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Wossname – June 2018 – Main issue
Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
June 2018 (Volume 21, Issue 6, Post 1)
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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
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Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not Aliss
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)
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INDEX:
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) ODDS AND SODS
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
06) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
07) ROUNDWORLD TALES
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE
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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"The late & much regretted Terry Pratchett had a knack for developing pretty cool ideas in a humorous & lighthearted way (unlike most philosophers, who develop tedious ideas tediously)."
– blogger There Could Be Badgers gets to the heart of it
"Do the Interesting Times! And the Last Hero! Because you GET IT. Other movie makers have tried, but you actually seem to get what is so interesting and fun about sir Pratchett's stories! Oh gods, do them all :D but mostly Cohen, because man, you nailed him here!"
– Pratchett fan Irys Korsak, commenting on the Troll Bridge trailer
...and a different sort of quote: Stephen Briggs' tweet in which he says how much he enjoyed making the audio versions of Discworld books, and various replies showing their appreciation for his work: https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1006852038058283008
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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
The Chalke Valley History Festival is now in session – and the Shed of Doom is LIVE! And a new feature has been added: Paul Kidby will be "in conversation" with Rob Wilkins at the Shed of Doom at 11.30am on Sunday 1st July. The event is free with your Festival entry ticket, so do go along with your questions and compliments.
*
Waterstones Leeds will be having a "Sir Terry Pratchett Quiz" next month! They say: "A prize quiz for fans of the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Includes a picture round. Team size 1–4 people. Prizes for winning team. Note – seating is limited and it is possible that this event may sell out early."
When: Saturday 21st July
Venue: Waterstones Leeds, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5AP
Time: 5pm to 6.30pm
Tickets: £3, bookable online at https://www.waterstones.com/events/sir-terry-pratchett-quiz/leeds#ticketscript
For further details, phone 01132444588
https://www.waterstones.com/events/sir-terry-pratchett-quiz/leeds
*
Colin Smythe, Terry Pratchett's original discoverer and lifetime literary agent, is looking for your help to solve a mystery:
"Many readers have wondered whether Terry’s American editors made changes to his text. Terry was always consulted, and would himself make changes while proof reading the US text to make sure there was no misunderstanding of his meaning, using words and phrases that would be familiar to readers on the other side of the Pond – two nations divided by the same language, sort of thing. But there were occasions when, during his proof-reading of the different editions he would revise the text...."
On Colin's website (featured before in Wossname, but located at http://colinsmythe.co.uk in case anyone forgot...), he lists as an example some differences between versions in certain parts of the text of Thief of Time, and says, "These are the only passages I’ve noticed as I don’t usually read American editions, but there must be more waiting to be found. If you do discover any, please let me know." So if you have ever come across differences between the UK and USA or Australian (or...?) versions of a Discworld novel, send them along! For the record, you Editor did find differences between the Irish/UK and Australian versions of ToT, and will be trawling through galley proofs looking for others.
To read the request with examples, go to: http://colinsmythe.co.uk/miscellaneous-notes/ (second item on the page).
*
It looks like the long-awaited Troll Bridge film is finally in its ready-to-go form. Not before time! See item 3.
*
Last but far from least, a relevant bit of news. The owner of a small independent bookshop in Yorkshire, having had a "worst day ever" for custom, tweeted an appeal to the general public – "if anyone was thinking about buying a book now would be a great time! Things have been tough recently - today the worst day ever. A card, a book, anything makes a huge difference to a small business like ours. We'd be very grateful for your support" – and was inundated with replies, encouragement, retweets... and most importantly, a bumper crop of orders (_https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-44640121_). And given that Georgia Duffy's bookshop is called ImaginedThings , your Editor imagines that there are probably some Pratchett titles available for purchase (and Gaiman, and Baxter, et cetera)... and most importantly of all, let's never forget that it was bricks and mortar bookshops, including small ones, that gave our favourite author the success he so richly deserved. So the next time you want to buy a book and are tempted to patronise an internet-only, neighbourhood-destroying retail giant, please think at least twice about taking the time to visit and support your local bookshop instead.
And now, on with the show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
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03) ODDS AND SODS
3.0 REMINDER: DISCWORLD AND BEYOND!
Paul Kidby's Discworld and Beyond exhibition is still on at the Bucks Museum in Aylesbury through the 30th of this month (this Saturday, in other words), after which it will move to the Maidstone Museum – opening on 7th July and running though to 2nd September, with tickets priced at £4 for adults, £2 for children and £10 per family ticket.
Currently...
When: now through 30th June 2018
Venue: Bucks County Museum, 9 Church Street, Aylesbury, Bucks HP20 2QP
Times: Tuesdays–Saturdays, 10am – 5pm.
Tickets: the charge for admission is £4 for adults (under-18s by donation)
http://www.buckscountymuseum.org/museum/events/536/paul-kidby-discworld-and-beyond-the-art-of-terry-pratchett/
Next month...
When: 7th July–2nd September 2018
Venue: the Maidstone Museum, St. Faith's Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LH
Time: Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm, Sunday 12pm–4pm
Tickets: £4 for adults, £2 for children and £10 per family ticket, available online at https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/whats-on/events/paul-kidby-discworld-beyond/
https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/
3.1 TERRY PRATCHETT: HISWORLD WINS AWARD!
The wildly successful Terry Pratchett: HisWorld exhibit at the Salisbury Museum has won an award much coveted in the museum sector. From Spire FM:
"An exhibition at Salisbury Museum honouring the life and work of South Wiltshire author Sir Terry Pratchett has been given a national award. The HisWorld displays at the Cathedral Close museum ran from September 2017 to January 2018, attracting more than 21,000 people from all over the world. Now, it's been crowned the best Temporary or Touring Exhibition in the UK at the Museums + Heritage Awards. The Salisbury exhibition won against some stiff competition too – including from the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Museums in Liverpool. The judges have explained why they picked Salisbury's tribute to a local writing legend: 'The judges were impressed by the immediacy of this exhibition, which demonstrated great emotional connection as well as positive collaboration with the family and which resulted in a marked change in visitor demographics and brilliant trading results.'..."
https://www.spirefm.co.uk/news/local-news/2582381/award-win-for-salisburys-terry-pratchett-exhibition/
The official Museums and Heritage Twitter account tweeted:
Winner Temporary or Touring category is @Salisburymuseum for Terry Pratchett: His World “an exhibition which demonstrated great emotional connection and which resulted in a marked change in visitor demographics” #MandHAwards
Paul Kidby tweeted:
"Thrilled that #HisWorld @SalisburyMuseum won best Temporary or Touring Exhibition at Museums + Heritage Awards They described it “an exhibition which demonstrated great emotional connection which resulted in a marked change in visitor demographics”. Bravo and thanks to all."
Stephen Briggs tweeted:
I gather from a friend in the museum business that it was up against some tough competition (Science Museum, National Trust, V&A etc) so particularly well done to them!!!
Richard Henry, who curated the exhibit, tweeted:
Privileged to have been part of @terryandrob #HisWorld @SalisburyMuseum. Thank you to everyone who was involved
Sophia Sample (visitor services at the Salisbury Museum) tweeted:
What a night! Can't we won best temporary exhibition for at #MandHAward. A massive congratulations to @richardhenryflo and a nod above to @terryandrob. And a huge thank you to all that came to @SalisburyMuseum to share this experience. We enjoyed meeting every single one of you!
...and the last word goes to the official Pratchett Twitter account, @terryandrob:
Thank you @MandHShow awards Thank you @SalisburyMuseum Thank you @PaulKidby Thank you @rhipratchett Thank you @Kismet_Photos Thank you @Discworld_com Thank you @richardhenryflo Thank you to all the fabulous volunteers. And thank you to everyone who visited #HisWorld.
https://twitter.com/SalisburyMuseum
3.2 NEW UNSEEN ACADEMICALS AUDIOBOOK!
For audiobook fans, some exciting news – a new audiobook of Unseen Academicals, read by an all-star cast, will be released next week (2nd July):
"This Audible Original multicast dramatisation is directed by the multi award-winning Dirk Maggs, best known for his adaptations of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere for the BBC. Starring: Tom Alexander, Samantha Béart, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Mark Benton, Stephen Briggs, Stephen Critchlow, Jon Culshaw, Phil Davis, Ray Fearon, Tony Gardner, Edward Harrison, David Holt, Mathew Horne, David Jason, Josie Lawrence, Toby Longworth, Harry Myers, Maggie Service, Andrew Spooner, Steven Webb, Keith Wickham and Jaime Winstone."
https://bit.ly/2ttjfqz
3.3 GAME FOR A MOD!
We know Sir Pterry was a fan of Hex games and even participated in the creation of Discworld ones, but did you know he participated in the creative process of some non-Discworld games as well? By Ian Boudreau on PC GamesN:
"The late Terry Pratchett is perhaps best known as the beloved and prolific author of the Discworld novels, but it turns out he spent some time in another fantasy universe, too. Pratchett was an enthusiastic Elder Scrolls fan, and even contributed writing to mods for Oblivion and Skyrim... 'What is so magnificent, and this warms my soul, is the concept of games modding,' he said. Pratchett was much less interested in following Oblivion’s story than in finding mods that made the world more immersive, and the amount of detail and time modders sunk into their work continuously impressed him. Pratchett enjoyed making cheese and boots and running a little vineyard, complete with seven employees who his character would pay at the end of each in-game week. I just enjoy the fact in this world that is rather controlled by commerce, there is this inner world of people giving up their time and effort to perfect some little detail about a computer game for the delectation of others,' he said.
The full interview is available both in audio and text transcript at (_ http://theauthorhour.com/terry-pratchett/extras.php?autoplay=y_)
https://www.pcgamesn.com/terry-pratchett-oblivion-mods
...and by Aimee Hart for Game Revolution:
"Not only was Pratchett an avid fan of the two games, but he also wrote mods for them too. This discovery was found out by David Oneacre, an animator based in Boston. Oneacre noticed a transcript of cut content from an interview Pratchett gave on The Author Hour radio program back in 2009, where he was then asked by the host what his favorite video game was. His answer was Oblivion. However, while the vanilla game was beautiful and inspiring by itself, Pratchett found himself drawn to something else entirely... There's one thing to play the mods that people have created, but contributing to a mod yourself with your own writing is entirely something else. Pratchett found time to write over 100 lines for a companion mod in Oblivion for a character named Vilja, a Nord alchemist. What's more, Pratchett even wrote a version for Skyrim, where Vilja's great-great-granddaughter is the companion..."
http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/391475-terry-pratchett-was-a-modder-for-oblivion-and-skyrim
3.4 AT LONG LAST, TROLL BRIDGE!
At long last, Troll Bridge! With fewer than 1,000 elephants! But yes, there is now a complete trailer, and the – we're told – completed film has been submitted for consideration to several independent film festivals.
Here be trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJIaTBB72CM
Here be a word from Snowgum Films: "TROLL BRIDGE exists because an awful lot of people around the world though it should. Special thanks to The Pratchett Estate, Discworld.com, The Foundry, Shotgun Software, GarageFarm.NET Render Farm, Golaem, our 400+ volunteer pool, and over 2,000 backers. Every frame pressed with love – this is your production."
There is also a read-worthy musing about the Discworld series in general and Troll Bridge in particular, here:
https://popcultureuncovered.com/2018/05/25/troll-bridge-sweeter-than-fresh-mined-treacle/
3.5 AN EGGY BIT OF CLOWNWORLD, ER, ROUNDWORLD
We've covered this one before, but it never gets old! Special thanks to Mrs Cake of Bugarup University for sending this. By Jennifer Nalewicki for Smithsonian:
"Debbie Smith has her work cut out for her. Since 2010 she has been the artist responsible for recording the likeness of every clown registered with Clowns International, the oldest established organization for clowns in the United Kingdom. It’s a seemingly straight-forward task—that is, until you discover what she uses as a canvas: eggs. She has tradition to thank for using such a tiny—and fragile—canvas. The late Stan Bult, founder of the International Circus Clowns Club (now Clowns International), began the practice in the 1940s. Though not a clown himself, Bult was a clown enthusiast, and would capture the appearances of various clowns by painting them onto hollowed-out eggs as a way to copyright their facial features, ensuring that no two clowns looked the same. Eventually the collection grew into what is now the Clown Egg Registry, a compendium of hundreds of eggs housed inside the London Clowns’ Gallery-Museum in the UK. Over time, future egg artists transitioned to using ceramic eggs rather than real ones, since they’re less prone to breakage, but beyond that the technique remains largely the same, with artists recreating everything from a clown’s bulbous red nose to his or her polka-dot tie to the most minute details that set one clown apart from the rest... It’s not uncommon for Smith, a clown herself (aka Jolly Dizzy the Clown) to spend up to three days painting a portrait, often working on several in tandem, painting the clowns either in person or from a photograph. She’ll also create duplicates of eggs, one for the clown to keep as a memento and one for the museum..."
