2021

Usually I write a review of the year to publish at the end of December. But the last two years have been so complicated and downright depressing that I've given it a miss for 2021. 
Perhaps next year. 

2020 - year of the plague

Let's face it, 2020 hasn't exactly been an ordinary year.  In the UK, two things have dominated the headlines: Covid and Brexit. But there have been plenty of other events going on - some of which you might have forgotten. 

January

Australian wildfires.
Coronavirus outbreak in China.
Britain leaves the EU.

Kicked the bucket
Author Mary Higgins Clark, 92.
Medium Derek Acorah, 69.
Actor Christopher Beeny, 78. (Upstairs Downstairs)
Actor Alan Harris, 81 (The Empire Strikes Back)
French vintner Georges Duboeuf, 86. (Le roi du Beaujolais)
American actor Edd Byrnes, 87. (Kookie in 77 Sunset Strip)
Monty Python star Terry Jones, 77.
Academic Christopher Tolkien, 95.
LA Lakers basketball star Kobe Bryant, 41.
Actor Derek Fowlds, 82. (Yes Prime Minister, Heartbeat, Basil Brush Show)
Actor and presenter Nicholas Parsons, 96.

Actor John Karlen, 86. (Harve in Cagney and Lacey)

February
Coronavirus continues to spread. Japanese cruise ship affected.
Five dead in Turkish avalanche.
33 rescuers buried by second Turkish avalanche.
Storm Dennis brings massive floods to UK. A month of rain overnight.
Outcry over press treatment of TV presenter Caroline Flack.

Pushing up daisies
TV director Gene Reynolds, 96. (M*A*S*H, Lou Grant)
Singer Pearl Carr, 98.
TV presenter Caroline Flack, 40. (Found hanged)
Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak , 91.

Actor Kirk Douglas, 103. (Spartacus)

Actor Kellye Nakahara, 72. (M.A.S.H.)

March
Coronavirus divides the country over what should be done.
FA cancels all matches.
Panic buying empties shelves. Toilet rolls unavailable.
UK closes schools.
Government introduces package of aid for businesses.
US blocks all flights from Europe.
Bank of England interest rate cut to 0.1%
Total lockdown of UK. No-one allowed out except for food and medicine.
Prince Charles tests positive for Covid-19.

Met the angels
Actor Max von Sydow, 90.
Chef Michel Roux, 79.
Quiz star Dave Rainford, 51. (Eggheads)
Actor, comedian Roy Hudd, 83.
Actor Lyle Waggoner, 84. (Wonder Woman)
Actor David Collings, 79. (Scrooge, The Invisible Woman)
Folk singer Julie Felix, 81.
Country singer Kenny Rogers, 81.

R & B singer Bill Withers, 81. (Ain't No Sunshine)

April
Shortage of supplies and testing kits hampers NHS response to Coronavirus.
PM hospitalised with Coronavirus. Goes into intensive care.
Scotland's health minister resigns after admitting travel to second home.
Queen broadcasts to the nation.
Trump wants to mine the moon.
99-year-old Captain Tom Moore raises £25million plus for NHS.
Trump suggests injecting bleach to cure Covid-19.

Passed away
Hugh McGinnis - comedian Eddie Large, 78. (Coronavirus)
The Virginian James Drury, 85.

Lord Bath of Longleat, 87. (Coronavirus)
Actress Honor Blackman, 94. (Bond girl Pussy Galore)
Actor Jay Benedict, 68. (Emmerdale, Aliens, Foyle's War. Coronavirus)
Racing driver Sir Stirling Moss, 90.
Comedian Tim Brooke-Taylor, 79. (The Goodies, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue. Coronavirus)
Footballer Peter Bonetti, 78.
TV presenter Lynn Faulds Wood, 72.
Actress Jill Gascoine, 83. (The Gentle Touch, C.A.T.S. Eyes, The Onedin Line)
Bollywood star Irrfan Khan, 53.
Indian actor Rishi Kapoor, 67.

May
Lockdown continues but Boris says ease up slightly.
UK Coronavirus death toll passes 30,000.
UK has second highest death rate in the world.

Row flares over Dominic Cummings' trip to Barnard Castle.

Apparently the house he stayed in has no planning permission.

Riots in US follow death of George Floyd at the hands of police.

Black Lives Matter campaign launches. 

Sunniest month on record for UK.

Lost the battle
Millie Small, 73. (My Boy Lollipop)
Magician Roy Horn, 75. (Siegfried and Roy. Coronavirus)
Singer songwriter Little Richard, 87.

Actor Richard Herd, 87. (Star Trek: Voyager, T J Hooker)
Rock singer Brian Howe, 66. (Bad Company)
British rapper Ty, 47. (Coronavirus)
Actor comedian Jerry Stiller, 92. (Zoolander, Seinfeld)

Actor Michael Angelis, 76. (Boys from the Black Stuff, Thomas the Tank Engine)

Artist Christo, 84. 

Actor Anthony James, 77. (Gunsmoke)

June
Schools start to go back after lockdown. 

And then they don't. 

Black Lives Matter campaign continues.

Statues of slave owners toppled in several UK cities.

Zoos allowed to reopen. 

Non-essential shops open.
US fighter jet crashes in North Sea.

Called home
Actor Corey Fischer, 75. (M*A*S*H, Brewster McCloud, McCabe & Mrs. Miller. Complications from a brain aneurysm.)
Singer Ricky Valance, 84. (Tell Laura I love Her)

Snooker player Willie Thorne, 66. (Leukaemia)
Forces Sweetheart Dame Vera Lynn, 103. (We'll Meet Again)

Actor Ian Holm, 88. (Alien, Lord of the Rings, Chariots of Fire)

Film director Joel Schumacher, 80. (The Lost Boys, Batman Forever)

Cuban singer Margarita Pracatan, 89.

Aintree Racecourse chair Rose Paterson, 63.

Actor Carl Reiner, 98. (Ocean's Eleven, The Jerk)

Composer Johnny Mandel 94. (M.A.S.H Theme)

Actor Linda Cristal, 89. (High Chaparral)

July
Lockdown measures relaxed. Pubs, restaurants, museums reopening. 
Except in Leicester, which goes back into lockdown.

Huawei banned from UK 5G installations.

Face coverings become law in shops in England.

Quarantine imposed on travelers from Spain.

Pet cat catches coronavirus from its keepers. 

In a better place
Barbadian cricketer Sir Everton Weekes, 98. 

Actor Earl Cameron, 102. (Doctor Who, The Prisoner)

Footballer Jack Charlton, 85.

Musician Charlie Daniels, 83. (The Devil Went Down to Georgia)
Scottish actor Maurice Roeves, 83. (The Scobie Man, The Sweeney, Star Trek) 

Fleetwood Mac founder Peter Green, 73.

Actor Olivia de Havilland, 104.

Primal Scream singer Denise Johnson, 56.

August
Government launches "Eat Out to Help Out" scheme to help failing restaurants.

Government launches anti-obesity campaign.

Government halts lockdown easing. 

Major incident declared after Covid spike in Manchester. 

Lewis Hamilton wins Silverstone Grand Prix on three wheels. 

Massive explosion in Beirut. 137 dead, 5,000 injured. 

Train derailment near Aberdeen. Three dead. 

Covid death recount reduces total by 5,000.

UK has worst recession on record. 

A level results in chaos as algorithm downgrades working class students.

Government U-turn agrees to use teacher assessments as A level grades. 

Government ditches Public Health England. 

Hurricane Laura batters the US.

Given up the ghost
National Hunt jockey Stan Mellor, 83. (Champion Jockey 1960-62)

Newsreader Tony Morris, 57. (kidney cancer)

Northern Ireland peace campaigner, Nobel Prize winner John Hume, 83. 

Golfer Gordon J Brand, 65.

Singer Trini Lopez, 83. 

Robert Trump, 71. POTUS's brother.

Classical guitarist Julian Bream,  87.

