death tribble

RIP to a public servant

RIP
Known for the Great Escape, Mosquito Squadron, Colditz, Sapphire and Steel and The Greatest Story Ever Told as well as The Man from Uncle and NCIS

That is 
Nigel Crenshaw
of
2, The Malt House
39 Marlborough Lane,
Darnall
Sheffield
S9 5BD

That is 
Nigel Crenshaw
of
2, The Malt House
39 Marlborough Lane,
Darnall
Sheffield
S9 5BD

Roger Whittaker, British folksinger, dies aged 87. Brits would know him from the 60s through the 80s.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66843162

Talent cuts in WWE
Mustafa Ali, Emma. Alliyah, Riddick Moss, Rick Boogs, Top Dolla, Elias, Shelton Benjamin and Dolph Ziggler

The Scarlet Pimpernel by the Baroness Orczy
Read this for the first time. An unknown Englishman is rescuing French aristocrats from the French revolutionary authorities helping them to safety in Britain. It is entertaining as husband and wife spar and the sinister Chauvelin tries to catch the elusive Englishman.
 

Grab a drink and sit yourself down as I have another list to get through and it will take a while.
 
Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires
This was a co-production between Hammer and Shaw studios. Dracula goes East and Van Helsing follows. Peter Cushing is in this but this does not have Christopher Lee as Dracula and it is the only Hammer film that does. It has Kung Fu sequences and Van Helsing is ably assisted by a family of fighters to take on six golden vampires as a seventh was killed by a member of their family earlier. I liked it even though it is not up to the high standard of other Hammer films  It has Peter Cushing, what more do I need to say ?
 
Candyman 2: Farewell ton the Flesh
The Candyman is back and is killing people again if they say his name. The hook is that a family whose father was killed are connected to the mythical killer as he is an ancestor of theirs although they pass as Caucasian, The film goes into the origin and death of Candyman. Veronica Cartwright plays the heroine's mother, a teacher who decides to face down the Candyman after ill advisedly saying his name and causing the death of her husband. It is not too bad but the original film is better and flows better.
 
Dr Phibes Rises Again
Vincent Price is back as the Phibes trying to resurrect his wife and restore himself. Ably assisted again by Vulnavia (played by a different actress), Phibes travels to Egypt to find a secret river, the river of life. Robert Quarry is also after the river in an attempt to prolong his own life and that of his lover. There are some ingenious deaths as in the previous film with Price again not speaking except via recordings. If you liked the previous film, you will like this and Quarry is better in this than he is in the Count Yorga films. Terry Thomas is a travel agent in this film who booked Phibes passage (despite the fact he played a doctor killed by Phibes in the previous film), and Peter Cushing as a cameo as the captain of the ship that Quarry and Price travel on to reach Egypt. See the Abominable Dr Phibes first and then this.
 
Food of the Gods
Giant chickens, giant maggots, giant wasps and giant wasps menace people on a remote island after something comes bubbling out of the ground that makes animals grow larger. Some of the cast are recognisable as they did other work that was more memorable like Jon Cypher (chief of Police in Hill Street Blues) and Ralph Meeker (who played Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly). The cast are mainly menaced by giant rats and this is where the film is let down because this looks bad. As in Night of the Lepus bad. But the cast play it straight. Marjoe Gortner plays the hero and does a good job.
 
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
The actor travels around Italy sampling the cuisine. This has six episodes in season 1 and is enjoyable. Tucci is Italian on both sides of his family so can speak the language and he has a nice time. This is pleasant.
 
John Carter's Vampires
This is one of the films I saw at the cinema and watch again. One it is a John Carpenter film, two it has James Woods and three it has Sheryl Lee (forever embedded in the public consciousness as Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks). After taking out a vampire nest, but not finding the master vampire, a team of hunters is attacked by the master who slaughters them and seems to know the name of Woods character. The only survivors are Woods and his friend and fellow hunter Daniel Baldwin. Also a prostitute who the master vampire bit. This gives her a psychic connection to the vampire which the hunters hope to exploit in order to kill it. Reporting back to their Vatican source, Woods finds out that the vampire they are searching for is the origin. It is trying t find a relic to recreate an excommunication ceremony which it hopes will allow it to exist in daylight. I liked the book a bit better than the film but it has Woods who is always very watchable and it has Sheryl Lee who I have a crush on.
 
