Causes for Celebration and Sadness

I hate to rejoice in someone's death, but it's difficult not to be very happy that Osama Bin Laden is dead. He should be happy, too - now he must be with all those virgins he encouraged others to commit suicide missions for.


His death did push the death of a much-loved son of Britain down the running order, however. Yesterday, Our 'Enry - heavyweight boxer Henry Cooper - also died, aged 76. He was a lovable character, always gentlemanly and full of cockney charm. The main obstacle to his becoming world champion was that his eyes (or more properly his eyebrows) used to bleed very easily, and many a fight he might otherwise have won was stopped because of it. He was British and European champion for many years. In 2000 he was knighted, thus becoming Sir Henry Cooper.



Henry's greatest achievement was using his famed left hook to floor Cassius Clay, before the young American boxer had become world champion and then changed his name to Muhammad Ali.

Henry had an identical twin brother, George, also a boxer, though less successful, who died almost exactly a year ago.