2025

Dickie Bird died, aged 92
Dickie Bird was an English cricketer and international cricket umpire. During his long umpiring career, he became a well regarded figure among players and the viewing public, not only due to his high standards as an umpire but also for humour and eccentricity.

John Stapleton died, aged 79
John Stapleton was an English journalist and broadcaster. He was known for his work as a presenter and reporter on itv breakfast television (TV-am, GMTV and Daybreak) in addition to hosting Nationwide and Watchdog for the BBC. I remember him hosting The Time, The Place, also itv.
John Stapleton won the Royal Television Society’s News Presenter of the Year award for 2003, and was married to the presenter Lynn Faulds Wood. Together they presented Watchdog between 1985 and 1993.

Robert Redford died, aged 89
Robert Redford was an American actor. He starred in many films including Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Way We Were (1973 with Barbra Streisand), The Sting, The Great Gatsby, A Bridge Too Far and so many more.

Rick Hatton died, aged 46
Ricky Hatton, also known by nicknames such as the Hitman and the People’s Champion, was an English professional boxer who competed between 1997 and 2012, and later worked as a boxing promoter and trainer.

Giorgio Armani died, aged 91
Giorgio Armani was an Italian fashion designer and billionaire. Initially, he gained recognition for his work with Cerruti 1881. The company, Armani, was established in 1975, and it subsequently diversified into music, sport, and luxury hotels.

Barbara Johnson died, aged 75
Barbara was a dear friend and ex-work colleague. She was one of the funniest women I’ve ever known and I’m truly affected by learning of her passing away earlier today. My thoughts are with Mick, Steve and Paul.

Terence Stamp died, aged 87
Terence Stamp was a superb English actor. Known for many iconic roles including the villain General Zod in Superman. I remember him most affectionately in the film Priscilla Queen Of The Dessert, when he played the transgender Bernadette Bassenger.

Biddy Baxter died, aged 92
Biddy Baxter was an English television producer. She was best known for editing BBC Television’s children’s magazine show Blue Peter from 1965 to 1988, devising much of the format that is still used today.

Went to Brighton with Jake
Jezz, Jake and I went to brighton to get away from it all. Nik kindly helped by offering to doggy sit with Hecor. We went for breakfast at Breakfast At Tiffany’s and then a stroll around the lanes. Bought a fe wbits and an ice crem for heading back home to see Hector.

Went for breakfast a quick trek around the charity shops
Jezz, nik, Jake and I went for breakfast at The Silver Spoon Diner, Epsom Downs and then a quick walk around the charity shops in Banstead. We kept a close eye on Hector, back at home through ‘Hector Cam’ and “Hector’s House’ cameras.

Jake arrives today
Our gorgeous grandson, Jake is staying with us for a few days and arrived today. Deb dropped him off at ours. They met both Hector and after Deb left, Jake and I went shopping. We had chicken curried kebabs for dinner.

James Whale died, aged 74
James Whale was a British radio personality.

Sylvia Young died, aged 85
Sylvia Young was a British theatre school founder who was the founder and principal of Sylvia Young Theatre School in London, England.

Blake arrives
Rosie, Caiger’s daughter, and her partner, Bobby, celebrate by introducing us to Blake Paul Bennett. He arrived at 11.04pm on Tuesday 29th July 2025. We’re absolutely thrilled for them both.

HECTOR arrives
Today, Jezz and I drove to Sevenoaks to collect our first and only puppy, Hector. We bought him from a lady who was breeding Staffordshire Bull Terrier crosses with Old English Bulldogs. From the moment we saw him, we fell in love with him, but the love for him exploded when he showed just a small amount back. Six days later, I can still say that I’ve never fallen in love with an animal so much that on day four, I burst into tears uncontrollably.

Cleo Laine died, aged 97
Cleo Laine an English singer and actress. Mosted noted for being the wife of jazz composer Johnnie Dankworth. Her hits included Cavatina (Theme: The Deerhunter) “He Was So Beautiful.”

Hulk Hogan died, aged 71
Hulk Hogan was an American professional wrestler. He was best known for his work with WWE and World Championship Wrestling.

