Discworld Monthly - Issue 165: January 2011

1. Editorial

Welcome to issue 165 and the first issue of 2011. Firstly let me apologise for the tardiness of this issue. I had planned to release it just before the end of December but illness prevented me from spending the time needed to compile it.

It's been a bit quiet on the news front this month - hopefully things will get better later in January in time for February's issue! This month's issue is a little shorter than normal as well and that is again unfortunately down to me being a little poorly.

Don't forget, if you visit a play or a talk and would like to let the world know about it, please feel free to email your review to info@discworldmonthly.co.uk and we will consider it for publication.

--
Jason Anthony (Editor) info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
William Barnett (Deputy Editor)
Richard Massey (Back at School)

2. News

It appears that having Ants inside HEX was not such a crazy idea as this video shows Ants can count.

http://www.wimp.com/antscount/

Graphic artist Ray Friesen has created a Discworld Fancomic called Glom Of Nit featuring Stanley and Groat.

Be sure to only click on the link if you want to read / view some Discworld fan fiction

~~http://GlomOfNit.com~~

Rincewind and Nanny Ogg will be appearing on new stamps in the UK as part of the Very Best of British collection by the Royal Mail. Also included in the set are Aslan and the White Witch from The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe and Dumbledore and Voldemort from Harry Potter.

http://discworldmonthly.co.uk?redir=STAMP165

Discworld Dates...

This section will contain events that you need to keep in your diary. Entries will remain until they go out of date. New entries will include the word [New] next to them. If this section gets too large we will start pruning entries.

[UK and AU, Updated] The Broken Drummers and The Drummers Downunder are groups of fans that meet up monthly in the UK and Australia.

Their next meetings are:

Monday 7th February 2011 - The new Perth branch of the Drummers Downunder, cousin to the Broken Drummers, will be having their first meeting from 7pm at The Vic Hotel, 226 Hay St, Subiaco, Australia.

Monday 7th February 2011 - The Broken Drummers meet at the Monkey Puzzle, Paddington, London, W2 1JQ, England at 7pm.

Monday 7th February 2011 - The Dummers Downunder (Sydney) meet at Maloneys on the corner of Pitt and Goulburn Streets (across the road from World Square), Sydney, Australia at 7pm.

Visitors to any of the events will be made welcome.

[AU] The third Australian Discworld Convention will be held on 8th, 9th and 10th April 2011 at the Penrith Panthers conference centre in Penrith, NSW. Places ARE limited so register now!

Terry has confirmed he is coming and more special guests are to be announced soon.

Keep checking in at http://ausdwcon.org/ The website has been updated with hotel information, Guilds and lots more.

Volunteers needed. Contact enquiries@ausdwcon.org (no mimes - by order of the Patrician). If you would like to help us publicise the convention contact publicity@ausdwcon.org

[NL] The first Dutch Discworld Convention takes place at Hotel NH Atlanta in Rotterdam on 28th - 29th May 2011.

Contact details: www.dutchdwcon.nl

For further information contact: info@dutchdwcon.nl

[US] NADWCon2011 planning is underway. The dates of the new con will be July 7-12, 2011, and the location will be the Madison Concourse Hotel and Governor's Club, in Madison, Wisconsin.

~~http://www.nadwcon.org/~~

[UK] Wadfest X - The Future and Beyond takes place from 19th - 21st August 2011. The event takes place at Trentfield Farm in Church Lanehan, Retford. Wadfest is a family-focused camping event where Discworld fans meet up for a weekend of fun and games from Luggage Wars to Live Pingu. The event includes a talent show and a charity auction where you can get some excellent collectors pieces.

More information at: http://www.wadfest.co.uk

[DE] The German Discworld Convention 2011 will take place from 30th September to 3rd October 2011. Assassins will roam the halls of Castle Bilstein but they promise not to harm visitors of the 3rd German Discworld Convention during that time (except when contracted).

Registration has now started and there is an early booker gift if you register before the end of this year.

http://www.scheibenwelt-convention.de/

[IE] Irish Discworld Convention 20011 (IDWCon11)

The second biennial Irish Discworld Convention will take place, once again, in the Falls Hotel, Ennistymon. Taking place from the 4th-7th of November 2011. For those of you who missed it the first time, and if you don't mind us saying so, it was a bit of a bit! If you would like to be there this time membership is now open and information on all sorts is available at our website! Special Guest Professor Sir Terry Pratchett has confirmed his attendance! Now it's your turn!

http://www.idwcon.org

Small Ads...