September
Brexit stalemate.

UK government threatens to break international law and withdraw from agreement. 

Covid R number rises above 1.

Second wave of Corona on the way, warns Boris Johnson.

Rule of Six limits group meeting size - unless you're hunting.

Didn't make it
Cricketer David Capel, 57. (Brain tumour)

Bond girl and Avenger Dame Diana Rigg, 82.

Drummer Lee Kerslake, 73.  (Uriah Heep)

American Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, 87.

Former Canadian Prime Minister John Turner, 91. 

Author Terry Goodkind, 72.

Habitat founder, designer Sir Terence Conran, 88.

Sex educator Shere Hite, 77.

Boxer Alan Minter, 69. (Olympic bronze medalist (1972) and undisputed world middleweight champion. Cancer)

American beauty influencer Ethan Peters, 17. (Drug overdose)

Actor Rodney Litchfield, 81. (Coronation Street's Wilfred Morton)

Actor, presenter EJ Osborne, 45. (Money for Nothing)

Journalist Sir Harold Evans, 92.

Actor Frank Windsor, 92. (Z Cars, Softly Softly) 

October

Donald Trump has Covid.

Then he hasn't. 
Track and Trace tracks but doesn't contact anyone. 

Lewis Hamilton matches 91 F1 wins record.

Four dead and baby missing after migrant boat sinks in Channel.

French history teacher Samuel Paty beheaded after using Charlie Hebdo cartoons in lessons.

President Macron declares a crackdown on Islamic extremism. 

Three killed in terrorist attack on a church in Nice.

A fifth of England has Covid restrictions tightened.

Jeremy Corbyn suspended from Labour Party.

Magnitude 7 earthquake hits Greece and Turkey. 

Deceased
Rock guitarist Eddie Van Halen, 65.

Singer Johnny Nash, 80. (I Can See Clearly Now)
Footballer Bob Wilson, 77.

Designer Kenzo Takada, 81.

Journalist Sir Peregrine Worsthorne, 96.

Dubstep producer Cookie Monsta, 31.

Comedian Bobby Ball, 76. (Covid)

Welsh rugby player J J Williams, 72.

England 66 World Cup squad member Nobby Stiles, 78. (Prostate cancer)

Bond actor Sir Sean Connery, 90.

November
Actor Johnny Depp loses "wifebeater" libel case.

US presidential election goes to the wire.

Joe Biden wins.

Trump refuses to accept it. 

Covid 19 second lockdown angers many.

Terror shooting in Vienna - 4 dead.

UK terror alert level raised. 

Trump tries legal attacks and claims voter fraud. 

Joe Biden is President Elect.

Boris Johnson panics because of his racist record with Obama. 

Dominic Cummings ousted from No 10.

Duchess of Sussex says she had a miscarriage.

TV drama The Crown raises hackles over "fictional" details.

Dearly departed
Comedian John Sessions, 67.

Great British Bake Off finalist Luis Troyano, 48. (Cancer) 

Actor Geoffrey Palmer, 93. (Butterflies, As Time Goes By) 

Singer Len Barry, 78. (1-2-3)

Former UK Chief Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, 72. 

Serial killer Peter Sutcliffe, 74. (Covid 19)

John Hays, 71. (Founder of Hays Travel) 

Entertainer Des O'Connor, 88. (Complications from a fall.)

Footballer Diego "Hand of God" Maradona, 60. 

Strawbs guitarist Tony Hooper, 81.

Footballer Ray Clemence, 72. (Spurs, Liverpool)

Actor Dave Prowse, 85. (Darth Vader, Green Cross Code Man)

December
Covid vaccinations start in the UK

Talks drag on over Brexit deal.

Major tailbacks at UK ports.

Worldwide ginger shortage.

Concern over link between contact-sports injury and dementia.

New Covid strain found.

Tier 4 restrictions introduced in UK.

Most of the world bans UK from travel. 

Lorry gridlock in Kent. 

Lots of groups turn out to offer drivers food. 

Tier 4 restrictions extended over wider area. 

Finally, Boris negotiates his "oven-ready" deal. 

Over the rainbow bridge
Former French president Valery Giscard d'Estaing, 94.

Actress Dame Barbara Windsor, 83. (Get outta my pub!)

Golfer and commentator Peter Alliss, 89. (A Round With Alliss)

American pilot Chuck Yeager, 97. First person to break the sound barrier.

English mountaineer and philanthropist Doug Scott, 79. 

American Hall of Fame singer Charley Pride, 86. (Complications from Covid.) 

Author John le Carré, 89.

Football manager Gérard Houllier, 73. (France, Liverpool)

Lady Margaret Tebbit, 86.  Wife of former cabinet minister Norman.

French-Italian fashion designer Pierre Cardin, 98.

2019 - the highlights

January
Brexit vote gives Government the biggest defeat in history. (432 to 202)
Four dead in Paris bakery explosion.
Andy Murray faces career decision over hip injury.
Prince Philip escapes injury in car accident.
Police question Prince Philip for not wearing a seatbelt.
Cafe chain Patisserie Valerie collapses.
Footballer Emiliano Sala missing after plane crash.
US temperatures lowest for 108 years.
Lake Michigan frozen.

Bought the farm
Actress Carol Channing, 97.
Poet Mary Oliver, 83.
Actor Windsor Davies, 88.
BBC presenter Dianne Oxberry, 51. (cancer)
Chemist Stewart Adams, 95, developer of ibuprofen.
Footballer Emiliano Sala, 28.   (Plane crash)
Singer James Ingram, 66.

February
Big freeze hits UK.
Snow closes hundreds of schools across Wales and south of England.
Duke of Edinburgh agrees to stop driving.
Equine flu halts racing calendar.
8 MPs quit Labour party over Jeremy Corbyn.
3 Tories follow suit over Brexit 'no deal' threat.
Knife crime reaches its highest UK level on record. (Office for National Statistics)
Flybmi blames Brexit for its collapse.
IS schoolgirl Shamima Begum has British citizenship withdrawn.
End of February 'unseasonably warm'.

Gone beyond
Comedian Jeremy Hardy, 57. (The News Quiz, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue, Jeremy Hardy Speaks to the Nation)  cancer.
Actor Clive Swift, 82. (Keeping up Appearances)
Actor Albert Finney, 82.
Rapper Cadet, 28. (Road accident)
Actor Carmen Argenziano, 75. (Stargate)
Fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld, 85.
Former England goalkeeper Gordon Banks, 81. (Leicester City, Stoke City, national team)
Dick Churchill, 99. (British RAF squadron leader, last survivor of the Great Escape)
Deputy Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police John Stalker, 79.
Paul Flynn, 84. (MP for Newport West)
Monkee Peter Tork, 77.
Conductor composer André Previn, 89.

March
Ethiopian Airlines crash kills 157.
Boeing 737 Max planes grounded.
House of Commons rejects Theresa May's Brexit deal again.
Speaker John Bercow says she can't have a third vote without changing the offer.
An online e-petition calling on the government to revoke Brexit Article 50 reaches 5,000,000 signatures.
A million people march for 'People's Vote' in London.
Theresa May submits a third, updated offer and is rejected again.
Soldier faces prosecution over Bloody Sunday.


Passed on
Mountaineers Tom Ballard, 30 and Daniele Nardi, 42. (Lost on Nanga Parbat)
Actor Luke Perry, 52.
Prodigy singer Keith Flint, 49.
Walker Brother Scott, 76,
Philosopher Baroness Mary Warnock, 94.
Television presenter Magenta Devine, 61, (Rough Guide, Network 7)

April
Brexit row rumbles on.
Ex UKIP leader Nigel Farage launches the Brexit Party.
Climate change action group Extinction Rebellion causes transport chaos in London.
Hottest April day on record (25C)
Huge fire at Notre Dame in Paris.