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/gallery-london-houses-dozens-clown-egg-portraits-180968914/
[Note: the London Clown's Gallery-Museum is open on the first Friday of the month from noon to 5 p.m. – Ed.]
3.6 MORE THREATS TO ORANGUTANS
Having spent some time today watching the beautiful and clever orangutan family at Melbourne Zoo, this news makes me angrier than ever:
"Borneo is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet and has some of the world's oldest forests. In Ketapang, in West Kalimantan province, the light dances through the thick canopy. It's hard to see more than a few metres through the tangle of vines and branches. But from the air, a canal 9km long can be seen cutting a scar into the thick green carpet of the forest. It's the first part of a project by the Indonesian company PT Mohairson Pawan Khatulistiwa (MPK), which wants to develop the land as a logging plantation... An environmental assessment report was commissioned to secure the licence, but it made no mention of orangutans nor of the other animals in the area. Yet, between 800 and 1,000 critically endangered orangutans call this forest their home, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the state Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BKSDA) in partnership with international environmental groups. That makes it the largest orangutan population living outside of a protected area in Indonesia, said the report. If the logging goes ahead, they will lose their home. International Animal Rescue (IAR) Indonesia runs a nearby rescue and rehabilitation centre, taking in homeless and orphaned orangutans. 'There is no way we can rescue over 1,000 orangutans,' says the IAR's national head, Karmele Llano Sanchez. 'So we are going to lose one of the most important orangutan populations we have left. With populations rapidly declining, every orangutan counts.'..."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44380704
3.7 NEW DISCWORLD IMAGINARIUM CALENDAR!
For those of us who would love to own Paul Kidby's amazing Discworld Imaginarium book but find it a bit out of our price range, here's just the thing – a 2019 calendar featuring some of the Imaginarium art:
"Get organised and add some Pratchett magic to your duties and appointments with the official Discworld Calendar 2019! Features some of the most iconic illustrations from Terry Pratchett's Discworld by cover artist Paul Kidby as featured in the incredible Discworld Imaginarium!"
The 2019 Discworld Calendar is priced at an affordable £14.99 and will be published on 23rd August. For more information, and to pre-order, go to:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/diaries-calendars/468-discworld-collector-s-edition-calendar-2019
3.8 ...AND UBERWALD STAMPS!
The Discworld Emporium's version of Teemer and Spools has been busy:
"A limited edition sheet of stamps from the Uberwald Post Office created in celebration of the Uberwald League of Temperance in recognition of its noble quest to spare the necks of Discworld's humble citizens - AVAILABLE WHILE STOCKS LAST!"
The collection includes the Uberwald 60 Bizot Coffin limited edition sheet (priced at £ 15 each), the Uberwald 30 Bizot stamp ("An enchanting issue from the Uberwald Post Office featuring Dontgonearthe Castle, ancient seat of the De Magpyr vampire dynasty, and home to Igor and his carefully curated cobwebs, creaking doors and dust!", 45p each), and the Pain in ze Neck Little Brown Envelope (" A limited edition lucky-dip assortment of Discworld Stamps inspired by Dave's Pin & Stamp Exchange! This latest 'Little Brown Envelope' introduces new issues from the mysterious mountainous region of Uberwald – home to vampires, werewolves, Igors dwarfs, trolls and centaurs!", £5 each).
For more information, and to order, go to https://www.discworldemporium.com/
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04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
Editor's note: as Wossname normally only comes out once every month, do check the Wossname blog for information on plays that might fall between issue dates! Go to https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/ to see interim updates.
4.1 PLAYS IN JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST
* GUARDS! GUARDS! IN SUNBURY (JUNE)
The Riverside Players are staging their production of Guards!Guards! right now!
When: tonight (29th) and 30th June
Venue: Riverside Arts Centre, Sunbury, TW16 5QF UK
Time: 7.30pm all evening shows, plus a 2.30pm matinee on the 30th
Tickets: £12, available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/FHGHKJ ( £1.50 booking fee applies)
https://www.manorplayers.org/
* WYRD SISTERS IN SHEFFIELD (JULY)
The Company’s production of Wyrd Sisters, already staged earlier this month, has a return date scheduled for July: "Adapted by Stephen Briggs (who assures us the cast should still be able to be in the pub by 10 o’clock) and presented by The Company, a group of players who don't so much stroll but saunter vaguely pubwards."
When: 11th July 2018
Venue: The University Drama Studio, Shearwood Road, Sheffield S10 2TD on 13th–16th June, and outdoors on Dore Village Green on 11th July
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £8.50 (concessions £5.5), available online at https://www.thecompanysheffield.co.uk/boxoffice/ or £9 (concessions £6) on the door.
https://www.thecompanysheffield.co.uk/productions/wyrdsisters/
https://www.thecompanysheffield.co.uk/aboutus/howtofind.php
* WYRD SISTERS IN SWANSEA (JULY)
The Pontlliw Players will present their production of Wyrd Sisters in July
When: 26th–28th July 2018
Venue: Pontlliw Village Hall, Carmel Rd, Pontlliw, Swansea SA4 9EX
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £7, available from the Box Office by phoning 01792 897833 or 07986 135341, or by emailing tickets@pvh_online.org.uk
http://www.pvh-online.org.uk/
* LORDS AND LADIES IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (JULY)
Beaconsfield Theatre Group and The Young Theatre will co-present Irana Brown’s adaptation of Lords and Ladies in July: "With a cast of larger-than-life wizards, witches, yokels, rude mechanicals, elves, trolls, a dwarf, orangutan (not a monkey!) and Oberonesque King of the Fairies; With a Royal Wedding, live band and quirky folk songs and an exciting talent-filled collaboration between Beaconsfield Theatre Group and The Young Theatre – this show promises to be a visual summer feast of funny and fun Discworldian entertainment not to be missed!"
When: 26th–29th July 2018
Venue: Davenies School, Station Road, Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 1AA (open-air production!)
Time: 7.30pm (26th– 27th); two matinee performances at noon and 4pm on the 28th; one matinee, 2pm on the 29th
Tickets: "Ye olde Box Office opens soon" (phone 07572 657535)
All profits from the production will go to The Alzheimer’s Society and Young Minds.
https://btg-theatre.org/lords–ladies.html
* TAMAHER IN MICHIGAN (JULY)
The Young Artisan Workshop Children's Theatre will be staging their production of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, directed by Sadonna Croff, at the Riverwalk Theatre in late July!
When: 26th–29th July 2018
Venue: Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Dr, Lansing, Michigan 48933 (phone 517-482-5700)
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: TBA on http://www.riverwalktheatre.com/box-office.html
"Tickets purchased on-line can be picked up at the Riverwalk Theatre office during regular office hours, (Tues - Fri, 10 am - 5:30 pm) or 1/2 hour before the show at the box office window. We do not mail tickets unless requested. 'SENIORS' are age 55+. Students are High School and younger or College with ID. Children are 12 and under. When we receive your sale via PayPal/e-mail, we will assign the best available seats and send you an e-mail confirmation with the seat assignments. We charge a SERVICE FEE of $2.00 per ticket on all Credit Card Sales in-house. ($2.00 per ticket online as well)"
http://www.riverwalktheatre.com/
* THE TRUTH IN CARDIFF (AUGUST)
Peculiar Productions’ first Discworld play will be The Truth, directed by Ellen Warren! "Peculiar Productions is a Cardiff-based multimedia production company. We aim to produce two large shows or projects a year, and we try to make one of those an adaptation of a work by beloved British fantasy-comedy author Sir Terry Pratchett. All our members are volunteers, and the proceeds of these large projects are donated to a chosen charity, which we announce alongside each production or project."
When: 22nd–25th August 2018,
Venue: The Gate Arts Centre, Keppoch Street, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3JW
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £9 (£7 concessions; £1.25 processing fee applies if paying online or via Paypal), already available online at https://peculiarproductions.co.uk/tickets/ or by cheque or bank transfer via email: info@peculiarproductions.co.uk. If using Paypal (_https://www.paypal.com/uk/signin_), payment should be made to info@peculiarproductions.co.uk – and "please ensure that you tell us which performance you are booking for by adding a note." Credit card and Paypal payments can also be made to http://peculiar_productions.fikket.com/
Proceeds from this production go to Cardiff Mind. If you’re interested in helping out on stage or behind the arras, or would just like to know more about the Peculiar Productions team, go to https://peculiarproductions.co.uk/about/
4.2 PLAYS LATER IN 2018
* MEN AT ARMS IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS (OCTOBER/NOVEMBER)
It will be a bit of a wait, but the Brisbane Arts Centre's next Discworld production – Men at Arms – is already looking good! All props to Fourecks for keeping the Disc alive on stage: "Men at Arms is the 15th novel in Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, a comic fantasy universe with over 80 million books sold worldwide. Aficionados and newcomers to the Disc will love this adaptation, brought to life by the expertise of our Pratchett team."
When: 6th October through 3rd November 2018
Venue: Brisbane Arts Centre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Petrie Terrace (yes, the suburb and the road share a name), Brisbane, Queensland 4000
Time: 7.30pm Thursdays, 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 6.30pm Sundays. "Doors close 5 minutes prior to performance. Late entry is not permitted."
Tickets: AU$34 ($28 concession or groups of 10 or more), available now online at http://bit.ly/2zHKO5a – and there will be Student Rush tickets priced at $15, available from the box office 15 minutes prior to curtain on the dates
https://www.artstheatre.com.au/menatarms
* HOGFATHER IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER)
The Studio Theatre Club’s next Discworld production will be Hogfather! – or as they say it, "another of our world Premiere Terry Pratchett shows, dramatised by Terry’s friend, Stephen Briggs". This is a change from the previously announced staging of The Science of Discworld: Judgement Day.
When: 14th–17th November 2018
Venue: the Unicorn Theatre, Medieval Abbey Buildings, Checker Walk, Abingdon,, Oxon OX14 3JB
Time: TBA
Tickets: on sale from 1st August, details to follow
[And now, already, rehearsals have started! – Ed.]
http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/beyond-quality-street
* GOING POSTAL IN BRISTOL (DECEMBER)
The Kelvin Players will be staging Going Postal in December 2018. Keep an eye on their website: "Moist von Lipwig was a con artist, a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet. It was a tough decision. With the help of a golem who has been at the bottom of hole in the ground for over two hundred years, a pin fanatic and Junior Postman Groat, he’s got to see that the mail gets through. In taking on the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer, he’s also got to stay alive. Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too. In the mad world of the mail, can a criminal succeed where honest men have failed and died? Perhaps there’s a shot at redemption for man who’s prepared to push the envelope..."
When: 5th–8th and 12th–15th December 2018
Venue: Kelvin Studios, 253B Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NY
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: TBA
http://www.kelvinplayers.co.uk/coming-soon
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05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
The Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club at Waterstones Leeds meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6pm in the Cafe W coffee shop (in Waterstones), to discuss a Pratchett book. "Everyone is welcome, even if you have not read the book. There is no need to register – just come along. For details on which book we are reading this month check out our events listing on waterstones.com (_https://www.waterstones.com/events/search/shop/leeds-93_)."
The next meeting of the Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club will be on Tuesday 10th July from 6pm to 6.45pm at Waterstones, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5JS. (phone 0113 244 4588). "This month we're discussing Witches Abroad, one of the funniest Discworld books."
https://www.waterstones.com/events/sir-terry-pratchett-book-club/leeds-50095
https://www.waterstones.com/events/search/shop/leeds-93/category/6
*
The Broken Drummers, "London’s Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group" (motto "Nil percussio est"), will be meeting next from 7pm on Monday 2nd July 2018 at the Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London, W2 1JQ. "We welcome anyone and everyone who enjoys Sir Terry’s works, or quite likes them or wants to find out more. We have had many visitors from overseas who have enjoyed themselves and made new friends. The discussions do not only concern the works of Sir Terry Pratchett but wander and meander through other genres and authors and also leaping to TV and Film production. We also find time for a quiz."