Please note, DWM has no way of checking the veracity or validity of any of the items in our small ads section. As always, exercise caution when giving out your details over the Internet. We *strongly* recommend parental supervision for younger readers who
follow up any of these contacts.

Alex Butterfield alexjbutterfield@gmail.com writes: I am interested in getting my hands on a copy of Thud! The Game. If you have one you would like to sell, or know where I can get hold of a set online I'd appreciate it.

DWM replies: When I was in The Cunning Artificers shop in Wincanton at the end of November they had collectors editions of Thud. Try contacting them at http://www.discworldemporium.com

Gail Rybak raindog2@live.com writes: I'm in need of a bit of extra money that I might buy a top hat for a costume, so I'm looking to sell my copy of "The Art of Discworld." It is paperback, but it was only read once and kept in as new condition. There is no tears, stains, bent pages, spine is in fine condition, and it comes from a smoke free home. I am also selling "Orphans" a three CD set by Tom Waits, and "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows." Both are in the same as new condition as "The Art of Discworld."

Lynne Collins lynne@lynnecollins.plus.com writes: Oook! (Help!) I am trying to find a copy of The Collectors Guide to Discworld Figurines by Trish Baker which gives the background of each of the Clarecraft figurines. Understandably it is now out of print so if anyone can offer any help in my quest please email me. Thank you.

3. Readers' Letters

If you have any letters or comments, please email them to info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

We assume any correspondence is eligible for use in the newsletter unless otherwise stated, including the sender's email address. We may also edit your letters using a small metal colander...

It is vitally important that you don't pass off other people's work as your own. If you use information from other resources please let us know so we can give proper credit.

*
* From: "Kristine Johnston" goodbug73@hotmail.com
*
As a long time fan of Terry, I began reading his books to my daughter as soon as she was old enough - perhaps around 5 or 6, when we started with the Wee Free Men. Now at 9 we are working through Soul Music, but her favorite of all is Where's My Cow?

My daughter has a typical 9-yr-old's love of body humor - if we can bring flatulence, mucus or poo into a conversation, she is ready to turn it into the joke of the century.

Following Sam Vimes' lead, she has changed Where's my Cow? to suit her purposes. Coffin Henry now has several new sounds to make and several new names...Leaking Henry being one of the tamer ones. Dibbler has been redubbed Cut-Me-Own-Cheese and Young Sam's exclamations and yawn are often changed to suit the new commentary my daughter has devised. We have also created conversations about the various noises and emissions between the various characters, like the dragon and the flying books.

Proof that Terry's books speak to all ages on a variety of levels. Where's my Cow? is one of the most loved books on our shelf.

Thanks for letting me share a bit of silliness.

Kris J in Oregon

DWM replies: In our case, this sounds like a typical late-thirty-something's love of body humour.

*
* From: "Matthew Del Papa" crashmat@cyberbeach.net
*
As a long time fan of both Disney and Pratchett I have to say I was excited by this idea [of Disney making Mort - Ed]. Especially now that John Lasseter (former head of Pixar) is running the animation arm at the mouse house. His touch is golden (even Pixar's bad movies -- A Bug's Life, Cars -- are better than 95% of the other stuff being produced elsewhere!).

If anybody can make it work it's Lasseter -- his motto at Pixar was: Story first!

*
* From: "Ian Jopson" joppyuk1@sky.com
*
I have read with interest the letters about the possibility of railway services on the Discworld. Noggin the Nog had trains running in the Land Of The Nogs a long time ago. According to the book 'Nogmania' just reprinted by the Dragons Friendly Society they were powered by dragons heating the boilers. Problem solved.

