Wossname – April 2021 – main issue

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

Wossname
Newsletter of the Klatchian Foreign Legion
April 2021 (Volume 24, Issue 3, Post 1)

********************************************************************
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 CONVENTION NEWS
05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS
06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS
07) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS
08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH
09) CLOSE

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01) QUOTES OF THE MONTH

"You have to learn that grammar, punctuation and spelling are not things 
that only happen to other people."
– Sir Pterry, talking about how to become a writer (1996)

"That’s what the gods are! An answer that will do! Because there’s food 
to be caught and babies to be born and life to be lived and so there is 
no time for big, complicated, and worrying answers! Please give us a 
simple answer, so that we don’t have to think, because if we think, we 
might find answers that don’t fit the way we want the world to be."
– Mau, in Nation, figures out what makes humans tick

"We played Bat out of Hell at the end of Dad’s funeral (and I thoroughly 
recommend ending such things on an ‘up’ song) and he also chose it as 
one of his songs on Desert Island Discs. It has a special place in my 
heart. A big GNU for Jim Steinman."
– Pratchett the Younger notes the passing of one of Music With Rocks 
In's greatest lyricists

"I save about twenty drafts – that's ten meg of disc space – and the 
last one contains all the final alterations. Once it has been printed 
out and received by the publishers, there's a cry here of 'Tough shit, 
literary researchers of the future, try getting a proper job!' and the 
rest are wiped."
– Sir Pterry again, back in the days when he had world enough and time 
to chat with fans on Usenet

"Pratchett started his career in local papers, so he knows his amusingly 
shaped onions. He died in 2015, eight years after his diagnosis with a 
rare form of Alzheimer’s. 'An embuggerance,' he called it. It was like 
losing Gandalf."
– respect from Times journalist Laura Freeman

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02) LETTER FROM YOUR EDITOR

On the twenty-eight day of this month, one of Roundworld's{1} 
best-beloved authors was born. Your Editor is not in the habit of 
wishing a happy birthday to anyone who can no longer celebrate it{2}, 
and therefore neither is Wossname, but Wossname definitely and 
wholeheartedly wishes that all appreciators everywhere of the brilliant 
work and life of the late Professor Sir Terence David John Pratchett, 
OBE and Blackboard Monitor will raise a toast in love and respect, and 
celebrate the day of his birth by re-reading some favourite passages 
from Discworld or other Pratchett novels{3}. GNU Sir Terry. GNU forever.

A few bits and bobs (not to be confused with odds and sods – those are 
in part 3):

Don't forget that Troll Bridge is now available to view online. Yes, 
it's a fan film, but it's slick and classy and lovingly made and The 
Author himself did contribute to its making. Enjoy!

https://www.trollbridge.film/

A year on in the seemingly never-ending pandemic, Stephen Briggs 
celebrated by re-reading the first instalment of many he's read to 
Clacks listeners over the months. Another thing to enjoy...

https://bit.ly/2QXHvjU

Something Sir Terry would have approved of: Tasmania and Spain are the 
latest to legalise assisted dying

And speaking of notable birthdays, Wossname wishes a happy 50th to 
"Anthony J Crowley" aka the redoubtable (and suspiciously young-looking) 
David Tennant.

And now, on with the show...

– Annie Mac, Editor


{1} And certainly ours!
{2} As far as we know
{3} This happens regularly in my household anyway, but the 28th will be 
a special birthday-celebrating re-read

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

03) ODDS AND SODS

3.1 THE CARPET PEOPLE TURNS 50

Hard to believe, isn't it? And more astonishing still to think that a 
number of then-young readers who fell in love with The Carpet People 
when it was first published will have passed that love on to their 
children – and soon, their grandchildren. It's such a lovely book that 
even if Sir Terry hadn't gone on to even greater heights, it would still 
be respected and loved as a children's literature great.

The audiobook of The Carpet People, as read by David Tennant especially 
for the occasion of its 50th birthday, is now available in the UK as a 
digital download or CD!

https://bit.ly/3ezAOgb

The official tweet!