For more information, email BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk or join their Facebook group (if you must) at https://www.facebook.com/groups/55107511411/permalink/10156634038566412/
*
Canberra, Australia’s Discworld fan group is Drumknott's Irregulars: "The group is open to all, people from interstate and overseas are welcome, and our events will not be heavily themed. Come along to dinner for a chat and good company. We welcome people from all fandoms (and none) and we would love to see you at one of our events, even if you’re just passing through. Please contact us via Facebook (_https://www.facebook.com/groups/824987924250161/_) or Google Groups (_https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars_) or join us at our next event."
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For Facebook users in Fourecks: The Victorian Discworld Klatch is "a social group for fans of Discworld and Terry Pratchett... run by a dedicated team who meet monthly and organise events monthly." "If you’d like to join our events please ask to join the Klatch."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch
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"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)" is a public Facebook meeting group: "This group, by request of Jo in Bear will continue to be used for future unofficial (not run by the Emporium) fan Gatherings in Wincanton. Look here for information."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/
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The Pratchett Partisans are a fan group who meet monthly at either Brisbane or Indooroopilly to "eat, drink and chat about all things Pratchett. We hold events such as Discworld dinners, games afternoons, Discworld photo scavenger hunts. We also attend opening night at Brisbane Arts Theatre's Discworld plays." The Partisans currently have about 200 members who meet at least twice a month, usually in Brisbane.
For more info about their next meetup, join up at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula directly at uwilmott@yahoo.com.au
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The City of Small Gods is a group for fans in Adelaide and South Australia: "We have an established Terry Pratchett & Discworld fan group in Adelaide called The City of Small Gods, which is open to anyone who would like to come – you don’t have to live in Adelaide or even South Australia, or even be a Discworld fan, but that’s mostly where our events will be held, and we do like discussing Pratchett’s works. Our (semi-) regular meetings are generally held on the last Thursday of the month at the Caledonian, 219 O’Connell St North Adelaide. We have dinner at 6.30pm followed by games until 9pm. The games are usually shorter games like Pairs, Sushi Go, or Tiny Epic Defenders, with the occasional Werewolf session, as these are the best sort of games that work in a pub setting. Every few months, we have a full day’s worth of board games at La Scala Cafe, 169 Unley Rd, Unley in the function room starting at 10am. In addition, we will occasionally have other events to go and see plays by Unseen Theatre Company, book discussions, craft, chain maille or costuming workshops or other fun social activities."
The next CoSG events will be a Board Games Day at La Scala Cafe on Sunday 15th July, the Monthly Dinner on Thursday 26th July (location TBA), and a discussion of TAMAHER on Saturday 28th July at Kappy's Coffee and Tea, 1/22 Compton Street,[Adelaide (_http://kappys.com.au/_).
The CoSG also have another identity. Here’s the skinny:
Round World Events SA Inc is a not-for-profit incorporated association whose aim is to run fun social Pratchett-themed events for people in South Australia. Our first major event was the Unseen University Convivium held in July 2012. We have also run three successful and booked out Science Fiction and Fantasy themed quiz nights named Quiz Long And Prosper, in 2013, 2014 and 2015! The association will run some events under the City of Small Gods banner, but you do not have to be a Round World Events SA member to be part of City of Small Gods. However, we are always on the look out for new members for Round World Events SA to help us organise future events! Membership is $20 a year (for Adelaide locals) or $5 a year (for those not quite so close) and has the following benefits:
A shiny membership certificate all of your very own
Discounted entry price to some of the events we run
A warm, fuzzy feeling deep down in your chest (no, not quite that deep)
For more information, or to join as a member, please email RoundWorldEventsSA@gmail.com
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au
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The Broken Vectis Drummers meet next on Thursday 5th July 2018 (probably) from 7.30pm at The Castle pub in Newport, Isle of Wight. For more info and any queries, contact broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk
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The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) next meets on Friday 6th July 2018 (possibly) at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn from 7pm onwards. "Visitors and drop-ins are always welcome!"
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The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of Flatalists, a Pratchett fangroup, has been meeting on a regular basis since 2005. The Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, to discuss "all things Pratchett" as well as having quizzes and raffles. Details of future meetings are posted on the Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum:
http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/
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Sydney Drummers (formerly Drummers Downunder) meet next on Monday 2nd July 2018 (possibly) at 6.30pm in Sydney at 3 Wise Monkeys, 555 George Street, Sydney 2000. For more information, contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk
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The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers, meet next on Monday 2nd July 2018 (possibly) from 5.30pm at Carpe Cafe, 526 Murray Street, Perth, Western Australia. For details follow Perth Drummers on Twitter @Perth_Drummers or join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/ – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>
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06) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
This month sees some new Pratchett bloggers and an interesting range of topics...
Blogger There Could Be Badgers muses on narrativium (the element, not the Roundworld company):
"Narrativium is the element that ensures the correct functioning of narrative causality – that is, the hypothesis that events follow a certain course because that’s what the story requires. This is, of course, not at all true of the universe in which humanity has evolved but, with some notable exceptions, it’s certainly the universe most human beings inhabit... as Pratchett et al remark, even the physical laws we choose in order to explain our universe are determined by our particular, human perspective. We cut the universe up into sequences of discrete events, and generally impose 'beginnings' and 'endings' on these sequences (indeed, there’s a current of philosophical thought that holds that events are nothing but beginnings, endings, and changes). Even causation, that stalking horse of empirical observation, is ambiguous: do we describe events as linked in causal chains because that is the way the universe functions, or do we impose causal chains on the universe because that is the way our narrative imperatives function? Humans think in stories…"
https://therecouldbebadgers.wordpress.com/2018/06/16/on-the-fictional-reality-of-worlds/
Blogger Rain and Ink "fangirls" on her favourite writer:
"I’m not sure how I missed Pratchett at first. He is a writer that I love reading. I started reading his books on a friend’s recommendation and since then I’ve ravenously, voraciously read as much of his work as I can. The publication of his final book, completed by his assistant Rob Wilkins due to Pratchett’s demise, was bittersweet news – Pratchett’s books are gifts of joy to his readers, but knowing that this was the final Pratchett was deeply saddening. I bought the book, and initially fantasised about saving it for my last day – then, there’d always be one more Pratchett to read. I eventually succumbed to curiosity and temptation and read it anyway. Why Pratchett as the one writer, if forced to limit myself, that I’d be happy to read for the rest of my life? So many reasons – here are just a few of them:
"His books are diverse. He’s known for writing comedic fantasy; but what is less well known about his genre is that within the frame of comedic fantasy he writes detective stories, adventure stories, romance, political thrillers, supernatural plots – anything and everything. His books are not fluff – he said himself that some readers/reviewers had 'accused' him of literature, and that is true. Often people get put off by the idea of fantasy, assuming that fantasy books are meaningless, nonsensical or not 'true literature' (whatever that means). This is not true – and Pratchett is the perfect writer to prove this point. His books will always make you think, they have more depth than a cursory perusal of the plot summary would suggest. His books, as I said before, are gifts of joy. There’s something about reading a Pratchett that is always uplifting. You’re instilled with hope – you believe that things can be better, that people can be better, that YOU can be better, that the world can be better. His compassion, humanity and keen sense of justice shine through..."
https://rainandink.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/fangirling-interlude-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Thoughtful Pigeon gets to grips with the Discworld Colouring Book in a long and detailed post:
"This colouring book has images from various stories, along with excerpts from the books themselves on a lot of the pages next to the full page images and surrounded by their own art too so you have the link to the Terry Pratchett works there too. It’s been around for a couple of years, it was first published in 2016, but somehow I’ve missed it. I think it came out just after I’d bought a few too many colouring books and was taking a break but it’s in my collection now. I bought this from the Discworld Emporium, though I’ve seen it on Amazon since, and it cost £9.99. I don’t know if there’s any difference for those who originally created the book where you get it from but I like the extra Discworld touches from them so would recommend them anyway, you can see what I mean in my haul post, they’re very fast at delivery too. They also have an artists version where you can pull out the artwork to display it and these normally have thicker paper, I’m not sure if that’s the case here but it would definitely be easier if you plan on displaying the pictures when you’d coloured them. It’s worth knowing that it does cost £5 more though so it’s up to you which style you prefer..."
https://thoughtfulpigeon.com/2018/06/13/book-review-terry-pratchetts-discworld-colouring-book-illustrated-by-paul-kidby/
Blogger This Sporadic Life meets Mort:
"This was not our first foray into the Discworld Universe, but it was the first book either of us had directly interacted with. We’ve see the Color of Magic movie several times and are already familiar with several of the characters in the world. This story focuses on Mort, who begins life as a bundle of elbows, completely inept in all that he does. As the story progresses Mort becomes the apprentice to Death and begins to help out in Deaths duty of culling souls into the next life... As the story progresses Mort becomes more competent and is able to take over Death’s duties while Death takes a holiday. As he takes on these new duties he becomes more real. The physical world effects him less because it’s not as real as he is. The idea of realness is a fascinating one to me. I’ve only seen it once before, in my favorite fiction story, The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis. In that story, their are Ghosts who are mere shades of beings. Their realness is lacking, and the world they enter is painful to them because of how real it is... I can’t say for sure that Terry Pratchett took this idea from Lewis, but I can say that it is the same concept..."
https://thissporadiclife.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/review-mort/
Blogger Kibbin's Codex is a Death fan, but less enamoured of Mort itself:
"We're only four books in but I think it’s safe to say that we already have a clear winner for most popular Discworld character. Now perhaps it’s not one you might expect and I suspect it might not have been the one who Sir Terry suspected when he first wrote about a terrible wizard and hapless tourist. Yet he is already stepping out of the background and into the leading role. Well maybe co-lead... Death isn’t looking to expand or anything but is just struggling to keep his mind on his work. He knows all about how life ends and yet feels like he knows so little about the subject itself. Work, hobbies and friends are all a mystery to the Grim Reaper and so after showing Mort the ropes let him have at it while he tries to wrap his head around things like alcohol and cats... I must confess that there might be someone of a higher authority on this book than me and that’s Terry himself. He’s gone on record as saying that for him this is where the series really begins and I have to agree but it’s also the point where the jokes started serving the story rather than the other way around and that’s true too..."
https://kibbinscodex.wordpress.com/2018/05/31/what-us-mort/
Blogger Tegan Stevenson's review of Equal Rites:
"Taken at face value Equal Rites is an adventure fantasy story where a young girl is fated to become a wizard despite the many, many obstacles in her way. Eskarina, commonly referred to as Esk throughout the book, is the eighth daughter of an eighth son but, as the blurb says, the wizard Drum Billet didn’t check whether or not she was a boy before he passed his magic on to her. The title is pretty much a stroke of genius as the story deals with issues of equality in a world where magic is common and so is prejudice... Of course, I highly admire Terry Pratchett’s world-building abilities but, honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Equal Rites after I finished it. There weren’t as many laugh-out-loud moments compared to The Light Fantastic but, I liked the way it dealt with the sexism in education on the Discworld (let’s be honest, it’s relatable) and there were concepts I loved such as the difference between witch magic and wizard magic..."
https://teganstevensonwrites.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/equal-rites-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Little Lady Librarian gives four and a half out of five stars to Maskerade:
"My good friend from grad school recommended this to me as my first Discworld book based on both of our loves for The Phantom of the Opera. And I have to say, this definitely does not disappoint. Pratchett takes my most beloved tale and twists and turns it into ways I never thought possible, but I extremely enjoyed. His characters felt real and multi-faceted, and I’m sure they absolutely shine as they grow in the various other Discworld books as well. While I’m sure there are references to other Discworld books in this one (as it’s the 18th in the series), I found that I wasn’t lacking in anything to understand what was happening. In fact, it just made me want to read the rest of them even more! I highly recommend this book to lovers of theatre and sci-fi, which are certainly two genres I’ve rarely ever seen mixed together. Trust me, it’s so, so worth it..."
