Terry Pratchett ruined The Omen for me.

Yesterday we heard of the sad passing of Sir Terry Pratchett eight years after being diagnosed with a rare form of early onset Alzheimer's called Posterior Cortical Atrophy.  He was only 66 years old, far too young.

Much in keeping with the man himself, the way I found out was worthy of the Unseen University academics, I was at home and the laptop was on.  As with all laptops and PCs, the screen had gone black as I had not used it for a while but suddenly it flashed on and off, then on again.  The first tweet I saw was... 

Scrolling back further I found....

There was also a statement confirming the sad news.

I was introduced to Terry's books by a friend, I say introduced, I was staying over one weekend and couldn't sleep so I grabbed the nearest book from the shelf and it just happened to be Wyrd Sisters, a couple of pages in and I was hooked.

I started treating myself to a new book each payday until I was caught up and then bought others as soon as the paperback came out.

I love the characters - Death (or DEATH) and his grand-daughter, Susan, Duchess of Sto Helit, are my favourite characters, though I do have a fondness for Granny Weatherwax, Carrot Ironfoundersson, Gaspode and, of course, The Luggage.

I love that the books are written for adults, that they are hilarious and that there is no bad language, excepting 'buggrit, millennium hand and shrimp' of course.

I imagine that had a Carry On Discworld been made, Sid James would be Sam Vimes, Joan Sims - Lady Sybil, Kenneth Williams would definitely have been Vetinari, Terry Scott - Fred Colon, Peter Butterworth - Nobby Nobbs and Imogen Hassall - Angua.

One of the books that I had put off reading for a while, was Good Omens, written with Neil Gaiman.  I eventually got around to reading it and loved it, I have also since listened to the radio version.

Then I watched The Omen, or at least tried to.  In almost every scene, I could relate something back to Good Omens which meant I spent the film giggling, probably not the effect that was intended.  I gave up in the end.

Sir Terry Pratchett  1948-2015

(Photo - Dominic Lipinski/PA)

“‘I meant,’ said Ipslore bitterly, ‘What is there in this world that truly makes living worthwhile?” Death thought about it. Cats, he said eventually. Cats are nice.”

Ten Day You Challenge - Four Books

Four Books

1.  The Swish of the Curtain by Pamela Brown.  I loved this book and the tv series that followed, the book cost me 75p when I bought it which was a fortune back in the day.  It is about some very posh children who set up their own theatre company in a derelict hall for which they raise money to repair themselves.  It is very much of its time and probably would not be appreciated by today's youngsters.

2.  The Hal and Roger Series by Willard Price.  A very un-PC series of books that were bought for me by my Grandad, which probably was one of the reasons I loved them so much.  It was about two young brothers who travelled the world trapping animals for zoos and private collections.  They faced danger in every book from cannibals to sharks but always came through.

3.  The Famous Five.  Who hasn't read the Famous Five?  Julian, Dick and Ann, George and Timmy the dog.  I always imagined myself as George, a complete tomboy with a dog.  I would have loved to live on the coast and have my own boat and island.

4.  The Discworld series by Terry Pratchett.  I can read these again and again.  In these books I see myself as Granny Weatherwax, Susan Sto Helit or Lady Sybil rather than Nanny Ogg or Sergeant Angua, certainly not Mrs Palm.