"Introducing a very special edition of The Carpet People, Terry’s first 
published novel, written when he was just 17. Celebrating 50 years since 
its first publication, it will be available on 22 April, and is released 
alongside a new audiobook read by the wonderful David Tennant."

https://twitter.com/terryandrob/status/1377186283395579909

A loving Guardian piece by Alison Flood:

"'Terry would have loved knowing that David was going to do it,' said 
Rob Wilkins, Pratchett’s former assistant and friend who now manages the 
Pratchett estate. 'David was a Doctor Who that really mattered in the 
Pratchett household, so he would have been so thrilled.' Pratchett 
dreamed up The Carpet People as a teenager; a 1971 interview revealed 
that he was 'putting the world to rights … with a friend one evening 
when the friend got up to emphasise a point and started to pace across 
the room. "Don’t do that", said Terry suddenly, "You’ll disturb the 
carpet people." 'He was,' said Wilkins, 'writing early versions of The 
Carpet People in short stories when he was at school, so this goes way 
back. He was noodling around with ideas even then. He was thinking about 
this as a nano world. They’re much smaller than The Borrowers. They 
couldn’t wield needles as weapons; they would be ginormous to them. He 
was absolutely fascinated by a small, flat world.'... The Carpet People 
manuscript was picked up when he interviewed a local publisher, Peter 
Bander van Duren, and mentioned that he was working on a book. Van 
Duren’s co-director Colin Smythe took a look, and ended up becoming 
Pratchett’s first publisher, and later his agent. 'This was written by a 
17-year-old, and seemed to me to be showing great promise of a 
brilliant, if not yet genius, mind – a kid at 17 who was writing so well 
must logically get better as he improved with experience,' said Smythe. 
'His imagination was second to none.'..." [Amen to that! – Ed.]

https://bit.ly/3gR7e8P

[Editor's note: embedded part-way down the page is a two-minute extract 
from David Tennant's reading of The Carpet People]

3.2 PRATCHETT PROJECT TALKS AVAILABLE ONLINE!

Not even a worldwide pandemic could stop The Pratchett Project going 
ahead last year! The talks are now being released on YouTube. Check them 
out!

Space in Pratchett's Narrative Networks by Matthew Roughan:
https://youtu.be/mQ7HwMyjOPM

Political Idealism in the Discworld Novels by Ruchira Mandal:
https://youtu.be/FlBjXXa3v6A

The Big Wahoonie: Ankh-Morpork as Cross-Media Urban Imaginary by Helena 
Esser:
https://youtu.be/RUTwLO33zKA

The Wilkins speaks! Assisting Terry Pratchett, an interview with Rob 
Wilkins from the Pratchett Project Conference 2020:
https://youtu.be/Izh_EZ-mb8g

More to come...

https://twitter.com/PratchettProj

3.3 RESPECT FOR THE LITERARY POWER OF "THE TRUTH"

A takes-no-prisoners retrospective by journalist Laura Freeman, who 
calls it " a comic novel that rivals Evelyn Waugh", in The Times:

"Why, when Virginia Woolf is shelved above the breakfast table in my 
flat (you know, just in case, in pre-Covid days, someone lofty came to 
tea) is my Pratchett collection, all four shelves of it, relegated to a 
bookcase at the end of the children’s corridor at my parents’ house? I 
blame 'sci-fi'. Worse, that many-headed monster the 
'sci-fi-fantasy-sword-and-sorcery' section. I wish bookshops wouldn’t do 
it. Pratchett said that he wrote the Discworld series as an antidote to 
the 'belike he will wax wroth' school of otherworldly fiction: the 
followers of the followers of the followers of Tolkien, the 
sub-sub-hobbits. Move Pratchett to modern humour, or simply put him in 
fiction. Pratchett has been compared to PG Wodehouse, Stephen Leacock 
and Douglas Adams, but for my money the Discworld books are more like 
many-charactered, many-chaptered Dickens. I sympathise with the reader 
who gets as far as the first page of The Colour of Magic, the first in 
the 41-strong Discworld series, published in 1983, and on meeting the 
star turtle Great A’Tuin swimming through the interstellar gulf with 
four elephants on its back, thinks: 'You lost me at turtle.' But they’re 
wrong. If you like Shakespeare, you’ll love Wyrd Sisters, Pratchett’s 
1988 novel. If you like comparative mythology you’ll worship Pyramids. 
If you’re into gothic romanticism you’ll sink your teeth into Carpe 
Jugulum. I’m a hack, so I value The Truth..."

