham (50), Sean Bean (65), Anya Taylor-Joy (28), Gina Carano (42), Claire Foy (40), Ellen Barkin (70), Sadie Sink (22), Emma Watson (34), Seth Rogen (42), Emma Thompson (65), Luke Evans (45), and Maisie Williams (27).

Surprisingly, no points to hand out today, I could have sworn a couple of you had O.J.  

Next weeks issue will be dependent on whether WWIII has kicked off yet… 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Lori and George Schappell, 62, American conjoined twins. 
• Joe Kinnear, 77, Irish football player (Tottenham Hotspur, national team) and manager (Wimbledon), complications from vascular dementia
• Peter Higgs, 94, British theoretical physicist, discoverer of the Higgs boson, Nobel Prize laureate (2013). 
• O. J. Simpson, 76, American football player (Buffalo Bills) and actor (The Naked Gun, The Towering Inferno), prostate cancer. 
• Roberto Cavalli, 83, Italian fashion designer and inventor. 
• Eleanor Coppola, 87, American filmmaker (Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker’s Apocalypse, Paris Can Wait, Love Is Love Is Love). 

In Other News

Jackie Chan has responded to fans who were left “concerned” about his health following the release of a new photo of the star. The renowned actor and martial artist is known for his fitness, and was seen with grey hair at a recent event in Sichuan, China, sparking concern on social media once it went viral. Now, the Rush Hour star, who just turned 70, has responded to worries about his health, and revealed the reasons behind his appearance – which he admitted had frightened even his close friends. “Not so long ago, a lot of friends saw some recent photos of me on the internet, and they were all concerned about my health,” he wrote in a post on Instagram celebrating his 70th birthday on Sunday. “I want to take this opportunity to let everyone know, don’t worry!” He shared that he had donned the new look for a forthcoming role, but did not confirm any further details. “It’s just a character appearance for my latest movie. The character requires me to have white hair, white beard and look old. Over the years, I’ve always been willing to try new things for a movie, no matter if it’s a challenging stunt or a breakthrough appearance for a character.” He went on to reflect on his long career in the industry and turning 70, adding: “Especially for us stunt people, we don’t know how lucky we are to be able to grow old.” The Police Story star was born in Hong Kong, China, and appeared in a number of low-budget action movies before making his big break in Hollywood in the 1980 film The Big Brawl. He was awarded an honorary Academy Award in 2016 for his contributions to the film industry. The actor concluded, “I’ve been in the entertainment business for 62 years and I cherish every moment because I’m lucky I’m still filming today.”   

The world’s oldest conjoined twins Lori and George Schappell have died at the age of 62. Lori and her transgender twin George passed away on Sunday at a hospital in Pennsylvania due to undisclosed causes, per their online obituaries. The siblings, who had partially-fused skulls and shared 30 per cent of their brains, defied doctors who said they wouldn’t live past the age of 30. The twins had previously made headlines after George, formerly Dori, came out as transgender. Lori was able-bodied but George, who had spina bifida, was confined to a wheelchair which his twin pushed around. He had enjoyed a successful career as a country singer but Lori pursued her interests elsewhere as a trophy-winning ten-pin bowler. She also worked at a hospital laundry for several years during the ’90s, arranging her schedule around George’s gigs, which took them around the world to countries including Germany and Japan, according to the Guinness World Records. The twins lived independently in a two-bedroom apartment in Pennsylvania where they took turns practicing their separate hobbies. They alternated whose room they slept in and also showered separately by using the shower curtain as a barrier as one stood outside the bath. The pair appeared on numerous shows including Jerry Springer, The Maury Povich Show and The Howard Stern Radio Show. In the past, when asked if the death of one would necessarily mean the death of the other, Lori said at the time: ‘No, it would not. That’s another misconception.’ George, then Reba, explained in the 1997 documentary: ‘If it’s caught early enough, we could both be rushed to the hospital and then in an emergency, quickly be separated to save the other one.’ Elaborating further on whether they had ever wished to be separated, he said no: ‘Would we be separated? Absolutely not. My theory is: why fix what is not broken?’  