Movie: Unicorns ★★★★★
This film is epic. If you don’t love Ben Hardy before the film, you’ll be completely in love with him by the end of it. So, so good. I don’t wanna say anymore and spoil it if you haven’t seen it… because if you haven’t, drop everything and watch it now.

Chuck Mangione died, aged 84
Chuck Mangione was an American flugelhorn player, trumpeter and composer. “Feel So Good” and “Maui Waui” were my favourites pieces of music by Chuck Mangione and I have them in my collection, amongst other tracks.

Ozzy Osborne died, aged 75
Ozzy Osborne was an English singer, songwriter and media personality. He rose to prominence during the 1970s as the lead vocalist of the heavy metal band Black Sabbath, during which period he adopted the nickname “Prince of Darkness.”

Ciara and Ant’s Wedding
Our nephew, Anthony, married his girlfriend, Ciara. It was a local venue and we joined them at the reception. It was so nice to see them so happy. The weather was great, pizzas were welcomed and some of their friends are gorgeous, hehe. Their dedicated page is here: Ciara and Ant’s Wedding.

Connie Francis died, aged 87
Connie Francis was an American singer and known for her hit singles: “Who’s Sorry Now,” “Everybody’s Somebody’s Fool,” “My Happiness,” “Lipstick On Your Collar,” “Stupid Cupid” and many more.

Judy Loe died, aged 78
Judy Loe was an English actress. Here’s some nearly fascinating news: Judy Loe is the Mother of Kate Beckinsale and yes, Richard Beckinsale is the father. Judy appeared in Z Cars, Dixon of Dock Green, When The Boat Comes In, Ripping Yarns, Robin’s Nest, General Hospital, The Gentle Touch, Boon, Peak Practice, Casualty, Holby City, Silent Witness, The Bill, Doctors and loads more.

Esme visits, oh and so did Kelly and Charlie
Up early making Coronation Chicken and Morrocan Fruit Cous Cous, and then later, setting up the kitchen table with food and got the garden ready with furniture on the decking. All for our extra special visit from our grandaughter, Esme. Kelly and Charlie arrived with Esme around 11.15am. We had a great day, weather was fab, and it was a real bonding moment with Esme. Excellent.

Iris Williams died, aged 79
Iris Williams was a Welsh singer. She had a hit single in 1979 and I’ve got a copy. It was Theme: The Deerhunter, He Was Beautiful. An original recording by Cleo Laine, I have that version too.

Norman Tebbit died, aged 94
Norman Tebbit was a British retired politician. A member of the Conservative Party 1981 to 1987.
He was one of the more severely injured at The Grand hotel, Brighton, from a terrorist bombing, during a Conservative conference in 1984.

Wayne Dobson died, aged 68
Wayne Dobson was a British TV personality and known for his own TV show in the 80s called: Wayne Dobson – A Kind Of Magic

Gerald Harper died, aged 96
Gerald Harper was an English actor, best known for his role as ‘Hadleigh’ and was a Capital Radio DJ with a show called: ‘The Sunday Affair.’

Sandy Gall died, aged 97
Sandy Gall was a Scottish journalist, author and Independent Television News (ITN) news presenter whose career as a journalist spanned more than 50 years.

Lalo Schifrin died, aged 93
Lalo Schifrin was an Argentine-American pianist, composer, arranger, and conductorMission: Impossible and Mannix, as well as the scores to Cool Hand Luke (1967), Bullitt (1968), THX 1138 (1971), Enter the Dragon (1973), The Four Musketeers (1974), Voyage of the Damned (1976), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Amityville Horror (1979), and the Rush Hour trilogy (1998–2007), the Dirty Harry series of films. He composed the Paramount Pictures fanfare used from 1976 to 2004.

Walter Scott died, aged 81
Walter Scott was an American singer, brother to Wallace Scott. Both were founder members of the R&B 70s band, The Whispers. Their hits include: And The Beat Goes On, It’s A Love Thing, Lady, My Girl and many more.

Rick Hurst died, aged 79
Rick Hurst was an American actor who portrayed Deputy Cletus Hogg, Boss Hogg’s cousin, in the 1980 to 1983 seasons of The Dukes of Hazzard.