Joined the choir eternal
John McEnery, 75, British actor
Trainspotting actor Bradley Welsh, 48. (shooting)
Songwriter Les Reed, 83  (It's Not Unusual, Delilah, The Last Waltz)
CBBC star Mya-Lecia Naylor, 16.
David Winters, 80, English-American actor and choreographer (West Side Story).
Dick Rivers, 74, French rock and roll singer (Les Chats Sauvages), cancer.

May
The Duchess of Sussex gives birth to a son, Archie Mountbatten-Windsor.

UK local elections bring gains for Lib Dems and Greens. 

Britain gets lowest ever score in Eurovision - then gets five points taken away to finish last.
Calls for PM's resignation over Brexit.
Jeremy Kyle show suspended after the death of a participant.
Theresa May announces her resignation from the Tory party.
Boris Johnson says he'll run for Tory party leader.

Kicked the bucket
Broadcaster Brian Walden, 86.
Hollywood legend Doris Day, 97.
Comedian Freddie Starr, 76.
Broadcaster Nan Winton, 93.  First woman to read BBC News on television
Louvre pyramid architect I M Pei, 102.
F1 legend Niki Lauda, 70.
Actor Stephen Thorne, 84. (Z-Cars, Crossroads, Doctor Who)
First BBC woman newsreader Nan Winton, 93.

June
Isle of Lewis chessman found in Edinburgh house.
Liverpool defeat Tottenham Hotspur 2 - 0 in the first all-English UEFA Champions League Final since 2008.
US President Donald Trump pays three-day state visit to the UK.
BBC announces it will end free television licences for over-75s from June 2020.
First person in the UK convicted of illegally manufacturing a firearm using a 3D printer.
Heavy rain causes chaos in UK.
Met Office records hottest June day for 40 years. (34C)
Brexit party sweeps the board in Euro elections.
D-Day 75th anniversary marked with events both sides of the channel.
Theresa May steps down as prime minister.
Massive power failure plunges Argentina and Uruguay into darkness.

Snuffed it
Blake's 7 actor Paul Darrow, 78.
UK's oldest person Grace Jones, 112.
Italian film director Franco Zeffirelli, 96.
Jazz musician Dr John, 77.
Actor Bryan Marshall, 81. (The Spy Who Loved Me, Quatermass and the Pit, The Long Good Friday)

July
Big Ben is 160 years old
6.4 earthquake hits California
Warner Brothers Studio fire.
Boris Johnson wins Tory leadership contest to become PM.
Theresa May resigns and Boris Johnson takes over.
"Bloodbath" cabinet reshuffle removes all but five ministers.
5.1 earthquake hits Athens.
11.7 million viewers watch England's  1 - 2 defeat to USA in the FIFA Women's World Cup semi final.
Lewis Hamilton wins a record sixth Formula 1 British Grand Prix at Silverstone.
Novak Djokovic (Serbia) beats Roger Federer (Switzerland) in the longest ever Wimbledon final. (4 hours 57 minutes.)

Conked out
Horse racing pundit John McCririck, 79.
Disney star Cameron Boyce, 20. (complications from epilepsy)
Comedy actor Michael Sleggs, 33. (heart failure)
Journalist Christopher Booker, 81. (Sunday Telegraph)
Actress Denise Nickerson, 62. (Violet Beauregarde in Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory)
Actor Brendan Grace, 68. (Father Ted)
Actor Freddie Jones, 91. (Emmerdale,  Elephant Man)
Actor Rip Torn, 88. (Men in Black)
Actor Rutger Hauer, 75.
Chaser, 15, American Border Collie with the largest-tested non-human memory.

August
Two mass shootings kill 20 people in a Walmart store in El Paso, Texas and 9 in Dayton Ohio.
Whaley Bridge, Derbyshire evacuated following dam failure.
Six-year-old thrown off Tate Modern by teenager.
Research shows the Milky Way galaxy is warped.
20 hospitals to receive a share of £850m
Whaley Bridge, Furness Vale and New Mills in Derbyshire evacuated when after concrete slabs on Toddbrook Reservoir partially collapse.
Three remaining cooling towers at Didcot power station, Oxfordshire are demolished, hitting an electricity pole and leaving 40,000 homes without power.
Worldwide protests over climate change.100 MPs write to Boris Johnson for a recall of Parliament to debate concerns that the UK faces "a national emergency" over Brexit.
Video of Prince Andrew with sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Hottest late August bank holiday weekend on record

Pushing up daisies
Saoirse Kennedy Hill, Granddaughter of Robert F Kennedy, 22. (Overdosed. (33.3C)
Barrington Pheloung, composer of Inspector Morse theme, 65.
Scottish golfer Gordon Brand Jnr, 60.
Kinks keyboardist Ian Gibbons, 67.
Singer and impressionist Joe Longthorne, 64.
Actor Peter Fonda, 79. (Easy Rider)
Animator and director Richard Williams, 86. (Who Framed 
Roger Rabbit)
Bass guitarist Larry Taylor, 77. (Canned Heat)
Actress Sheila Steafel, 84.
Screenwriter Terrance Dicks, 84. (Doctor Who, Crossroads, Space: 1999)
Actress Valerie Harper, 80. (Mary Tyler Moore Show)

September
Brexit row grinds on.
Pound falls below $1.20 - its lowest since October 2016.
Boris's brother resigns as an MP.
Boris's call for a general election in October fails.
Court wrangling over whether proroguing parliament is legal. Supreme Court decides it isn't.
American woman says she had sex with Prince Andrew as a 17-year-old. He denies it.
Government forced to publish Brexit no-deal contingency plan, Operation Yellowhammer.
Travel company Thomas Cook collapses after 178 years in business.
BBC row over Naga Munchetty reponse to Trump racism.

Gone to meet their maker
Singer Ric Ocasek, 75. (The Cars)
Former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe Robert Mugabe, 95.
Former French president Jacques Chirac, 86.
BBC News journalist Hanna Yusuf, 27.
Actress Jean Heywood, 98. (When the Boat Comes In, Our Day Out, Billy Elliot)

October
Office for National Statistics says 726 homeless people died in last year. The highest number on record.
Stabbings in Arndale Centre, Manchester.
London bans Extinction Rebellion protests.
John Bercow resigns.
Grenfell Tower report criticises fire service.

Six feet under
Opera soprano Jessye Norman, 74.
British journalist and broadcaster Peter Sissons, 77.
American actress Diahann Carroll, 84.  (Julia, Dynasty, Claudine)
Actor Stephen Moore, 81. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy)
Drummer Ginger Baker, 80. (Cream, Blind Faith)
Russian cosmonaut Alexei Leonov, 85. (Voskhod 2, first person to walk in space.)
Rock singer and guitarist Paul Barrere, 71. (Little Feat)

November

Immediate end to fracking in the UK.
Fracking ban might not be permanent.
18 female MPs say they won't seek re-election because of threats and abuse. 
"Biblical" rainfall levels cause more than 100 flood warnings across the Midlands and northern England.
Mothercare goes bust.
Prince Andrew steps down from public engagements as pressure builds.
Police shoot dead a terrorism suspect on London Bridge. Two others killed and five injured in knife attack.

Had a good innings
TV presenter Gay Byrne, 85. (The Late Late Show)
Actor Ian Cullen, 80. (Z Cars)
Irish actor Niall Tóibín, 89.
Photographer Terry O'Neill, 81.
Actor Michael J Pollard, 80. (Bonnie and Clyde)
Australian-born broadcaster and writer Clive James, 80.
Chef Gary Rhodes, 59.
Theatre director Sir Jonathan Miller, 85.
Shoe designer Terry de Havilland, 81.
Veteran Labour politician Frank Dobson, 79.

December
At least 18 dead after volcano erupts in New Zealand.
General election Tory landslide.
SNP Leader Nicola Sturgeon calls for independence referendum.
Climate campaigner Greta Thunberg named Time magazine Person of the Year.
Trump throws his dummy out of the pram.
Last-minute Strictly Come Dancing entrant Kelvin Fletcher lifts the glitter ball trophy.
Australia has hottest days on record, approaching 50C.
Wildfires sweep through Australia.

