WARNING: This Article May Contain Spoilers The FA Cup is the reason most foreign players come to England to play football – there are few competitions where topflight, non-league and amateur teams can compete together. Starting in 1871-72, its history alone is probably the most special thing about it let alone the romance of the …
Philip Seymour Hoffman (1967-2014)
Born: 23rd July 1967 Died: 2nd February 2014 (aged 46) Son of a lawyer and judge and a Xerox employee, New York born Philip Seymour Hoffman excelled in supporting roles playing eccentrics and bullies but also took on several major roles including the portrayal of Truman Capote, in Capote, for which he won his only …
The Beautiful Game – The Second Half
WARNING: This Article Contains Spoilers There have been many times in the football world when you have to just say “You just couldn’t write this stuff”; first that comes to mind is Leicester City winning the Premier League in 2016, having finished the previous season 14th (their first back in the top league after a …
Gene Wilder (1933-2016)
Born: 11th June 1933 Died: 29th August 2016 (83 years) Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman) studied acting from the age of 13 and his first stage appearance was at the age of 15 in Romeo and Juliet. After graduating from the University of Iowa he was accepted at the Bristol Old Vic, where he learnt …
The Beautiful Game – First Half
WARNING: THIS ARTICLE CONTAINS SPOILERS The Beautiful Game. A Game of Two Halves. What am I talking about? I’m talking FOOTBALL. Football is, probably, England’s favourite sport with at least 70% of the UK population watching the Premier League every week. Even those that do not claim to follow the sport show their colours and …
Anton Yelchin (1989-2016)
Born: 11th March 1989 Died: 19th June 2016 (27 years) Anton Viktorovich Yelchin was born in Leningrad, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union (now St Petersburg, Russia) and was raised in America from six months. His parents were figure skaters for the Leningrad Ice Ballet in Russia and became ice skating coaches upon their move to America …
Burt Kwouk, OBE (1930-2016)
Born: 18th July 1930 Died: 24th May 2016 (85 years) Herbert Tsangtse Kwouk was born in Warrington, Lancashire to Chinese parents who happened to be touring Europe at the time. He was raised in Shanghai until the age of 17 when he left to study in the U.S. After his time in America he toured …
Alan Rickman (1946-2016)
Born: 21st February 1946 Died: 14th January 2016 (69 years) With a screen career that spanned nearly 40 years, Alan Sidney Patrick Rickman started his acting career on stage being awarded a scholarship to RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) at the age of 26. Yet it wasn’t until he was 42 that he made …
Ode to 2016
When a celebrity dies There are cries of “Oh no!”, “Who?” or the main one in my house “I thought they were already dead” You can normally expect another one to be announced within the week But why do we feel such a loss for certain people? Let’s look back at the worst year in …