I cast the shadow of death again.

Once again - the day I look someone up on Wikipedia they die.

This time - it's poor old Patricia Neal. I was trying to find out if The Fountainhead was available on DVD yet, so I looked her up and did a bit of scoping about online ( it isn't ) and this morning it was the first thing I head when the alarm went off.

Aside from being the long time Mrs Roal Dahl, she was an astonishing actress and once described as 'a blonde with dark looks'.

I really liked The Fountainhead, I'm not that sure it really recreated Ayn Rand's book the way she would have wanted - but it's an exceptional film with some genius effects and art direction. I used to have a hardback first impression with an amazing dust cover - but it vanished years ago when I lived in London.

Glenda Jackson once played Patricia Neal in the biopic of her life, with the ever versatile Dirk Bogarde as Roal. I wonder if Sofie has been asked to cater the funeral lunch - I doubt it will be sandwiches in the room at the back of he pub.