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/972fdb90-8cad-11eb-a1a3-928d43a3bbc1

3.4 TIFFANY ACHING AND ADOLESCENT ANGER

An long, interesting essay on angry young women in literature, featuring 
our favourite Chalk witch. By Dorothy Bennett on Tor.com:

"There are, of course, angry female villains, angry male heroes, and 
angry male villains of all ages, but I’ve discovered only a relatively 
few examples of angry young female heroines... I discovered Pratchett’s 
Discworld as an adult, but Tiffany Aching’s youthful anger still charmed 
me. (Tiffany is only nine in her first novel and sixteen in her last, 
but even at the beginning of her series, she is precocious enough to be 
grouped with the older Meg Murry.) Tiffany is introduced combatting a 
destructive magical force armed only with a frying pan and a strong 
sense of right and wrong. She thinks, 'I ought to be scared, but I’m 
just angry.' As the story progresses, another source of Tiffany’s anger 
comes to light – anger at her community. There was a harmless old woman 
cast out on suspicion of witchery, who died as a result. Tiffany boils 
at the remembrance, knowing that it was vile on two accounts: the woman 
wasn’t a witch, and more importantly, she didn’t have the means to 
protect herself. Tiffany recalls her Granny’s belief that 'someone has 
to speak up for them as has no voices.' In the final showdown with the 
malicious Fairy Queen, Tiffany consistently draws on her anger over the 
Queen’s injustices to galvanize herself into action. 'Ye have murrrder 
in yer eyes,' observes another character with admiration. Pratchett even 
goes so far as to note that Tiffany’s 'anger rose up, joyfully' – a 
delightful paradox... To Tiffany, Pratchett promises: you’re different 
and special and powerful, and you’ll always be this way—isn’t it 
glorious to be a witch? Tiffany does occasionally act out wrongly during 
her series of five books, and has to make amends to her community and 
her fellow witches. But, nowhere is her anger seen as invalid, only the 
way in which she handles her anger..."

https://www.tor.com/2021/04/21/the-power-of-adolescent-anger-lengles-meg-murry-and-pratchetts-tiffany-aching/

3.6 GASPODE IS A TOP DOG

...but we already knew that. Writing for Penguin Books, Indira Birnie 
ranks some famous literary canines and Gaspode is near the top!

"They say dogs are a man’s best friend – and when you look at the 
starring roles these canine companions play in literature, it feels like 
never a truer word has been spoken. Whether they appear as a 
protagonist’s faithful chum, are helping to solve fiendish mysteries or 
even act as a terrifying adversary, this species has inspired writers 
for centuries (even millennia, if you're counting the dogs found daubed 
on cave walls from the earliest period of human civilisation). With so 
many fictional hounds occupying the pages, narrowing down to a top ten 
feels almost impossible and so, of course, there are some notable 
omissions. But here we are, from the wonderful to the weep-inducing, 
this is our absolutely incontrovertible, definitive list of the top ten 
dogs in fiction. No arguments, please."

The list, in order from last to first, is Argos from The Odyssey, the 
dog from the Adrian Mole books, Bosun from Life After Life, Buck from 
Call of the Wild, Snowy Tintin, Lufra from Frederica, Bull's-eye from 
Oliver Twist, Gaspode, Hairy Maclary from the Hairy Maclary and Friends 
books, and in the number one spot, Snoopy.

Note: Ms Birnie says "no arguments, please" but also says "What did you 
think of our list, and which dogs would you want to add? Let us know by 
emailing us at editor at penguinrandomhouse.co.uk"

https://bit.ly/3gAhVfL

3.7 THE MERCH CORNER

* Discworld.com discount week!