The mystery around Kate Beckinsale’s health continues as the Underworld actress has deleted all posts related to her hospital stay from her Instagram feed. For several weeks, the 50-year-old shared cryptic photos where she could be seen lounging in her room but as eagle-eyed followers have spotted, all posts related to the star’s health woes have been deleted. As she seemingly takes a break from the online platform, her comments have also been limited, although reasons for the change have been left unclear. The actress’ social media activity sparked concern in March, 2024, as she unveiled her health ordeal by sharing a string of shots where a teary-eyed Kate could be seen in a hospital gown with a large black bow in her hair. Her post was relayed on Instagram as she paid tribute to mothers around the world on Mother’s Day, including her own, Judy Loe. She refused to respond to worried fans who asked her for an update. “Thank you to those that love us and support us when it’s shit and try to make sure there are some bits that aren’t”, she had then penned. “And for looking after our dogs when we can’t, and lead us to remember happy things when we can’t. And turn up when we are sick and sit with us. And send balloons and check in and pull us out of wells with love.” A handful of days later, Kate still kept details around her health issues shrouded in secrecy as she continued to post from hospital to honour her late father, Richard, who passed away in 1979 as well as her stepfather, Roy Battersby, who drew his last breath at the age of 87 in January, 2024. After celebrating Easter in her hospital bed with a pair of festive socks, Kate posted photos while receiving a visit from pal Jonathan Voluck and seemed in good spirits as they wore peanut headbands while smiling at the camera. But, once again, she failed to mention why she’d been hospitalised. On April 9, 2024, the actress added fuel to the fire by posting and also deleting a photo of her mother Judy with a black eye. Fans grew increasingly frantic as she captioned: “My mum is hurt. Everything in me just wants me to scream. That soft, beautiful face, the unfairness of yet another fucking blow, this time to the face, hands, knee. As I am twisting my guts up to rail at this, she dresses in delicate purple to jauntily complement and has managed not to break a single bone. No one is stronger, no one terrifies me more in her fragility. Please mind, if you can. Minding helps.” But when faced with questions about her health, particularly as fans remember she had suffered from a ruptured ovarian cyst in January, 2019, Kate denied that she was being treated for a ruptured cyst or endometriosis. 

On This Day

• 1865 – U.S. President Abraham Lincoln is shot in Ford’s Theatre by John Wilkes Booth; Lincoln dies the following day. 
• 1912 – The British passenger liner RMS Titanic hits an iceberg in the North Atlantic and begins to sink.
• 1958 – The Soviet satellite Sputnik 2 falls from orbit after a mission duration of 162 days.This was the first spacecraft to carry a living animal, a female dog named Laika, who likely lived only a few hours.
• 1986 – The heaviest hailstones ever recorded, each weighing 1 kilogram, fall on the Gopalganj district of Bangladesh, killing 92.
• 1999   – A severe hailstorm strikes Sydney, Australia causing A$2.3 billion in insured damages, the most costly natural disaster in Australian history. 
• 2003 – The Human Genome Project is completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of 99.99%.

Deaths

• 2015 – Percy Sledge, American singer (b. 1940).
• 2019 – Bibi Andersson, Swedish actress (b.1935).
• 2021 – Bernie Madoff, US.. mastermind of the world’s largest Ponzi scheme (b. 1938).

Last Meals 

A Missouri man who murdered his cousin and her husband in 2006 has been executed by lethal injection despite clemency appeals by prison staff.

Brian Dorsey, 52, shot Sarah and Ben Bonnie after they agreed to help him with debts he owed to drug dealers.

The couple’s four-year-old daughter was at the home during the fatal attack. 

Dorsey nearly faced ‘surgery without anaesthesia’ to find a vein to inject the lethal drug due his obesity. Currently there is no guidance on how far the execution team can go to find a suitable vein, leaving open the possibility of an invasive “cutdown procedure,” Dorsey’s attorneys said. 

The procedure involves an incision that could be several inches wide and several inches deep. Forceps are used to tear tissue away from a vein that becomes the injection point.

However, the procedure wasn’t required and he was pronounced dead at 18:11 local time on Tuesday, according to a news release from the Missouri Department of Corrections.

Advocates for Dorsey argued that he had reformed during his stay in prison and that he did not have adequate legal defence during his trial.

The US Supreme Court rejected two bids to delay the execution. The governor also rejected a request for clemency, saying in a statement on Monday that Dorsey “punished his loving family for helping him in a time of need”.

Missouri Governor Michael Parsons also cited prosecutors’ claims that he sexually assaulted his cousin’s body after killing her. Lawyers for Dorsey reject the allegation, saying it was never proven at trial.

Dorsey turned himself in to the police three days after the attack. He confessed and pleaded guilty.

He is the first inmate executed by Missouri this year, after four people were put to death in the state in 2023.

Lawyers for Dorsey argued that he had become a model inmate in the last 17 years, one who worked as a prison barber giving haircuts to staff, and was remorseful for his crimes.

They said he was suffering drug-induced psychosis at the time of the attack, two days before Christmas, and that his lawyers faced a financial conflict of interest during trial.

At the time, the Missouri Public Defender Office’s paid court-appointed lawyers a flat fee of $12,000 per case. A low sum, given the thousands of hours normally needed in capital justice murder cases.

They argue his lawyers rushed him to take a plea deal that did not ensure that he would not be given a death sentence.

