Terry Pratchett OBE

For anyone wondering how and why I have dedicated this site to the Lancre Morris Men, I can only blame Terry Pratchett their original creator.  If you are unfamiliar with the books of this fine fantasy writer, you have only yourself to blame.  His scathing wit and subtle (verging on the vitriolic) humour runs to 55 books, translated into 33 languages.

I am proud to say I now own a copy of every book he has written and even on the re-reads, I can still find humourous references I missed the first time I read them.

Thank you, Terry for giving me many years of side-splitting humour and the ability to see the funny side of any situation.  I am always looking forward to your next publication.

For those of you who  keep up with the news of Terry, you may have heard that he has recently pledged GB£494,000 ($1m) to the Alzheimer's Research Trust.  This is because Terry has been diagnosed with a rare form of the condition after further medical tests followed a phantom stroke he suffered early in 2007.

True to his nature, Terry released the details in a letter to the media. Typically, the letter was entitled 'An Embuggerance' and gave his views to his condition.

...."I would have liked to keep this one quiet for a little while," he wrote, "but because of upcoming conventions and of course the need to keep my publishers informed, it seems to me unfair to withhold the news."

Terry said work was continuing on his latest works, Nation and Unseen Academicals, and that there was "time for at least a few more books yet".

"All other things being equal, I expect to meet most current and, as far as possible, future commitments."

"Frankly, I would prefer it if people kept things cheerful," he continued, saying it was "too soon to tell" if the condition was immediately life-threatening.

"I will, of course, be dead at some future point, as will everybody else. For me, this maybe further off than you think.

"I know it's a very human thing to say 'Is there anything I can do?' but in this case I would only entertain offers from very high-end experts in brain chemistry."

As I know bugger all about high end brain chemistry, all I can send to Terry are my thanks, for many years of entertainment and my best wishes to him, his wife and family in the hope he may continue his creativity for many years to come.

Thoughts which, I am sure, will be shared by all visitors to this site.

Another Pratchett fan, Rory O'Brien, has recently set up an on-line petition to call on the Government to honour Terry with a knighthood for his contribution to literature and bringing pleasure to millions of readers across the globe.

This is something I agree with, especially when you examine the way honours have been handed out in the past to many people who can't string two words together to make a sentence.

If you would like to show your support for this petition, you can Sign Here