https://littleladylibrarian.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/maskerade-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger A Paranoid Writer enjoys a return visit to his favourite Discworld law enforcer:
"My sense of humor has been shaped and influenced by many, many things. But I Love Lucy, Mel Brooks, various 80’s and 90’s comedies, and Terry Pratchett are at the top of the list. Terry Pratchett’s writing his hilarious and effortless. The day that my writing gets to within incoming-missile-from-space distance of that, I’ll be thoroughly delighted. I cannot convey my love for the Discworld through words. Nor can I convey my desperate adoration and undying devotion to a certain Samuel Vimes–captain of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch–one of Pratchett’s most famous characters, and one of the best, in my opinion. That’s why I started my impromptu reread with the City Watch novels. Sam Vimes is a treasure to be savored again and again... I have to express some concern, though. I heard tell that over there in the BBC, they’re making a City Watch TV show, based on the Discworld novels. Granted, if they stuck to the material, that show would be golden. However! I cannot imagine any actor, English or otherwise, having the chops to capture and adequately portray the man that is Samuel Vimes. It’s unfathomable. I know I’ll have a difficult time accepting him, whoever he is. I hope they just get an actor completely unheard of so I won’t have any previous impressions of him. Otherwise, I’m afraid that I will go postal … with or without precision..."
https://aparanoidwriter.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/discworld-reread/
Blogger acallidryas' dichotomous review of Sourcery:
"...while I don’t mind some of Pratchett’s more preferred phrases being gone, I do miss some of the stories of the stranger religions and myths that are always provided as side bar in the novels. When you’re as prolific as Pratchett, you’re bound to have a miss or two, and unfortunately, that was Sourcery. The book isn’t as fleshed out as the others, and not just in terms of the missing call-backs to how Discworld works. I didn’t quite understand why the wizards were all fighting each other, and I’m still not clear on how sorcery becomes such a problem. Or why Coin’s father became so malevolent. Or how the whole thing resolved in the end? The book flowed on quickly, and never seemed to explain itself, and I’m left rather unsatisfied with the plot itself. When I was almost to the end, I was still waiting to see when the book was going to really get started and explain itself. Which isn’t to say it’s not a fun read. It is Pratchett, after all, who has barbarian maidens who dream of being hairdressers but are constantly compelled by their genetic calling to conduct feats of heroics instead. And the wonderful orangutan librarian, one of the great heroes of the books. The creative descriptions of the Disc and the characters keep the book moving. And Pratchett’s humorous, light writing, and delightful descriptions are always fun. Each paragraph is great to read on its own. They just never seemed to come together to make one story for this one..."
https://acallidryas.wordpress.com/2018/05/21/sourcery/
Blogger crazykiddingme's paean to the entire Discworld series:
"I have finished all 41 Discoworld[sic] novels by Terry Pratchett. It was a three-year trek that took me from Ankh Morpork, around the great turtle A’Tuin, to the peak of Cori Celesti, into the Dungeon Dimensions, through the Agatean Empire and even dropped me into the valley of Djelibeybi. I learned a lot and I will miss this world. But, like the man says, all good things come to an end... I remember checking out Night Watch in a bookstore when it came out and thinking about getting into it. Then I realized that it was part of an anthology of novels that all take place in the same universe and decided, if I was going to do this, then I was going to start at the beginning and work my way to the end. But it would be an undertaking and a half... I should remind you that I am not a particularly intelligent or insightful person. Nor do I have any experience whatsoever in literary analysis beyond some undergrad courses that I took at McGill University. But since I essentially binge read Pratchett novels, I imagine I saw a real development not so much in how he wrote, but in the level of distinction between the Discworld and our own Roundworld..."
https://crazykiddingme.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/my-journey-through-discworld/
Blogger Lunar Luci wibbles happily about Feet of Clay:
"Vimes is being his usual self, as lovable as can be. He and Vetinari are utmost interesting together, and I looked forward to their conversations more and more throughout the book. He’s got a difficult time, with three murders and no obvious clues. Of course, there are some clues, but they don’t make sense, and mostly consist of a bit of white clay. Carrot, as always being an interesting character, is fun to read about, with Angua added as well. As a werewolf, she has a different life than most people in Ankh-Morpork (although there are enough other, even stranger creatures out there), but she makes up for it by helping to investigate the crimes in the way only she can. Cheery Littlebottom is the newest addition to the Watch, and as difficult it may be to tell, she is in fact a female dwarf. she runs the forensics in the Watch and comes up with quite some ideas, most of them dismissed just as easily by others. However, she stands strong and proves herself useful still... When, eventually, it gets revealed who’s done it, to me it was mostly a 'oh but of course' moment. I loved how it was absolutely not hidden at all, but somehow, not anything you’d think of while reading it..."
https://lunarluci.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/book-review-feet-of-clay/
Blogger and bookseller Nicole Van Den Eng thinks about the legacy of Pratchett:
"Terry Pratchett is an author who always sold in my bookstore. Readers loved him. The covers of his work feature goofy characters with exaggerated expressions... shortly after his death Neil Gaiman released an article that quoted someone describing Pratchett as 'a jolly old elf.' Gaiman went on to say, 'No. No, he wasn’t.' Apparently, Terry Pratchett was a relatively angry guy. That was baffling to me, how could an author write such frivolous things without being the frivolous type? ... Rincewind, the main character [in tCoM], is a pessimist who failed magic school and goes about his life entirely paranoid. He gets roped into a vacation gone awry by a piece of sentient furniture and grudgingly gets pulled into disaster after disaster, even though all he wants is to go home. The humor is in the ludicrous situations and how they get fixed (such as poking a monster in the eye rather than actually defeating him.) I had fun reading The Color of Magic but I considered the article by Gaiman the whole way through. There wasn’t anything in the book that betrayed a possibly less-than-happy author. It’s hard to see a comedian being anything other than funny... Envisioning Pratchett separate from his work tells us he was more serious than he seemed. But Pratchett’s work tells us things often aren’t as serious as they seem. Perhaps what he wanted was to take serious things, and take the tragedy out of them..."
https://conquerbooks.com/2018/05/17/terry-pratchetts-discworld-legacy/
...and finally, blogger Kathy invites us to join in a "Discworld Read-a-thon":
"Last Wednesday in my 'Books On My TBR I’m Most Intimidated By' post, I expressed my reluctance at reading through Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series–because 41 books is rather daunting, no matter how short or light they are–and the lovely Nicole from The Bookworm Drinketh suggested that we set up a readathon and gather other bloggers who might also be interested. And since I’m terrible with solo commitments, that sounded like the PERFECT thing. So here’s how this is going to work:
"– We will read through one book per month, and every last Monday of each month we will all post our reviews/thoughts/rants on that book. We’ll also include the blog links of all the other participants so that we can all share and comment.
"– At the start of each month, Nicole and I will make a post introducing the book we’ll be reading that month and do a headcount of everyone who’s interested (Nicole will contact you afterwards and give you the master list of all the participants). You’re in no way required to join in for every month, but if you do sign up, we ask that you commit to it or let us know immediately if you change your mind. We will start on July with THE COLOUR OF MAGIC, and the review post date will be July 23rd. "
https://pagesbelowvaultedsky.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/join-our-discworld-read-a-thon/
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07) ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE REAL RAT KINGS
One Lucas Reilly has compiled an exhaustive history of rat kings, including the possible origins of the term and a long list of rat king sightings documented from the late 16th century to the present:
"If real, how do rat kings occur? Some theories are more crackpot than others: In the 17th and 18th centuries, naturalists suggested the tails had been woven during birth, glued by the afterbirth. Others suggested that healthy rats deliberately tangled the tails of weaker rodents to make a nest. Both theories are unlikely. The most plausible explanation is that black rats — which have long, supple tails and reside in close quarters during winter — may come in contact with a sticky or frozen substance such as sebum (secreted from the critters’ skin), sap, food, feces, frozen urine, or frozen blood. The bonding agent may solidify as the animals slumber. Once the rodents realize their tails are glued, they might create a tighter knot as they attempt to wriggle free. This explanation has a ring of truth: Most rat kings were discovered during the winter or a frosty shoulder season, and they’re usually found in a tight shelter..."
http://mentalfloss.com/article/506504/almost-comprehensive-history-rat-kings
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08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
The award won by the Terry Pratchett: HisWorld exhibit at Salisbury Museum:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdXKz0jX0AABRZa.jpg
Paul Kidby touches up the Shed of Doom sign for the Chalke Valley History Festival:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DeJJRCmWkAANA5u.jpg
...and here is the Shed of Doom in all its magnificence, as posted by Mr Kidby on Twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgEk8DkX4AAbtOg.jpg
...and here is the Shed. Inna field. By a tent. Which happens to contain a reconstruction of Sir Pterry's office, for the Chalke Valley History Fest (as posted on Twitter by @CVHISTORYFEST):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgSJFIQWAAAVSmB.jpg
Neil Gaiman gets to grips with Aziraphale's flaming sword:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdQ4SaZUwAACKfZ.jpg
...and the Good Omens crew film an amusing scene number:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdQ4A-jVAAEQQFn.jpg
...and it seems all sorts of historical characters are sneaking in to Good Omens. Here be Reece Shearsmith as that Bard feller:
https://twitter.com/GoodOmensAmazon/status/1009165213550034945
...while Stephen Briggs gets to grips with his script for Studio Theatre's November production of Hogfather:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdY5WvWW0AAYqAK.jpg
..and speaking of Mr Briggs, here is an iconograph of a fateful meeting back in 1991, as posted by him on Twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DddHCDgW0AAYoWV.jpg
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09) CLOSE
Newshound Cas found an amusing Pratchett tale on Twitter: "My daughter has just discoverered the joy of reading Terry Pratchett. She is now working her way through our collection. What odd is that I don't recall ever purposefully buying a signed copy for myself. She just opened Feet of Clay... 'Look, this one is signed too!' Did the man sneak into people's houses and sign them?"
https://twitter.com/Rosewind2007/status/1000647317689692160
Watch out, Horace, you've got competition: "A champion cheese-roller has broken the all-time record for the most cheeses won in Gloucestershire's death-defying races. Chris Anderson has now taken home a total of 22 double Gloucester cheeses in 14 years, after chasing the hefty 8lb (3.6kg) cheeses down Cooper's Hill. The 30-year-old broke the record held by Stephen Gyde after winning the first of this year's men's downhill races. Mr Anderson said: 'I've got nothing to prove now, I'm happy.'"
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-44279874
Did you know that "carcer" was a Latin word meaning "prison"? Well, now you do...
Bernard (The Cunning Artificer) Pearson doesn't just run the Ankh-Morpork Consulate and make wonderful things – he also writes. Here be a long, rather interesting blog review of his new novel, Dovetail:
https://bookramblings288957187.wordpress.com/2018/06/12/dovetail-bernard-pearson/
Finally, for those of you who already have a GNU Terry Pratchett script running on your blog/website/whatever, a Glorious 25th GNU script to add for next May, with full how-to instructions. Note: Reg Shoe is included, with "temp" in brackets:
https://clacksheader.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/lest-we-forget/
And that’s it for June. Take care, try not to melt (or freeze, if you're in Fourecks), and we'll see you next month!
– Annie Mac
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The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: wossname-owner (at) pearwood (dot) info
Copyright (c) 2018 by Klatchian Foreign Legion
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
June 2018 (Volume 21, Issue 6, Post 1)
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WOSSNAME is a free publication offering news, reviews, and all the other stuff-that-fits pertaining to the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Originally founded by the late, great Joe Schaumburger for members of the worldwide Klatchian Foreign Legion and its affiliates, including the North American Discworld Society and other continental groups, Wossname is now for Discworld and Pratchett fans everywhere in Roundworld.
********************************************************************
Editor in Chief: Annie Mac
News Editor: Vera P
Newshounds: Mogg, Sir J of Croydon Below, the Shadow, Mss C, Alison not Aliss
Staff Writers: Asti, Pitt the Elder, Evil Steven Dread, Mrs Wynn-Jones
Staff Technomancer: Jason Parlevliet
Book Reviews: Annie Mac, Drusilla D'Afanguin, Your Name Here
Puzzle Editor: Tiff (still out there somewhere)
Bard in Residence: Weird Alice Lancrevic
Emergency Staff: Steven D'Aprano, Jason Parlevliet
World Membership Director: Steven D'Aprano (in his copious spare time)
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INDEX:
01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) ODDS AND SODS
04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
06) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
07) ROUNDWORLD TALES
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE
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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
"The late & much regretted Terry Pratchett had a knack for developing pretty cool ideas in a humorous & lighthearted way (unlike most philosophers, who develop tedious ideas tediously)."