Code black
Actor Rene Auberjonois, 79. (Star Trek: Deep Space 9, Benson, M.A.S.H.)
Sesame Street's Big Bird puppeteer Caroll Spinney, 85.
Australian musician Greedy Smith, 63. (Mental as Anything)
Cricketer Bob Willis, 70.
Rapper Juice Wrld, 21.
Battle of Britain pilot Maurice Mounsdon, 101.
Botanist and naturalist David Bellamy, 86.
The Rev. David Coles, 42. (Partner of Richard Coles, Vicar of Finedon.)
Actor Nicky Henson, 74.
Singer and entertainer Kenny Lynch, 81.
Actor Tony Britton, 95. (Day of the Jackal, Sunday Bloody Sunday.)

2018 in Review

January
Ringo Starr and Barry Gibb get knighthoods. Darcey Bussell's a Dame. Rick Stein CBE. Jilly Cooper CBE. Eammon Holmes OBE.
NY Eve car park blaze destroys 1400 cars at Liverpool Echo Arena.
California mudslides kill 17.
London stabbings leave four dead.
Massive fire at Nottingham Station.
Flu hits UK.
Construction giant Carillion goes into liquidation.
US government shutdown after budget talks fail.
Heavy snow causes chaos in Scotland and parts of England. Airports closed. Roads blocked. Mountaineers rescued.
7.9-magnitude earthquake off the coast of Alaska.
Paris floods.

Bought the farm

Peter Wyngarde as Jason King

Actor Jon Paul Steuer, 33. (Star Trek: The Next Generation)
Actress Doreen Keogh, 91. (Coronation Street’s first barmaid Concepta Riley.)
Actor Jerry Van Dyke, 86. (Dick Van Dyke's younger brother.)
Blunderwoman comedy star Bella Emberg, 80.
Astronaut John Young, 87.
Longleat's Western lowland gorilla Nico, 56.
Motörhead guitarist Eddie Clarke, 67. (pneumonia)
West Brom and England footballer Cyrille Regis, 59.
Cranberries singer Dolores O'Riordan, 46.
Jason King actor Peter Wyngarde, 90.
Broadcaster Ed Doolan, 76.
Actor Bradford Dillman, 87.
Author Peter Mayle, 78. (A Year in Provence)
French chef Paul Bocuse, 91.
Comedian Howard Lew Lewis, 76.
Legendary jazz trumpeter Hugh Masekela, 78.
Fantasy author Ursula K Le Guin, 88.
Tinky Winky actor Simon Shelton, 52.
Daleswoman Hannah Hauxwell, 91.

February

Beast from the East brings extreme low temperatures

Cairo archaeologists unveil 4,400 year old tomb of an ancient priestess.
Winter Olympics.
N&S Korea annoy Trump by talking to each other.
Heavy snow closes Eiffel Tower.
Saratov Airlines Flight 703 crashes in Russia, killing all 71 people on board.
Oxfam prostitution scandal.
Florida school shooting leaves 17 dead.
4.2 earthquake hits Wales.
Five dead after Leicester shop explosion.
Severe snow hits UK. "The Beast from the East"
Retailers Maplin and Toys R Us go into administration.

Gone beyond
World's oldest man Francisco Nunez Olivera, 113.
Irish footballer Liam Miller, 36.
Frasier star John Mahoney, 77.
US evangelist Billy Graham, 99.
Vicar of Dibley actress Emma Chambers, 53.
Bollywood superstar Sridevi Kapoor, 54. (heart attack)
British author Penny Vincenzi, 78.

March
Paper £10 notes phased out.
KFC runs out of chicken.
Notre Dame cathedral is showing its age. Appeal fund launched for repairs.
Former Russian spy Sergei Skripal poisoned in Salisbury.
Trump secretary of state Rex Tillerson fired.
Toys R Us to close its UK stores.
UK's first polar bear cub in 25 years born in Scotland.
Bridge collapse in Florida kills six.
Russian diplomats expelled all over the world.
Ireland and Ulster rugby players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding cleared of rape.
Irish pubs lift Good Friday alcohol ban.

Passed on
M*A*S*H star David Ogden Stiers, 75
Four minute mile runner Sir Roger Bannister, 88.
Sir William McAlpine, 82.
Italy international footballer Davide Astori, 31.
Inventor Trevor Baylis, 80.
Hubert de Givenchy, French fashion icon, 91.
Comedian Ken Dodd, 90.
British genome pioneer Sir John Sulston, 75.
Sudan, last male northern white rhino, 45
Scientist Stephen Hawking, 76.
Bullseye host Jim Bowen, 80.
Actor Bill Maynard, 89. (Selwyn Froggatt,  Heartbeat)

April
Labour Party facing antisemitism accusations.
14 dead after Canadian junior hockey team bus crash.
Poisoned Russian spy Sergei Skripal regains consciousness.
3 die as vehicle driven into crowd in Munster.
Arsene Wenger announces he's leaving Arsenal.
Spring finally arrives in UK. Hottest April day since 1949.

Joined the choir eternal
Emmy winning producer Steven Bochco, 74. (Hill Street Blues, NYPD Blue, Doogie Howser MD)
Crafty Cockney darts player Eric Bristow, 60.
Football player and manager Ray Wilkins, 61.
American Hall of Fame professional wrestler Johnny Valiant, 71.
South African anti-apartheid activist and politician Winnie Mandela, 81.
Former First Lady Barbara Bush, 92.
TV personality Dale Winton, 62.

May
Hottest May Day bank holiday on record.
THAT wedding.
Hawaii homes destroyed by lava from Kilauea volcano.
Monsoon rain kills 12 in Sri Lanka.
General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) comes into effect in UK.
North and South Korea relations changing.
Violent thunder storms cause flooding across UK.

Kicked the bucket
Israeli musician Abi Ofarim, 80.
UK politician Tessa Jowell, 70.
Serial killer Dennis Nilsen, 72,
Actress Margot Kidder, 69.
Gardener Beth Chatto, 94.
Author Tom Wolfe, 88.
Actor Peter Byrne, 90. (Dixon of Dock Green)
Writer Philip Roth, 85.
Astronaut Alan Bean, 86.
Archaeologist John Ashdown-Hill, 69. (Richard III expert)

June
Dozens killed by Guatemala earthquake.
Learner drivers allowed onto motorways.
Cambridge Uni finally works out it's not getting ethnic minority applicants.
Grenfell inquiry criticises practically everything.
G7 summit in Canada.
Fire devastates Glasgow school of art
High winds make Heckington windmill spin backwards.
5.5 magnitude earthquake hits Japan.
Major incident declared over blaze on Saddleworth Moor.
Heatwave hits highest June temperature on record.
"Fatberg" on show at Museum of London.
Five dead and two hurt in shooting at Maryland newspaper the Capital Gazette.

Snuffed it
Jerry Maren, Last Wizard of Oz Munchkin, 98.
Celebrity chef Anthony Bourdain, 61.
Eastenders 'Dirty Den' Leslie Grantham, 71.
Koko the signing gorilla, 46.

July
Andy Murray pulls out of Wimbledon.
Fizzy drinks on ration as CO₂ shortage continues.
Arson blamed for Lancashire moors fires.
Twelve boys and their football coach found in Thai cave.
Diver dies during rescue attempt.
England loses in the World Cup semis.
Massive protests as Trump visits UK.
Severe heatwave takes Japanese temperatures to over 40 C.
Many killed in wildfires in Greece.
The heatwave continues in UK.
Blood moon - longest eclipse this century.
Imran Khan leads Pakistan election.