Discworld.com is having a "spring clean!" There is a twenty per cent 
discount on notebooks, greetings cards, t-shirts & keyrings, valid until 
4th May if you use the code SPRING21 at the checkout. Enjoy!

https://discworld.com/

* REMINDER: new Stephen Briggs Discworld scriptbooks

Attention amateur theatre companies! Now that there may be an eventual 
end in sight to the Covid-19 pandemic and it may be time to start 
planning the return of Discworld to the stage, note that three new 
official Discworld scriptbooks have been published this month: The 
Shakespeare Codex, Lords and Ladies, and Hogfather. All three are now 
available direct from the publisher (Bloomsbury). Each scriptbook is 
priced at £9.89 (paperback) or £8.79 (ebook). For more information, and 
to purchase, go to:

The Shakespeare Codex: https://bit.ly/3rD40YL
Lords and Ladies: https://bit.ly/3eoXfpT
Hogfather: https://bit.ly/3bzxPUE

3.8 MAGIC IN THE LIBRARY...

An absolute gem of a short video from the BBC archives of 1996, in which 
The Author is joined for a chat in his beloved Beaconsfield Library by 
telly producer Steve Hocking. What a joy to hear his voice and bask in 
his gentle humour across the gap of years! Two minutes and thirty-one 
seconds of sheer magic:

https://bit.ly/2QXCCHA

3.9 PRATCHETT BOOK CLUB UPDATES

On the website of publishers Tor, Emmet Asher-Perrin continues a 
Discworld discussion page. This month's instalments take us from part 
four of Guards! Guards! to the entirety of Good Omens (slipped in 
despite it not being Discworld).

Guards!Guards! part four:

"The discussion about having Colon use his special arrow to shoot the 
dragon in the 'voonerables' is, of course, a longform reference to many 
fantasy stories, but The Hobbit in particular. Which is mostly excellent 
because the idea of Colon as a suitable replacement for Bard the Bowman 
is hilarious. Honestly, most of the fun of the Watch stories comes from 
whenever most or all of the rank is hanging around and talking about how 
they’re going to handle a given situation, so this time on the roof is 
wonderfully done. I am beginning to realize that when I remembered this 
book, I always thought of Carrot as having more a central role in the 
action, however. Strange what your brain does in filling in the gaps of 
stories... I adore the confrontation between Vimes and Wonse because it 
is always treated this way, as though figuring out the mystery is the 
endgame because no one would ever have a plan once they knew they’d been 
discovered. Like being caught robs a villain of their adaptability and 
imbues the detective with a power of their own. Oh no, Detective Poirot 
is going to explain to us who the killer is, it’s all over now. When 
that is, of course, nonsense. If you’ve survived as long as Wonse has 
doing this sort of thing, you are at least somewhat prepared for the 
eventuality of being confronted..."

https://bit.ly/3c1mmNT

...and five:

"The whole ending sequence of this book is just perfectly written. The 
parody, the physical comedy, the cinematic quality to the entire thing. 
Picturing them all fast walking, then trotting, and full out running to 
the palace. Reading everyone their rights in the most useless manner 
possible. (Also, apparently there is historical precedent for arresting 
animals in our own world too? So, you know, Carrot is perfect.) Lord 
Vetinari appearing around every corner to hound Wonse. And then the 
greatest character death in any book I’ve ever read, made by a metaphor 
becoming a reality and dropping someone out a window. Also, my petty 
streak really appreciates the moments where Vimes gets the chance to 
tell Vetinari to shut up. And I love that they just ask for a solid pay 
bump and a kettle at their little hero ceremony while Vetinari looks on 
in shock. I’d have laughed like Vimes too..."

https://bit.ly/2PnHrty

...and Asher-Perrin now moves on to Good Omens. Editor's note: Not 
quoting extracts here because in my opinion this blogger's ever-present 
presentism is turned up to a painful degree in these analyses, but feel 
free to read them...

Part the first: https://bit.ly/3mjycGO

...and second: https://bit.ly/3dQghnb

...and third: https://bit.ly/3gDqrKJ

...and last: https://bit.ly/3xqE460

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04) DISCWORLD CONVENTION NEWS

4.1 AUSDWCON UPDATES

An announcement, with footnotes

The Convention Moves...

Memorandum
From: Lord Vetinari, The Oblong Office, Ankh-Morpork
Subject: The Australian Discworld Convention 2021 – 2nd to 4th July 2022 
– 8th to 10th April, Sydney

The convention moves...
New dates, same theme, same venue...
happy hippos looking at calendar that says April 8,9,10 2022

Mark your calendars – tell your DisOrganiser – we have locked in new 
convention dates for Nullus Anxietas 7a – The Australian Discworld 
Convention: 8th to 10th April 2022. It may be delayed, but you can still 
look forward to a long weekend of Discworld related entertainment and 
education(1). Because the convention dates have changed, we have also 
moved the cut-off dates for the Early Bird tickets, the 
Not-So-Early-Bird tickets and the Gala Dinner.