– blogger There Could Be Badgers gets to the heart of it
"Do the Interesting Times! And the Last Hero! Because you GET IT. Other movie makers have tried, but you actually seem to get what is so interesting and fun about sir Pratchett's stories! Oh gods, do them all :D but mostly Cohen, because man, you nailed him here!"
– Pratchett fan Irys Korsak, commenting on the Troll Bridge trailer
...and a different sort of quote: Stephen Briggs' tweet in which he says how much he enjoyed making the audio versions of Discworld books, and various replies showing their appreciation for his work: https://twitter.com/StephenPBriggs/status/1006852038058283008
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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR
The Chalke Valley History Festival is now in session – and the Shed of Doom is LIVE! And a new feature has been added: Paul Kidby will be "in conversation" with Rob Wilkins at the Shed of Doom at 11.30am on Sunday 1st July. The event is free with your Festival entry ticket, so do go along with your questions and compliments.
*
Waterstones Leeds will be having a "Sir Terry Pratchett Quiz" next month! They say: "A prize quiz for fans of the works of Sir Terry Pratchett. Includes a picture round. Team size 1–4 people. Prizes for winning team. Note – seating is limited and it is possible that this event may sell out early."
When: Saturday 21st July
Venue: Waterstones Leeds, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5AP
Time: 5pm to 6.30pm
Tickets: £3, bookable online at https://www.waterstones.com/events/sir-terry-pratchett-quiz/leeds#ticketscript
For further details, phone 01132444588
https://www.waterstones.com/events/sir-terry-pratchett-quiz/leeds
*
Colin Smythe, Terry Pratchett's original discoverer and lifetime literary agent, is looking for your help to solve a mystery:
"Many readers have wondered whether Terry’s American editors made changes to his text. Terry was always consulted, and would himself make changes while proof reading the US text to make sure there was no misunderstanding of his meaning, using words and phrases that would be familiar to readers on the other side of the Pond – two nations divided by the same language, sort of thing. But there were occasions when, during his proof-reading of the different editions he would revise the text...."
On Colin's website (featured before in Wossname, but located at http://colinsmythe.co.uk in case anyone forgot...), he lists as an example some differences between versions in certain parts of the text of Thief of Time, and says, "These are the only passages I’ve noticed as I don’t usually read American editions, but there must be more waiting to be found. If you do discover any, please let me know." So if you have ever come across differences between the UK and USA or Australian (or...?) versions of a Discworld novel, send them along! For the record, you Editor did find differences between the Irish/UK and Australian versions of ToT, and will be trawling through galley proofs looking for others.
To read the request with examples, go to: http://colinsmythe.co.uk/miscellaneous-notes/ (second item on the page).
*
It looks like the long-awaited Troll Bridge film is finally in its ready-to-go form. Not before time! See item 3.
*
Last but far from least, a relevant bit of news. The owner of a small independent bookshop in Yorkshire, having had a "worst day ever" for custom, tweeted an appeal to the general public – "if anyone was thinking about buying a book now would be a great time! Things have been tough recently - today the worst day ever. A card, a book, anything makes a huge difference to a small business like ours. We'd be very grateful for your support" – and was inundated with replies, encouragement, retweets... and most importantly, a bumper crop of orders (_https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-york-north-yorkshire-44640121_). And given that Georgia Duffy's bookshop is called ImaginedThings , your Editor imagines that there are probably some Pratchett titles available for purchase (and Gaiman, and Baxter, et cetera)... and most importantly of all, let's never forget that it was bricks and mortar bookshops, including small ones, that gave our favourite author the success he so richly deserved. So the next time you want to buy a book and are tempted to patronise an internet-only, neighbourhood-destroying retail giant, please think at least twice about taking the time to visit and support your local bookshop instead.
And now, on with the show...
– Annie Mac, Editor
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03) ODDS AND SODS
3.0 REMINDER: DISCWORLD AND BEYOND!
Paul Kidby's Discworld and Beyond exhibition is still on at the Bucks Museum in Aylesbury through the 30th of this month (this Saturday, in other words), after which it will move to the Maidstone Museum – opening on 7th July and running though to 2nd September, with tickets priced at £4 for adults, £2 for children and £10 per family ticket.
Currently...
When: now through 30th June 2018
Venue: Bucks County Museum, 9 Church Street, Aylesbury, Bucks HP20 2QP
Times: Tuesdays–Saturdays, 10am – 5pm.
Tickets: the charge for admission is £4 for adults (under-18s by donation)
http://www.buckscountymuseum.org/museum/events/536/paul-kidby-discworld-and-beyond-the-art-of-terry-pratchett/
Next month...
When: 7th July–2nd September 2018
Venue: the Maidstone Museum, St. Faith's Street, Maidstone, Kent ME14 1LH
Time: Tuesday–Saturday 10am–5pm, Sunday 12pm–4pm
Tickets: £4 for adults, £2 for children and £10 per family ticket, available online at https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/whats-on/events/paul-kidby-discworld-beyond/
https://museum.maidstone.gov.uk/
3.1 TERRY PRATCHETT: HISWORLD WINS AWARD!
The wildly successful Terry Pratchett: HisWorld exhibit at the Salisbury Museum has won an award much coveted in the museum sector. From Spire FM:
"An exhibition at Salisbury Museum honouring the life and work of South Wiltshire author Sir Terry Pratchett has been given a national award. The HisWorld displays at the Cathedral Close museum ran from September 2017 to January 2018, attracting more than 21,000 people from all over the world. Now, it's been crowned the best Temporary or Touring Exhibition in the UK at the Museums + Heritage Awards. The Salisbury exhibition won against some stiff competition too – including from the Science Museum and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London and the National Museums in Liverpool. The judges have explained why they picked Salisbury's tribute to a local writing legend: 'The judges were impressed by the immediacy of this exhibition, which demonstrated great emotional connection as well as positive collaboration with the family and which resulted in a marked change in visitor demographics and brilliant trading results.'..."
https://www.spirefm.co.uk/news/local-news/2582381/award-win-for-salisburys-terry-pratchett-exhibition/
The official Museums and Heritage Twitter account tweeted:
Winner Temporary or Touring category is @Salisburymuseum for Terry Pratchett: His World “an exhibition which demonstrated great emotional connection and which resulted in a marked change in visitor demographics” #MandHAwards
Paul Kidby tweeted:
"Thrilled that #HisWorld @SalisburyMuseum won best Temporary or Touring Exhibition at Museums + Heritage Awards They described it “an exhibition which demonstrated great emotional connection which resulted in a marked change in visitor demographics”. Bravo and thanks to all."
Stephen Briggs tweeted:
I gather from a friend in the museum business that it was up against some tough competition (Science Museum, National Trust, V&A etc) so particularly well done to them!!!
Richard Henry, who curated the exhibit, tweeted:
Privileged to have been part of @terryandrob #HisWorld @SalisburyMuseum. Thank you to everyone who was involved
Sophia Sample (visitor services at the Salisbury Museum) tweeted:
What a night! Can't we won best temporary exhibition for at #MandHAward. A massive congratulations to @richardhenryflo and a nod above to @terryandrob. And a huge thank you to all that came to @SalisburyMuseum to share this experience. We enjoyed meeting every single one of you!
...and the last word goes to the official Pratchett Twitter account, @terryandrob:
Thank you @MandHShow awards Thank you @SalisburyMuseum Thank you @PaulKidby Thank you @rhipratchett Thank you @Kismet_Photos Thank you @Discworld_com Thank you @richardhenryflo Thank you to all the fabulous volunteers. And thank you to everyone who visited #HisWorld.
https://twitter.com/SalisburyMuseum
3.2 NEW UNSEEN ACADEMICALS AUDIOBOOK!
For audiobook fans, some exciting news – a new audiobook of Unseen Academicals, read by an all-star cast, will be released next week (2nd July):
"This Audible Original multicast dramatisation is directed by the multi award-winning Dirk Maggs, best known for his adaptations of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Neil Gaiman’s Neverwhere for the BBC. Starring: Tom Alexander, Samantha Béart, Pippa Bennett-Warner, Mark Benton, Stephen Briggs, Stephen Critchlow, Jon Culshaw, Phil Davis, Ray Fearon, Tony Gardner, Edward Harrison, David Holt, Mathew Horne, David Jason, Josie Lawrence, Toby Longworth, Harry Myers, Maggie Service, Andrew Spooner, Steven Webb, Keith Wickham and Jaime Winstone."
https://bit.ly/2ttjfqz
3.3 GAME FOR A MOD!
We know Sir Pterry was a fan of Hex games and even participated in the creation of Discworld ones, but did you know he participated in the creative process of some non-Discworld games as well? By Ian Boudreau on PC GamesN:
"The late Terry Pratchett is perhaps best known as the beloved and prolific author of the Discworld novels, but it turns out he spent some time in another fantasy universe, too. Pratchett was an enthusiastic Elder Scrolls fan, and even contributed writing to mods for Oblivion and Skyrim... 'What is so magnificent, and this warms my soul, is the concept of games modding,' he said. Pratchett was much less interested in following Oblivion’s story than in finding mods that made the world more immersive, and the amount of detail and time modders sunk into their work continuously impressed him. Pratchett enjoyed making cheese and boots and running a little vineyard, complete with seven employees who his character would pay at the end of each in-game week. I just enjoy the fact in this world that is rather controlled by commerce, there is this inner world of people giving up their time and effort to perfect some little detail about a computer game for the delectation of others,' he said.
The full interview is available both in audio and text transcript at (_ http://theauthorhour.com/terry-pratchett/extras.php?autoplay=y_)
https://www.pcgamesn.com/terry-pratchett-oblivion-mods
...and by Aimee Hart for Game Revolution:
"Not only was Pratchett an avid fan of the two games, but he also wrote mods for them too. This discovery was found out by David Oneacre, an animator based in Boston. Oneacre noticed a transcript of cut content from an interview Pratchett gave on The Author Hour radio program back in 2009, where he was then asked by the host what his favorite video game was. His answer was Oblivion. However, while the vanilla game was beautiful and inspiring by itself, Pratchett found himself drawn to something else entirely... There's one thing to play the mods that people have created, but contributing to a mod yourself with your own writing is entirely something else. Pratchett found time to write over 100 lines for a companion mod in Oblivion for a character named Vilja, a Nord alchemist. What's more, Pratchett even wrote a version for Skyrim, where Vilja's great-great-granddaughter is the companion..."
http://www.gamerevolution.com/news/391475-terry-pratchett-was-a-modder-for-oblivion-and-skyrim
3.4 AT LONG LAST, TROLL BRIDGE!
At long last, Troll Bridge! With fewer than 1,000 elephants! But yes, there is now a complete trailer, and the – we're told – completed film has been submitted for consideration to several independent film festivals.
Here be trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJIaTBB72CM
Here be a word from Snowgum Films: "TROLL BRIDGE exists because an awful lot of people around the world though it should. Special thanks to The Pratchett Estate, Discworld.com, The Foundry, Shotgun Software, GarageFarm.NET Render Farm, Golaem, our 400+ volunteer pool, and over 2,000 backers. Every frame pressed with love – this is your production."
There is also a read-worthy musing about the Discworld series in general and Troll Bridge in particular, here:
https://popcultureuncovered.com/2018/05/25/troll-bridge-sweeter-than-fresh-mined-treacle/
3.5 AN EGGY BIT OF CLOWNWORLD, ER, ROUNDWORLD
We've covered this one before, but it never gets old! Special thanks to Mrs Cake of Bugarup University for sending this. By Jennifer Nalewicki for Smithsonian:
"Debbie Smith has her work cut out for her. Since 2010 she has been the artist responsible for recording the likeness of every clown registered with Clowns International, the oldest established organization for clowns in the United Kingdom. It’s a seemingly straight-forward task—that is, until you discover what she uses as a canvas: eggs. She has tradition to thank for using such a tiny—and fragile—canvas. The late Stan Bult, founder of the International Circus Clowns Club (now Clowns International), began the practice in the 1940s. Though not a clown himself, Bult was a clown enthusiast, and would capture the appearances of various clowns by painting them onto hollowed-out eggs as a way to copyright their facial features, ensuring that no two clowns looked the same. Eventually the collection grew into what is now the Clown Egg Registry, a compendium of hundreds of eggs housed inside the London Clowns’ Gallery-Museum in the UK. Over time, future egg artists transitioned to using ceramic eggs rather than real ones, since they’re less prone to breakage, but beyond that the technique remains largely the same, with artists recreating everything from a clown’s bulbous red nose to his or her polka-dot tie to the most minute details that set one clown apart from the rest... It’s not uncommon for Smith, a clown herself (aka Jolly Dizzy the Clown) to spend up to three days painting a portrait, often working on several in tandem, painting the clowns either in person or from a photograph. She’ll also create duplicates of eggs, one for the clown to keep as a memento and one for the museum..."
