>I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but > I can't seem to find confirmation or denial of this.
Old News. Quoting the Press Association this morning quoting pTerry:
"I had a stroke some time over the last two years. I don't even know when it was. I can't tie a necktie any more but, on the other hand, I can remember the whole of a Kleenex tissue advert from 1962. I haven't a clue why" - Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett.
'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" <geofffi...@hotmail.com> did say:
> I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but > I can't seem to find confirmation or denial of this.
> Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, Pterry mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but wasn't even sure *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems to be that he can no longer tie a tie.
[1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I got was that it was back a couple of years when he announced that health problems meant he was cutting back to one book a year, but ICBW.
-- Dave Official Absentee of EU Skiffeysoc http://sesoc.eusa.ed.ac.uk/ "There *is* no Niels, the Bouncing Cat! He's gone! Now, there is only ... P-Cat, the Penitent Puss!"
> 'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" > <geofffi...@hotmail.com> did say:
> > I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but > > I can't seem to find confirmation or denial of this.
> > Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
> In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, > Pterry mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but > wasn't even sure *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems > to be that he can no longer tie a tie.
> [1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I > got was that it was back a couple of years when he announced > that health problems meant he was cutting back to one book a > year, but ICBW.
> -- > Dave > Official Absentee of EU Skiffeysochttp://sesoc.eusa.ed.ac.uk/ > "There *is* no Niels, the Bouncing Cat! He's gone! > Now, there is only ... P-Cat, the Penitent Puss!"
It is old news. Last Weekend he did a book signing in Plymouth and according to my son he was in good health. Interestingly although the signing started at 12 (may have been one or later) my son happened to go by about an hour and a half before and noticed the massive queue and joined it then. When he eventually left over two hours later he checked again and the queue was the same length. This is with the signing only being advertised by two small posters upstairs in the book shop. He wondered why the signing of a book about Plymouth Argyle got several much larger posters in the window. I suggested that even if TP's event had been advertised by a hand written note hidden under a till, it would still have been packed whereas the other event may have trouble getting much of a queue even with the adverts! I do feel pity when you see authors at tables already to go but no body ready to come.
> "Geoff Field" <geofffi...@hotmail.com> wrote in message > news:470c9f5a$0$6690$afc38c87@news.optusnet.com.au... >>I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but >> I can't seem to find confirmation or denial of this.
> Old News. Quoting the Press Association this morning quoting pTerry:
> "I had a stroke some time over the last two years. I don't even know when > it was. I can't tie a necktie any more but, on the other hand, I can > remember the whole of a Kleenex tissue advert from 1962. I haven't a clue > why" - Fantasy writer Terry Pratchett.
One possible explanation is that, at least subconsciously, he likes Kleenex adverts but is not overly fond of neckties. In any case, it probably means that the person responsible for the advertisement should get an OBE for services to memorable marketing campaigns (along with whoever came up with "Lipsmackinthirstquenchinacetastinmotivatingoodbuzzincooltalkin highwalkinfastlivinevergivincoolfizzin Pepsi").
> I suggested that even if TP's > event had been advertised by a hand written note hidden under a till, > it would still have been packed whereas the other event may have > trouble getting much of a queue even with the adverts! I do feel pity > when you see authors at tables already to go but no body ready to > come.
See, this is where I start to feel left out. I live in the middle of Cowtip Ohio and the odds of Pterry ever doing a signing anywhere even remotely near me are about the same as Granny Weatherwax taking up pole-dancing (If you were drinking coffee when you read that I probably owe you a new keyboard). I am destined to go through life with my precious Discworld books unsigned. </woe>
On Oct 10, 4:38 pm, Puck <kormo...@osu.edu> wrote:
> Reader in Invisible Writings wrote:
> > I suggested that even if TP's > > event had been advertised by a hand written note hidden under a till, > > it would still have been packed whereas the other event may have > > trouble getting much of a queue even with the adverts! I do feel pity > > when you see authors at tables already to go but no body ready to > > come.
