OBITUARIES

[PanBiker]

Third eldest of the Von Trapp children I believe. Portrayed as Louisa in the film.

[Stanley]

Alice Hertz Sommer, the last Holocaust survivor has died in London aged 111 years. (LINK)

[Tardis]

Who ya gonna call...

RIP Harold Ramis

[Sunray10]

Very shocked to hear about the sudden death of Bob Crow, general secretary of the RMT union, at the age of 52. He stood up to the employers and helped his union members in many an industrial battle since 2002. It will be very difficult indeed to find someone else like Bob. RIP Bob Crow.

[Stanley]

Bob was a good man, never lost sight of what his job was and even his enemies across the table admit he was a superb deal maker. Interesting that Boris Johnston never went face to face with him.

[Tripps]

Iain Dale said yesterday -" he was difficult to interview - if you asked him any smart a***d questions he would run rings round you."

I keep thinking that it's a shame his first job wasn't in a care home, and not on the railways, then perhaps carers would be on a starting wage of £48,000 a year which he achieved for Tube drivers.

[Bruff]

He was also extremely well-read and cultured, with a taste for the fine things in life. Something he was careful to conceal largely as if there's one thing the likes of Dacre hate more than a TU leader having the temerity to take a holiday in Brazil, it's one who likes good wine, a decent pair of threads and a night at the theatre.

At the TUC annual gathering of a few years ago:

General Secretary: 'The leader of the Labour Party [one ACL Blair] is always welcome at the TUC'.

Bob Crow: 'No he ain't'................as he led his delegation out of the hall.

Richard Broughton

[Stanley]

Brilliant!

[Nolic]

RIP Tony Benn who has died today at home. A very wise and considerate man.....shall we see his like again? Nolic

[hartley353]

There are not many politicians I can say were honourable and worthy of respect Tony Ben was leader of my list. We shall not see his like again. Sleep well Tony your work is done.

[Stanley]

I hadn't picked up on this one. Tony Benn was brought up properly and never forgot the lessons he learned. Like all human beings he occasionally gave pause for thought but overall he was fearless, spoke out for what he believed in and reminded us of an era when many politicians had principles and stuck to them. Life is a terminal disease and it's been noticeable that he was failing but I'm sad to see him go.

[Tardis]

I agree

[Julie in Norfolk]

Tony Benn never failed to engage my interest. I respected him for his humanitarian opinions, I enjoyed listening to him, and whilst I didn't always agree with his views we would both have agreed that he had every right to express them. I wish I could have met him but I would have stumbled to put two meaningful and eloquent words together if I had.

[Stanley]

Exactly my view Jules and he was a pipe-smoker as well!

[PanBiker]

Sally has met and chatted with him over tea and buns at the Labour Party Conference, he sought her out to discuss Pendle CLP's resolution she had taken to conference regarding scrapping Trident. A nice bloke and of course, good conversationalist.

[Tripps]

Clarissa Dickson Wright has died. Not everyone's favourite, but I quite liked her.

I see from Wikipedia that her full name is said to have been -

Clarissa Theresa Philomena Aileen Mary Josephine Agnes Elsie Trilby Louise Esmerelda Dickson Wright.

Can that be true, or is someone having a laugh? Quite a burden when signing your name I'd have thought.

[PanBiker]

Perfectly true Tripps, according to the news.

[Marilyn]

Oh Dear...has she died?
I liked the woman. I found her autobiography interesting. ( and from memory she did have a long name)
Quite a square peg in a round hole...she had made some difficult choices in life and had overcome some demons...she was an amazing woman in many respects.

[Stanley]

I didn't like the way she undercooked beef but liked the woman. I once heard her doing an interview and she went to the doctor with a complaint that was usually caused by spending too much time in a malaria zone and taking a lot of quinine. She said it turned out to be down to the quinine in the gallons of G&T she was taking at the time. Jennifer Paterson, the other Fat Lady was an interesting character as well. She cooked literary lunches for one of the big publishing houses and there are some good stories about her as well. The programme was off the wall and always a good view.

[Cathy]

RIP Clarissa. Quite an individual.

[Jackie Wood]

Sad to announce the death of my aunt, Kathleen (Kitty) Broadhead on Saturday, 22 March 2014 at the grand age of 101. Kathleen was known for her performances in the Barnoldswick choral society. Her funeral is Monday 31 March at 10:35 at the New Ship.

[Tizer]

When the building of those two new, giant aircraft carriers was announced some years ago I did suggest that they should be named the `Clarissa Dickson Wright' and the `Jennifer Patterson' but the Admiralty failed to take up the idea. Probably thought they'd sound too much like American warships. The names seemed quite appropriate to me - two big, robust ladies who could stand up for themselves in any fight.

[Stanley]

Jackie, what a great age.... I have a picture of Clough flood credited to K Broadhead. Did she give it to me/us?

[Jackie Wood]

Stanley, I don't know, I haven't seen those photos before. There are some photos on the old site that came from Kathleen.

[Stanley]

I have an idea she rang me and I went to see her. Where did she live? There's a connection somewhere but my memory has failed me.