Early Bird tickets will be available until 8th August 2021
Convention tickets and Gala Dinner tickets will be available until 13th 
March 2022
If you have already bought a ticket, and find to your utter dismay that 
you can no longer join us, then please contact our membership secretary 
via the Contact Us page with your membership number and they will 
organise a refund. This offer is open until 28th February 2021.

Same theme
Our convention theme remains the same, and we look forward to welcoming 
you to the bustling and exciting(2) metropolis of Ankh-Morpork, "Citie 
of One Thousand Surprises!”(3) Join us as we explore the winding streets 
from the Isle of Gods(4) to the Shades(5) to the Unseen University(6).

Same venue
The venue is still the Stamford Plaza Hotel in Sydney. The convention is 
taking over the whole conference area on the first floor - so that gives 
us one very large room and six smaller rooms suitable for workshops, 
discussions, Klatches(7) and dungeon (complete with scorpions(7a)). As a 
teaser, here is another iconograph of the venue – showing some of the 
pre-convention area and (very safe) chandelier.

1 This may include surprises.
2 Also very smelly and quite dangerous, but then no city is perfect!
3 Some of them are nice!
4 Where you may be mugged.
5 Where you will definitely be mugged.
6 Where you won't be mugged buy may not come out the same 
shape/colour/species.
7 A klatch is a chance for a dozen lucky people to meet with our guests 
for a more intimate conversation.
7a In case of mimes.

https://2022.ausdwcon.org/blog/2022dates/

...and an update, also with footnotes:

The Lost Con
As you hopefully know by now, sadly the Australian Discworld convention 
has been postponed until April next year. The theme remains Ankh-Morpork 
– Citie of One Thousand Surprises[1]!

Because April next year is such a long time away[2], we wanted to do 
something fun to celebrate our lost convention. Thanks to the magic of 
the Omniscope, this will be a virtual event running on Saturday 3rd July 
2021 – named The Lost Con[3].

The theme will be catching up and having fun, because it has been such a 
long time since we last saw each other. We have sent our mascots, Keith 
and Roderick[4], on a quest to find some exciting events, genial guests 
and astounding activities for the day. More details will be posted on 
our website soon.

1 Some of them nice!
2 By then we may all be wearing silver foil jumpsuits and travelling in 
flying carriages.
3 Yes – you got us – it's a pun on "The Last Continent", which in turn 
was Terry's pun on "The Lost Continent" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.
4 Keith and Roderick are of course the hippos from the Ankh-Morpork coat 
of arms – who you will have met in "Feet of Clay".

https://2022.ausdwcon.org/blog/raiders-of-the-lost-con/

This just in on the Nullus Anxietas Twitter account:

"Announcing the categories for The Lost Con* Maskerade! If you’re a prop 
producer, costume creator or first time fabricator we have a category 
for you!
More details coming soon!" The categories are Best Overall, Best Prop, 
Best costume Accessory, Best Presentation, Best Newbie, and Peoples[sic] 
Choice.

https://twitter.com/ausdwcon/status/1383223828751413250

4.2 IDWCON UPDATES

The upcoming Irish Discworld Convention has also been forced by 
circumstance to move online. Here be an FAQ. Some samples:

"Q. Why is the Convention being held online?

Due to the ongoing COVID19 pandemic, and after much deliberation, we 
have decided it is not safe or feasible to hold the Irish Discworld 
Convention in person in 2021. There are a number of factors that we have 
been considering very carefully for many months now, but it comes down 
to a few important details:
Safety: Although the vaccines are being rolled out very efficiently in 
some places like the UK, this is not the case here in Ireland. 
Vaccinations are happening frustratingly slowly. Furthermore, we are 
still not clear on the long-term efficiency for those at high-risk or 
against new strains. A Con that is not safe to attend is not an option.
Your pocket: If we go ahead and then have to cancel at short notice, we 
know that we cannot offer any refunds or help you out with 
travel/accommodation costs. This doesn't seem fair.
Our pocket: We have been handed the reins of IDWCon and we take this 
honour very seriously. We must ensure the financial security and 
longevity of the convention so that we can meet up when it is safe to do so.
We're not sure if you can get here: Cork airport recently announced they 
will close the airport for 2 weeks in the Autumn but have not stated 
when. Seriously – I think we have angered the gods!!!!!