Cavin Leon Yarbrough died, aged 71
Cavin Leon Yarbrough was an American singer, and one half of the 80’s R&B band Yarbrough and Peoples. The biggest hit single was ‘Don’t Stop The Music.’

Lou Christie died, aged 82
Lou Christie was an American pop and soft rock singer-songwriter. His most famous hit single was “I’m Gonna Make You Mine” and other hits include: Lightnin’ Strikes, A Teenage In Love, Rhapsody In The Rain, Two Faces Have I and many more.

Kim Woodburn died, aged 83
Kim Woodburn was an English television personality, writer, and expert cleaner. Known as the “Queen of Clean” Most noted for co-hosting ‘How Clean Is Your House?’ with Aggie MacKenzie. She has also appeared on TV shows: I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! (2009) and Celebrity Big Brother (2017).

BBQ at Nik and Caiger’s
Jezz and I went to Nik and Caiger’s for an afternoon in their garden and had a wonderful BBQ with so much food. Everyone was there including meeting for the first time, Ophelia, Freddie’s daughter, Freddie’s new girlfriend, Summer and Summer’s Mum, Hayley.

Afternoon Tea
Jezz and I have an afternoon tea experience at The Wheatsheaf pub in Farnham, Surrey. Click/tap on the image for the photos.

Jezz on the i-Fly
Jezz ticks off another item on his bucket list. We went to the Basingstoke branch of i-Fly, for an indoor skydive. He had a great time – video coming. We followed it up with a trip to McDonald’s and Krispy Kreme, before coming home.

Movie: Fear Street: Part Two 1978 ★★
Again, Ok effects, just a bit daft, but I watched it all the way through to the end, for some reason.

Movie: Fear Street: Prom Queen ★★
Ok effects, just a bit daft, but I watched it all the way through to the end, for some reason.

Loretta Swit died, aged 87
Loretta Swit was an American stage and television actress known for her character roles. Swit is best known for her portrayal of Major Margaret “Hot Lips” Houlihan on M*A*S*H, for which she won two Emmy Awards. She has also appeared TV shows Hawaii Five-0, Mission Impossible, Bonanza, Ironside, The Love Boat, Cagney & Lacey, Murder She Wrote, Diagnosis Murder, and many more.

Brighton with Nik, 2025
Today, Tuesday 20th May 2025, Nik and I head off for a short trip to Brighton. We stopped off in The Lanes for a short time, and played with Tooter Pooter, which was very funny, and then stopped for lunch in Breakfast At Tiffany’s, a café. We also had a bubble tea in Pearl’s.

George Wendt died, aged 76
George Wendt was an American actor. He is best known for playing Norm Peterson on the NBC sitcom Cheers. He has also appeared in Hart To Hart, Soap, Taxi, M*A*S*H, St. Elsewhere, The Twilight Zone, Seinfeld, Columbo, Whose Line Is It Anyway?, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Frasier, The Simpsons, Family Guy, and more. He also appeared in no less than 65 movies.

Movie: The Munsters (2022) ★★
The sets are great, the effects are good, the acting is fine and that’s it. There’s little story line and even that’s dragged out a bit too.

Movie: Havoc ★★★★★
A great film starring Tom Hardy. Forest Whitaker was excellent.

Movie: We Still Kill the Old Way ★★★★★
A brilliant film. Ian Ogilvy was amazing. I only remember him as The Saint from the 70s and this character he played in this film was so different. Christopher Ellison (DI Burnside from The Bill) and James Cosmo (who I recognised from the Bay) were excellent, too.

Jiggly Caliente died, aged 44
Bianca Castro-Arabejo, known as Jiggly Caliente, was a Filipino-American drag performer and entertainer. She rose to prominence after competing on the fourth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race (2012) and the sixth season of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars (2021). She became a judge on Drag Race Philippines and was also known for her recurring role as Veronica Ferocity for American drama television series Pose (2018–2021). Jiggly died of sepsis.

