ON TWITTER
#NICHOLASPARSONS
The death of the Just a Minute and Sale of the Century host at 96 brought a flood of tributes.
@neilhimself (author Neil Gaiman) said: “Heartbroken. I was thrilled to have been able to work with Nicholas Parsons on Good Omens. I sort of directed him, but the direction was basically ‘You’re Nicholas Parsons so do that’. Kind and professional and a pleasure to work with. So sad.”
@frustratedpoet said: “We should have Just a Minute’s silence in tribute.”
@seanantrim tweeted: “Very sad to hear, a great entertainer and great person. We will remember you Nicholas Parsons.”
@Larmabrexit said: “Not quite a century then. Which is a shame.”
@stealthness said: “RIP Nicholas Parsons, expecting a great 1 min obituary at his funeral.”
@Mateerpaul replied: “With no hesitation, deviation or repetition!”
@Autocarian said: “Desperately sad news. A true, articulate entertainer unlike so many modern day, so-called vacuous ‘celebrities’... thank you for the laughter over so many years.”
@scrapiejane said: “Was beginning to think that he was immortal.”
#NODRBEECHING
The BBC reported that Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has pledged to reverse the Fleetwood railway line closure, along with some other routes that were axed during the Beeching cuts in the 1960s.
@Bessy645 said: “This will reopen less than 0.5% of the 5,000 miles cut by Beeching. It’s a stunt. On the costs quoted, how many billions to reverse cuts?”
@bmc875 said: “25 miles of track in Englandshire – then the budget is bust. A bit like HS2, some say.”
@damocrat said: “If anyone believes the Tories will reverse the Beeching cuts – or, indeed, that it’s even possible, given that large swathes of tracks abandoned in the 60s are now built on – I have a ‘£350m a week for the NHS’ bus for sale.”
@stockfttp replied: “He doesn’t say all, only parts.”
@oliverromain added: “BBC at it again with the Tory spin. Beeching cuts will not be ‘reversed’. A small number of lines could reopen. But reversing the Beeching cuts would require many billions and the creation of a state owned railway. Is this Tory policy? No, I didn’t think so.”