Q. But I’m already vaccinated. Surely everyone will be vaccinated by then?
The vaccine rollout is not happening nearly as quickly as we would like 
in Ireland. Furthermore, even if you are vaccinated, we do not know how 
effective this will be and how it will work against future potential 
strains.

Q. But what if you only let vaccinated people attend?
In the future, there may be such things as ‘vaccination passports’ which 
may allow the enforcement of such an idea, but no such thing exists yet. 
Plus, we still don’t know what level of travel restrictions there will 
be on entering Ireland in October – even if you can prove you are 
vaccinated.  Vaccinations also don’t last forever so you would need to 
be able to show a recent vaccine (recent may vary depending on the 
particular vaccine)

Q. But it’s March – aren’t you making this call too soon?
We have been considering an online format for some time now and have 
progressively seen it as increasingly inevitable. The recent 
announcement of the closure of Cork airport has made us make this 
decision now. Plus – we need lots of time to prepare this online event 
to the standards we expect!

Watch this space. We will update as things are finalised. Alternatively, 
please contact chair at idwcon.org for specific queries."

https://2021.idwcon.org/index.php?id_cms=51&controller=cms

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

05) DISCWORLD PLAYS NEWS

* A WORD FROM THE UNSEEN THEATRE...

Dear Patrons,

You are probably wondering why you haven't heard from us for some time. 
This is because, despite our most well laid plans, basically COVID 19 
has taken absolutely no notice of them at all!! When this embuggerance 
first descended on us we knew that we would probably be prevented from 
producing anything in 2020, but we had been hoping to do something in 
May this year. Unfortunately the "Year of the Beleaguered Badger" turns 
out to be aptly named not only for the Discworld but for ours.  I mean 
we always knew that the Discworld held up a mirror to our own, right? – 
but did it really have to go this far???? Anyway we are hoping that the 
Badger and ourselves turn out to be less beleaguered in November. If 
that is the case then we hope to be bringing you one of our favourites – 
"Wyrd Sisters". It will run from November 15th to 27th.

Auditions will be in early August. Please keep these days free.

https://unseen.com.au/

* MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK IN ABINGDON (NOVEMBER 2021)

At last! From the Studio Theatre website:

"16 November 2021 marks 50 years of Terry as a published author. By a 
delightful coincidence, the revised dates for our delayed Discworld play 
– MURDER IN ANKH-MORPORK – are the same week as that anniversary. 'The 
Carpet People' was published on 16 November 1971. And on 17-20 November 
2021, we will be staging a celebration of Terry's work – featuring some 
of his best-loved characters – the Ankh-Morpork's City Watch. We are 
delighted that the show will be officially sponsored by Terry's Estate.

"We wanted to stage a play involving the Ankh-Morpork Night Watch. But 
we'd already staged all of Stephen Briggs' dramatizations [sic] 
featuring this noble group of guardians of justice. By coincidence, this 
year also marks the thirtieth anniversary of our first Pratchett play 
(and the first Pratchett dramatisation ever) – Wyrd Sisters. Stephen got 
special permission to put together an affectionate mash-up incorporating 
characters and bits from Guards! Guards! , Thud! and Feet of Clay, woven 
respectfully into the core plot of Men at Arms. All Terry."

When: 17th – 20th November 2021
Venue: Unicorn Theatre, Checker Walk, Abingdon OX14 3JB
Time: evening performances at 19.30, plus a 14.30 matinee on Saturday 
20th November
Tickets: £12, available for purchase from 14th September – keep an eye 
here for details!

https://www.studiotheatreclub.com/murder-in-ankh-morpork

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

06) DISCWORLD MEETING GROUPS NEWS

Remember, one day, possibly in the not too distant future, Discworld 
fans will be able to meet in the real Roundworld again. So keep this 
information handy! Also note there are a few updates below...