Former Missouri Supreme Court Justice Michael Wolff wrote to the governor saying the payment system, which has since been changed, has “undoubtedly influenced everything”.

Mr Wolff wrote that executing Dorsey “will dishonour our system of capital punishment”.

A petition signed by more than 70 correctional officers argued his sentence should be commuted to life in prison due to good behaviour.

“The Brian I have known for years could not hurt anyone,” one officer wrote in the petition. “The Brian I know does not deserve to be executed.”

In his final statement before his death, Dorsey again apologised to his victims and their relatives.

“To all of the family and loved ones I share with Sarah  and to all of the surviving family and loved ones of Ben, I am totally, deeply, overwhelmingly sorry,” he wrote.

“Words cannot hold the just weight of my guilt and shame. I still love you. I never wanted to hurt anyone. I am sorry I hurt them and you.”

Ahead of the execution, relatives of Dorsey’s victims called his sentence being carried out “a light at the end of the tunnel”.

Dorsey “was a close family member who was given a safe haven to get him out of a bad situation and turned this helping hand into the ultimate betrayal of a loved one”, according to a statement from Sarah Bonnie’s family. 

According to the Missouri Department of Corrections, before his execution he ordered his favourite foods, which included two cheeseburgers, two large French fries, two orders of chicken strips and a sausage, pepperoni, onion, mushrooms and extra cheese pizza.

The execution was carried out by a single dose of the sedative pentobarbital at the state prison in Bonne Terre.

Last Week’s Birthdays

Adrien Brody (51), Anthony Michael Hall (56), Sarah Michelle Gellar (47), Robert Carlyle (63), Julie Christie (84), Rob McElhenney (47), Peter Capaldi (66), Bokeem Woodbine (51), Ron Perlman (74), Peter Davison (73), William Sadler (74), Edward Fox (87), Jennifer Morrison (45), Saoirse Ronan (30), Claire Danes (45), Shannen Doherty (53), Andy Garcia (68), Ed O’Neill (78), Nicholas Brendon (53), David Letterman (77), Milly Alcock (24), Tricia Helfer (50), Matt Ryan (43), Jeremy Clarkson (64), Charlie Hunnam (44), Daisy Ridley (32), Haley Joel Osment (36), David Harbour (49), Steven Seagal (72), Peter MacNicol (70), Kristen Stewart (34), Elle Fanning (26), Dennis Quaid (70), Mark Pellegrino (59), Cynthia Nixon (58), Robin Wright (58), Katee Sackhoff (44), Patricia Arquette (56), and Dean Norris (61).

Lets award the points!!! Stu and Lee both had the worlds oldest man down as their Cert, so  136 points each and 36 points goes to Dave, who strengthens his grip at the head of the league table. Well done all of you! 

Look Who You Could Have Had:

• Chris Cross, 71, English musician (Ultravox) and songwriter (“Vienna“).
• Barbara Baldavin, 85, American actress (Medical Center, Star Trek), heart failure. 
• Barbara Rush, 97, American actress (It Came from Outer Space, Peyton Place, All My Children). 
• Juan Vicente Pérez, 114, Venezuelan supercentenarian, world’s oldest living man (since 2022). 
• Adrian Schiller, 60, English actor (Victoria, The Last Kingdom, The Danish Girl). 
• Lynne Reid Banks, 94, British author (The Indian in the Cupboard, The L-Shaped Room), cancer. 
• Cole Brings Plenty, 27, American actor (1923). 

In Other News

In late March 2024, weeks after Buckingham Palace announced King Charles is suffering from an unspecified form of cancer, celebrity gossip magazine In Touch Weekly published an article allegedly offering specifics on his diagnosis. Citing anonymous sources, the article claimed he has pancreatic cancer and only two years to live. One source reportedly told In Touch Weekly some people close to the British monarch believe his cancer “is worse than they’re making it out to be,” while another allegedly told the publication Charles “is not only battling pancreatic cancer… but has a mere two years to live.” Obviously this rumour is unproven, the alleged sources in the In Touch Weekly article were anonymous and, therefore, we were unable to to independently verify their claims. Searching the Royal Family’s website and Google, there was no evidence of the Palace revealing Charles’ specific form of cancer. No reputable news publications substantiated the rumour – which, if true, would be eminently newsworthy. 

