Stephen Gately was ”real-life Peter Pan”, says his widower

London, May 13 (ANI): Boyzone star Stephen Gately was a real life ‘Peter Pan’, his widower has said.

In an interview with ITV’s This Morning, he said that his husband viewed the world through the eyes of a child and refused to grow up, reports The Mirror.

“Stephen was incredibly childlike, he loved Disney – every year we went to Disney [World] in Florida.

“I just think he never really grew up, he was like a child and children can maybe see more than the rest of us as well.

“They see the world in a different way and Stephen was like that. He was incredibly shy and private as well, but he liked to show off and be the centre of attention – but only in the way that a child does,” he said.

Gately spent four years penning his fantasy novel, The Tree of Seasons, which Cowles called his ‘legacy’.

The star had difficulty in getting the novel published while he was alive due to his lack of formal education.

“His education hadn’t been that great, so he didn’t use any grammar, any punctuation, any capitalisation, so it would be blocks of text that was quite tricky to read actually.

“Every few months, I would take chunks of it and send it to a proof reader and we’d get back a nicely formatted version that I could read!,” Cowles added.

“This is hard work, I’m quite private,” he said. “Stephen always kept me out of the limelight.

“I don’t want to be a celebrity, I don’t like cameras very much and I’m coping day to day, you know… I miss him terribly.

“The picture on the back of the book has been great comfort to me and I find myself kissing him goodnight sometimes because it’s a good size picture to kiss.

“Last night I was asking him for strength for today because I was fearful about coming on the telly but I’ve got to do it for him, because if he was around he’d be doing it himself. And this is his legacy in a way,” he said. (ANI)

Floodwaters trap residents

Up to 200 residents south of the Perry River at Gin Gin, in south-east Queensland, remain isolated with floodwaters continuing to cut access to the Goodnight Scrub Road.

State Emergency Service (SES) volunteers are ferrying trapped residents, with more than 1.5 metres of water over the Perry River Bridge.

The Booyal Crossing on the Burnett River is also closed due to dangerous conditions.

Bundaberg council spokesman Peter Watlin says the Perry River Bridge may remain closed for up to one week.

“We’ve put in place a number of links where they can get to the southern side of Perry River by their own transport,” Mr Watlin said.

“We will ferry them across on the SES emergency boat and then we have a shuttle bus service running from that point into Gin Gin.”

Fish and chips supper, kiss at doorstep sealed Gurkhas’ victory in UK

London, May 22 (ANI): A fish and chips and champagne supper at her London home followed by a goodnight kiss is said to have sealed a deal between actress Joanna Lumley and the British Government to ensure the Gurkhas got residency rights in the United Kingdom.

Lumley played host to Immigration Minister Phil Woolas and is said to have convinced him to end the stand-off over Gurkha residency rights.

“I’m pleased to say we kissed on the doorstep, so there we are. A great injustice has been righted. The Gurkhas are coming home,” The Independent quoted Lumley, as saying.

The Gordon Brown Government’s effective surrender on the issue in the face of a hugely popular campaign came in a Commons statement by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith on Thursday afternoon.

A little later, surrounded by more than 100 former soldiers the Prime Minister talked of his “great privilege” in welcoming the “bravest of all” to Britain.

Gordon Brown also paid tribute to the actress Joanna Lumley who has been the high-profile public face in the fight for Gurkha rights.

He said: ” She has been very persuasive and she has charmed not only the Cabinet, but the whole country.”

She said: “I would like to pay tribute to Gordon Brown the Prime Minister, a brave man who has made a brave decision on behalf of the bravest of the brave. This is a fantastic day for my brothers and sisters. It is so thrilling to have overcome something which has gone on for so long. We knew it would be something good – but this is the best.”

Some campaigners felt kissing Mr Woolas went way beyond the call of duty, but the veterans said they appreciated the work done by the actress, whose father served with the Gurkhas, in securing their victory.

Mohan Bahadur Rai, who had been in the Army for 11 years, said: “We went through some very difficult times on this, and Miss Joanna was always there with us, so we want to thank her for her help. We feel this has been a great achievement for everyone.”

Samser Jang Khastri, 58, who lost a foot after stepping on a landmine in Bosnia in 1997 said yesterday’s decision has made “all my pain worthwhile.” (ANI)

When Bill Clinton chatted up Claire Sweeny by saying his middle leg was dancing

London, Apr 10 (ANI): TV personality Claire Sweeney has revealed that she once had a flirty encounter with then president Bill Clinton, when he tried to make eyes at her.

It was at a costume party in Russia hosted by Cliff Richard that Clinton walked up to Claire and tried to lure her with his cheeky lines.

“Clinton came over to me dressed as an Admiral. He starts chatting me up. His bodyguard came over and told him, ‘Mr President, it’s time to go,” the Sun quoted Claire as saying.

However, Clinton could not succeed in hooking up with her, as his bodyguards came to remind him that it was getting too late.

“I say ‘Bill you want to stay don’t you? Your left leg is dancing’. He says ‘my middle leg is about to start dancing’. I shook his hand and said ‘I’m keeping my dress clean, goodnight Mr President’,” Claire added. (ANI)