> See, this is where I start to feel left out. I live in the middle of > Cowtip Ohio and the odds of Pterry ever doing a signing anywhere even > remotely near me are about the same as Granny Weatherwax taking up > pole-dancing (If you were drinking coffee when you read that I probably > owe you a new keyboard). I am destined to go through life with my > precious Discworld books unsigned. </woe>
You have a full set of UNSIGNED PTerry books? Wow!! Hang on to them - they are very, very rare.
> 'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" > <geofffi...@hotmail.com> did say:
>> I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but >> I can't seem to find confirmation or denial of this.
>> Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
> In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, > Pterry mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but > wasn't even sure *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems > to be that he can no longer tie a tie.
> [1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I > got was that it was back a couple of years when he announced > that health problems meant he was cutting back to one book a > year, but ICBW.
On a related note, I had a somewhat similar experience recently while directing a stage production of Jingo. To help those unfamiliar with Terry's work to get into the right frame of mind I had our Footnote do a short rundown before the curtain opened. One night when she mentioned that she would quite like to meet Terry a supposed fan in the audience cried out that she was too late as Terry had died in a car accident last year. I was behind the curtain at the time and could not let that pass which led to an amusing little discussion between myself and Footnote about how I had seen Terry at the convention a few months before and that he was in fact quite healthy. Quite how these rumours start is beyond me.
One of the comments says that his voice was going when he was signing in Pennsylvania. I hope he'll feel better soon.
-- Carol "If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth. Particularly if the thing is cats." - Lemony Snicket _The Wide Window_
> > 'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" > > <geofffi...@hotmail.com> did say:
> >> I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but > >> I can't seem to find confirmation or denial of this.
> >> Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
> > In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, > > Pterry mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but > > wasn't even sure *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems > > to be that he can no longer tie a tie.
> > [1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I > > got was that it was back a couple of years when he announced > > that health problems meant he was cutting back to one book a > > year, but ICBW.
> On a related note, I had a somewhat similar experience recently while > directing a stage production of Jingo. > To help those unfamiliar with Terry's work to get into the right frame of > mind I had our Footnote do a short rundown before the curtain opened. One > night when she mentioned that she would quite like to meet Terry a supposed > fan in the audience cried out that she was too late as Terry had died in a > car accident last year. I was behind the curtain at the time and could not > let that pass which led to an amusing little discussion between myself and > Footnote about how I had seen Terry at the convention a few months before > and that he was in fact quite healthy. > Quite how these rumours start is beyond me.
> Anthony > -- > Nil Illegitimo Carborundum!
Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash?
in the words of a mr. Twain, "The rumors of my death have been highly exaggerated."
On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:01:27 +0000, ChesireCat wrote: > On Oct 10, 2:35 pm, "redtiger" <redtigeriiS...@iinet.net.au> wrote: >> "Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidchened...@aol.com> wrote in message
>> > 'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" <geofffi...@hotmail.com> >> > did say:
>> >> I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but I can't seem to >> >> find confirmation or denial of this.
>> >> Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
>> > In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, Pterry >> > mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but wasn't even sure >> > *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems to be that he can no >> > longer tie a tie.
>> > [1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I got was >> > that it was back a couple of years when he announced that health >> > problems meant he was cutting back to one book a year, but ICBW.
>> On a related note, I had a somewhat similar experience recently while >> directing a stage production of Jingo. >> To help those unfamiliar with Terry's work to get into the right >> frame of >> mind I had our Footnote do a short rundown before the curtain opened. >> One night when she mentioned that she would quite like to meet Terry a >> supposed fan in the audience cried out that she was too late as Terry >> had died in a car accident last year. I was behind the curtain at the >> time and could not let that pass which led to an amusing little >> discussion between myself and Footnote about how I had seen Terry at >> the convention a few months before and that he was in fact quite >> healthy. >> Quite how these rumours start is beyond me.
>> Anthony >> -- >> Nil Illegitimo Carborundum!
> Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, > he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, > perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash?
> in the words of a mr. Twain, "The rumors of my death have been highly > exaggerated."
Ah but then Mark Twain *is* dead, you know.
