Wossname -- Special edition -- March 2016

[News and reviews about the works of Sir Terry Pratchett]

Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
March 2016 (Volume 19, Issue 3, 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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INDEX:

01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH
02) EDITOR'S LETTER
03) A FEW THINGS
04) CLOSE

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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"It is hard to look at a future without Terry, his humour, wicked 
bubble-pricking comments, his amazing inventiveness, his style, the 
deftness of his puns, and the deep moral sense that pervaded all of the 
books, without being obtrusive. Time and again readers of his books have 
told me how their lives had been shaped by them. And every time I 
finished reading a new book, I did so with a sense of immense 
satisfaction at having read yet another work by a master, at the 
tremendous sense of superb craftsmanship he had brought to the book, 
this amazing skill that produced books that can be read again and again 
over the years without ever feeling a loss of admiration, and 
discovering some historical or literary reference or joke that had 
passed me by on earlier readings. AS Byatt said in her tribute that 'No 
writer in my lifetime has given me as much pleasure and happiness'. I 
wholeheartedly endorse that."

– Colin Smythe, in his tribute in the Irish Times, 2015

"Anyone who has read one of Terry's novels will know how he could spin 
the most beautiful sentences and make his craft look effortless – it was 
what made him such a huge success. Now he was using that talent not for 
another piece of fiction, not for his own benefit at all, but to deal 
with a very real issue that we are all, at some point in our futures, 
going to have to face."

– Rob Wilkins, in his introduction to the published transcript of 
Shaking Hands with Death

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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR: REMEMBER HIS NAME

Today marks the first anniversary of the day Sir Terry Pratchett died.

Some months ago, I said in an editorial here that I refused to mourn his 
passing, preferring to only celebrate his life and work. That remains 
true to this day, but I have to admit that in an ideal world I would 
have wished for a different outcome. I would have wished, in an ideal 
world, that PCA had never taken my favourite author's brain in its 
horrible grip. I would have wished, in an ideal world, that he live to a 
grand old age, a productive old age, such as the ninety-three years 
achieved by PG Wodehouse, that luminous yet far lesser talent to whom 
Sir Terry's writing was often compared. I would rather he'd had the 
opportunity to lead us at a more relaxed pace through the social and 
technological changes of the Discworld, without the ever-growing spectre 
of memory and processing loss looming over his shoulder. In an ideal 
world, he would still be with us, still entertaining and educating us 
with the magical-in-all-ways worlds he created. But our world is not 
ideal, and that's not the way it happened.

It is customary in many parts of our world to mark certain anniversaries 
with a minute or two of silence, in order to pay respects. For Terry 
Pratchett, I suggest we show our respect doing the opposite, in ways of 
which he would have heartily approved. Make two minutes, not of silence, 
but of joyful noise. Read a Tiffany Aching book aloud in your best Nac 
Mac Feegle accent. Torment your nearest and dearest with ridiculous 
pun(n)(e)s***. Consider the wisdom of Granny Weatherwax, Pastor Oats, 
Lord Vetinari, Solomon Cohen, or Mau of the Nation. Turn a workmate or 
neighbour on to the works of Pratchett. And most of all, remember that 
Terence David John Pratchett, like so many of his creations, left the 
world a better place than he found it.

– Annie Mac, Editor

*** e.g. "What do you call it when two Fools divorce but can't decide 
who gets the children? A custardy battle!"

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03) A FEW TIME-DEPENDENT THINGS

3.0 PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE WANTS YOUR TRIBUTES

...for a new video:

"We are collecting fan tributes to create a video celebrating what Terry 
meant to his readers. If you’d like to be included, simply film a short 
clip of yourself (landscape) holding up, on a piece of plain paper, one 
or two words that sum up what Terry Pratchett and the Discworld means to 
you, whilst saying that word or phrase out loud. Send your clips in to 
discworld at penguinrandomhouse.co.uk by 18th March."


