Anyway, when the great Terry Pratchett passed away last month Henry went a little further than an obituary post on his blog, he set up a justgiving page and offered up a raffle of his very own Adeptus Mechanicus models that featured in John Blanche's Blanchjitsu in WD Visions issue 8.
Anyone who donates will be entered into the raffle, which will close on the 28th April. But it didn't end there as a number of other Blanchjitsu alumni offered up their models for the raffle too
But for me it was the fact that Henry is donating the proceeds to the Alzheimer's Society, the cruel disease that Terry suffered from. It's also what my own Dad was diagnosed with early signs. I still can't reconcile whether the fact he was taken from us before this disease robbed him of the dignity he was so proud of, was a hidden blessing. He was dreading the thought of what it would do to him and although his death was sudden and tragic it's difficult to imagine how he would have suffered. Terry himself did a documentary on assisted suicide no doubt thinking about how Alzheimer's would affect him as it progressed. Not for one minute do I wish my Dad wasn't here but I'm just glad he doesn't have to suffer his worst fears.
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| Edward Henry Weston, my Dad. |
Thank you Dave! I hope you will be happy to know since your post went up we have had another £200 worth of donations thanks to you.
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing news Henry, although I think most of the credit should go to yourself and all those generously donating. I hope it continues to grow.
DeleteI haven't read a Terry Pratchett book in a long while, and I had no idea that he passed away (or that he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's). That's unfortunate, to lose such a great mind. I will definitely be picking up some of his books and giving them a read in honour of his passing.
ReplyDeleteAlzheimer's is a terrible disease (there is a family history of it on my wife's side).
I think I've read about four, in truth I was more a fan of David Eddings and David Gemmell but when I read Pyramids I think it was the first time ever I 'laughed out loud' reading a book, and that was before loling was a thing!
DeleteI think I've read about four, in truth I was more a fan of David Eddings and David Gemmell but when I read Pyramids I think it was the first time ever I 'laughed out loud' reading a book, and that was before loling was a thing!
DeleteI have about a dozen or so Discworld novels on my shelf which I collected when I was younger. I definitely had numerous "lol" experiences with them. Another good one was his collaboration with Niel Gaiman (sp?) - Good Omens, it's called. Mind you, these were read about a dozen years ago so perhaps my tastes have changed, but I doubt that - witty writing will remain witty.
DeleteThis is a great cause which seems to have touched a lot of people. The response just reflects the depth of Terry's legacy. Thanks for sharing :-)
ReplyDeleteI still remember the furore in the Harr Potter community when he said if JK Rowling didn't think she was writing a fantasy book, what with the wizards, trolls, ghosts and magic creatures then she was deluding herself. All these self righteous tweens getting their knickers in a twist, claiming he was jealous and 'who was he anyway'? Ha, ha.
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