Philip Lowrie died, aged 88
Colin Philip Lowrie was an English stage and television actor, best known for playing Dennis Tanner in the long-running ITV soap opera Coronation Street, from the programme’s inception in 1960 until 1968 and again from 2011 until 2014. Lowrie worked with Victoria Wood on several occasions, appearing in her programmes Victoria Wood’s All Day Breakfast, Victoria Wood, as well as in her television film Pat and Margaret.

Pope Francis died, aged 88
Pope Francis was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until his death. He was the first pope from the Society of Jesus (the Jesuit Order), the first from the Americas and the Southern Hemisphere, and the first born or raised outside Europe since the 8th-century Syrian pope Gregory III.

Movie: iHostage ★★★★★
A fabulous film based on a true story of a hostage situation at an Apple store in Amsterdam.

Meal out: Sakura Indian restaurant, Carshalton Beeches
Michèle, Jezz, Nikki and Caiger and I all met up at a local Indian restaurant and had a lovely evening. Food, value and company were all excellent. Nik and Caiger got me a Next polo shirt and sweets and Michèle got me my Pepsi new flavour drinks I’m really loving.

Wink Martindale died, aged 91
Wink Martindale was an American disc jockey, radio personality, game show host, and television producer. He was best known for having hosted Gambit from 1972 to 1976 (and again from 1980 to 1981), Tic-Tac-Dough from 1978 to 1985, High Rollers from 1987 to 1988, and Debt from 1996 to 1998.

Movie: Executive Decision ★★★★
This was a good action movie of a plane hijacking. Quite gripping and tense in parts. I liked it. Starred Kurt Russell, Halle Berry and Steven Seagal.

Jean Marsh died, aged 90
Jean Marsh was an English actress and writer. She co-created and starred in the ITV series Upstairs, Downstairs (1971–1975), for which she won the 1975 Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for her performance as Rose Buck. Her film appearances include Cleopatra (1963), Frenzy (1972), The Eagle Has Landed (1976), The Changeling (1980), Return to Oz (1985), Willow (1988), Fatherland (1994) and Monarch (2000). She is also known for three roles in Doctor Who: as Joan of England in The Crusade; she returned as Sara Kingdom, a companion of the First Doctor, and later played a villain opposite the Seventh Doctor. She was briefly married to Jon Pertwee, who played the Third Doctor in the series, from 1955 to 1960. Jean Marsha has also appeared in TV programmes: The Saint, The Twilight Zone, The Persuaders, The Waltons, Hawaii Five-O, The Love Boat, Murder She Wrote, The Tomorrow People, Kavanagh QC, Holby City, Doctors and many more.

Mike Berry died, aged 82
Mike Berry was an English singer and actor. He is probably best known for his role as Bert Spooner in Croft and Perry’s epic and memorable comedy: ‘Are You Being Served?’ He is also appeared in Worzel Gummidge.

Movie: Countdown ★★
A dreadful film. Good story line though.

Grandaughter, Esme swims under water and through a hoop
On Thursday, I took a suit jacket to this new tailor in Coulsdon. His name is Ali and he works at the Best Coulsdon Tailor shop in Coulsdon on the Brighton Road. The cost was £35 and he shortened the jacket sleeves by 4¼ inches. Amazing. It was quite a job because the four buttons each side needed removing too. There was an opening that had disappeared because of how much fabric needed to be removed. Then, 3 buttons was sewn back on. I’m pleased with the outcome.

Val Kilmer died, aged 65
Val Kilmer was an American actor. He starred in a variety of films, including Top Gun (1986), the western Tombstone (1993) and the crime dramas True Romance (1993) and Heat (1995). In addition, he portrayed Batman in Joel Schumacher’s Batman Forever (1995) and went on to appear in The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), The Saint (1997), The Prince of Egypt (1998), Alexander (2004), Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (2005), and The Snowman (2017). In 2022, he reprised his role as Iceman in Top Gun: Maverick, marking his final film performance.

Johnny Tillotson died, aged 86
Johnny Tillotson was an American singer-songwriter.[1] He enjoyed his greatest success in the early 1960s, when he scored nine top-ten hits on the pop, country, and adult contemporary Billboard charts, including “Poetry in Motion”, the self-penned “It Keeps Right On a-Hurtin'”, “Talk Back Trembling Lips” and “Without You”.