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/gallery-london-houses-dozens-clown-egg-portraits-180968914/
[Note: the London Clown's Gallery-Museum is open on the first Friday of the month from noon to 5 p.m. – Ed.]
3.6 MORE THREATS TO ORANGUTANS
Having spent some time today watching the beautiful and clever orangutan family at Melbourne Zoo, this news makes me angrier than ever:
"Borneo is one of the most bio-diverse places on the planet and has some of the world's oldest forests. In Ketapang, in West Kalimantan province, the light dances through the thick canopy. It's hard to see more than a few metres through the tangle of vines and branches. But from the air, a canal 9km long can be seen cutting a scar into the thick green carpet of the forest. It's the first part of a project by the Indonesian company PT Mohairson Pawan Khatulistiwa (MPK), which wants to develop the land as a logging plantation... An environmental assessment report was commissioned to secure the licence, but it made no mention of orangutans nor of the other animals in the area. Yet, between 800 and 1,000 critically endangered orangutans call this forest their home, according to a 2017 survey conducted by the state Natural Resources Conservation Centre (BKSDA) in partnership with international environmental groups. That makes it the largest orangutan population living outside of a protected area in Indonesia, said the report. If the logging goes ahead, they will lose their home. International Animal Rescue (IAR) Indonesia runs a nearby rescue and rehabilitation centre, taking in homeless and orphaned orangutans. 'There is no way we can rescue over 1,000 orangutans,' says the IAR's national head, Karmele Llano Sanchez. 'So we are going to lose one of the most important orangutan populations we have left. With populations rapidly declining, every orangutan counts.'..."
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-44380704
3.7 NEW DISCWORLD IMAGINARIUM CALENDAR!
For those of us who would love to own Paul Kidby's amazing Discworld Imaginarium book but find it a bit out of our price range, here's just the thing – a 2019 calendar featuring some of the Imaginarium art:
"Get organised and add some Pratchett magic to your duties and appointments with the official Discworld Calendar 2019! Features some of the most iconic illustrations from Terry Pratchett's Discworld by cover artist Paul Kidby as featured in the incredible Discworld Imaginarium!"
The 2019 Discworld Calendar is priced at an affordable £14.99 and will be published on 23rd August. For more information, and to pre-order, go to:
https://www.discworldemporium.com/diaries-calendars/468-discworld-collector-s-edition-calendar-2019
3.8 ...AND UBERWALD STAMPS!
The Discworld Emporium's version of Teemer and Spools has been busy:
"A limited edition sheet of stamps from the Uberwald Post Office created in celebration of the Uberwald League of Temperance in recognition of its noble quest to spare the necks of Discworld's humble citizens - AVAILABLE WHILE STOCKS LAST!"
The collection includes the Uberwald 60 Bizot Coffin limited edition sheet (priced at £ 15 each), the Uberwald 30 Bizot stamp ("An enchanting issue from the Uberwald Post Office featuring Dontgonearthe Castle, ancient seat of the De Magpyr vampire dynasty, and home to Igor and his carefully curated cobwebs, creaking doors and dust!", 45p each), and the Pain in ze Neck Little Brown Envelope (" A limited edition lucky-dip assortment of Discworld Stamps inspired by Dave's Pin & Stamp Exchange! This latest 'Little Brown Envelope' introduces new issues from the mysterious mountainous region of Uberwald – home to vampires, werewolves, Igors dwarfs, trolls and centaurs!", £5 each).
For more information, and to order, go to https://www.discworldemporium.com/
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04) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
Editor's note: as Wossname normally only comes out once every month, do check the Wossname blog for information on plays that might fall between issue dates! Go to https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/ to see interim updates.
4.1 PLAYS IN JUNE, JULY AND AUGUST
* GUARDS! GUARDS! IN SUNBURY (JUNE)
The Riverside Players are staging their production of Guards!Guards! right now!
When: tonight (29th) and 30th June
Venue: Riverside Arts Centre, Sunbury, TW16 5QF UK
Time: 7.30pm all evening shows, plus a 2.30pm matinee on the 30th
Tickets: £12, available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/FHGHKJ ( £1.50 booking fee applies)
https://www.manorplayers.org/
* WYRD SISTERS IN SHEFFIELD (JULY)
The Company’s production of Wyrd Sisters, already staged earlier this month, has a return date scheduled for July: "Adapted by Stephen Briggs (who assures us the cast should still be able to be in the pub by 10 o’clock) and presented by The Company, a group of players who don't so much stroll but saunter vaguely pubwards."
When: 11th July 2018
Venue: The University Drama Studio, Shearwood Road, Sheffield S10 2TD on 13th–16th June, and outdoors on Dore Village Green on 11th July
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £8.50 (concessions £5.5), available online at https://www.thecompanysheffield.co.uk/boxoffice/ or £9 (concessions £6) on the door.
https://www.thecompanysheffield.co.uk/productions/wyrdsisters/
https://www.thecompanysheffield.co.uk/aboutus/howtofind.php
* WYRD SISTERS IN SWANSEA (JULY)
The Pontlliw Players will present their production of Wyrd Sisters in July
When: 26th–28th July 2018
Venue: Pontlliw Village Hall, Carmel Rd, Pontlliw, Swansea SA4 9EX
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £7, available from the Box Office by phoning 01792 897833 or 07986 135341, or by emailing tickets@pvh_online.org.uk
http://www.pvh-online.org.uk/
* LORDS AND LADIES IN BUCKINGHAMSHIRE (JULY)
Beaconsfield Theatre Group and The Young Theatre will co-present Irana Brown’s adaptation of Lords and Ladies in July: "With a cast of larger-than-life wizards, witches, yokels, rude mechanicals, elves, trolls, a dwarf, orangutan (not a monkey!) and Oberonesque King of the Fairies; With a Royal Wedding, live band and quirky folk songs and an exciting talent-filled collaboration between Beaconsfield Theatre Group and The Young Theatre – this show promises to be a visual summer feast of funny and fun Discworldian entertainment not to be missed!"
When: 26th–29th July 2018
Venue: Davenies School, Station Road, Beaconsfield, Bucks HP9 1AA (open-air production!)
Time: 7.30pm (26th– 27th); two matinee performances at noon and 4pm on the 28th; one matinee, 2pm on the 29th
Tickets: "Ye olde Box Office opens soon" (phone 07572 657535)
All profits from the production will go to The Alzheimer’s Society and Young Minds.
https://btg-theatre.org/lords–ladies.html
* TAMAHER IN MICHIGAN (JULY)
The Young Artisan Workshop Children's Theatre will be staging their production of The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, directed by Sadonna Croff, at the Riverwalk Theatre in late July!
When: 26th–29th July 2018
Venue: Riverwalk Theatre, 228 Museum Dr, Lansing, Michigan 48933 (phone 517-482-5700)
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: TBA on http://www.riverwalktheatre.com/box-office.html
"Tickets purchased on-line can be picked up at the Riverwalk Theatre office during regular office hours, (Tues - Fri, 10 am - 5:30 pm) or 1/2 hour before the show at the box office window. We do not mail tickets unless requested. 'SENIORS' are age 55+. Students are High School and younger or College with ID. Children are 12 and under. When we receive your sale via PayPal/e-mail, we will assign the best available seats and send you an e-mail confirmation with the seat assignments. We charge a SERVICE FEE of $2.00 per ticket on all Credit Card Sales in-house. ($2.00 per ticket online as well)"
http://www.riverwalktheatre.com/
* THE TRUTH IN CARDIFF (AUGUST)
Peculiar Productions’ first Discworld play will be The Truth, directed by Ellen Warren! "Peculiar Productions is a Cardiff-based multimedia production company. We aim to produce two large shows or projects a year, and we try to make one of those an adaptation of a work by beloved British fantasy-comedy author Sir Terry Pratchett. All our members are volunteers, and the proceeds of these large projects are donated to a chosen charity, which we announce alongside each production or project."
When: 22nd–25th August 2018,
Venue: The Gate Arts Centre, Keppoch Street, Roath, Cardiff CF24 3JW
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: £9 (£7 concessions; £1.25 processing fee applies if paying online or via Paypal), already available online at https://peculiarproductions.co.uk/tickets/ or by cheque or bank transfer via email: info@peculiarproductions.co.uk. If using Paypal (_https://www.paypal.com/uk/signin_), payment should be made to info@peculiarproductions.co.uk – and "please ensure that you tell us which performance you are booking for by adding a note." Credit card and Paypal payments can also be made to http://peculiar_productions.fikket.com/
Proceeds from this production go to Cardiff Mind. If you’re interested in helping out on stage or behind the arras, or would just like to know more about the Peculiar Productions team, go to https://peculiarproductions.co.uk/about/
4.2 PLAYS LATER IN 2018
* MEN AT ARMS IN BRISBANE, FOURECKS (OCTOBER/NOVEMBER)
It will be a bit of a wait, but the Brisbane Arts Centre's next Discworld production – Men at Arms – is already looking good! All props to Fourecks for keeping the Disc alive on stage: "Men at Arms is the 15th novel in Sir Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series, a comic fantasy universe with over 80 million books sold worldwide. Aficionados and newcomers to the Disc will love this adaptation, brought to life by the expertise of our Pratchett team."
When: 6th October through 3rd November 2018
Venue: Brisbane Arts Centre, 210 Petrie Terrace, Petrie Terrace (yes, the suburb and the road share a name), Brisbane, Queensland 4000
Time: 7.30pm Thursdays, 8pm Fridays and Saturdays, 6.30pm Sundays. "Doors close 5 minutes prior to performance. Late entry is not permitted."
Tickets: AU$34 ($28 concession or groups of 10 or more), available now online at http://bit.ly/2zHKO5a – and there will be Student Rush tickets priced at $15, available from the box office 15 minutes prior to curtain on the dates
https://www.artstheatre.com.au/menatarms
* HOGFATHER IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER)
The Studio Theatre Club’s next Discworld production will be Hogfather! – or as they say it, "another of our world Premiere Terry Pratchett shows, dramatised by Terry’s friend, Stephen Briggs". This is a change from the previously announced staging of The Science of Discworld: Judgement Day.
When: 14th–17th November 2018
Venue: the Unicorn Theatre, Medieval Abbey Buildings, Checker Walk, Abingdon,, Oxon OX14 3JB
Time: TBA
Tickets: on sale from 1st August, details to follow
[And now, already, rehearsals have started! – Ed.]
http://www.studiotheatreclub.com/beyond-quality-street
* GOING POSTAL IN BRISTOL (DECEMBER)
The Kelvin Players will be staging Going Postal in December 2018. Keep an eye on their website: "Moist von Lipwig was a con artist, a fraud and a man faced with a life choice: be hanged, or put Ankh-Morpork's ailing postal service back on its feet. It was a tough decision. With the help of a golem who has been at the bottom of hole in the ground for over two hundred years, a pin fanatic and Junior Postman Groat, he’s got to see that the mail gets through. In taking on the evil chairman of the Grand Trunk Semaphore Company, and a midnight killer, he’s also got to stay alive. Getting a date with Adora Bell Dearheart would be nice, too. In the mad world of the mail, can a criminal succeed where honest men have failed and died? Perhaps there’s a shot at redemption for man who’s prepared to push the envelope..."
When: 5th–8th and 12th–15th December 2018
Venue: Kelvin Studios, 253B Gloucester Road, Bishopston, Bristol BS7 8NY
Time: 7.30pm all shows
Tickets: TBA
http://www.kelvinplayers.co.uk/coming-soon
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05) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
The Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club at Waterstones Leeds meets on the first Tuesday of each month at 6pm in the Cafe W coffee shop (in Waterstones), to discuss a Pratchett book. "Everyone is welcome, even if you have not read the book. There is no need to register – just come along. For details on which book we are reading this month check out our events listing on waterstones.com (_https://www.waterstones.com/events/search/shop/leeds-93_)."