Conked out

Choreographer Dame Gillian Lynne, 92.
Clangers and Bagpuss co-creator Peter Firmin, 89.
Bay City Roller Alan Longmuir, 70.
Thai ex-navy rescue diver Saman Gunan.
Politician Lord Peter Carrington, 99.
Sqn Ldr Geoffrey Wellum, youngest Spitfire pilot to fly in the Battle of Britain, 96.
Team GB snowboarder Ellie Soutter, 18.
Wrestlers Brian Lawler, 46, Brickhouse Brown, 57 and Nikolai Volkoff, 70. All died the same day.

August
Bank of England raises interest rate.
Long hot summer reveals crop marks over many unknown archaeological sites
40+ dead as motorway bridge collapses in Genoa, Italy.
350+ dead in floods in Kerala, India.
Half-mast row over White House flag for John McCain.

Pushing up daisies

Kofi Annan

Trinidadian-born British writer V.S. Naipaul, 85.

Half of the Chuckle Brothers Barry Chuckle, 73.
Soul singer Aretha Franklin, 76.
Former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, 80.
Half of the Chuckle Brothers Barry Chuckle, 73.
Aberfan heroine, teacher Hettie Williams, 75.
Soul singer Aretha Franklin, 76.
Republican senator John McCain, 90.

September
Brexit row rumbles on.
Probiotics labelled 'quite useless'.
Hurricane Florence hits US eastern seaboard.
Super Typhoon Mangkhut hits Philippines and China.
More than 800 dead in 7.5 magnitude earthquake in Indonesia.

Gone to meet their maker
Smokey and the Bandit star Burt Reynolds, 82.
Heartbeat star Peter Benson, 75,
US rapper Mac Miller, 26. (Suspected overdose)
Comedy actress Fenella Fielding, 90.
Actor Dudley Sutton, 85. (Lovejoy)
Comedian and writer Denis Norden, 96.

October
Glastonbury tickets sell out in half an hour.
Walkers launch bag recycling scheme after protests.
Furore over appointment of Brett Kavanaugh to US Supreme Court.
Princess Eugenie shows off her scar at her wedding.
Storm Callum causes worst Wales flooding for 30 years.
Banksy work sells for £1million then self destructs.
Same sex lab mice have babies.
Five dead in helicopter crash at Leicester City football ground.
11 dead as storm hits Venice causing major flood.

Six feet under
Singer Charles Aznavour, 94.
Rainbow presenter Geoffrey Hayes, 76.
Comedy scriptwriter Ray Galton, 88.
Walking Dead actor Scott Wilson, 76.
Leicester City Football Club owner Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, 60. (Helicopter crash)
American rock singer Jimmy Farrar, 67.  (Molly Hatchet)
American gangster Whitey Bulger, 89.

November

Andre van Noord

Democrats regain control of the House in US mid terms.
12 dead in bar shooting in Thousand Oaks California.
Wildfires devastate huge areas of California.
71 dead, 1000+ missing.
100th anniversary of the end of WWI.
Brexit chaos. Cabinet members and others quit in wake of May agreement.
Pound and shares plummet.
David Hockney's Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) makes $90 million at auction.

Had a good innings
Marvel Comics genius Stan Lee, 95.
Model Andre van Noord, 54. (Brain tumour)
British equestrian Tim Stockdale, 54. (Stomach cancer)
Beverley Sister Babs, 91.
Newsreader and presenter Richard Baker, 93.
Actor John Bluthal, 89. (Vicar of Dibley)
Film director Nicolas Roeg, 90. (Don't Look Now)

December
"Gilets jaunes" riots in Paris over French petrol prices.
8,000 police drafted in to Paris. Tear gas and rubber bullets used.

O2 network breakdown stops data service.
Six dead in stampede at Italian nightclub.
Brexit chaos. PM faces vote of no confidence.
Fire at Chester Zoo.
Egyptian Saqqara tomb find 'one of a kind'.
Manchester United sack manager Jose Mourinho.
Gatwick Airport closed by drones.
Newly listed buildings include Robin Hood statue.
Tsunami hits Indonesia after Krakatau erupts.
Mount Etna erupts causing 4.8 magnitude earthquake.

Code black
Former US president George HW Bush, 94.
Punk rocker Pete Shelley, 63. (Buzzcocks)
Roger the giant kangaroo, 12. (old age)
Actress Sondra Locke,74. (Any Which Way You Can)
Video app co-founder Colin Kroll, 34.
Politician Paddy Ashdown, 77.
Art historian Sister Wendy Beckett, 88.
Terry and June comedy actress June Whitfield, 93.

May Day

Maypole in Castle Gardens

Beltane Blessings

May 1 is a Pagan festival known as Beltane - which means good fire. Traditionally it was the first day of Summer and a reason to celebrate the end of the long winter days.  Many of the celebrations involved bonfires, including one ritual where cattle were driven between two fires to purify them before being moved to their summer grazing.

Near the centre of Leicester, just behind De Montfort University you'll find an area called Castle Gardens which has a clearing that contains a Maypole. 

Green man on
Leicester Maypole

Dancing round the Maypole was supposed to promote fertility. Think about what shape it is! Legend says they date back to Celtic times and survived until the fun-killing Puritans turned up and banned them.

They were revived, apparently, by the polymath John Ruskin, who introduced one at Whitelands College in 1881 and created a series of dances and a May Pageant to go with it. That's quite a thing for a man whose marriage was annulled because he allegedly couldn't face having sex with his wife.   He did, however, own an extensive collection of erotic art by the artist JMW Turner. Makes you think doesn't it?

Another face you'll find associated with May Day is the Green Man. There's one on the base of the Leicester Maypole. He represents a spirit of summer. Green like the new shoots. A spirit of the woods and fields. Usually he has leaves over his face. A true green man has shoots growing from his mouth. The leafy ones are technically known as foliate heads.

For a blatantly Pagan symbol they don't half turn up in churches a lot. Why don't you pop along to your local one and see if you can find any?

The Repair Shop

I've always been jealous of craftspeople. I can just about knit and purl enough to make a scarf and I occasionally get the watercolours out and have a go at painting, but nothing I produce could ever be described as skillful. That's why I love the BBC 2 programme The Repair Shop.

A team of artists and craftspeople - ceramics experts, carpenters, furniture makers, metalworkers, seamstresses, and others - take in precious heirlooms that are today past their best, and restore them.

Every one works a tiny miracle on someone's prized possession. They've done clocks, teddy bears, musical instruments, chairs, allsorts.

If you've not seen it you should switch on at 6.30pm on weekdays, or find it on the iplayer. You'll be well rewarded.

Castle Gardens

Close by De Montfort University in Leicester you'll find an area called Castle Gardens. Leicester Castle was a motte and bailey structure, but these days all you'll find is a large mound surrounded by trees and ornamental flower beds. It's believed there's been a garden of some sort on the site, possibly an orchard or even allotments, for several centuries.

It became a public garden in 1926 when Leicester Corporation started reclaiming land along the River Soar and the Grand Union Canal. The land belonged to Trinity Hospital and the county council, and the Corporation leased it to add to its own land and the site of the old West Bridge Mills. In 1937 the site was extended by leasing more Trinity Hospital land.  The whole site now belongs to De Montfort Uni.

Trinity Hospital was founded in 1330 by Henry Earl of Lancaster to provide homes for 50 poor and infirm people. Some time later Henry's son enlarged the building, calling it his New Work. (The area is today called Newarke.) The establishment included a college of canons and a church. The foundation closed in 1548 during the Protestant Reformation and many of the buildings were demolished.

The associated hospital survived, however, and was renamed Trinity Hospital. It's been rebuilt twice, in 1776 and 1901, but the residents moved to a modern property in 1995.  Then the building was renamed Trinity House ad is now part of the university campus.

2017 review

2017 was a year when terror attacks became less organised, more random, but just as deadly. The celebrity death toll was lower than in 2016 but still claimed some dearly-loved figures. Politics took an unpredictable and sometimes unpleasant turn.  