*
* From: "Alosin Alosin" artalosin@yahoo.com.au
*
Hello from Downunder....Festive Greetings to All, These are observations that I've made as regards my own recipes of brandy soaked Xmas cakes, which are very similar to the recipe in the newsletter (except I use rice flower, as I'm allergic to wheat) : left to cool completely, then wrapped in foil, then plastic wrap, cake can be frozen. The alcohol preserves the cake - well it does if you use the amount I do - and cake can be stored in an airtight tin, in cupboard, but not if weather is going from hot to cold and back again in a day like here in Melbourne (Australia). WARMED but NOT hot, a piece of this type of cake goes well with cream, any type of cream, including icecream or custard, do not try to drive or even walk after eating this sort of cake, just relax and enjoy digesting it. Cooks in the tropical north of Australia add tinned crushed pineapple to this cake (and anything else that doesn't run away and hide) The pineapple helps keep the cake moist. I soak all the dried fruits and tinned fruits beforehand. In fact I soak my dried fruit for several months in St Agnes brandy in airtight jars. It becomes lethally alcoholic.YUM ! Merry Xmas from Adrienne Downunder PS Hoping to meet some Oz Discworld fans at the Aussie con this year.

*
* From: "ANGELA" angela.orac@ntlworld.com
*
Recently I had my honeymoon on the cruise ship, Brilliance of the Seas. Imagine my surprise when the Windjammer (buffet bar) had a sign saying 'AntiPasta'. First of all the food was free, and not expensive like you would expect. Secondly, and slightly disappointingly, there were no food explosions. I wonder if the cooks were Pratchett fans, and had read Reaper Man...

DWM replies: I've seen AntiPasto on a lot of menus but that's just Italian for 'before the meal' - but not AntiPasta.

*
* From: "Simbyte" simbyte@gmx.de
*
I have very much enjoyed the annotations to Terry's novels on http://www.lspace.org/books/apf/index.html. However, it seems that the project has been abandoned since Going Postal. Does anyone here know if there is anything comparable somewhere else on the internet?

*
* From: "Daniel McGrath" danieljames@homecall.co.uk
*
Just wanted to let your readers know that the unabridged and abridged versions of the audio book of I Shall Wear Midnight have now been made available at http://www.audible.co.uk, and I assume also in all good book retailers. Really looking forward to reading this.

*
* From: "E & R Shanahan" ears@gil.com.au
*
It's one of those things....

When I shave in the morning (properly, with foam and all) I get all sorts of random thoughts in my head.

Jokes, odd words, punes, verse and I don't know what all.

The problem is that I don't know how much is original and how much is my memory bank having a clear out.

The reason for this e-mail is that the other morning the word 'thaumometer' came into my head and from that I got onto 'thaumic'. In a blinding light I saw a 'thaumic lance' and thought that would be a neat weapon in the hands of a wizzard - Maybe Leonard of Quirm has it in his notebook? (Why I should know about thermic lances when I am one of the least 'handy' men in the world I don't know.)

The thing is, Original or not? I cannot remember it being mentioned in any of the Pterry books.

The Man himself has enough on his plate without me pestering him, so does anyone know if this has appeared anywhere? If not I will have to make one and put it up on e-bay!

*
* From: "John Gosden" johngosd@gmail.com
*
I was tempted to try this recipe as a Christmas cake, so I followed Freya's instructions precisely (though I was dubious about the icing made just with sugar and lemon juice), including her suggestion to secure privacy before hoovering up the crumbs generated on cutting the cake up for storage.

I am sorry to have to tell you that:

It is absolutely delicious.

4. DiscTrivia

Last month I messed up. I meant to put "Moving Pictures" as the 10th book title in the list but for some reason I typed "Making Money" instead. After this was pointed out I went back to my hand written notes and in them I had written "Moving Pictures" but somewhere between reading and typing the error was introduced. So I apologise for making the trivia just a little more complicated last month.

This month I have listed ten Discworld books and ten character names. Your challenge is to match the characters to their appropriate book.

The books:

Reaper Man
Witches Abroad
Small Gods
Lords and Ladies
Men at Arms
Soul Music
Interesting Times
Maskerade
Feet of Clay
Hogfather

The names:

Mrs Gogol
William Scrope
Dorfl
Dr Cruces
Miss Flitworth
Medium Dave
Lias Bluestone
Twoflower
Lu-Tze
Seldom Bucket

The answers as usual can be found at the end of this issue.

5. Review: Hogswatch Wincanton 2010

Review by Jason Anthony

This year's Hogswatch event took place over the weekend of 28th and 29th November.