The next meeting of the Sir Terry Pratchett Book Club will be on Tuesday 10th July from 6pm to 6.45pm at Waterstones, 93-97 Albion Street, Leeds LS1 5JS. (phone 0113 244 4588). "This month we're discussing Witches Abroad, one of the funniest Discworld books."
https://www.waterstones.com/events/sir-terry-pratchett-book-club/leeds-50095
https://www.waterstones.com/events/search/shop/leeds-93/category/6
*
The Broken Drummers, "London’s Premier Unofficially Official Discworld Group" (motto "Nil percussio est"), will be meeting next from 7pm on Monday 2nd July 2018 at the Monkey Puzzle, 30 Southwick Street, London, W2 1JQ. "We welcome anyone and everyone who enjoys Sir Terry’s works, or quite likes them or wants to find out more. We have had many visitors from overseas who have enjoyed themselves and made new friends. The discussions do not only concern the works of Sir Terry Pratchett but wander and meander through other genres and authors and also leaping to TV and Film production. We also find time for a quiz."
For more information, email BrokenDrummers@gmail.com or nicholls.helen@yahoo.co.uk or join their Facebook group (if you must) at https://www.facebook.com/groups/55107511411/permalink/10156634038566412/
*
Canberra, Australia’s Discworld fan group is Drumknott's Irregulars: "The group is open to all, people from interstate and overseas are welcome, and our events will not be heavily themed. Come along to dinner for a chat and good company. We welcome people from all fandoms (and none) and we would love to see you at one of our events, even if you’re just passing through. Please contact us via Facebook (_https://www.facebook.com/groups/824987924250161/_) or Google Groups (_https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars_) or join us at our next event."
*
For Facebook users in Fourecks: The Victorian Discworld Klatch is "a social group for fans of Discworld and Terry Pratchett... run by a dedicated team who meet monthly and organise events monthly." "If you’d like to join our events please ask to join the Klatch."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch
*
"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)" is a public Facebook meeting group: "This group, by request of Jo in Bear will continue to be used for future unofficial (not run by the Emporium) fan Gatherings in Wincanton. Look here for information."
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/
*
The Pratchett Partisans are a fan group who meet monthly at either Brisbane or Indooroopilly to "eat, drink and chat about all things Pratchett. We hold events such as Discworld dinners, games afternoons, Discworld photo scavenger hunts. We also attend opening night at Brisbane Arts Theatre's Discworld plays." The Partisans currently have about 200 members who meet at least twice a month, usually in Brisbane.
For more info about their next meetup, join up at https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula directly at uwilmott@yahoo.com.au
*
The City of Small Gods is a group for fans in Adelaide and South Australia: "We have an established Terry Pratchett & Discworld fan group in Adelaide called The City of Small Gods, which is open to anyone who would like to come – you don’t have to live in Adelaide or even South Australia, or even be a Discworld fan, but that’s mostly where our events will be held, and we do like discussing Pratchett’s works. Our (semi-) regular meetings are generally held on the last Thursday of the month at the Caledonian, 219 O’Connell St North Adelaide. We have dinner at 6.30pm followed by games until 9pm. The games are usually shorter games like Pairs, Sushi Go, or Tiny Epic Defenders, with the occasional Werewolf session, as these are the best sort of games that work in a pub setting. Every few months, we have a full day’s worth of board games at La Scala Cafe, 169 Unley Rd, Unley in the function room starting at 10am. In addition, we will occasionally have other events to go and see plays by Unseen Theatre Company, book discussions, craft, chain maille or costuming workshops or other fun social activities."
The next CoSG events will be a Board Games Day at La Scala Cafe on Sunday 15th July, the Monthly Dinner on Thursday 26th July (location TBA), and a discussion of TAMAHER on Saturday 28th July at Kappy's Coffee and Tea, 1/22 Compton Street,[Adelaide (_http://kappys.com.au/_).
The CoSG also have another identity. Here’s the skinny:
Round World Events SA Inc is a not-for-profit incorporated association whose aim is to run fun social Pratchett-themed events for people in South Australia. Our first major event was the Unseen University Convivium held in July 2012. We have also run three successful and booked out Science Fiction and Fantasy themed quiz nights named Quiz Long And Prosper, in 2013, 2014 and 2015! The association will run some events under the City of Small Gods banner, but you do not have to be a Round World Events SA member to be part of City of Small Gods. However, we are always on the look out for new members for Round World Events SA to help us organise future events! Membership is $20 a year (for Adelaide locals) or $5 a year (for those not quite so close) and has the following benefits:
A shiny membership certificate all of your very own
Discounted entry price to some of the events we run
A warm, fuzzy feeling deep down in your chest (no, not quite that deep)
For more information, or to join as a member, please email RoundWorldEventsSA@gmail.com
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au
*
The Broken Vectis Drummers meet next on Thursday 5th July 2018 (probably) from 7.30pm at The Castle pub in Newport, Isle of Wight. For more info and any queries, contact broken_vectis_drummers@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) next meets on Friday 6th July 2018 (possibly) at Wincanton's famous Bear Inn from 7pm onwards. "Visitors and drop-ins are always welcome!"
*
The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of Flatalists, a Pratchett fangroup, has been meeting on a regular basis since 2005. The Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, Skipton, North Yorkshire, to discuss "all things Pratchett" as well as having quizzes and raffles. Details of future meetings are posted on the Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum:
http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/
*
Sydney Drummers (formerly Drummers Downunder) meet next on Monday 2nd July 2018 (possibly) at 6.30pm in Sydney at 3 Wise Monkeys, 555 George Street, Sydney 2000. For more information, contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys@yahoo.co.uk
*
The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers, meet next on Monday 2nd July 2018 (possibly) from 5.30pm at Carpe Cafe, 526 Murray Street, Perth, Western Australia. For details follow Perth Drummers on Twitter @Perth_Drummers or join their Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Perth.Drummers/ – or message Alexandra Ware directly at <alexandra.ware@gmail.com>
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06) AROUND THE BLOGOSPHERE
This month sees some new Pratchett bloggers and an interesting range of topics...
Blogger There Could Be Badgers muses on narrativium (the element, not the Roundworld company):
"Narrativium is the element that ensures the correct functioning of narrative causality – that is, the hypothesis that events follow a certain course because that’s what the story requires. This is, of course, not at all true of the universe in which humanity has evolved but, with some notable exceptions, it’s certainly the universe most human beings inhabit... as Pratchett et al remark, even the physical laws we choose in order to explain our universe are determined by our particular, human perspective. We cut the universe up into sequences of discrete events, and generally impose 'beginnings' and 'endings' on these sequences (indeed, there’s a current of philosophical thought that holds that events are nothing but beginnings, endings, and changes). Even causation, that stalking horse of empirical observation, is ambiguous: do we describe events as linked in causal chains because that is the way the universe functions, or do we impose causal chains on the universe because that is the way our narrative imperatives function? Humans think in stories…"
https://therecouldbebadgers.wordpress.com/2018/06/16/on-the-fictional-reality-of-worlds/
Blogger Rain and Ink "fangirls" on her favourite writer:
"I’m not sure how I missed Pratchett at first. He is a writer that I love reading. I started reading his books on a friend’s recommendation and since then I’ve ravenously, voraciously read as much of his work as I can. The publication of his final book, completed by his assistant Rob Wilkins due to Pratchett’s demise, was bittersweet news – Pratchett’s books are gifts of joy to his readers, but knowing that this was the final Pratchett was deeply saddening. I bought the book, and initially fantasised about saving it for my last day – then, there’d always be one more Pratchett to read. I eventually succumbed to curiosity and temptation and read it anyway. Why Pratchett as the one writer, if forced to limit myself, that I’d be happy to read for the rest of my life? So many reasons – here are just a few of them:
"His books are diverse. He’s known for writing comedic fantasy; but what is less well known about his genre is that within the frame of comedic fantasy he writes detective stories, adventure stories, romance, political thrillers, supernatural plots – anything and everything. His books are not fluff – he said himself that some readers/reviewers had 'accused' him of literature, and that is true. Often people get put off by the idea of fantasy, assuming that fantasy books are meaningless, nonsensical or not 'true literature' (whatever that means). This is not true – and Pratchett is the perfect writer to prove this point. His books will always make you think, they have more depth than a cursory perusal of the plot summary would suggest. His books, as I said before, are gifts of joy. There’s something about reading a Pratchett that is always uplifting. You’re instilled with hope – you believe that things can be better, that people can be better, that YOU can be better, that the world can be better. His compassion, humanity and keen sense of justice shine through..."
https://rainandink.wordpress.com/2018/06/14/fangirling-interlude-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Thoughtful Pigeon gets to grips with the Discworld Colouring Book in a long and detailed post:
"This colouring book has images from various stories, along with excerpts from the books themselves on a lot of the pages next to the full page images and surrounded by their own art too so you have the link to the Terry Pratchett works there too. It’s been around for a couple of years, it was first published in 2016, but somehow I’ve missed it. I think it came out just after I’d bought a few too many colouring books and was taking a break but it’s in my collection now. I bought this from the Discworld Emporium, though I’ve seen it on Amazon since, and it cost £9.99. I don’t know if there’s any difference for those who originally created the book where you get it from but I like the extra Discworld touches from them so would recommend them anyway, you can see what I mean in my haul post, they’re very fast at delivery too. They also have an artists version where you can pull out the artwork to display it and these normally have thicker paper, I’m not sure if that’s the case here but it would definitely be easier if you plan on displaying the pictures when you’d coloured them. It’s worth knowing that it does cost £5 more though so it’s up to you which style you prefer..."
https://thoughtfulpigeon.com/2018/06/13/book-review-terry-pratchetts-discworld-colouring-book-illustrated-by-paul-kidby/
Blogger This Sporadic Life meets Mort:
"This was not our first foray into the Discworld Universe, but it was the first book either of us had directly interacted with. We’ve see the Color of Magic movie several times and are already familiar with several of the characters in the world. This story focuses on Mort, who begins life as a bundle of elbows, completely inept in all that he does. As the story progresses Mort becomes the apprentice to Death and begins to help out in Deaths duty of culling souls into the next life... As the story progresses Mort becomes more competent and is able to take over Death’s duties while Death takes a holiday. As he takes on these new duties he becomes more real. The physical world effects him less because it’s not as real as he is. The idea of realness is a fascinating one to me. I’ve only seen it once before, in my favorite fiction story, The Great Divorce, by C.S. Lewis. In that story, their are Ghosts who are mere shades of beings. Their realness is lacking, and the world they enter is painful to them because of how real it is... I can’t say for sure that Terry Pratchett took this idea from Lewis, but I can say that it is the same concept..."
https://thissporadiclife.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/review-mort/
Blogger Kibbin's Codex is a Death fan, but less enamoured of Mort itself:
"We're only four books in but I think it’s safe to say that we already have a clear winner for most popular Discworld character. Now perhaps it’s not one you might expect and I suspect it might not have been the one who Sir Terry suspected when he first wrote about a terrible wizard and hapless tourist. Yet he is already stepping out of the background and into the leading role. Well maybe co-lead... Death isn’t looking to expand or anything but is just struggling to keep his mind on his work. He knows all about how life ends and yet feels like he knows so little about the subject itself. Work, hobbies and friends are all a mystery to the Grim Reaper and so after showing Mort the ropes let him have at it while he tries to wrap his head around things like alcohol and cats... I must confess that there might be someone of a higher authority on this book than me and that’s Terry himself. He’s gone on record as saying that for him this is where the series really begins and I have to agree but it’s also the point where the jokes started serving the story rather than the other way around and that’s true too..."
https://kibbinscodex.wordpress.com/2018/05/31/what-us-mort/
Blogger Tegan Stevenson's review of Equal Rites:
"Taken at face value Equal Rites is an adventure fantasy story where a young girl is fated to become a wizard despite the many, many obstacles in her way. Eskarina, commonly referred to as Esk throughout the book, is the eighth daughter of an eighth son but, as the blurb says, the wizard Drum Billet didn’t check whether or not she was a boy before he passed his magic on to her. The title is pretty much a stroke of genius as the story deals with issues of equality in a world where magic is common and so is prejudice... Of course, I highly admire Terry Pratchett’s world-building abilities but, honestly, I wasn’t sure how I felt about Equal Rites after I finished it. There weren’t as many laugh-out-loud moments compared to The Light Fantastic but, I liked the way it dealt with the sexism in education on the Discworld (let’s be honest, it’s relatable) and there were concepts I loved such as the difference between witch magic and wizard magic..."