A teenager had to be taken to hospital due to a suspected brain infection, after bursting an enormous pimple on his nose. Justine Seit, had burst the huge zit sitting on his nose, however, he soon became ill with an infection in Negros Oriental province, the Philippines. Burning up with a fever, the boy was taken to hospital on March 30th. The 17-year-old was put on oxygen whilst doctors conducted a CT scan to investigate whether the infection had reached his brain. After being prescribed antibiotics, Justine’s condition started to improve and the pus was drained from his boil-like pimple. His relieved mother Monaliza Marcos said: “To everyone, especially the teenagers, my advice is not to fiddle with pimples on your face because the infection might spread to your brain. The doctors have taken a sample from the pimple for analysis. I’m so grateful my son was able to recover from his sickness.” Doctors have warned against popping pimples in the ‘danger triangle’ area of the face. The region, also called the ‘triangle of death’, is marked by the corners of the mouth to the bridge of the nose. The network of veins in this area provides channels through which facial infections can spread toward the brain. Several years ago, a teenager was blinded by a mystery illness sparked from squeezing a seemingly harmless nose spot. Mary Ann Regacho, 17, suffered severe facial swelling after simply popping a pimple on her nose. The youngster originally thought the growth was a simple spot caused by hormones after she gave birth to a baby boy at age 16. But, when she squeezed the spot, Mary said it grew painful days later before it started spreading across her face. The teenager, from Nueva Ecija, in the Phillippines, said it was “like a balloon inflating”.

On This Day

• 1933 – Prohibition in the United States is repealed for beer of no more than 3.2% alcohol by weight, (Now celebrated as National Beer Day in the United States).
• 1955 – Winston Churchill resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom amid indications of failing health.
• 1969 – The Internet’s symbolic birth date.
• 1983 – During STS-6, astronauts Story Musgrave and Don Peterson perform the first Space Shuttle spacewalk.

Deaths

• AD 30 – Jesus Christ (possible date of the crucifixion (b. circa 4 BC).
• 1739 – Dick Turpin, English criminal (b. 1705).
• 1891 – P. T. Barnum, co-founded The Barnum & Bailey Circus (b. 1810).
• 1947 – Henry Ford, founded the Ford Motor Company (b. 1863). 
• 2001 – David Graf, American actor (b. 1950). 
• 2015 – Geoffrey Lewis, American actor (b. 1935).

Last Meals 

The US state of Oklahoma has carried out its first execution for 2024, giving a lethal injection to a man convicted of a double murder.

Michael Dewayne Smith was 19 when he killed Janet Moore and Sharath Babu Pulluru during a drug-fuelled crime spree in Oklahoma City in 2002. 

When offered the choice of what to order for a last meal, Smith made the unusual decision to reject the chance to place an order. He instead ate some of the remaining foods he’d had from the prison canteen. When asked if he had any last words, Smith, 41, said: “Nah, I’m good.” 

He is the 12th person to be executed in Oklahoma since the state resumed carrying out death penalties in 2021.

The nearly seven-year hiatus came after a series of problems arose during executions.

In 2014, a condemned prisoner writhed in apparent pain for 43 minutes before dying from a heart attack. The next year, a prisoner being executed told witnesses “it feels like acid” and “my body is on fire”.

Smith’s murders were committed while he was already on the run for a shooting death a year earlier.

Janet Moore was killed when he went to her house looking for her son, who Smith believed to be a police informant.

In a separate attack, Sarath Babu Pulluru was killed when Smith mistook him for another convenience store clerk who had made comments to a local newspaper about Smith’s criminal gang. Pulluru was shot nine times before being doused with lighter fluid and set on fire.

Smith died within minutes of receiving the lethal cocktail of three drugs, according to reporters who witnessed it at the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester.

He was pronounced dead at 10:20 ET on Thursday, the Department of Corrections confirmed to the Flying Monkeys.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released a statement after Smith was declared dead, saying: “I am grateful that justice has been served.” 

The family of Janet Moore also released a statement declaring that “justice has been served”   and thanking authorities for pursuing the punishment over the past 22 years.

“It does not go unnoticed or in vain, as we were constantly reminded this is justice for a loss that has caused a ripple for generations to come,” the family wrote.

Sharath Babu Pulluru’s family said in a statement that Sharath “will forever live in our hearts”. 

Last Week’s Birthdays

Russell Crowe (60), Francis Ford Coppola (85), Jackie Chan (70), Paul Rudd (55), Michael Rooker (69), Zach Braff (49), John Ratzenberger (77), Billy Dee Williams (87), Lily James (35), Hayley Atwell (42), Mitch Pileggi (72), Pharrell Williams (51), Robert Downey Jr. (59), Natasha Lyonne (45), Hugo Weaving (64), Graham Norton (61), Amanda Bynes (38), Eddie Murphy (63), Alec Baldwin (66), Paris Jackson (26), Pedro Pascal (49), Michael Fassbender (47), Jesse Plemons (36), Emma Myers (22), Linda Hunt (79), Penelope Keith (84), Mackenzie Davis (37), Asa Butterfield (27), Annette O’Toole (72), Ali MacGraw (85), and Michael Praed (64).