I arrived in Wincanton by mid-afternoon and made my way over to the Cunning Artificer's Shop where Reb and Ian were manning the counter. For once the shop was quite quiet and so I spent some time talking to them and sorting out my ticket for Saturday night's sausage supper.

I then stuck my head round the door to Bernard's (The Cunning Artificer himself) office and had a quick chat with him about life. After a while other people came into the store and wanted to speak with Bernard so I quietly moved out.

I decided to see who was in the Bear (recently named one of the 100 best pubs in England by the Telegraph http://discworldmonthly.co.uk?redir=BEAR165) because I noticed that there was nobody in the Dolphin when I walked past. In the Bear I bumped into some friends and we spent an hour or two catching up with each others' lives over a pint or two. A number of people had arranged to go down to Miahs (an Indian restaurant) but the numbers kept growing and growing so a few of us decided to head down first and hopefully eat up and get out of the way of the main group. Our group of four grew to ten of us and we failed in our mission to get out before the main group turned up.

After the lovely meal we headed back up to the Bear as it was the closest pub and had another pint or two before heading up to the Dolphin where I was staying. Once there I realised just how horrible the re-decoration of the Dolphin was. The once great pub now has the look of a city wine bar! All bare walls and no carpet. The effect was to make a comfy bar into a sterile emotionless space. Having no carpet meant that it was difficult to speak to people near you because of the scraping of chairs and the reflected sound. After a few more pints we headed off to our respective beds.

Saturday started with a filling full English breakfast and a few cups of tea. The theme of the weekend was military so after breakfast we got dressed in our Assassin uniforms that Aine and Sue had been working very hard making in the weeks up to the event. The black shirt with black labels with black writing on was very Douglas Adams but they looked great. I headed over to the shop where Bernard introduced me to a gentleman who has designed a Discworld board game. I had previously beta tested an earlier version a few months ago and am pleased to report that all the issues we bought up in testing appear to have been answered. The game is called Ankh-Morpork and I look forward to seeing it develop further.

After playing the game for a while I headed down to the Nog Inn for something to eat and then ran out of time because I was needed for the muster in the Bear. Luckily the people I was with agreed to sort out a doggy bag when the food arrived. We met up at the shop and then marched down Wincanton High Street to the Bear where Terry was due to inspect the troops. The assassins were at the front of the procession and once we entered the Bear we stood to one side of the hall and blended into the background. Terry then inspected all the other people in costume and when he finished it was announced that it was all done and we could move onto the next item. At that point all thirteen assassins stepped out of the shadows and said, 'what about us?' to the surprise of the room.

Terry then inspected the assassins' squad after agreeing to become a member himself. I had been given the name Captain Catastrophe which I forgot the moment Terry asked my name so I looked down at my shirt to confirm my name and Terry asked me why I was looking at my pants. My reply 'that's where my name's written' met with some laughter from Terry and the rest of the squad! After it was agreed that we all passed muster we filed off stage.

Then a very strange thing happened: a guitar and amp were set up on the stage and Wurzel (ex-guitarist from Motorhead) got up on stage and played a couple of excellent riffs. It turns out that Wurzel is a Discworld fan and wanted to play guitar for (and meet) Terry. It was cool meeting Wurzel as the last time I had seen him perform with Motorhead was back in 1991. [WB Says: Wurzel! Wurzel! Wurzel!]

After Wurzel left the stage he posed for some photographs - my fault, I was the first to ask him! Terry started to talk about the sword he's involved in making. Last year Terry helped dig out the 175 lbs of iron ore and bits of meteorite (or Thunderbolt Iron) that have been used to make the sword. Terry asked his friend and fully ordained Anglican Priest Lionel Fanthorpe to bless the sword for him and to name it.

Once Terry's sword was blessed he knighted (Sir) Mr Pat Harkin and (Sir) Mr Boggis for services to the Discworld community.

I then left the Bear and headed up to the Dolphin where some of us played a couple of games of Munchkin and Flux. While we were in the Dolphin Davina had arranged for a Discworld-inspired show to be performed but I forgot all about it and missed it! After games I headed down to the Bear for the traditional sausage supper. The sausages were locally produced and were really lovely. After dinner the folk band Lavington Bound who played at the spring event performed for us and had written a couple of Discworld-inspired songs including their version of Where's My Cow? You can look up the band on My Space and even listen to a sample of Where's My Cow?

