No, not me. If you look at the tabs under the banner on this blog you will see one for the John Bowens who are not me on the Which JohnB? tab. There are several famous ones, even notorious in one case, but they are not this one.
Continue readingCategory Archives: obituaries
Kate O’Mara
News that the lady had taken her final curtain came was rather sad for I had long had something of a soft spot for her. Not from any of her screen performances though, but from a random act of kindness. Continue reading
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News from Skaro; Dalek’s creator dies
News that Raymond Cusick has died, aged 84, brought a tinge of sadness this way for, although that is a good age, this was the gentleman who designed one of my favourite TV icons; the Dalek for whilst it was Terry Nation who came up with the idea, it was Raymond who brought that idea its shape. Continue reading
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RIP Gary Moore
After various posts and tweets today, all pales into insignificance on hearing the news that Gary Moore has died. Same age as me as it happens.
An amazing guitarist and master gurner in the process, GM will be sadly missed, but he does at least leave us with a catalogue of material to for us to enjoy his memory from.
I’m off to find some of those memories on my iPod.
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Gerry Rafferty RIP
Sad to hear yesterday of Gerry Rafferty leaving us, but we do have his songs to remember him by.
City to City got me safely home on many a dark night and I wore out three cassette copies before I finally got a car with a CD player. These days it’s on my ipod and is one of the few albums that I look forward to listening to in one go.
Someone who made music that truly touched people and I for one will treasure his songs.
RIP
Filed under Music, obituaries
RIP Ralph Coates
I was sad to read that Ralph Coates had passed on. I can remember him from his Burnley days, but mostly from his time at Tottenham where he was a nifty winger and dangerous in the box to boot. To see him taunting a full back or flashing down the line with that comb over streaming behind him he always seemed to be giving his all and he was one of those players that the other teams always seemed to respect.
Sad news to hear that he has gone, and at no age really, but I doubt that I’m the only one with fond memories of his playing days.
Oh for a time when footballers wore proper shorts and played for pleasure rather than the next endorsement deal.
RIP Ralph, and thanks for the memories.
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Actor Leslie Nielsen has died aged 84
Sad news this morning. I was always a fan from the Forbidden Planet days, but feel that his Airplane role defined a whole new genre.
I got a lot of pleasure from his films and TV work and am sad to hear he has departed this life.
RIP
Filed under america, obituaries
Nobby Stiles; a true hero
Very sad news that Nobby is going to have to sell his treasures. This guy is a true hero from the days when football was a sport and not a bunch of overpaid (insert own adjective).
He played his heart own for his clubs and his fans and put a lot back into the game when his playing days were over. Surely the game can afford to help some of the people that made it what it is today? If the players at Manchester United, or at Middlesborough and Preston, gave up an hours pay each it would mount up, so why not make it a days pay each lads? Buy his stuff and give it back.
Oh, and buy his autobiography. It should be compulsary reading for all youngsters, regardless of whether or not soccer is their game.
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Filed under Books & Reading, obituaries, random rants
Michael Foot – A good and honest man
There were probably a lot of things that Michael Foot and I would have disagreed on had we ever sat down to talk. We never did though, and his passing this week means that we never will, but his was one of the first names that would come to mind whenever I’ve been asked who I would like to have had as a guest at an ideal virtual gathering.
In the tributes to him we have seen examples of his power as an orator, but these have been, of necessity, just short glimpses and the recording medium does not capture what it was to hear him speak in person. Sadly, for me, there are so few orators left now, their kind having become extinct in a world of political correctness and with the need to “stay on message”.
As I have said elsewhere amongst my blogs, just because you don’t agree with someone it doesn’t mean that you don’t like them, and that applies also to respect, and that is a commodity I value above all else.
I shall remember Michael Foot for his oratory powers, but also with a great respect for a good and honest man for, despite a long life in the murky world of politics, he remained that throughout which is precisely why he was unable to make a success of leading his party.
A good and honest man: Maybe not much of an epitaph, but one that I can aspire to for when my turn comes.
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The Voice of the Bloke at the Back 