-- David Sewell "They that are awake have one world in common, White Hall, Virginia but of the sleeping each turns aside into USA a world of his own." --Heraclitus
> On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:01:27 +0000, ChesireCat wrote: > > On Oct 10, 2:35 pm, "redtiger" <redtigeriiS...@iinet.net.au> wrote: > >> "Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidchened...@aol.com> wrote in message
> >> > 'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" <geofffi...@hotmail.com> > >> > did say:
> >> >> I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but I can't seem to > >> >> find confirmation or denial of this.
> >> >> Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
> >> > In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, Pterry > >> > mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but wasn't even sure > >> > *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems to be that he can no > >> > longer tie a tie.
> >> > [1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I got was > >> > that it was back a couple of years when he announced that health > >> > problems meant he was cutting back to one book a year, but ICBW.
> >> On a related note, I had a somewhat similar experience recently while > >> directing a stage production of Jingo. > >> To help those unfamiliar with Terry's work to get into the right > >> frame of > >> mind I had our Footnote do a short rundown before the curtain opened. > >> One night when she mentioned that she would quite like to meet Terry a > >> supposed fan in the audience cried out that she was too late as Terry > >> had died in a car accident last year. I was behind the curtain at the > >> time and could not let that pass which led to an amusing little > >> discussion between myself and Footnote about how I had seen Terry at > >> the convention a few months before and that he was in fact quite > >> healthy. > >> Quite how these rumours start is beyond me.
> > Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, > > he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, > > perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash?
> > in the words of a mr. Twain, "The rumors of my death have been highly > > exaggerated."
> Ah but then Mark Twain *is* dead, you know.
> -- > David Sewell "They that are awake have one world in common, > White Hall, Virginia but of the sleeping each turns aside into > USA a world of his own." --Heraclitus
He is NOW. He wasn't when he said it.
Well, I hope so, at least, or else we've got a lot to figure out.
> > >> > 'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" <geofffi...@hotmail.com> > > >> > did say:
> > >> >> I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but I can't seem to > > >> >> find confirmation or denial of this.
> > >> >> Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
> > >> > In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, Pterry > > >> > mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but wasn't even sure > > >> > *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems to be that he can no > > >> > longer tie a tie.
> > >> > [1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I got was > > >> > that it was back a couple of years when he announced that health > > >> > problems meant he was cutting back to one book a year, but ICBW.
> > >> On a related note, I had a somewhat similar experience recently while > > >> directing a stage production of Jingo. > > >> To help those unfamiliar with Terry's work to get into the right > > >> frame of > > >> mind I had our Footnote do a short rundown before the curtain opened. > > >> One night when she mentioned that she would quite like to meet Terry a > > >> supposed fan in the audience cried out that she was too late as Terry > > >> had died in a car accident last year. I was behind the curtain at the > > >> time and could not let that pass which led to an amusing little > > >> discussion between myself and Footnote about how I had seen Terry at > > >> the convention a few months before and that he was in fact quite > > >> healthy. > > >> Quite how these rumours start is beyond me.
> > > Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, > > > he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, > > > perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash?
> > > in the words of a mr. Twain, "The rumors of my death have been highly > > > exaggerated."
ncwa...@hotmail.com wrote: > On 11 Oct, 06:05, ChesireCat <catdr...@gmail.com> wrote: >> On Oct 10, 9:45 pm, David Sewell <DavidR.Sew...@gmail.com> wrote:
>>> On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:01:27 +0000, ChesireCat wrote: >>>> Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, >>>> he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, >>>> perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash? >>>> in the words of a mr. Twain, "The rumors of my death have been highly >>>> exaggerated." >>> Ah but then Mark Twain *is* dead, you know.
Having checked into this for another fan about 2 weeks ago, I can confirm that the "ill health" report is somewhat exaggerated - thanks to Waterstones. :-/
Terry has cancelled this *one* signing date as he needed to make a break. All others are as arranged, as far as I am aware.
esmi -- 2008 Discworld Convention 22nd to 25th August 2008 Hilton Metropole Hotel, Birmingham, UK http://www.dwcon.org/
> Having checked into this for another fan about 2 weeks ago, I can > confirm that the "ill health" report is somewhat exaggerated - thanks to > Waterstones. :-/
> Terry has cancelled this *one* signing date as he needed to make a > break. All others are as arranged, as far as I am aware.