Richard Chamberlain died, aged 90
Richard Chamberlain was an American actor and singer who became a teen idol in the title role of the television show Dr. Kildare (1961–1966). He subsequently appeared in several miniseries, such as Shōgun (1980) and The Thorn Birds (1983). Chamberlain has also performed classical stage roles and worked in musical theatre. He appeared in 29 films, 19 television films and 26 television series. Those TV appearances included Alfred Hitchcock Presents, Gunsmoke, Dr Kildare, Shǒgun, The Drew Carey Show, Will & Grace, Desperate Housewives, Twin Peaks and many more. Richard Chamberlain was gay in real life.

Pleased with the tailor
On Thursday, I took a suit jacket to this new tailor in Coulsdon. His name is Ali and he works at the Best Coulsdon Tailor shop in Coulsdon on the Brighton Road. The cost was £35 and he shortened the jacket sleeves by 4¼ inches. Amazing. It was quite a job because the four buttons each side needed removing too. There was an opening that had disappeared because of how much fabric needed to be removed. Then, 3 buttons was sewn back on. I’m pleased with the outcome.

Meal out: Bill’s Restaurant, Reigate
Jezz and I went for a bit of charity shopping, as we do quite often. It’s one of our favourite pastimes. Afterward, we stopped by Bill’s restaurant for a bite to eat. Bill’s is another one of our favourites. Jezz ordered Eggs Benedict, while I had the Duck Curry. The food was superb, the customer service was great, and the value for money was good.

George Foreman died, aged 76
George Foreman was an American professional boxer. He won the world heavyweight champion twice and was ..an Olympic gold medallist. As an entrepreneur, he was known for the George Foreman Grill.

Jack Lilley died, aged 91
Jack Lilley was an American actor and stuntman. He is best known for being a regular face on the 70s American series “Little House On The Prairie.”

TV Series: Adolescence ★★★★★
OH MY GOODNESS. Here we go. I’m going for it. This is the best yet. The way it’s filmed… the incredible acting from Steve Graham puts this up there as one of, if not the best, Netflix series ever.. EVER. It is depressing and leaves you feeling slightly disturbed but I’m telling you… stop what you’re doing and watch the first of the four episodes and you’ll be hooked. I had to take a breather between episodes 1 and 2 because it is the most intense programme yet. Unbelievable. 10 out of 10.

Maisie Trollette died, aged 91
Maisie, I’m devastated that you’ve gone but to be fair, you were getting on a bit aye love?
Anyone who’s grown up with me will know that I’ve followed Maisie since the days of The Royal Vauxhall Tavern, The Two Brewers, and the circuit in Brighton. I’ve been a huge fan of Maisie. We even showered together in the Bright n Beautiful sauna.
Maisie, I will never forget your superb comedy sets, dreadful singing voice that kept us queens entertained for decades.
Favourite line of Maisie’s: I had one of them obscene phone callers the other night. He said to me: “do you wanna know what I’m holding in my hand?”
I said: “Dear, if you’re not ‘olding it both hands, I’m not fuckin’ int-er-rested.”

Stedman Pearson died, aged 60
Stedman Pearson was a British singer, and was a member of the pop band Five Star. Their hits include, Rain Or Shine, System Addict, Find The Time and more.

Lasagne at The Caiger’s
Jezz and I went round to Nik and Caiger’s and met up with Ant and Ciara. We all had a good catch up and great food. Nik cooked a homemade lasagne with salad and fries.

Pamela Bach died, aged 61
Pamela Bach was an American actress, also known as Pamela Bavch-Hassleoff, as she was married to actor David Hassleoff in 1989. They had met on the set of Knight Rider four years earlier, in 1985. Pamela had appeared in other TV shows including: T.J. Hooker, The Fall Guy, Cheers, Baywatch, The Young & The Restless, The New Lassie, Celebrity Big Brother 2011 and more. She died of suicide, gun shot.

Kathryn Apanowicz died, aged 64
Kathryn Apanowicz was a British actress and presenter. Best known for her role in Angels, playing Nurse Rose Butchins. She also appeared in Eastenders, Coronation Street and Emmerdale.
She was married to former Countdown presenter Richard Whiteley.

