On reading (on BBC news website) about Jade’s funeral, small tears appeared in my eyes. Same thing happened when I read of her death. Yes, this is freaky. What’s even more freaky is that such ‘leakage’ didn’t come as any surprise to me.

I have only ever watched one series of Big Brother; the one where Jade came fourth. Yes, forth. The winner was Kate… someone, who I think now does some presenting work for an obscure channel. And I didn’t just ‘watch’ the series; observe it now and then. Oh no. I was hooked. Once a friend had informed me about the magic red button, that if pressed, took you right to the BB house, so you could watch it all live (well, almost)… yikes! Hooked!

Even at that time, before the end of the series, I was amazed at how much attention she was being paid, compared to the others. When it was all over, Graham Norton had her on his show. Only her though – none of the others, not even those who came 1st, 2nd or 3rd! He displayed a map of the British Isles, gave her a pointer and taunted her: Show us ‘East Anguler’ (or whatever it was she called it).

I’ve not watched the other stuff she’s been on, not really being a ‘telly’ kind of person (apart from the freak blip that was BB) but cannot deny having always being slightly drawn to articles or news items about her. Perhaps it’s due to having watched her for so long on BB, being… err… herself. Had there been news items about the other contestants (of that series) I may well have been drawn to them to, but I have a feeling there weren’t any.

As soon as I heard she was dying, I was quite gutted. Should… errr… Brad Pitt or Kate Winslet… drop down dead tomorrow, I would be sad, but not particularly effected. Sorry to sound heartless!
The whole thing has made me re-think about the loss of Princess Di. When the nation ‘mourned’ her, I got a bit cross. Yes, it was tragic that she died. Sure. But people die all the time, and generally, unless we know them, it doesn’t effect us. Only a handful of the mourners (out of the trillions of them) actually knew her or had even met her; how could people be crying and wailing about the loss of someone they’d never met?

Finally I think I get it. I’d never met Jade and didn’t know her in the slightest, but having watched her story unfold, first on BB and then in the media at large, I felt some sort of connection. Sure, I might not be a big fan of some of the things she’s done/said, but then I’m sure you wouldn’t be a fan of everything I’ve done/said… it’s just that you are currently unaware of it! The whole Jade media parade aside, I sincerely think her death is tragic. When I saw pictures of the hundreds (thousands?) of mourners who turned up to watch her funeral on the big screens outside the church, and who left flowers at her house, I got it.

I wonder what other things will happen in my life that might make me back-track, and suddenly ‘get it’… understand why so-and-so acted in such a way when such-and-such happened, etc. After all, it’s been 11 years since Di died.