Sunday started much the same as Saturday with a full English breakfast - after which I headed over to the shop to find out what was going to be in the auction. We then carried all the auction items down to the Bear including the year's supply of Discworld toilet paper (don't ask). We catalogued all the items and then started the auction. In the end just over 1800GBP was raised for RICE and 130GBP for Battersea Dog's Home.

At the end of the auction Bernard said his traditional send off and the event was over. We spent a little time collecting in money and handing out the auction items before taking all the money to the shop.

I made my farewells and headed off home, tired but happy.

You can find a lot of photos from the event at the following locations: (Some will require Facebook)

6. Competition: US First Edition hardback of Nation

Rather than not have a competition this month I've rummaged through my collection and have found an unread hardback US first edition of Nation with the rough cut page ends and thought I might give it away. So if you are interested in a two-year-old unsigned copy of Nation, feel free to enter the competition.

Q1.

What was the month and year of the first issue of Discworld Monthly?

Send your answer along with your postal address to competitions@discworldmonthly.co.uk by 22nd January 2011. Your address will only be used if you are a winner and only for sending out your prize - once prizes are sent out all address information will be destroyed. Entries received after 22nd January 2011 or sent to any other address will be ignored. No more than one entry per person will be accepted. Answers to the questions must not be posted to any websites before the competition ends. The judges' decision is final.

7. The End

Discworld Monthly would like to thank Sonnet UK for hosting our mailing list for us free of charge. For more information about Sonnet UK visit their website at http://www.sonnetuk.net

* Contact Information *

We prefer information to be sent via email, but can accept information via fax or post at the following addresses:

Email: info@discworldmonthly.co.uk
Post: J Anthony-Rowlands (DWM), 20 Cambrian Place, Pontarddulais, Swansea, SA4 8RG

* Latest Book Information *

I Shall Wear Midnight http://discworldmonthly.co.uk?ISBN=0385611072

Unseen Academicals http://discworldmonthly.co.uk?ISBN=0385609345

Nation (non Discworld Hardback) http://discworldmonthly.co.uk?ISBN=0385613709

Folklore of the Discworld (add-on book) http://discworldmonthly.co.uk?ISBN=0385611005

Unseen Academicals (Paper Back) http://discworldmonthly.co.uk?ISBN=0552153370

* Subscription Information *

To subscribe to -Discworld Monthly- simply enter your email address in the form on the -Discworld Monthly- web page. Our web site contains all back issues and links to other Pratchett sites.

http://discworldmonthly.co.uk/

Current circulation approximately 21,000.

To un-subscribe please follow the instructions at the end of this email.

If you have any problems un-subscribing visit our removal help page.

* DiscTrivia Results *

A1.

Reaper Man - Miss Flitworth

A2.

Witches Abroad - Mrs Gogol

A3.

Small Gods - Lu-Tze

A4.

Lords and Ladies - William Scrope

A5.

Men at Arms - Dr Cruces

A6.

Soul Music - Lias Bluestone

A7.

Interesting Times - Twoflower

A8.

Maskerade - Seldom Bucket

A9.

Feet of Clay - Dorfl

A10.

Hogfather - Medium Dave

* Obtaining Terry's Books *

If you are looking for Terry books or videos over the net, simply visit our web page at http://discworldmonthly.co.uk and follow the -Purchasing- link on the left panel of the page.

* Supporting DWM *

Discworld Monthly was created as a totally free newsletter and will continue to remain so for as long as it continues. However, the costs of maintaining the web site, postage, travel etc. adds up. If you feel you would like to make a small contribution towards these costs please consider doing so via http://www.paypal.com

My account for Paypal is info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

Thanks

* Small Print *

We make no effort whatsoever to ensure the information in this newsletter is accurate or even legal. Remember to always exercise caution when passing your credit card details over the Net (or over the phone for that matter). All trademarks are recognized as the property of their respective owners, whoever they may be.

* Thanks *

Thanks for reading this issue of 'Discworld Monthly'. We hope you enjoyed it. If you have any comments or suggestions for the future of this newsletter please email: info@discworldmonthly.co.uk

Previous Next