Pudde Fjord <puddespamfj...@netscape.net> wrote: > ncwa...@hotmail.com wrote: > > On 11 Oct, 06:05, ChesireCat <catdr...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> On Oct 10, 9:45 pm, David Sewell <DavidR.Sew...@gmail.com> wrote:
> >>> On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:01:27 +0000, ChesireCat wrote:
> >>>> Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, > >>>> he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, > >>>> perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash? > >>>> in the words of a mr. Twain, "The rumors of my death have been highly > >>>> exaggerated." > >>> Ah but then Mark Twain *is* dead, you know.
> >> He is NOW. He wasn't when he said it.
> > Ah, but maybe he was lying.
> He was probably just half-dead....
Give him a break. He was mostly dead all day. -- John S. Wilkins, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, Philosophy University of Queensland - Blog: scienceblogs.com/evolvingthoughts "He used... sarcasm. He knew all the tricks, dramatic irony, metaphor, bathos, puns, parody, litotes and... satire. He was vicious."
In article <feirku$jp...@aioe.org>, Puck <kormo...@osu.edu> wrote: >Reader in Invisible Writings wrote: >> I suggested that even if TP's >> event had been advertised by a hand written note hidden under a till, >> it would still have been packed whereas the other event may have >> trouble getting much of a queue even with the adverts! I do feel pity >> when you see authors at tables already to go but no body ready to >> come.
>See, this is where I start to feel left out. I live in the middle of >Cowtip Ohio and the odds of Pterry ever doing a signing anywhere even >remotely near me are about the same as Granny Weatherwax taking up >pole-dancing (If you were drinking coffee when you read that I probably >owe you a new keyboard). I am destined to go through life with my >precious Discworld books unsigned. </woe>
I noticed on abebooks.com that several books had a pre-signed page that was either tipped-in (glued in very carefully) or actually bound in by the publishers. You may be able to find one of those to buy if you feel the need.
>> Having checked into this for another fan about 2 weeks ago, I can >> confirm that the "ill health" report is somewhat exaggerated - thanks >> to Waterstones. :-/
>> Terry has cancelled this *one* signing date as he needed to make a >> break. All others are as arranged, as far as I am aware.
So it would seem. Somebody must have thought it sounded better than "needed a break", and frankly, if people don't take breaks, ill-health is likely to ensue. Signing tours are extremely tiring.
esmi <e...@lspace.org> wrote: > Terry has cancelled this *one* signing date as he needed to make a > break. All others are as arranged, as far as I am aware.
Oh good. I'm glad it was no worse than that. Sorry to be spreading alarm unnecessarily. Today's lesson seems to be "Check your sources". I will try to remember it, but given the usual state of my memory I won't make any promises.
-- Carol "If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth. Particularly if the thing is cats." - Lemony Snicket _The Wide Window_
Carol Hague wrote: > esmi <e...@lspace.org> wrote:
>> Terry has cancelled this *one* signing date as he needed to make a >> break. All others are as arranged, as far as I am aware.
> Oh good. I'm glad it was no worse than that. Sorry to be spreading > alarm unnecessarily. Today's lesson seems to be "Check your sources". > I will try to remember it, but given the usual state of my memory I > won't make any promises.
I, too, am very glad that the rumours were false.
My source: A friend is on tour, currently in the UK (or probably boarding/on-board a plane home around now). He sent me an SMS saying he'd heard that Terry had had a stroke and to try to find out details. (Also that he'd just passed the JCB factory.)
The answer to the rumour is "yes, but it was yonks ago and fortunately not fatal."
Thanks for all the comments.