A new Fourecksian meeting group joins the gang: the Purdeigh Islanders, 
based in Hobart, Tasmania. "Purdeigh (or Purdee) Island lies hubwards of 
Fourecks. Roundworld islanders are fans of the great Sir Terry Pratchett 
resident in Tasmania, the island state of Australia."

The Purdeigh Islanders is a private group. To join in, go to their 
Facebook page and see if they'll have you!

https://www.facebook.com/groups/205967619882683/

*

The Broken Drummers, "London's Premier Unofficially Official Discworld 
Group"
BrokenDrummers at gmail.com or nicholls.helen at yahoo.co.uk or join their 
Facebook group at https://bit.ly/2YrPGW7

NOTE: the Drummers are still meeting occasionally via Zoom. Check out 
the above link for updates!

*

Drumknott's Irregulars
Facebook https://bit.ly/31FlSrq or Google Groups 
https:groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/drumknotts-irregulars or join us 
at our next event."

*

The Victorian Discworld Klatch
https://www.facebook.com/groups/VictorianDiscworldKlatch

*

"The Gathering of the Loonies (Wincanton chapter)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/373578522834654/

*

The Pratchett Partisans
https://www.facebook.com/groups/pratchettpartisans/ or contact Ula 
directly at uwilmott at yahoo.com.au

*

The City of Small Gods
www.cityofsmallgods.org.au

"What are we doing while we're stuck at home due to COVID-19? Given that 
our normal social gatherings can't happen while everyone's under 
lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are instead trying to host 
regular activities and discussions online. Most of these will be done 
via our Discord Server – https://discord.gg/3RVzsyJ – which has several 
text chat channels and a few voice chat channels as well. We will still 
use our Facebook group – https://facebook.com/groups/cityofsmallgods – 
to coordinate scheduled events. When things get back to normal... 
(semi-) regular social meetings are generally held on the last Thursday 
of the month at a pub or restaurant in Adelaide. We have dinner at 
6.30pm followed by games until 9pm.

"We'll try to keep this page up to date (no promises!) but always check 
emails on the mailing list or our Facebook Group for further details of 
these events."


*

The Broken Vectis Drummers
broken_vectis_drummers at yahoo.co.uk

*

The Wincanton Omnian Temperance Society (WOTS) meets at Wincanton's 
famous Bear Inn when social gatherings are possible.

*

The Northern Institute of the Ankh-Morpork and District Society of 
Flatalists normally meet at The Narrowboat Pub in Victoria Street, 
Skipton, North Yorkshire, Details of future meetings are posted on the 
Events section of the Discworld Stamps forum: 
http://www.discworldstamps.co.uk/forum/

*

Sydney now hosts two groups of fans who meet on a regular basis.

In the CBD, The Mended Drummers (Sydney) meet on the first Monday of 
each month at Albion Place Hotel from 6.00pm. Join the Facebook Group – 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/downunderdrummers/ – for more information.

And over in the western suburbs of Sydney you can find the Western 
Drummers who meet on the third Tuesday of each month at the Nepean 
Rowers Club from 6pm. Join their Facebook Group – 
https://www.facebook.com/groups/100376433635355/ – for more information.

All we do is chat over a few drinks, with subjects ranging far and wide, 
have a Discworld themed quiz and generally enjoy the company of fellow 
discworld fans.  Sometimes we end up getting together for a Zombie Walk, 
table top games or Supanova - nothing formal, just a loose group of like 
minded people.

Editor's note: If either of these supersedes the Sydney Drummers, please 
let Wossname know! Still posting the original for now: Sydney Drummers 
(formerly Drummers Downunder)
Contact Sue (aka Granny Weatherwax): kenworthys at yahoo.co.uk

*

The Treacle Mining Corporation, formerly known as Perth Drummers 
https://bit.ly/2EKSCqu – or message Alexandra Ware directly at 
<alexandra.ware at gmail.com>

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

07) DISCWORLD GAMES NEWS

7.1 "CLACKS" IS BACK!!!