Vuelta a Espana 2023
The last of the three Grand Tours of the year and Jumbo Visma are trying for something unprecedented, winning all three Grand Tours in the same year. Consequently they brought the Giro d'Italia winner Primoz Roglic and Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard to the race. Remco Evenepoel the defending champion was back and looking to repeat. Geraint Thomas of Ineos was also present having come second to Roglic in the Giro.
The racing started with a team time trial around Barcelona as the day was turning into night. So the weather kicked in raining like anything so this made the going bad, something which Evenepoel was quite vocal about. Evenepoel struck on the third stage to win it in the mountains around Andorra. This meant he took the overall lead. The next two stages were hilly but were taken by a sprinter, Kaden Groves who was after the sprinters jersey.
It was the next stage that Evenepoel may have made a misjudgement. He and his team allowed a break to get away that finished the stage and pushed him down to ninth place. He finished close behind favourites Roglic and Vingegaard. He also lost the young riders jersey to Lenny Martinez who was the new race leader. Super domestique Sepp Kuss of Jumbo Visma won the stage.
The next stage was for the sprinters and was won by one of the domestiques Geoffrey Soupe. This was followed by a mountain stage with the favourites battling it out with Roglic winning ahead of Evenepoel but with Vingeaard and Kuss close behind. Martinez was dropped and Kuss became the new overall leader.
Weather conditions affected the next stage with mud being an issue that made the organisers alert the racers to potential difficulties/dangers. Lennard Kanma won the stage and completed the set of having won a stage at all three Grand Tours. And thus we came to the first rest day.
The second block of racing kicked off with an individual time trial won by Filippo Ganna who specialises in these. Evenepoel and Roglic also did well which cut down Kuss's lead but he did well enough to hang onto the lead. This was followed by a hilly stage that saw Spain finally get a winner from the home country. Ineos tried to set it up for Geraint Thomas but he was almost out by the end. A flat stage was next which let the General Classification contenders take the day off. This led on to stage 13 which went into France and the Col du Tourmalet and Jumbo Visma took the three top positions for the day with Vinegaard winning the stage and in the General Classification they has the top three spots. It also ended Evenepoel's challenge as he had a bad day and dropped out of contention losing over twenty minutes. 
He bounced back the next day winning the stage which was also a mountain stage. The last stage before the second rest day was hilly and was won by Rui Costa who has a reputation for not doing work in the breakaways in order to allow him to sprint at the end to win.
The next stage was a hilly stage and was won by Vingegaard who dedicated it to one of their colleagues who was injured in a car accident that day. Roglic won the next stage in the mountains and this is when both Vingegaard and Roglic got a lot of criticism. Their team mate was in the lead and they were likely to usurp him which seemed out of order to many on social media and also the media.
Evenepoel switched to attacking for the mountains jersey and took the stage. This was followed by a sprint stage won by Alberto Dainese. The 20th stage was a long hard hilly stage won by Wout Poels just ahead of Evenepoel but Kuss, Roglic and Vingegaard crossed the line together having ensured they were 1-2-3 or the race and having made history as they won all three Grand Tours in the same year.
The same team has held all three Grand Tours over a year but not in the same year notably Eddy Merckx and Chris Froome
Kaden Groves won the last stage around Madrid ensuring he won the Sprint Jersey with Evenepoel winning the Mountains. Jumbo Visma had all three places on the podium for General Classification with Kuss the faithful super domestique for Vingegaard and Roglic taking the overall win. He had been with Roglic during the latter's wins at the Vuelta, the win at the Giro and the two tilts at the Tour de France in 20202 and 2021 but he also served Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023. He competed in all three Grand Tours in 2023, the first time he had done so. He earned the win, the first American to win a Grand Tour since Chris Horner at the Vuelta in 2013.

