RIP Murray Walker. He made Formula 1 racing more exciting to watch, towards the end of an era when it was fairly exciting anyway. A unique voice and style, and by all accounts I've seen, a terrific bloke.
Derek Ufton has passed away, he was 82. A gentleman who had a long and fulfilling life. Very sad news.
RIP Philip, Duke of Edinburgh A controversial character to be sure, and I'm no great fan of Royalty. But he has undoubtedly been very influential within the Monarchy since before most of us were born. I feel sorry for Her Majesty. It's never easy to lose a lifelong companion.
Met the D of E at Holyrood 55 years ago to get my Gold Award. I'll never forget my weeks camping in the (then) beautiful Galloway Hills. They were wild and rugged then before the Forestry Commission covered them in Pine trees. It lashed down on the last day of our 50-mile hike, but a farmer let us sleep in his cattle barn, and his wife cooked us the tastiest eggs and bacon ever the next morning. In return he put us to work for an hour the next day, including cleaning out the barn. The D of E scheme was a great experience, and I'm sure countless youngsters benefitted from it.
great post. Youngsters still benefit from it. I used to help run a beaver scout colony, most of the volunteers were all D of E. Vital to keep it going.
Like @lardiman I'm not much of a monarchist. But this guy squeezed an awful lot into his lifetime, from putting his life on the line during world war two, to numerous wildlife initiatives, and a lifetime standing by the Queen. I guess you could say he had a great innings getting to 99, but for loved ones around any perosn, you always deep down hope for a couple more years, and I imagine the impact on the Queen in having someone such a part of her life suddenly vanishing forever mush be devastating. While I never came into contact with anyone royal, I caught Joe Biden on Spanish TV on saturday and he offered a couple of words which I thing the D of E might well have appreciated as much as any of the eulogies we will be hearing this week. 'He was a great guy!' RIP
Two revelations about the Dof E have increased my respect for him. One, he snubbed Piers Moron, two he described the Times as "A bloody Murdoch rag".
I quite like Piers - but I disagreed with his stance on KP 100%. Still, they're mates I assume, so you'd expect him to stick by a mate. It's the human angle that prompted my post regarding Prince Philip really. He had a great innings and his children didn't lose him when they were young. But losing a parent at any time is a blow.