That is to say, it will be soon – and in a new, even better form. Your 
Editor has heard from Dave Brashaw of Backspindle Games that they have 
received licence from the Pratchett estate (nice one, Mr Wilkins!) to 
create a new "collector's edition" with a number of exclusive new 
features. The game will include miniatures of Moist von Lipwig on Boris, 
Clacks Towers, and a Deep Dwarf, as well as new playing cards and a new 
game called Goblin Glory, and the artwork is by the superb Guillermo 
Marsilla. Dave says that there is already a lot of interest and that "if 
Roundworldians are interested in it, they can ask to be added to our 
Collector's Clacks only mail list. Once we go to pre-order and let them 
all know, we'll be deleting that list. All they need to do is send an 
email to: backspindle at gmail.com and add their first name and surname.", 
so do drop them a line!

Also, The promo video is now available on YouTube at The Collector's 
Edition of Discworld Clacks boardgame:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYfR2Z8elM8

7.2 HEX GAMES RETROSPECTIVE

A retrospective by Jim Cullinane:

"Most people will also be aware that, aside from the books, there were 
several television adaptations created (Going Postal and Hogfather for 
example). Some people may even be aware that there were 1997 animated 
adaptations for Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters by Cosgrove Hall. But bottom 
of the list, and rarely even discussed are the three Discworld video 
games that blessed our computers and consoles in the mid to late 
1990’s... After the literacy success of The Colour of Magic a video game 
was developed and released in 1986 by Piranha on multiple formats such 
as Commodore and Spectrum. The video game was a complete failure, having 
'several twinkles short of a glitter', but thankfully it is rarely 
spoken of. But then we hear the wise words of Pratchett himself, 'if 
failure had no penalty success would not be a prize.'... Thankfully 
during the 1990’s Gregg Barnett managed to successfully persuade Sir 
Terry Pratchett an offering and design concept that would allow him the 
power to direct a large adventure game for CD-based computer systems. 
Instead of the initial adaptation of a singular novel, this would cover 
a vast degree of titles penned by the great author himself. Discworld 
was born. With a development team combination of Teeny Weeny Productions 
and Perfect 10 Productions, Gregg Barnett directed the game which would 
be published by Psygnosis in 1995. The game was released in MS-DOS, 
Macintosh and Sony PlayStation formats with a Sega Saturn version being 
released the following year – time would tell if they were cutting their 
own throats. Discworld, also known as Discworld: The Trouble with 
Dragons, was a commercial success in Europe with its plot and humour 
being praised...."

And plenty more here:

https://bit.ly/3aEM1e4

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

08) IMAGES OF THE MONTH

Crowley by da Quirm, as channelled by da Vinci, as channelled by Kidby 
(as it were): https://bit.ly/3exOCHT

A lovely piece of Good Omens fanart, by Ineffable Phoenix:
https://bit.ly/2PpgO7i

AusDWCon's Raiders of the Lost Con logo: https://bit.ly/3efpkOL

The Chalk, as imagined by Paul Kidby. With Feegles, of course:
https://bit.ly/2R6ABsU

%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%

09) CLOSE

Department of lost in translation: the telly series The Watch has now 
been released in South American and there are a number of reviews. Some 
of them contain comic gems (more comical, in Your Editor's opinion, than 
the subject of the reviews). A few here, with "overloaded and Brownish 
hooligan" a standout:

"‘The Guard’ is an impossible mix of clear and genuine British flavor 
that moves on the edge of the precipice of chaos and ridicule... ‘The 
guard’ is a dystopa[sic] lost in time and space. A medieval fantasy of a 
reality that doesn’t seem to make much sense, in one of those 'parallel' 
universe in which Douglas Adams’ Ford Prefect would feel at home. But 
above all ‘The Guard’ is an overloaded and brownish hooligan where 
everything is susceptible to being a joke and there is no need to take 
anything seriously. Something in general lines chaotic, capricious and 
anarchic towards which, on the other hand, you have to have some kind of 
vital affinity... A bizarre production, which embraces the ridiculous 
and lies down with the absurd..."

https://www.explica.co/criticism-the-guard-an-instinctive-response.html

Right then, that's it for now. Mind how you go, and we hope to see you 
next month!

– Annie Mac

This issue can be viewed on the Clacks at 
https://wossname.dreamwidth.org/81559.html

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

The End. If you have any questions or requests, write: wossname-owner 
(at) pearwood (dot) info