January

Scarborough

39 killed in new year gun attack on Istanbul nightclub.
Queen misses church through ill health.
3.9 magnitude earthquake off Scarborough.
Four earthquakes in Italy trigger avalanche that buries hotel.
Protests across USA after Trump brings in 'Muslim ban'.
Six dead and eight injured in shooting at Quebec mosque.
Demonstrations across the UK against Trump Muslim ban.



Gone beyond
M.A.S.H.'s Father Mulcahy, William Christopher, 84. (New Year's Eve)
Bollywood actor Om Puri, 66.

John Hurt

Singer songwriter Peter Sarstedt, 75.
Former Iranian president Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, 82.
Ex-England football manager Graham Taylor, 72.
Lord Snowdon (Princess Margaret's husband), 86.
Last man to walk on the moon, Eugene Cernan, 82.
Former England women's cricket captain Rachel Heyhoe Flint, 77.
Actor Gorden Kaye, 75.
Mott the Hoople bassist Pete Overend Watts, 69.
Actress Mary Tyler Moore, 80.
Actor Sir John Hurt, 77.
Nazi propagandist Goebbels' secretary Brunhilde Pomsel, 106.
Scottish politician Sir Tam Dalyell, 84.
Perry Mason actress Barbara Hale, 94.

February
UK Parliament votes to leave the EU.
Black Sabbath play their farewell gig in Birmingham.
Avalanches in Afghanistan and Pakistan kill more than 100.
House of Commons Speaker John Bercow opposes POTUS Trump addressing MPs.
Queen celebrates record 65 years on the throne by taking a day off.
UK Government rejects 1.8million petition against POTUS visit.
Lots more anti-Potus activities.
Introduction of "Scrotus" (So-called ruler of the United States)
NASA announces discovery of earth-like planets 40 light years away.
Metropolitan Police appoints first female Commissioner. (She's called Dick.)
Storm Doris causes damage across the UK.
Oscars chaos as wrong film named as best picture.
Record snowfall in Reykjavik.

Through the veil
Sir Ken Morrison, supermarket supremo, 85.
Broadcaster and actor Desmond Carrington, 90.
Radio 4 newsreader Howard Philpott, 63.
Battlestar Galactica star (Captain Apollo) Richard Hatch, 71.
Socialite Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, 45. (Brain tumour)
Steptoe and Son writer Alan Simpson, 87.
The Archers star Sara Coward (Caroline Sterling), 69.
Singer Al Jarreau, 76.
Singer Peter Skellern, 69.
Miffy creator Dick Bruna, 89.
Britain's tallest man Neil Fingleton, 36. (Heart failure)
Aliens and Titanic star Bill Paxton, 61. (Complications from heart surgery)
Labour politician Sir Gerald Kaufman, 86.

March
East African countries face famine.
Brexit gets the go ahead after delays from House of Lords.
Huge snow storm hits North East US.
Muirfield golf club finally admits women members.
Mount Etna eruption.
Gun attack at Orly Airport in Paris.
Terrorist incident outside Houses of Parliament. 5 dead, 28 injured.
Dozens injured in Wirral gas explosion.
PM starts Brexit process.

Joined the choir eternal
World champion motorcyclist John Surtees, 83.
Singer Jonie Sledge, 60. (Sister Sledge)
Character actor Tony Haygarth, 72. (Emmerdale, The Bill, New Tricks, Casualty)
Nobel Prize winning poet Sir Derek Walcott, 87.
Father of Rock n Roll Chuck Berry, 90.
Irish Republican politician Martin McGuinness, 66.
Inspector Morse author Colin Dexter, 86.

April
Mudslide in Colombia kills 250+
Explosion on St Petersburg Metro.
Lorry driven into crowd in Stockholm. Four dead.
United Airlines forcibly removes passenger in over-booking fiasco.
US drops 'mother of all bombs' on Afghanistan.
PM May announces snap election.
Britain goes 24 hours without needing coal to generate power.
Political relations failing between US and North Korea.

In memoriam
Broadcaster, writer, and civil liberties campaigner Darcus Howe, 74.
Actor Tim Pigott-Smith, 70.
Radio presenter Brian Matthew, 88.
Jamiroquai keyboard player Toby Smith, 46.
Guitarist J Geils, 71.
Theatre director Michael Bogdanov, 78.
Actress Erin Moran, 56. (Happy Days)
Silence of the Lambs director Jonathan Demme, 73.
Bash Street Kids and Minnie the Minx artist Leo Baxendale, 86.

May

Prince Philip announces his retirement.

Emmanuel Macron

Centrist candidate Emmanuel Macron wins French presidential election.
Trump sacks FBI head James Comey.
Alton Towers, Thorpe Park and Legoland close water rides following death of 11-year-old at Drayton Manor.
Cyber ransom attack threatens UK hospitals as well as businesses worldwide.
Rape allegation dropped against Julian Assange.
Rolf Harris released from jail.
Trump: 'No politician in history has been treated more unfairly'
Historians reply to Trump's claim. Cite Gandhi, Mandela, Kennedy, among others.
22 dead in terrorist attack on Manchester Arena.
80 dead and 350 injured in Kabul car bomb attack.

Catweazle

Shuffled off this mortal coil
11-year-old Evha Jannath dies after falling from a ride at Drayton Manor Park.
Catweazel actor Geoffrey Bayldon, 93.
Moors murderer Ian Brady, 79.
Chris Cornell, Audioslave and Soundgarden singer, 52.
Former Wales First Minister Rhodri Morgan, 77.
The Saint and James Bond star Sir Roger Moore, 89.
Blue Peter presenter John Noakes, 83.
Musician Greg Allman, 69.
Panamanian politician Manuel Noriega, 83.
Zoo keeper Rosa King, 33. (Killed by tiger)


June
Seven dead and many injured in terror attack at London Bridge and Borough Market.
General election ends in a hung parliament. Chaos ensues.
Phil Collins abandons tour after a fall.
Scottish Episcopal Church approves gay marriage.
French President Emmanuel Macron wins landslide in parliamentary elections.
Estimated 79 dead in fire at Grenfell Tower, London.
Van drives into Ramadan worshippers at Finsbury Park Mosque.
Portuguese forest fires. 62 dead 132 injured.
China landslide: 15 dead, more than 100 missing in Sichuan.
Actor Sir Daniel Day-Lewis announces his retirement.
Queen’s Speech delayed two days for Tory/DUP alliance to be arranged
Jeremy Corbyn appears at Glastonbury.
HMS Queen Elizabeth aircraft carrier begins sea trials.
Brexit negotiations begin.
Trump cancels the annual White House Eid celebration.
Fallout from Grenfell Tower disaster continues: 60 tower blocks fail safety checks.
Six people face charges over 1989 Hillsborough deaths.

Only resting

Brian Cant

This was the month that stole my childhood: Wallace,
Bodger and Badger, Batman, Playschool and Paddington.

Coronation Street actor Roy Barraclough, 81.
Peter Sallis, the voice of Wallace, 96.
Children’s TV star Andy Cunningham, 67. (Bodger and Badger)
Batman star Adam West, 88.
Model Anita Pallenberg, 73.
Astrophysics professor and telescope designer Jerry Nelson, 73.
Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl, 87.
Playschool's Brian Cant, 83.
Paddington Bear author Michael Bond, 91.

July
Canada's 150th anniversary.
Fire hits Camden Lock Market in London.
Lake District given UNESCO World Heritage status.
A “quarter size of Wales” iceberg calves from Antarctica.
Humber Bridge given Grade I listing.

The new Dr Who is female.
Actor Paul Nicholls breaks both legs in Thai waterfall accident.
Flash flood hits Coverack in Cornwall.
State pension age will rise to 68 in 2037.
Largest rise in crime figures for 10 years.
North sea cod is officially sustainable again.
Two dead and 100 injured in Turkey/Greece earthquake.
BBC wages revealed as unfair to women and BME presenters.
Buddhist temple in Magway, central Myanmar washed into river by rising floodwaters.
Courts rule terminally-ill baby Charlie Gard must be allowed to die.
Met Office warns of potentially dangerous rainfall levels next winter.
Y Not festival in Derbyshire cancelled due to excessive mud.
N Korea runs missile tests.