Movie: Breaking (also known as 892) ★★★★★
Oh my goodness. One of the best movies in a long, long time. This was superb. The acting of John Boyega was so good.

Angie Stone died, aged 63
Angie Stone was an American singer, songwriter, actress, and record producer. She rose to fame in the late 1970s as a member of the hip hop trio the Sequence. Most famous songs: “Wish I Didn’t Miss You,” “I Wanna Thank Ya” with Snoop Dog, “Baby” featuring Betty Wright and more.
It is reported that Angie Stone died from a tragic traffic collision.

Netflix series: Zero Day ★★★★★
Yet again, Robert De Niro is epic. One of my favourite performances from one of the greatest actors of all time. The programme is a 6 episode series and is all about the politics and corruption of the United States of America administration. 

A day out with sister Nikki
Today, I picked up sister Nikki and we drove out to Reigate for a few hours. A stroll around the village, bought a few bits in the charity shops and went for lunch at Bill’s restaurant and bar. Had a lovely time.

Henry Kelly died, aged 78
Henry Kelly was an Irish radio and television broadcaster, actor and journalist. He was known as the game show host for BBCTVs Going For Gold and on itv on Saturday night with Game For A Laugh, alongside co-hosts, Sarah Kennedy, Mathew Kelly and Jeremy Beadle.

Roberta Flack died, aged 88
Roberta Flack was an American singer songwriter who was famous for singing “The First Time Ever I Saw Your Face”, “Killing Me Softly with His Song”, “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” and “Feel Like Makin’ Love”. But my favourite song by Roberta was “Don’t Make Me Wait Too Long.” Roberta Flack was also a popular duo with Donny Hathaway with singles: “The Closer I Get To You”, “Back Together Again” and “Where Is The Love.” She was also half responsible for the massive hit single: “Tonight I Celebrate My Love” with Peabo Bryson.

Gwen McCrae died, aged 81
Gwen McCrae was an American singer and famous for the hits: ‘Rockin’ Chair’ and ‘Keep The Fire Burning’ and ‘I Can Only Think Of You.’

Movie: Unforgettable ★★★★★
A good movie and great story line. Believable oh and great to see Cheryl Ladd still about.

Movie: Sniper: Ghost Shooter ★★★★★
A good action movie starring Chad Michael Collins, Billy Zane, Dennis Haysbert.

Gene Hackman died, aged 95
Gene Hackman was an American actor. He won two Academy Award and they were for Best Actor for his role as Jimmy “Popeye” Doyle in William Friedkin’s action thriller The French Connection (1971) and for Best Supporting Actor for his role as a villainous Sheriff in Clint Eastwood’s Western film Unforgiven (1992). He was Oscar-nominated for his roles as Buck Barrow in the crime drama Bonnie and Clyde (1967), a college professor in the drama I Never Sang for My Father (1970), and an FBI agent in the historical drama Mississippi Burning (1988). Hackman gained further fame for his portrayal of Lex Luthor in Superman (1978) and its sequels Superman II (1980) and Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987). He also acted in: The Poseidon Adventure (1972), Scarecrow (1973), The Conversation (1974), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Under Fire (1983), Power (1986), Loose Cannons (1990), The Firm (1993), The Quick and the Dead (1995), The Birdcage (1996), Enemy of the State (1998), Behind Enemy Lines (2001) and Runaway Jury (2003). He retired from acting after starring in Welcome to Mooseport (2004).

TV Documentary: Boyzone – No Matter What ★★★★★
I didn’t quite realise just how much I loved Stephen Gately. I knew I had a crush on him when we touched hands in 1997 at G.A.Y. in London when he was on stage, but his death was like a member of the family passing. I watched the entire funeral, and cried and cried. Well, I did all over again, particularly on episode 3 of this 3-part docu series. It’s a frank and honest account of the band member’s highs and lows. The splits and reunions – it’s all here, and it’s astonishing and sad.