https://teganstevensonwrites.wordpress.com/2018/05/30/equal-rites-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger Little Lady Librarian gives four and a half out of five stars to Maskerade:
"My good friend from grad school recommended this to me as my first Discworld book based on both of our loves for The Phantom of the Opera. And I have to say, this definitely does not disappoint. Pratchett takes my most beloved tale and twists and turns it into ways I never thought possible, but I extremely enjoyed. His characters felt real and multi-faceted, and I’m sure they absolutely shine as they grow in the various other Discworld books as well. While I’m sure there are references to other Discworld books in this one (as it’s the 18th in the series), I found that I wasn’t lacking in anything to understand what was happening. In fact, it just made me want to read the rest of them even more! I highly recommend this book to lovers of theatre and sci-fi, which are certainly two genres I’ve rarely ever seen mixed together. Trust me, it’s so, so worth it..."
https://littleladylibrarian.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/maskerade-by-terry-pratchett/
Blogger A Paranoid Writer enjoys a return visit to his favourite Discworld law enforcer:
"My sense of humor has been shaped and influenced by many, many things. But I Love Lucy, Mel Brooks, various 80’s and 90’s comedies, and Terry Pratchett are at the top of the list. Terry Pratchett’s writing his hilarious and effortless. The day that my writing gets to within incoming-missile-from-space distance of that, I’ll be thoroughly delighted. I cannot convey my love for the Discworld through words. Nor can I convey my desperate adoration and undying devotion to a certain Samuel Vimes–captain of the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch–one of Pratchett’s most famous characters, and one of the best, in my opinion. That’s why I started my impromptu reread with the City Watch novels. Sam Vimes is a treasure to be savored again and again... I have to express some concern, though. I heard tell that over there in the BBC, they’re making a City Watch TV show, based on the Discworld novels. Granted, if they stuck to the material, that show would be golden. However! I cannot imagine any actor, English or otherwise, having the chops to capture and adequately portray the man that is Samuel Vimes. It’s unfathomable. I know I’ll have a difficult time accepting him, whoever he is. I hope they just get an actor completely unheard of so I won’t have any previous impressions of him. Otherwise, I’m afraid that I will go postal … with or without precision..."
https://aparanoidwriter.wordpress.com/2018/05/28/discworld-reread/
Blogger acallidryas' dichotomous review of Sourcery:
"...while I don’t mind some of Pratchett’s more preferred phrases being gone, I do miss some of the stories of the stranger religions and myths that are always provided as side bar in the novels. When you’re as prolific as Pratchett, you’re bound to have a miss or two, and unfortunately, that was Sourcery. The book isn’t as fleshed out as the others, and not just in terms of the missing call-backs to how Discworld works. I didn’t quite understand why the wizards were all fighting each other, and I’m still not clear on how sorcery becomes such a problem. Or why Coin’s father became so malevolent. Or how the whole thing resolved in the end? The book flowed on quickly, and never seemed to explain itself, and I’m left rather unsatisfied with the plot itself. When I was almost to the end, I was still waiting to see when the book was going to really get started and explain itself. Which isn’t to say it’s not a fun read. It is Pratchett, after all, who has barbarian maidens who dream of being hairdressers but are constantly compelled by their genetic calling to conduct feats of heroics instead. And the wonderful orangutan librarian, one of the great heroes of the books. The creative descriptions of the Disc and the characters keep the book moving. And Pratchett’s humorous, light writing, and delightful descriptions are always fun. Each paragraph is great to read on its own. They just never seemed to come together to make one story for this one..."
https://acallidryas.wordpress.com/2018/05/21/sourcery/
Blogger crazykiddingme's paean to the entire Discworld series:
"I have finished all 41 Discoworld[sic] novels by Terry Pratchett. It was a three-year trek that took me from Ankh Morpork, around the great turtle A’Tuin, to the peak of Cori Celesti, into the Dungeon Dimensions, through the Agatean Empire and even dropped me into the valley of Djelibeybi. I learned a lot and I will miss this world. But, like the man says, all good things come to an end... I remember checking out Night Watch in a bookstore when it came out and thinking about getting into it. Then I realized that it was part of an anthology of novels that all take place in the same universe and decided, if I was going to do this, then I was going to start at the beginning and work my way to the end. But it would be an undertaking and a half... I should remind you that I am not a particularly intelligent or insightful person. Nor do I have any experience whatsoever in literary analysis beyond some undergrad courses that I took at McGill University. But since I essentially binge read Pratchett novels, I imagine I saw a real development not so much in how he wrote, but in the level of distinction between the Discworld and our own Roundworld..."
https://crazykiddingme.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/my-journey-through-discworld/
Blogger Lunar Luci wibbles happily about Feet of Clay:
"Vimes is being his usual self, as lovable as can be. He and Vetinari are utmost interesting together, and I looked forward to their conversations more and more throughout the book. He’s got a difficult time, with three murders and no obvious clues. Of course, there are some clues, but they don’t make sense, and mostly consist of a bit of white clay. Carrot, as always being an interesting character, is fun to read about, with Angua added as well. As a werewolf, she has a different life than most people in Ankh-Morpork (although there are enough other, even stranger creatures out there), but she makes up for it by helping to investigate the crimes in the way only she can. Cheery Littlebottom is the newest addition to the Watch, and as difficult it may be to tell, she is in fact a female dwarf. she runs the forensics in the Watch and comes up with quite some ideas, most of them dismissed just as easily by others. However, she stands strong and proves herself useful still... When, eventually, it gets revealed who’s done it, to me it was mostly a 'oh but of course' moment. I loved how it was absolutely not hidden at all, but somehow, not anything you’d think of while reading it..."
https://lunarluci.wordpress.com/2018/05/20/book-review-feet-of-clay/
Blogger and bookseller Nicole Van Den Eng thinks about the legacy of Pratchett:
"Terry Pratchett is an author who always sold in my bookstore. Readers loved him. The covers of his work feature goofy characters with exaggerated expressions... shortly after his death Neil Gaiman released an article that quoted someone describing Pratchett as 'a jolly old elf.' Gaiman went on to say, 'No. No, he wasn’t.' Apparently, Terry Pratchett was a relatively angry guy. That was baffling to me, how could an author write such frivolous things without being the frivolous type? ... Rincewind, the main character [in tCoM], is a pessimist who failed magic school and goes about his life entirely paranoid. He gets roped into a vacation gone awry by a piece of sentient furniture and grudgingly gets pulled into disaster after disaster, even though all he wants is to go home. The humor is in the ludicrous situations and how they get fixed (such as poking a monster in the eye rather than actually defeating him.) I had fun reading The Color of Magic but I considered the article by Gaiman the whole way through. There wasn’t anything in the book that betrayed a possibly less-than-happy author. It’s hard to see a comedian being anything other than funny... Envisioning Pratchett separate from his work tells us he was more serious than he seemed. But Pratchett’s work tells us things often aren’t as serious as they seem. Perhaps what he wanted was to take serious things, and take the tragedy out of them..."
https://conquerbooks.com/2018/05/17/terry-pratchetts-discworld-legacy/
...and finally, blogger Kathy invites us to join in a "Discworld Read-a-thon":
"Last Wednesday in my 'Books On My TBR I’m Most Intimidated By' post, I expressed my reluctance at reading through Terry Pratchett’s Discworld series–because 41 books is rather daunting, no matter how short or light they are–and the lovely Nicole from The Bookworm Drinketh suggested that we set up a readathon and gather other bloggers who might also be interested. And since I’m terrible with solo commitments, that sounded like the PERFECT thing. So here’s how this is going to work:
"– We will read through one book per month, and every last Monday of each month we will all post our reviews/thoughts/rants on that book. We’ll also include the blog links of all the other participants so that we can all share and comment.
"– At the start of each month, Nicole and I will make a post introducing the book we’ll be reading that month and do a headcount of everyone who’s interested (Nicole will contact you afterwards and give you the master list of all the participants). You’re in no way required to join in for every month, but if you do sign up, we ask that you commit to it or let us know immediately if you change your mind. We will start on July with THE COLOUR OF MAGIC, and the review post date will be July 23rd. "
https://pagesbelowvaultedsky.wordpress.com/2018/06/08/join-our-discworld-read-a-thon/
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07) ROUNDWORLD TALES: THE REAL RAT KINGS
One Lucas Reilly has compiled an exhaustive history of rat kings, including the possible origins of the term and a long list of rat king sightings documented from the late 16th century to the present:
"If real, how do rat kings occur? Some theories are more crackpot than others: In the 17th and 18th centuries, naturalists suggested the tails had been woven during birth, glued by the afterbirth. Others suggested that healthy rats deliberately tangled the tails of weaker rodents to make a nest. Both theories are unlikely. The most plausible explanation is that black rats — which have long, supple tails and reside in close quarters during winter — may come in contact with a sticky or frozen substance such as sebum (secreted from the critters’ skin), sap, food, feces, frozen urine, or frozen blood. The bonding agent may solidify as the animals slumber. Once the rodents realize their tails are glued, they might create a tighter knot as they attempt to wriggle free. This explanation has a ring of truth: Most rat kings were discovered during the winter or a frosty shoulder season, and they’re usually found in a tight shelter..."
http://mentalfloss.com/article/506504/almost-comprehensive-history-rat-kings
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08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
The award won by the Terry Pratchett: HisWorld exhibit at Salisbury Museum:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdXKz0jX0AABRZa.jpg
Paul Kidby touches up the Shed of Doom sign for the Chalke Valley History Festival:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DeJJRCmWkAANA5u.jpg
...and here is the Shed of Doom in all its magnificence, as posted by Mr Kidby on Twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgEk8DkX4AAbtOg.jpg
...and here is the Shed. Inna field. By a tent. Which happens to contain a reconstruction of Sir Pterry's office, for the Chalke Valley History Fest (as posted on Twitter by @CVHISTORYFEST):
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DgSJFIQWAAAVSmB.jpg
Neil Gaiman gets to grips with Aziraphale's flaming sword:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdQ4SaZUwAACKfZ.jpg
...and the Good Omens crew film an amusing scene number:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdQ4A-jVAAEQQFn.jpg
...and it seems all sorts of historical characters are sneaking in to Good Omens. Here be Reece Shearsmith as that Bard feller:
https://twitter.com/GoodOmensAmazon/status/1009165213550034945
...while Stephen Briggs gets to grips with his script for Studio Theatre's November production of Hogfather:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DdY5WvWW0AAYqAK.jpg
..and speaking of Mr Briggs, here is an iconograph of a fateful meeting back in 1991, as posted by him on Twitter:
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DddHCDgW0AAYoWV.jpg
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09) CLOSE
Newshound Cas found an amusing Pratchett tale on Twitter: "My daughter has just discoverered the joy of reading Terry Pratchett. She is now working her way through our collection. What odd is that I don't recall ever purposefully buying a signed copy for myself. She just opened Feet of Clay... 'Look, this one is signed too!' Did the man sneak into people's houses and sign them?"
https://twitter.com/Rosewind2007/status/1000647317689692160
Watch out, Horace, you've got competition: "A champion cheese-roller has broken the all-time record for the most cheeses won in Gloucestershire's death-defying races. Chris Anderson has now taken home a total of 22 double Gloucester cheeses in 14 years, after chasing the hefty 8lb (3.6kg) cheeses down Cooper's Hill. The 30-year-old broke the record held by Stephen Gyde after winning the first of this year's men's downhill races. Mr Anderson said: 'I've got nothing to prove now, I'm happy.'"
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-gloucestershire-44279874
Did you know that "carcer" was a Latin word meaning "prison"? Well, now you do...
Bernard (The Cunning Artificer) Pearson doesn't just run the Ankh-Morpork Consulate and make wonderful things – he also writes. Here be a long, rather interesting blog review of his new novel, Dovetail:
https://bookramblings288957187.wordpress.com/2018/06/12/dovetail-bernard-pearson/
Finally, for those of you who already have a GNU Terry Pratchett script running on your blog/website/whatever, a Glorious 25th GNU script to add for next May, with full how-to instructions. Note: Reg Shoe is included, with "temp" in brackets:
https://clacksheader.wordpress.com/2018/05/25/lest-we-forget/
And that’s it for June. Take care, try not to melt (or freeze, if you're in Fourecks), and we'll see you next month!
– Annie Mac
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The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: wossname-owner (at) pearwood (dot) info
Copyright (c) 2018 by Klatchian Foreign Legion