Gone to meet their maker
Film critic Barry Norman, 83.
Actor Martin Landau, 89.  (Space 1999, Mission: Impossible)
Linkin Park singer Chester Bennington, 41. (suicide)
Dr Who assistant Victoria, actress Deborah Watling, 69.
Home Alone actor John Heard, 71.
Baby Charlie Gard, 11 months.

August
Mo Farah ends his career with gold and silver medals.
Usain Bolt's last race ends with cramp.
Trump threatens North Korea with "fire and fury". And "frankly power".
Norovirus devastates World Athletics Championship.
Heavy rain causes floods and land slips in Nepal.
North Korea threatens Guam as tensions rise.
White supremacy march in Charlottesville, VA. leaves 1 dead and 19 injured.
Trump under fire for not condemning Nazis.
Sierra Leone mudslide.
Terror attack in Barcelona kills 14 and injures dozens more.
Hurricane Harvey brings 'catastrophic floods' to Houston Texas.
North Korea fires missile over Japan.

Pushing up daisies

All Creatures Great and Small actor Robert Hardy, 91
Shelley actor Hywell Bennett, 73.
Country music great Glen Campbell, 81.
George Medal hero Bernard Kenny, who tried to save Jo Cox, 79.
Doctor at Large author Richard Gordon, 95.
Sir Bruce Forsyth, 89.
Comedian Jerry Lewis, 91.
Author Brian Aldiss, 92.



September

One of the last Cassini images of Jupiter

Yellow Pages to stop printing directory after 51 years.
The Duchess of Cambridge is pregnant again.
Hurricane Irma devastates Caribbean and Florida Keys.
8.2 quake hits Mexico.
Archaeologists discover tomb of Egyptian goldsmith Amenemhat.
Cricket commentator Henry Blofeld retires.
Operatic Dame Kiri Te Kanawa announces retirement.
Jane Austen £10 note released.
District tube line bomb attack at Parsons Green.
Cassini probe crashes into Jupiter.
7.1 earthquake hits Mexico.
Hurricane Maria adds to devastation in the Caribbean.
Travel chaos as Ryan Air cancels hundreds of flights at short notice.
Remains of 6,000-year-old dwelling found in Ayrshire.
Radio One is 50 years old.

Passed on
Senior Roman Catholic Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, 85.
Holby City star John Michie's daughter dies at Bestival.
Steely Dan guitarist Walter Becker, 67.
TV presenter Mike Neville, 80.

David Shepherd painting

Theatre director Sir Peter Hall, 86.
Actor Harry Dean Stanton, 91.
"Raging Bull" boxer Jake LaMotta, 95.
Former MP Sir Teddy Taylor, 80.
Quiz host William G Stewart, 84.
Animal artist David Shepherd, 86.
Comedy actor Bobby Knutt, 71.
Coronation Street actress Liz Dawn, 77.
Till Death Us Do Part actor Tony Booth, 85.
Playboy Hugh Hefner, 91.

October
Monarch Airlines collapses.
"Biggest evacuation since Dunkirk" to rescue Monarch passengers.
More than 50 dead in Las Vegas shooting.
London museum road crash deemed 'not terrorist'.
Catalonia votes for independence from Spain.
Harvey Weinstein accused of sexual harassment.
Wildfires in northern California.
Red sun and yellow skies over UK. Saharan sand blamed.
Ex-hurricane Ophelia hits Northern Ireland.
Round pound taken out of circulation.
Kevin Spacey comes out as a gay man after child molesting accusation.
Terror attack in NY kills 8.

Through the Pearly Gates
Former general secretary of Unison Rodney Bickerstaffe, 72.
Actor Roy Dotrice, 94.
Comedian Sean Hughes, 51. (cirrohsis)
Canadian rock band Tragically Hip frontman Gord Downie, 53. (brain cancer)
Musician Tom Petty, 66.
Australian songwriter and producer of AC/DC, George Young, 70.
Actress Rosemary Leach, 81.
Benson actor Robert Guillaume, 89.
Singer 'Fats' Domino, 89.

November
Australia bans climbing on Uluru.
The sexual harassment scandal grows.
    - Sir Michael Fallon resigns from cabinet.
    - Dustin Hoffman accused.
First UK interest rate rise in 10 years.
New orangutan species discovered in Indonesia.

Salvator Mundi

26 killed in Texas church shooting.
Political fallout from sexual harrassment claims continues.
Massive backlash after Aston Merrygold loses Strictly Come Dancing place.
Queen accused of tax avoidance by investing offshore.
Kevin Spacey edited out of film in response to sexual harassment claims.
Military coup in Zimbabwe.
Leonardo da Vinci painting Salvator Mundi sells for record $450m.
Grenfell Tower final death toll stands at 71.
Zimbabwe's ruling party sacks Robert Mugabe as leader.
Four dead as helicopter and light aircraft collide over Waddesdon.
Explorer Benedict Allen rescued from jungle.
Robert Mugabe resigns before he's impeached.
Disco floor collapse injures 40 in Tenerife.
Royal Navy performs Changing of the Guard for the first time.

Left the building

Welsh Labour AM Carl Sargeant, 49. (After allegations of poor conduct.)
Chef Antonio Carluccio, 80.
Actor John Hillerman, 84. (Magnum, PI’s butler)
Comedy actor Keith Barron, 83.
AC/DC guitarist Malcolm Young, 64.
Murderous cult leader Charles Manson, 83.
Former Wimbledon champion Jana Novotna, 49. (Cancer)
“Grandpa Huxtable” actor Earle Hyman, 91.
Partridge Family singer David Cassidy, 67.
Likely Lads actor Rodney Bewes, 79.

December
Californian wildfires.
Brexit negotiations scuppered by DUP protest vote.
Russia is banned from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang by the International Olympic Committee.
Trump reinstates the Muslim ban.
The United States officially recognises Jerusalem as Israel's capital.
Heavy snow hits the Midlands and Wales.
May pledges not to be derailed on Brexit.
Mo Farah is BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
Joe McFadden wins Strictly Come Dancing.
Mutterings about racism affecting the Strictly result.
Six dead in Birmingham pile-up.
Two dead in Scottish hotel blaze.
Train falls on motorway in Washington state.

Paid the ferryman

Kevin Rice

"Well he would, wouldn't he?" Profumo affair model Christine Keeler, 75.
Bollywood legend Shashi Kapoor, 79.
French rock singer Johnny Hallyday, 74.
Disgraced celebrity publicist Max Clifford, 74.
TV presenter Keith Chegwin, 60.
Science expert Prof. Heinz Wolff, 89.
Actress Heather Menzies-Urich, 68. (Sound of Music, Logan's Run.)
Star Wars actor Alfie Curtis, 87. (Mos Eisley cantina scene)
Actor and model Kevin Rice, 43. (The Mistover Tale, Serendipity, The Woodsman) (Blood clot)

Glassy

Back in the day when The Anorak was a lowly archaeological surveyor working for British Waterways it was a favourite story to talk about Chance's Glass in Smethwick, West Midlands.

The factory was famous in its day. It was the place that made the windows for the Crystal Palace, built to house the Great Exhibition in 1851. The panes were transported by canal from Chance's own side branch of the Birmingham main line, all the way to London. And when they arrived not a
single one was broken!

If you've ever travelled the M5 between junctions 1 and 2 you'll have spotted the seven storey high building, though it's a bit square, and you're more likely to have marvelled at the wonderful terracotta-coloured edifice that housed Archibald Kenrick's foundry on the opposite side of
the road.

Chance’s glass was also responsible for a key part of maritime safety. They made the lenses for many of the world's lighthouses. They're a special kind of lens called a fresnel, that focuses the light through a series of concentric rings, rather than a curved surface.