Julian Holloway died, aged 80
Julian Holloway was a British actor. He maybe best remembered for playing characters in some of the Carry On films. But he also appeared in TV shows including: Whatever Happened To The Likely Lads, Beverly Hills, 90210, Minder, The Professionals, The New Avengers, The Saint, Keep It In The Family, The Bill, The Liver Birds, Crown Court, Rumpole Of The Bailey, Angels, Casualty, Z-Cars, and the Doctor Who story Survival in 1989. His films included: Porridge, The Great Rock ‘n’ Roll Swindle, A Christmas Carol (2009) and The Rum Diary as well as Carry On Up The Khyber, Carry On Doctor, Carry On Camping, Carry On Loving, Carry On Henry, Carry On At Your Convenience, Carry On England, The Stud, and many more.

Ron Watt died, aged 88
Ron, Nik’s ex-father-in-law, was married to Barbara. In 2020, He was father to Lawrence and Stephen, and Grandad to Stacey and Charlie, as well as Stephen’s children. A Great Grandad to Ella and Teddy. During the COVID pandemic, the videos section of this website paid tribute to their 60th wedding anniversary. Ron passed away peacefully at 11:14 p.m. on Friday, 14th February 2025, in the company of his family.

Movie: Aftermath ★★★★★
Superb film. Action-packed. All about a terrorist attack on a bridge. With Dylan Sprouse, who is fit as.

Movie: The Sentinel ★★★★★
Excellent movie starring Michael Douglas, who was perfect, as usual, and Kiefer Sutherland, equally brilliant. Also starred Kim Basinger.

Movie: Back In Action ★★★★★
Brilliant film starring Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx. A few daft bits but the action, story and fast pace offset it nicely.

Movie: Cellular ★
This film was so incredibly bad that I had to stop watching after about 40 minutes. It never got any better. Kim Basinger’s dull and inappropriate calmness in her voice was shocking. But Chris Evans part was equally unbelievable.

Marianne Faithfull died, aged 78
Marianne Evelyn Gabriel Faithfull (29 December 1946 – 30 January 2025) was an English singer and actress. My fondest memories, aside from her appearances on Ab Fab, were her iconic single: The Ballad Of Lucy Jordan and her version of John Lennon’s Working Class Hero.

Richard Quamina died, aged 40
Richard was a kind and beautiful soul whom I met through a mutual friend. I visited him at his home in Anerly on three separate occasions. He had a calming and intelligent presence.
His family have shared some of his life online, via YouTube. Click/tap on the image.

TV Series: Fool Me Once ★★★★★
Absolutely superb, compelling watching. Michelle Keegan was excellent, as was Joanna Lumley, but then you expect nothing less, but, Akeel Ahktar, who played Detective Sami Kierce was the best. He was totally convincing with his acting. Oh, and Dino Fetscher was gorgeous and fit as.

Leila Hayes died, aged 85
Leila Hayes (12 January 1940 – January 2025) was an Australian actress, talent agent, radio presenter, playwright, theatre producer, singer, and drama teacher. She primarily featured in guest roles in soap operas and miniseries, prior to her regular role in the 1980s soap opera Sons and Daughters as matriarch Beryl Palmer (later Hamilton). Leila was also Jeannie Baxter, a brothel madam in Prisoner Cell Block H and she appeared in The Sullivans and A Country Practice amongst other TV series.

Paul Danan died, aged 46
Paul Danan (2 July 1978 – 16 January 2025) was an English actor who played Sol Patrick in the UK teen soap opera Hollyoaks between 1997 and 2001. In 2005, he appeared as a contestant on the first series of ITV’s Celebrity Love Island, and returned for the second series in 2006. Paul was also a contestant on the 20th season of Celebrity Big Brother that started on 1 August 2017.

Diane Langton died, aged 77
Diane Langton (31 May 1947 – 15 January 2025) was an English actress, singer and dancer, whose career spanned six decades. Her career began in theatre, but she went on to appear in television shows, playing roles such as Kathy Roberts in The Rag Trade and June Snell in Only Fools and Horses. Ruby Rowan in Heartbeat and Bev Williams in EastEnders. Her most notable role, however, was her portrayal of Marlena “Nana” McQueen in soap opera Hollyoaks.