Roger Whittaker, British folksinger, dies aged 87. Brits would know him from the 60s through the 80s.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-66843162

Grab a drink and sit yourself down as I have another list to get through and it will take a while.
 
Legend of the Seven Golden Vampires
This was a co-production between Hammer and Shaw studios. Dracula goes East and Van Helsing follows. Peter Cushing is in this but this does not have Christopher Lee as Dracula and it is the only Hammer film that does. It has Kung Fu sequences and Van Helsing is ably assisted by a family of fighters to take on six golden vampires as a seventh was killed by a member of their family earlier. I liked it even though it is not up to the high standard of other Hammer films  It has Peter Cushing, what more do I need to say ?
 
Candyman 2: Farewell ton the Flesh
The Candyman is back and is killing people again if they say his name. The hook is that a family whose father was killed are connected to the mythical killer as he is an ancestor of theirs although they pass as Caucasian, The film goes into the origin and death of Candyman. Veronica Cartwright plays the heroine's mother, a teacher who decides to face down the Candyman after ill advisedly saying his name and causing the death of her husband. It is not too bad but the original film is better and flows better.
 
Dr Phibes Rises Again
Vincent Price is back as the Phibes trying to resurrect his wife and restore himself. Ably assisted again by Vulnavia (played by a different actress), Phibes travels to Egypt to find a secret river, the river of life. Robert Quarry is also after the river in an attempt to prolong his own life and that of his lover. There are some ingenious deaths as in the previous film with Price again not speaking except via recordings. If you liked the previous film, you will like this and Quarry is better in this than he is in the Count Yorga films. Terry Thomas is a travel agent in this film who booked Phibes passage (despite the fact he played a doctor killed by Phibes in the previous film), and Peter Cushing as a cameo as the captain of the ship that Quarry and Price travel on to reach Egypt. See the Abominable Dr Phibes first and then this.
 
Food of the Gods
Giant chickens, giant maggots, giant wasps and giant wasps menace people on a remote island after something comes bubbling out of the ground that makes animals grow larger. Some of the cast are recognisable as they did other work that was more memorable like Jon Cypher (chief of Police in Hill Street Blues) and Ralph Meeker (who played Mike Hammer in Kiss Me Deadly). The cast are mainly menaced by giant rats and this is where the film is let down because this looks bad. As in Night of the Lepus bad. But the cast play it straight. Marjoe Gortner plays the hero and does a good job.
 
Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy
The actor travels around Italy sampling the cuisine. This has six episodes in season 1 and is enjoyable. Tucci is Italian on both sides of his family so can speak the language and he has a nice time. This is pleasant.
 
John Carter's Vampires
This is one of the films I saw at the cinema and watch again. One it is a John Carpenter film, two it has James Woods and three it has Sheryl Lee (forever embedded in the public consciousness as Laura Palmer in Twin Peaks). After taking out a vampire nest, but not finding the master vampire, a team of hunters is attacked by the master who slaughters them and seems to know the name of Woods character. The only survivors are Woods and his friend and fellow hunter Daniel Baldwin. Also a prostitute who the master vampire bit. This gives her a psychic connection to the vampire which the hunters hope to exploit in order to kill it. Reporting back to their Vatican source, Woods finds out that the vampire they are searching for is the origin. It is trying t find a relic to recreate an excommunication ceremony which it hopes will allow it to exist in daylight. I liked the book a bit better than the film but it has Woods who is always very watchable and it has Sheryl Lee who I have a crush on.
 
