diaTribe » death http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp The diaTribe blog is our occasional take on life, the universe and everything. Observations on current affairs, the environment, politics, humour and music/gig reviews. Travel diary and extreme sports stories, along with the usual rants/raves are also chucked in for good measure. Sat, 07 Feb 2026 19:21:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 Cyclone Gabrielle – Preparation Lessons Learned http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2023/02/18/cyclone-gabrielle-preparation-lessons-learned/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2023/02/18/cyclone-gabrielle-preparation-lessons-learned/#comments Sat, 18 Feb 2023 09:04:45 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/?p=3376 ... more »

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2023 has been a tough year weather-wise.

January saw record-breaking rainfall across much of the North Island of New Zealand, with more than 260mm of rain falling on south and west Auckland in just 24 hours. In the far north, wind-speeds of up to 140kph were recorded. Four people were killed in flash floods and landslides and hundred of homes were destroyed.

But that was just the start…

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2023/02/18/cyclone-gabrielle-preparation-lessons-learned/feed/ 0 The passing of Paul Holmes http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2013/02/01/the-passing-of-paul-holmes/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2013/02/01/the-passing-of-paul-holmes/#comments Thu, 31 Jan 2013 23:00:17 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/?p=2506 ... more »

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The death of well-known NZ broadcaster Paul Holmes today marks the end of an era in what passes for in-depth news / current affairs interviewing in New Zealand

Personally, I was never a big fan of Holmes’ as a current affairs interviewer; he didn’t have the best diction, he ‘um’ed and ‘arr’ed and in the early days at least had a slight, but noticable lisp. It made listening to a Holmes interview rather irritating.

Holmes may not have been a Jeremy Paxman or John Suchet, but he did manage to cut a number of people down to size; in an interview with Margaret Thatcher, he suggested that her management style resembled a Nuremburg rally. And America’s cup arsehole Dennis Connor walked out of the studio after Holmes suggested that now he was in New Zealand (we had beaten Conner’s arse and taken the cup) he should apologise for insulting comments he had made about members of the Kiwi crew/support team.

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Sad news today about the passing of actor Harry Morgan.

Like actors such as Denholm Elliot and Brian Dennehy, Morgan never seemed to land that elusive starring role, but that didn’t matter. His talents as a character actor were always impressive and he often stole the limelight.

I remember Harry Morgan best from shows such as Dragnet and made-for-tv movies such as Support your local sheriff.

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2011/12/09/rip_harry_morgan/feed/ 1 Two good men pass http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2011/01/04/two_good_men_pass/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2011/01/04/two_good_men_pass/#comments Tue, 04 Jan 2011 08:24:24 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2011/01/two_good_men_pass/ Not a great start to the new year. First the news of Pete Postlethwaite, then the news today of the passing of Gerry Rafferty earlier today.

Both were extraordinary talents in their respective fields. Pete Postlethwaite was a cracking character actor, whose arguably most famous roles as the enigmatic lawyer, Mr. Kobayashi, in the cult classic The Usual Suspects, and the disillusioned-but-still-bloody-fighting yorkshire miner Danny in Mark Herman's Brit-classic Brassed Off set him on the road to success, with a string of classy and memorable roles in 50+ films and as many TV roles.

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Not a great start to the new year. First the news of Pete Postlethwaite, then the news today of the passing of Gerry Rafferty earlier today.

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2011/01/04/two_good_men_pass/feed/ 0 Happy Birthday Bruv http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2009/10/06/happy_birthday_bruv/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2009/10/06/happy_birthday_bruv/#comments Tue, 06 Oct 2009 17:11:00 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2009/10/happy_birthday_bruv/ ... more »

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News today that the last of the Kennedy brothers, Teddy Kennedy has died after a long battle with a brain tumour.

Despite living in the shadows of his more famous martyred siblings John and Robert for much of his life (and with the ghost of his brother Joseph who was killed in WWII – Teddy was the only one of the four brothers to die of natural causes), Teddy Kennedy was a highly influential figure in US politics for decades.

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Very sad news today about the death of Rick Wright, talented keyboard player with the legendary Pink Floyd and often under-appreciated musical craftsman.

Wright was part of the core talent of the Pink Floyd sound, having first formed the band together with Syd Barrett, Roger Waters and Nick Mason, back in 1967.

He was a key part of the sound, recording and performing with the Floyd from their debut album “Piper at the Gates of Dawn” onwards.

More ... »]]> http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2008/09/16/rip_richard_wright/feed/ 0 Falwell Kicks The Bucket http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2007/05/15/falwell_kicks_the_bucket/ http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2007/05/15/falwell_kicks_the_bucket/#comments Tue, 15 May 2007 09:23:00 +0000 Phil http://bandannaclub.com/blogwp/2007/05/falwell_kicks_the_bucket/ ... more »

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Todays news item about the death of Jerry Falwell has left me in a somewhat ambivalent frame of mind.

On one hand Falwell was an ignorant, fake, bible-thumping, god-bothering, Olympic-class, racist bigot of the first order and frankly, in my view the world is better off without his form of medieval morality.

On the other hand, Falwell’s views made him such a ludicrously comic figure that he was a fantastic target for a long history of satire, culminating with the world-famous Hustler Campari Ad parody, for which he (unsuccessfully) tried to sue … for this at least, he will be missed.

If there is a God, I genuinely hope (s)he manifests herself to ol’ Jerry as a Black Jewish Lesbian Democrat – just to see the look on his face.

RiH Jerry…

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