He left with nothing

THE Londonderry Sentinel can exclusively reveal that a Church of Ireland Rector living in Newbuildings has an addiction - he can be found glued to every episode of the hit TV quiz ‘The Weakest Link’.

It is a condition for which there is no known cure: So, who has a brain only a mother would love? It’s none other than quiz-mad Ivan Dinsmore, Rector of Balteagh, Carrick, Tamlaghtard and Aghanloo, who is proud to admit that he has never missed an episode of the television show during its 11-year run and is equally proud to be an ardent fan of the flame-haired presenter and her acid tongue.

It’s not a difficult stretch, therefore, to guess ‘who was all milk and no Cornflakes®’ not so long ago, when he got to meet his dream woman. Yes, it was Ivan, and he made sure he got a memento of the occasion - a photograph,

The chance meeting occurred in October, when Ivan, who was formerly based at Glendermott Parish Church, turned up at the Europa Hotel in Belfast for an event to do with the Special Olympics. A friend, Richard Edgar, also from Newbuildings, had tickets to the event and had presented a young woman called Nicola, with some of the tickets. Nicola, as it transpired was Ivan’s youth worker when he served in Glendermott.

“Nicola contacted me and she said she had a spare ticket and asked me if I would like it and I said yes,” Rev Dinsmore said, clutching a framed photograph of Anne and himself tightly.

“I have been a fan of The Weakest Link since it started 11 years ago, this year, in March,” he said removing his treasured picture from it’s wooden frame so it could be scanned.Asked what it was like meeting Ms Robinson, and what she was like in real life, he said: “You know she is lovely. Nothing like her television persona. She is a proper lady.

“When we went up to Belfast we had a drinks reception first and then we went in for dinner. This year the celebrity just so happened to be Anne. I love the show and my general knowledge is quite good and I enjoy answering the questions. I also enjoy the put downs and I had lots of one liners ready for her but I did not get to use them,” he said, disappointed.

However, at dinner, Ms Robinson passed his table and ignoring all others, including some high-profile guests, caught the Rector’s eye and uttered the immportal line that would have lesser mortals quivvering in fear: ‘You are the weakest link’.

Dancing and music were scheduled to follow dinner, but due to work commitments Ivan had to go early, so he left with nothing.