Friday 31 May 2013

Clive Dunn - d. November 6th 2012


Your mission;
to bottle a time 
whose vintage is gone,
to give us permission to speak.
Mission accomplished, Clive,
done.

Thursday 30 May 2013

Sylvia Kristel - d. October 18th 2012


You remained soft-focus
in a high-definition world,
but time has now removed
your final garment.

Wednesday 29 May 2013

Andy Williams - d. September 25th 2012


They say Solitaire
is the only game in town,
but a card has gone missing;
time to shut the game down.

Tuesday 28 May 2013

Hal David - d. September 1st 2012



One day we will write
the story of your life,
one third of a perfect pair;
you, Burt and a little prayer.

Monday 27 May 2013

Bill Pertwee - d. May 27th 2013

In the situation comedy 
called Britain,
some are cast as shopkeepers,
others as Napoleon;
both have wars to win.

Read more about Bill Pertwee here

Max Bygraves - d. August 31st 2012



The story goes like this;
a song & dance man,
a wink, a smile, a joke
maybe heard
somewhere before.

Friday 24 May 2013

Neil Armstrong - d. August 25th 2012

-->
A satellite mourns a 
brief acquaintance,
a dutiful man,
quietly fashioning miracles
from moondust

Sid Waddell - d. August 11th 2012



You fell in love with the unlovely,
embraced the poetry of combat,
described your own perfect trajectory.

Thursday 23 May 2013

Sir Bernard Lovell - d. August 6th 2012



You took a scalpel to galaxies,
listened to the hum of pulsars,
breathed the black air of creation.

Wednesday 22 May 2013

Mick McManus - d. May 22nd 2013



You were always the heel
yet still you had a hold on us.
We saw the sly jabs
heard the vain protests;
Not the ears!
Not the ears!

Geoffrey Hughes - d. July 27th 2012



A bin goes unemptied,
a pub shuts early.
In the north of a small country,
a light goes out,
unnoticed.

Tuesday 21 May 2013

Eddie Braben - d. May 21 2013


The things what you wrote,
all those right notes,
were beyond a joke.
I'll give you that, sunshine,
I'll give you that.

Ernest Borgnine - d. July 8, 2012




Your face like underdone pork,
your voice a handful of stones,
your passing a capsizing of sorts,
a visual effect.

About Otwituaries

I started writing these poetic obituaries via Twitter on the death of Ernest Borgnine in July 2012. A friend asked if I would gather them together, so I have created this blog as an archive and will post one of the 'old' ones retrospectively every few days till I catch up. New otwituaries will appear here as well as being broadcast via Twitter and Facebook. 

All the Otwituaries are written very quickly on the day their subjects pass away, so are maybe a little lacking in polish, but they are all from the heart. They represent the people who have, in some way, touched my life - actors, sportsmen and women, TV personalities, writers, musicians and explorers. These people are already immortal, and therefore don't need my help, but I hope you enjoy reading the poems all the same.