Linda Nolan died, aged 65
Linda Nolan was an Irish singer, actress and television personality. She was a member of the girl group The Nolans in 1974, along with her sisters Anne, Denise, Maureen, Bernie and Coleen. As a member of the Nolans, Linda toured with Frank Sinatra in 1975, won the Tokyo Music Festival in 1981, and had seven UK top 20 hits between 1979 and 1982.

Tony Slattery died, aged 65
Tony Slattery was a British actor and comedian. He appeared on British television regularly from the mid-1980s, including as a regular on the Channel 4 improvisation show Whose Line Is It Anyway?. His serious and comedic film work included roles in The Crying Game, Peter’s Friends and How to Get Ahead in Advertising.

MOVIE: Skyscraper ★★★
It was an okay film starring Dwayne Johnson, but towards the end, it became increasingly absurd and implausible. However, if you don’t mind the improbability of the plot and the excessive acting and special effects, then this movie is a perfect fit for you.

MOVIE: Rebel Ridge ★★
The film starts with an excellent opening and is pretty good for the first hour. But then, it got stupid. Such a shame.

MOVIE: Don’t Breathe ★★★
Why do they do this? The first hour of this film was brilliant. It had an excellent storyline that kept you hooked, but then in the last 30 minutes, it took a completely unexpected and unbelievable turn.

Laurie Holloway died, aged 86
Laurie Holloway was an English pianist, musical director and composer In the 1970s, he was the Musical Director for the TV talk show Parkinson. From 2004 to 2006, he was the original Musical Director for the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing. The list of artists he worked with include Tom Jones, Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli, Sammy Davis Jr., Gilbert O’Sullivan, Dame Kiri Te Kanawa, Lesley Garrett, Bob Monkhouse, Barry Humphries and Ronnie Corbett. He composed TV theme tunes such as Game for a Laugh, Wicked Women, Maggie and Her, Blind Date and Beadle’s About.

Day out: Brighton 2025 — Snow thanks
There’s a page dedicated to this eventful, part-pleasurable and part-traumatic day, so here, I’ll just say: Brighton day out, meal at Harry Ramsden’s, a bit of shopping, stuck in the snow and traffic for just over 5 hours.

TV Series: Missing You ★★★★★
Possibly the most underestimated actor of all time, Chris Pine. I absolutely love him. The shouting scene on top of the car park was electric. This is an epic film. One of the best movies ever, for me.

The Vivienne died, aged 32
James Lee Williams (12 April 1992 – 4 January 2025), known professionally as The Vivienne, was a British drag performer known for being appointed as the UK Drag Ambassador in 2015 for American reality television series RuPaul’s Drag Race. She later competed in and won the first series of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK in 2019, and competed again in the seventh series of RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars in 2022. She became the first drag performer to compete on Dancing on Ice in 2023, appearing as a contestant on the fifteenth series, in which she finished in third place.

MOVIE: The Contractor ★★★★★
Possibly the most underestimated actor of all time, Chris Pine. I absolutely love him. The shouting scene on top of the car park was electric. This is an epic film. One of the best movies ever, for me.

PURCHASE: Indoor cam installed
I’d bought the ring indoor camera (2nd generation) back in November during a sale. I finally got around to installing it in my room.

MOVIE: Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire ★★★★
A good film, great effects. Watched at home with Jezz.

Wayne Osmond died, aged 73
Wayne Osmond was an American musician. He was the second-oldest of the original Osmond Brothers singers and the fourth oldest of the nine Osmond children. The Osmond’s were known internationally and as a clean cut band. Their singles included: One Bad Apple, Mr Sandman, Crazy Horses, Let Me In, Love Me For A Reason, and more. Other well-known compositions were billed as Donny Osmond, Donny & Marie and Jimmy Osmond.

MOVIE: The Gray Man ★★
I have never made what I thought was going to be a five star-rated movie into a two star, as I’m watching it. The first 30 minutes were riveting, superb stunts and to be fair, the effects were excellent throughout. But the fighting scenes, car chases, excessive shootings of police, making Ryan Gosling invincible all became way too tiresome. It quite literally fell apart in front of me. What a shame. You know, the best bit, the shots of Chris Evans’s arse in his tight-fitting trousers.