Vuelta a Espana 2023
The last of the three Grand Tours of the year and Jumbo Visma are trying for something unprecedented, winning all three Grand Tours in the same year. Consequently they brought the Giro d'Italia winner Primoz Roglic and Tour de France winner Jonas Vingegaard to the race. Remco Evenepoel the defending champion was back and looking to repeat. Geraint Thomas of Ineos was also present having come second to Roglic in the Giro.
The racing started with a team time trial around Barcelona as the day was turning into night. So the weather kicked in raining like anything so this made the going bad, something which Evenepoel was quite vocal about. Evenepoel struck on the third stage to win it in the mountains around Andorra. This meant he took the overall lead. The next two stages were hilly but were taken by a sprinter, Kaden Groves who was after the sprinters jersey.
It was the next stage that Evenepoel may have made a misjudgement. He and his team allowed a break to get away that finished the stage and pushed him down to ninth place. He finished close behind favourites Roglic and Vingegaard. He also lost the young riders jersey to Lenny Martinez who was the new race leader. Super domestique Sepp Kuss of Jumbo Visma won the stage.
The next stage was for the sprinters and was won by one of the domestiques Geoffrey Soupe. This was followed by a mountain stage with the favourites battling it out with Roglic winning ahead of Evenepoel but with Vingeaard and Kuss close behind. Martinez was dropped and Kuss became the new overall leader.
Weather conditions affected the next stage with mud being an issue that made the organisers alert the racers to potential difficulties/dangers. Lennard Kanma won the stage and completed the set of having won a stage at all three Grand Tours. And thus we came to the first rest day.
The second block of racing kicked off with an individual time trial won by Filippo Ganna who specialises in these. Evenepoel and Roglic also did well which cut down Kuss's lead but he did well enough to hang onto the lead. This was followed by a hilly stage that saw Spain finally get a winner from the home country. Ineos tried to set it up for Geraint Thomas but he was almost out by the end. A flat stage was next which let the General Classification contenders take the day off. This led on to stage 13 which went into France and the Col du Tourmalet and Jumbo Visma took the three top positions for the day with Vinegaard winning the stage and in the General Classification they has the top three spots. It also ended Evenepoel's challenge as he had a bad day and dropped out of contention losing over twenty minutes. 
He bounced back the next day winning the stage which was also a mountain stage. The last stage before the second rest day was hilly and was won by Rui Costa who has a reputation for not doing work in the breakaways in order to allow him to sprint at the end to win.
The next stage was a hilly stage and was won by Vingegaard who dedicated it to one of their colleagues who was injured in a car accident that day. Roglic won the next stage in the mountains and this is when both Vingegaard and Roglic got a lot of criticism. Their team mate was in the lead and they were likely to usurp him which seemed out of order to many on social media and also the media.
Evenepoel switched to attacking for the mountains jersey and took the stage. This was followed by a sprint stage won by Alberto Dainese. The 20th stage was a long hard hilly stage won by Wout Poels just ahead of Evenepoel but Kuss, Roglic and Vingegaard crossed the line together having ensured they were 1-2-3 or the race and having made history as they won all three Grand Tours in the same year.
The same team has held all three Grand Tours over a year but not in the same year notably Eddy Merckx and Chris Froome
Kaden Groves won the last stage around Madrid ensuring he won the Sprint Jersey with Evenepoel winning the Mountains. Jumbo Visma had all three places on the podium for General Classification with Kuss the faithful super domestique for Vingegaard and Roglic taking the overall win. He had been with Roglic during the latter's wins at the Vuelta, the win at the Giro and the two tilts at the Tour de France in 20202 and 2021 but he also served Vingegaard in 2022 and 2023. He competed in all three Grand Tours in 2023, the first time he had done so. He earned the win, the first American to win a Grand Tour since Chris Horner at the Vuelta in 2013.

Face facts. I could do a better job than some elected officials and I have no political background.
 
But I am touched that you think I am a sociopath. I do, however, draw the line at being called a narcissist.

I am bumping this. Ten days to go.

Rosemary's Baby
This is renowned as a horror film and I have missed opportunities to see it. Finally I did. A woman moves into a new building with her husband. She has an odd nightmare wherein she has sex with some odd beast faced individual while her neighbours stand around chanting. Her husband admits it was him and he feels terrible about it as she was unconscious. However a friend of hers is suspicious and almost has proof but dies suddenly. The over-friendly neighbours recommend a doctor as the wife finds out she is pregnant. The woman feels more and more terror before the truth is revealed, she is pregnant with the child of the devil. It i9s a bit of a long film but the terror builds. So worth a rewatch.
 