Geoff
-- Geoff Field Professional Geek, Amateur Stage-Levelling Gauge
>> On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:01:27 +0000, ChesireCat wrote: >>> On Oct 10, 2:35 pm, "redtiger" <redtigeriiS...@iinet.net.au> wrote: >>>> "Daibhid Ceanaideach" <daibhidchened...@aol.com> wrote in message
>>>>> 'Twas on the 10 Oct 2007, that "Geoff Field" >>>>> <geofffi...@hotmail.com> did say:
>>>>>> I hae just heard that pTerry has had a stroke, but I can't seem >>>>>> to find confirmation or denial of this.
>>>>>> Is there any news? Is pTerry OK?
>>>>> In the radio interview Len Oil linked to a couple of days ago, >>>>> Pterry mentioned he'd had a mild stroke recently[1], but wasn't >>>>> even sure *when* he'd had it, and the only effect seems to be >>>>> that he can no longer tie a tie.
>>>>> [1] I'm not sure how recently "recently" is; the impression I got >>>>> was that it was back a couple of years when he announced that >>>>> health problems meant he was cutting back to one book a year, but >>>>> ICBW.
>>>> On a related note, I had a somewhat similar experience recently >>>> while directing a stage production of Jingo. >>>> To help those unfamiliar with Terry's work to get into the right >>>> frame of >>>> mind I had our Footnote do a short rundown before the curtain >>>> opened. One night when she mentioned that she would quite like to >>>> meet Terry a supposed fan in the audience cried out that she was >>>> too late as Terry had died in a car accident last year. I was >>>> behind the curtain at the time and could not let that pass which >>>> led to an amusing little discussion between myself and Footnote >>>> about how I had seen Terry at the convention a few months before >>>> and that he was in fact quite healthy. >>>> Quite how these rumours start is beyond me.
>>>> Anthony >>>> -- >>>> Nil Illegitimo Carborundum!
>>> Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, >>> he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, >>> perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash?
, too, am very glad that the rumours were false.
My source: A friend is on tour, currently in the UK (or probably boarding/on-board a plane home around now). He sent me an SMS saying he'd heard that Terry had had a stroke and to try to find out details. (Also that he'd just passed the JCB factory.)
The answer to the rumour is "yes, but it was yonks ago and fortunately not fatal."
Thanks for all the comments.
Geoff
-- Geoff Field Professional Geek, Amateur Stage-Levelling Gauge
>> ncwa...@hotmail.com wrote: >>> On 11 Oct, 06:05, ChesireCat <catdr...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> On Oct 10, 9:45 pm, David Sewell <DavidR.Sew...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>>> On Thu, 11 Oct 2007 01:01:27 +0000, ChesireCat wrote:
>>>>>> Sensationalism. People hear stroke. Stroke? Must've been lethal. So, >>>>>> he's dead. He's dead? How'd he die? I dunno. Car crash or something, >>>>>> perhaps? Did you hear he died in a car crash? >>>>>> in the words of a mr. Twain, "The rumors of my death have been highly >>>>>> exaggerated." >>>>> Ah but then Mark Twain *is* dead, you know.
>>>> He is NOW. He wasn't when he said it.
>>> Ah, but maybe he was lying.
>> He was probably just half-dead....
> Give him a break. He was mostly dead all day.
But until we open the coffin, we won't know that.
-- Lesley Weston.
Brightly_coloured_blob is real, but I don't often check even the few bits that get through Yahoo's filters. To reach me, use leswes att shaw dott ca, changing spelling and spacing as required.
On Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:38:04 -0400, Puck <kormo...@osu.edu> wrote: >See, this is where I start to feel left out. I live in the middle of >Cowtip Ohio and the odds of Pterry ever doing a signing anywhere even >remotely near me are about the same as Granny Weatherwax taking up >pole-dancing (If you were drinking coffee when you read that I probably >owe you a new keyboard). I am destined to go through life with my >precious Discworld books unsigned. </woe>
Don't give up hope. He sometimes visits places between the major cities. I saw him at a book signing in Madison, CT. Madison isn't exactly a major metropolis, but he stopped there while in transit between NYC and Chicago.
I turned up at the same time as he did, and it was a strange feeling to see the man himself getting out of a limo, complete with signature hat.
