KIKI DEE !!! couldn'e she spell er proper name ? We've got a few actors.. we call em politicians over here AND we got Hobbits  so there.. I think they call em miners up north   Graham :-)     Comic singers? What comic singers, precisely? I only mentioned two singers...... KIKI DEE (aka Pauline Matthews from Bradford), who was a pop icon of the 1970s and 80s. LESLEY GARRETT, a world-famous operatic soprano who is known as the Doncaster Diva, though she was actually born at Thorne. She's as famous here as Kiri Te Kanawa and probably a better singer. As for actors, I didn't know New Zealand had any! -- Roy Stockdill Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE

From: Graham Holmes <medway48@xtra.co.nz> > KIKI DEE !!! couldn'e she spell er proper name ? > We've got a few actors.. we call em politicians over here > AND we got Hobbits  so there.. I think they call em miners up > north >   > Graham :-) >   >   > Comic singers? What comic singers, precisely? I only mentioned two > singers...... > > KIKI DEE (aka Pauline Matthews from Bradford), who was a pop icon of > the 1970s and 80s. > > LESLEY GARRETT, a world-famous operatic soprano who is known as the > Doncaster Diva, > though she was actually born at Thorne. She's as famous here as Kiri > Te Kanawa and > probably a better singer. > > As for actors, I didn't know New Zealand had any!> Well, if you'd been born Pauline Matthews (assuming you were female, of course) and thought you'd stand a better chance of becoming a star as Kiki Dee, what would you do? Why did Harry Webb become Cliff Richard and Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta become Lady Gaga? 'Cos that's what these showbiz folks do! Yes, we have a very considerable number of politicians here too who aren't even good actors. However, we do have some rather superb Yorkshire actors as well and I mentioned a few like Patrick Stewart, Ben Kingsley, Sean Bean, Peter O'Toole, Brian Blessed, Tom Wilkinson, Judi Dench and Diana Rigg in my list of possible presidents of Yorkshire. Really, from some of the messages I've seen, I get the feeling that some people are suffering from a sense of humour bypass! I've never made any secret of the fact that I am a republican but my list of possible presidents was strictly tongue-in-cheek, or is the figure of speech known as IRONY not understood in certain parts of the world? I also find it curious that when I posted a lengthy list of recommendations and advice recently on how to find missing ancestors in the censuses there were no more than a couple of messages of thanks and gratitude. But when I make a few observations about the royals, the roof falls in!!! In my book, discussing the whole concept of royalty is entirely valid because there are some of us who believe that appointments, promotions and successions, etc, should be based entirely on merit and not on accidents of birth. I suggest looking up the definition of what constitutes a meritocracy sometime! The Anglo-Saxons had it right because they had a body called The Witan who chose one they thought would be the best man for the job, not necessarily the son of someone who'd done it before. Final point: yes, I would be among the first to concede that Elizabeth II has done a good job according to her lights, but can anyone deny there were some unmitigated disasters among her predecessors, i.e. Charles II, the man who restored the monarchy, who stole taxes from his subjects to pay for his mistresses and illegitimate kids; James II who ended up being kicked out by his own daughter and son-in-law; George III who went barmy and talked to trees; his son, the grossly corpulent and monstrous George IV. And I could add a few more but I won't bother! -- Roy Stockdill Genealogical researcher, writer & lecturer Newbies' Guide to Genealogy & Family History: www.genuki.org.uk/gs/Newbie.html "There is only one thing in the world worse than being talked about, and that is not being talked about." OSCAR WILDE