Now, it seems, I'm not the only person fascinated by Chance's history. Australian engineer Tim Nguyen has set himself the task of learning old glassmaking skills so that he and a group of friends can restore all the Chance lighthouse lenses around the world.  There are about 2,000.

Chance glass was founded in 1824 and continued until 1981. Towards the end of its life it was known for much smaller pieces of household glass.

For more on this story see the BBC website by clicking here.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-birmingham-40887830

Leicester Streets

A bit of Medieval Leicester - the Guildhall

One of the newest parts of Leicester city is the High Cross shopping centre. It's massive, modern and shiny, but bears the name of a Medieval tall cross that stood at the top of the High Street.

Medieval Leicester had four main entrances called (unimaginatively) North Gate, South Gate, East Gate, and West Gate. High Street ran across town from North Gate to South Gate and, true to its name, was higher than all other streets because it was paved.

High Cross stood at the heart of trade and was the site of the Wednesday Market where country folk would bring produce to sell to the locals. By the 14th century there was enough trade to justify a regular Friday market too.

In 1577 a structure, which became known as High Cross, was erected in the area. It consisted of eight pillars topped by an eight-sided dome and must have been quite magnificent, but the march of progress and increasing size of carts meant it was knocked down in 1773 in an early road-widening scheme. A single pillar survives and now stands in Jubilee Square.

There are many information boards around Leicester that tell you about the area you're in. High Cross is close to the Medieval heart of the city and a board close to the new shopping centre gives details of local street names and their derivations.

Here's a few:

Cank Street. I've never encountered 'cank' before but the board says the street is named after a public well that stood there.

Holy Bones. What a great name. It might have something to do with the graves in nearby St Nicholas Church. Sadly it might be a Medieval joke about the number of butchers that could be found around it.

Gallowtree Gate. You might remember from a recent York post that gate means road, or way. (From the Old Norse 'gata'.) Gallowtree is fairly self-explanatory. It's where public hangings took place on the gallows 'tree'.

Sanvey Gate. Another 'gate', but the Sanvey bit is believed to be a corruption of Sancta Via, or holy way. It possibly marks the route of old religious processions through town.

And for any teenage boys out there, here's a chance to snigger.

Butt Close Lane.  Butts were, of course, the place where archers practised their skills. You can stop laughing now!

Richard III

     I, that am curtailed of this fair proportion,
     Cheated of feature by dissembling nature,
     Deformed, unfinished, sent before my time
     Into this breathing world, scarce half made up
            Shakespeare
            Richard III Act1 Scene 1

Statue by the Cathedral

I'm going to let you into a secret dear Reader: I share something with Richard III. No, I didn't spend the last 500 years under a car park in Leicester, I am, like him, "deformed, unfinished ......scarce half made up". Yep, I have scoliosis. My spine is curved. Or in other words I'm a hunchback.

It means I've always had a soft spot for the much-maligned king.  I never believed that he had the Princes in the Tower murdered (though I'd be prepared to believe that someone did it thinking they were doing him a favour); I always hoped that one day I'd learn something positive about him.

And that's where the latest day out comes in. I decided to visit Richard in his adopted home of Leicester. Of course it was never his idea to adopt Leicester. He didn't set out on 22 August 1485 to lose the Battle of Bosworth and so, by a convoluted route, end up under a city centre car park.  He always said he wanted to be buried in York, but when the fight to provide his final resting place ended York Minster came in second.

The car park

This, as Sellar and Yeatman would say, is A Good Thing. York didn't really need an additional tourist attraction. Leicester has done him proud. I regret to say that my photos of his tomb came out very badly blurred so I can't show you the views I'd like. I plan to return to get better shots.

Richard turned up in a car park on the site of the old Franciscan priory (Greyfriars) which, these days, is opposite the Cathedral. (That's quite likely, when you think about it.) After the scientists finished doing all their DNA tests and the rest of the investigations they subjected him to, he was re-interred in the Cathedral. The site opposite, where he was found, is now the Richard III visitor centre.

It covers his family history, the background to the Wars of the Roses (in which the House of Lancaster and Richard's House of York argued over who was the rightful King), the lead up to the Battle of Bosworth, and the treachery of the Stanley family who brought their forces to the battlefield then held back to see which side was winning before they joined in!

Model of Richard's spine

However, it was the upper floor that had most effect on me, where the topic of Richard's shape is discussed. We're all familiar with Shakespeare's version of Richard's story. He's portrayed as an ugly, misshapen and evil man who will stop at nothing to get his own way,  Now the Tudors (who gained the throne after victory at Bosworth) believed that deformity and disability were linked to moral weakness. In other words, the more twisted Richard's body, the worse his character. Shakespeare, who relied on Tudor patronage, exaggerated the deformity to make Richard seem more unworthy of the throne.

Will also lied about a few other things: that famous quote about offering his kingdom for a horse, for example. The implication is that he wanted means to escape, but contemporary reports say he went down fighting and determined not to yield a yard of ground.  The archaeological evidence supports that. Richard died from multiple head injuries caused by a number of different weapons.

In fact much of what we learned about Richard at school conflicts with the truth. Contemporary reports of the man suggest he was, in fact, a fine and respected King. Like this one on the wall of the visitor centre:

Links
King Richard III Visitor Centre
Putting a face to Richard

Buildings

If you fancy a stroll through history (literally) you could do worse than pay a visit to the Avoncroft Museum of Buildings near Bromsgrove in the West Midlands. Basically it's a huge estate where buildings that would otherwise have been demolished, or allowed to crumble away, have been lovingly gathered together and restored.

It's an interesting collection. You can find most things there. Some are obvious: there's a windmill, and a dovecote, and barns, and a stable. There's a former pub that's now the Edwardian tea room. Cottages of all ages give you a taste of life across the centuries, from Tudor times to post World War Two.

But it's the less obvious bits that I most enjoyed. For example there's the top off a redundant church from Smethwick. The spire of the 19th century St Paul's Church was made of wood, and by 1959 was severely rotten. It was replaced in the early 1960s with a fibreglass replica, which was lighter, and cheaper, than creating a new brick one.  But in 1963 the church burned down and only the spire and tower survived. A new church was built alongside it, but that was made redundant in 1996.

Chainmakers' workshop

There are various workshops including a fine example of a nail shop. And I don't mean a place where you can get acrylic extensions to your fingers! Back in the day nail making was a cottage industry and people had a workshop in their back yards. Chain making, however, was more organised and chain workshops had rows of anvils where individual makers would work alongside each other.

But I think my favourite part was the National Telephone Kiosk Collection. Yes, phone boxes through the ages are lined up around a yard and each one is  connected to one of three exchanges the museum owns. That means that excited children can phone each other (at a cost of 2p a call) and not realise that they don't have to shout. The REALLY fun part is that they need instructions to use a phone dial. They don't realise they have to take their fingers out of the slot once they've rotated the mechanism. Consequently they mis-dial a lot and end up talking to total strangers!

I found a Mk II kiosk with a phone that reminded me of my childhood, and of course the first thing I did was press Button B. For the youngsters and foreigners among you Button B was what you pressed to get your money back if your call wasn't connected. People often forgot, of course, and so enterprising children would rush in behind them and press the button to pocket the cash!  It was fourpence - but three successes brought you a shilling, and that was a big bar of chocolate!

There are also a few other things that aren't technically buildings, like a showman's wagon for example, and the wonderful roadmenders' wagon, both the type of thing it's trendy to take a holiday in these days.  How would the old roadmenders who used to travel round in the carts react to the idea that their old 'make do' accommodation is now considered a treat?

Avoncroft's was owned by Worcestershire County Council. There's a hard-looking bench at the back and a small cast iron stove that would have doubled up as cooker and heating in the original cart. They were towed behind the steamroller when gangs went out to fix potholes around the county. It was hardly the height of luxury, but somehow it has an air of romance about it; I can see how it might have the same kind of effect as the canary yellow gipsy caravan had on Toad in Wind in the Willows, and that the novelty would wear off just as quickly!