World Championship Men's Road Race
This was interrupted by a protest so there was quite a delay. But it ended in a circuit race around Glasgow. Mathieu Van Der Poel won with Wout Van Aert second and Tadej Pogacar third.
 
The Long Weekend
This is an Australian horror film where nature turns on humans. A couple whose marriage is in trouble go to the coast but find nature turns against them and it eventually leads to both their death. There is not a lot of gore and no really deadly animals like crocodiles or sharks but it is still effective.
 
The Other Guys
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are detectives who are desk bound because one is an forensic accountant and the other accidentally shot a famous baseball player. Following the deaths of star detectives played by Samul L Jackson and The Rock the two investigate a hedge fund manager played by Steve Coogan. Their captain might be in on it as he is played by Michael Keaton. It is not bad.
 
Talking Pictures with Derren Nesbitt
Talking Pictures is a channel over here and it shows old films It thus does some interviews with older actors like Derren Nesbitt. He is recognisable as the Gestapo Officer in Where Eagles Dare. He did a nice talk and mentioned his work with Frank Sinatra on The Naked Runner. Derren was offered money to ghost a story for the papers about working with Sinatra but refused point blank. Sinatra funded a holiday for him abroad at his expense (with Nesbitt's wife) which was greatly appreciated.
 
Fantastic Voyage
Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasence are shrunk down and injected into a scientist in order to remove a blood clot. They are in a submarine. The submarine must navigate the body in order to reach the brain where the blood clot is. But there may a saboteur involved. Well worth a look.

Rosemary's Baby
This is renowned as a horror film and I have missed opportunities to see it. Finally I did. A woman moves into a new building with her husband. She has an odd nightmare wherein she has sex with some odd beast faced individual while her neighbours stand around chanting. Her husband admits it was him and he feels terrible about it as she was unconscious. However a friend of hers is suspicious and almost has proof but dies suddenly. The over-friendly neighbours recommend a doctor as the wife finds out she is pregnant. The woman feels more and more terror before the truth is revealed, she is pregnant with the child of the devil. It i9s a bit of a long film but the terror builds. So worth a rewatch.
 
World Championship Men's Road Race
This was interrupted by a protest so there was quite a delay. But it ended in a circuit race around Glasgow. Mathieu Van Der Poel won with Wout Van Aert second and Tadej Pogacar third.
 
The Long Weekend
This is an Australian horror film where nature turns on humans. A couple whose marriage is in trouble go to the coast but find nature turns against them and it eventually leads to both their death. There is not a lot of gore and no really deadly animals like crocodiles or sharks but it is still effective.
 
The Other Guys
Will Ferrell and Mark Wahlberg are detectives who are desk bound because one is an forensic accountant and the other accidentally shot a famous baseball player. Following the deaths of star detectives played by Samul L Jackson and The Rock the two investigate a hedge fund manager played by Steve Coogan. Their captain might be in on it as he is played by Michael Keaton. It is not bad.
 
Talking Pictures with Derren Nesbitt
Talking Pictures is a channel over here and it shows old films It thus does some interviews with older actors like Derren Nesbitt. He is recognisable as the Gestapo Officer in Where Eagles Dare. He did a nice talk and mentioned his work with Frank Sinatra on The Naked Runner. Derren was offered money to ghost a story for the papers about working with Sinatra but refused point blank. Sinatra funded a holiday for him abroad at his expense (with Nesbitt's wife) which was greatly appreciated.
 
Fantastic Voyage
Stephen Boyd, Raquel Welch and Donald Pleasence are shrunk down and injected into a scientist in order to remove a blood clot. They are in a submarine. The submarine must navigate the body in order to reach the brain where the blood clot is. But there may a saboteur involved. Well worth a look.

Bad news for Gemini's as Dracula is looking at two for the price of one.
Those born under the sign of Cancer and Pisces should stay away from the beach as The Creature from the Black Lagoon is looking for crabs and fish.
If the moon is rising in your sign beware of werewolves
The fire signs Aries, Leo and Sagittarius need not worry about the Mummy, he needs to be worried about them.
Frankenstein's monster is looking for a mate so Virgos watch out !
 
