Eurovision Song Contest 2022 “I’m incredibly excited to make some friends, chat some music, and just take in every moment of this beautiful, wild bonkers thing.” – Sam Ryder Long-term readers of my blog will know how much Eurovision means to me!  And I have to declare last night’s Eurovision Song Contest the best ever […]

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June Brown (1927 – 2022) “Ooh I say!” ~ Dot Cotton June Brown, and her alter ego, Dot Cotton, was a household name, even for those who didn’t watch EastEnders.  She died last week, at the age of 95.  Though it was announced that she left the soap in February 2020, for the viewers her […]

Categories: Celebrities · Obituary

Will Smith and Chris Rock The course of Will Smith’s life was altered at the 94th Academy Awards, an occasion which represented both the zenith and the nadir of his life and achievements, the consequences of which are yet to unravel.  For Chris Rock, the host whom he slapped in response to a joke about […]

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Jamal Edwards (1990 – 2022) ‘We all die. The goal isn’t to live forever. The goal is to create something that will’ ~ Jamal Edwards Music entrepreneur Jamal Edwards died last week, aged just 31.  He apparently suffered a heart attack after performing as a DJ the previous night.  His mother Brenda was with him […]

Categories: Celebrities · Obituary

Bamber Gascoigne “Your starter for ten… Fingers on the buzzers… I’ll have to hurry you…” The original quizmaster of University Challenge, Bamber Gascoigne, died last Tuesday, at the age of 87.  The quiz show began in 1962, and I was an avid viewer before I went to university (the questions were easier, then!) and in […]

Categories: Celebrities · Obituary

Ronnie Spector (1943 – 2022) “Ronnie lived her life with a twinkle in her eye, a spunky attitude, a wicked sense of humour and a smile on her face.  She was filled with love and gratitude. Her joyful sound, playful nature and magical presence will live on in all who knew, heard or saw her.” […]

Categories: Celebrities · Obituary

Sidney Poitier (1927 – 2022) “I was a pretty good actor and I believed in brotherhood. I hated racism and segregation. And I was a symbol against those things.” ~ Sidney Poitier The iconic actor Sidney Poitier died on Friday this week, at the age of 94.  It seems astonishing to think that in the […]

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Strictly Come Dancing 2021 – Part 4 I am tying up loose ends here, as I did not complete the roll call of Strictly Come Dancing contestants.  There are two I need to blog about (before it is too late), one of them likely to leave this weekend!  They are A.J. Odudu and Rhys Stephenson. […]

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Strictly Come Dancing 2021 – Part 3 I am posting this blog early, as I have to be away on Sunday, so cannot take into account Saturday night’s performances, but there is still plenty to write about!  Here are the next four in this series, and there are only a couple of contestants left, so […]

Categories: Celebrities

Alec Baldwin The actor Alec Baldwin found himself at the centre of a gun-related tragedy this week, at the time of the Mars-Pluto square.  The cinematographer Halyna Hutchins on the film Rust died, and the co-director Joel Souza was injured. This haunting event has been described as “unfathomable” – it was an accident, but highlights […]

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