3.1 DISCWORLD PLAYS ON STAGE THIS WEEK

MASKERADE IN SOUTHEND

When: 15th - 19th March 2016
Venue: Dixon Studio, Palace Theatre, 430 London Road, Southend, Essex, 
SS0 9LA (phone 01702 351135)
Time: all evening shows 7.30pm. Matinees on Thursday 17th and Saturday 
19th March 2.30pm
Tickets: £11.50 and £12.50. A £1.50 per ticket booking fee applies 
capped at six per order. To purchase online, go to http://bit.ly/1nxQ6p8 
and click on the Buy button for your chosen date.

http://www.eastessexplayers.co.uk/
http://www.sosac.co.uk/c/?776

MORT IN CHELMSFORD

When: NOW through 19th March 2016 (daily performances from Wednesdays to 
Saturdays)
Venue: The Old Court Theatre, 233 Springfield Road, Chelmsford, Essex 
CM2 (phone 01245 606505)
Email boxoffice at chelmsfordbc.gov.uk
Website www.ctw.org.uk
Time: 7.45pm all shows
Tickets: £10.00  (£9.00  for over-60s, Under-16s or  Students). A £1.50 
fee is applicable per transaction, except for cash and debit card 
payments made in person and by telephone (01245 606505). To purchase 
tickets online, go to http://bit.ly/1XiRW9i and click the Buy Tickets 
button for your desired date.

http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/mort

MASKERADE IN WITHAM, ESSEX

When: Wed. 16th to Sat. 19th of March 2016
Venue: Witham Public Hall, Collingwood Road, Witham, Essex, CM8 2DY
Time: 7.45 pm all shows
Tickets: £10 advance, £12 on the door (for senior citizens and U16s, £8 
in advance but £10 on the door; this discount is not available for the 
Friday and Saturday shows), available by phone (01621 892404), by 
emailing Contact at WithamDramatic.co.uk, or online at 
http://www.withamdramatic.co.uk/boxoffice.html

http://www.withamdramatic.co.uk/production.html#inprod


3.2 NAMING THE NEW WINCANTON BRIDGE

 From the Western Gazette:

"Wincanton residents are to be given the opportunity to name a new 
bridge in the town. The bridge will provide access to a new play area in 
Cale Park, as a project to regenerate the recreation ground moves 
forward with its first phase. So far some of the suggestions have been 
inspired by the town's literary connections and its voluntary 
organisations, with possible names such as the Terry Pratchett memorial 
bridge or the C.A.T.C.H bridge being put forward. Other monikers being 
touted include the Queen Elizabeth II bridge, the Gateway bridge or the 
Troll bridge... A public consultation will be held on Friday, April 8 at 
the David Sharp Centre to encourage residents to learn more about the 
plans for the park and to submit their name ideas for the bridge. The 
consultation will also ask people what they wish the next phase of 
development at the park to focus on. Anyone interested in joining the 
Friends of Cale Park group or submitting a suggested name for the new 
bridge should contact town council clerk Sam Atherton on 01963 31693 or 
wincantontownclerk at hotmail.co.uk."

http://bit.ly/1SGPt9w

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04) CLOSE

The shortlist of eight books for this year's Carnegie prize has now been 
announced, and The Shepherd's Crown is on it. This is an appropriate 
remembrance, but the book deserves to be there anyway for its brilliance.

You can still apply for a ticket to attend the Terry Pratchett Memorial 
in April. Go to http://bit.ly/ticket-application any time until 14th 
March. "You may request a single ticket or a pair. Tickets will be 
chosen at random and successful applicants will be contacted as soon as 
possible after the ballot closes. Hope to see you there.

See you later this month, with the regular March issue. And now and 
always, GNU Terry Pratchett!

– Annie Mac

This issue can be viewed on the web at
http://wossname.dreamwidth.org/31759.html

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(at) pearwood (dot) info