That concludes today's Horrorscope.....  

There was a medieval tradition of burying criminals and suicides at crossroads
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_(folklore)
 
The Christian tradition was that if a person had been baptised and confessed their sins before death then they would go to Heaven. So it was that the unbaptised and heretics and those that led evil lives would become ghosts etc

A girl is Arya Stark of Winterfell and I'm going home
 
Tell them the North remembers. Tell them winter came for House Frey.
 
Leave one wolf alive and the sheep are never safe
 
All my life men like you have sneered at me. And all my life I have been knocking men like you into the dust
 
If you ever call me sister again, I will have you strangled in your sleep
 
Chaos isn't a pit. Chaos is a ladder. Many who try to climb it fail, and never get to try again. The fall breaks them. And some are given a chance to climb, but they refuse. They cling to the realm, or the gods, or love—illusions. Only the ladder is real. The climb is all there is.
 
A man with no motive is a man no one suspects. Always keep your foes confused: If they don't know who you are, what you want—they can't know what you plan to do next
 
It's hard to put a leash on a dog once you've put a crown on its head
 
Any man who must say, I am the king, is no true king
 
If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention.
 
You're going to die tomorrow, Lord Bolton. Sleep well.
 
Tell Cersei. I want her to know it was me.
 
I don't plan on knitting by the fire while men fight for me. I might be small, Lord Glover, and I might be a girl, but I am every bit as much a Northerner as you… and I don't need your permission to defend the North."
 
Sandor, thank you.
 
The lion doesn’t concern himself with the opinions of the sheep.

Well Ariana Grande is six Meerkats tall. So a female giraffe is 18 meerkats tall

There was a medieval tradition of burying criminals and suicides at crossroads
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crossroads_(folklore)
 
The Christian tradition was that if a person had been baptised and confessed their sins before death then they would go to Heaven. So it was that the unbaptised and heretics and those that led evil lives would become ghosts etc

Did you know that undead outbreaks are commemorated ?
 
Never heard of the Plaque of Zombies.......

It's Bastille Day !
 
July 14th 1865 the Matterhorn is ascended for the first time but four of the party die on the descent.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_ascent_of_the_Matterhorn
 
Pat Garrett shoots Billy the Kid dead July 14 1881
 
July 14th 1963 Jacques Anquetil wins the Tour de France for the 4th time
 
July 14th 1964 Jacques Anquetil wins the Tour de France for the 5th time

16th July 1228 Canonisation of St Francis of Assisi
 
16th July 1683 naval Battle of Penghu
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Penghu
 
16th July 1861 First Battle of Bull Run
 
16th July 1945 Successful detonation of a nuclear device at Alamogordo, New Mexico
 
16th July 1948 First commercial aircraft hijack
 
16th July 1961 Jacques Anquetil wins his 2nd Tour de France
 
16th July 1965 Mont Blanc tunnel opens
 
16th July 1994 Comet Shoemaker Levy 9 collides with Jupiter

August 9th 48 BC. Battle of Pharsalus. Caesar defeats Pompey
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Pharsalus
 
August 9th 378 AD Battle of Adrianople. The Goths defeat Rome
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Adrianople
 
August 9th 1942. Battle of Savo Island. Japan defeats the Allies
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Savo_Island
 
August 9th 1945. Nagasaki is devastated by the second Atomic Bomb
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atomic_bombings_of_Hiroshima_and_Nagasaki
 
August 9th 1965 Singapore is forcibly ejected from Malaysia and becomes independent
 
August 9th 1969 Tate-LaBianca murders. Sharon Tate and her guests
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tate–LaBianca_murders
 
It is also Gillian Anderson's birthday.

Pakistan cable car rescue. All the people in the cable car have now been rescued.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66578894
 
I find this very uplifting

Pakistan cable car rescue. All the people in the cable car have now been rescued.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-66578894
 
I find this very uplifting