Multiple exclamation marks are a sure sign of a diseased mind !!!

Hello and welcome to the new blog layout! The spherical objects at the top of the page can be construed as:

1) Thought bubbles, representing the workings of the Bertie mind

2) An aesthetically pleasing combination of shapes, specifically
chosen to compliment the subtle nuances of colour and design
encapsulated not only within the page but also within each
carefully-crafted blog entry

3) A load of balls

Today, I am writing another homage. I quite like paying tributes because they give me a chance to say thank you to people (and sometimes objects) that give me pleasure. Pleasure can take many forms whether it be enjoyment, stimulation, appreciation or just plain "feel good" factor and this guy presses the right button on a great many. The person in question is Mr Terry Pratchett and yesterday I started his latest book, "Making Money".

I ordered the book some time ago but, what with the postal strike and other events more local, the reading of it was postponed until I was ready to savour the moment. The illustrator of all his outpourings, Paul Kidby, runs a webshop where I am able to order signed copies so it was this that I took to bed and finally opened. There is something about a new book. The leaves all pristine, the knowledge that only my eyes have taken in those pages, the excitement of what lies within all conspire to produce a frisson of true pleasure.

This particular book is also about finance, economics and paper money so I was intrigued about how it would fit in with my own interests within that particular area. I won't tell you about the plot, that can be found in critiques all over the internet. Suffice to say that it is a wonderfully funny, perceptive and, above all, clever piece of writing. Pratchett has a knack of encapsulating philosophies, tenets and other thought-provoking ideas into single sentences of seeming silliness. Many's the time I'm reading one of his books when "Whoaaaaaaa". Something sneaks up on me from a few sentences ago and I marvel once more at the genius that is Pratchett.

A couple of examples from his latest:

Marketing in a nutshell: "Don't sell the sausage - sell the sizzle.

Management in a nutshell: (This is from Lord Vetenari, ruler of Ankh-Morpork, whilst trying to persuade our hero to take over the city's banking institution)

"....but the bank needs someone who understands banks. (says our Hero)

" People who understand banks got it into the position it is in now.", said Veternari. "And I did not become the ruler of Ankh-Morpork by understanding the city. Like banking, the city is depressingly easy to understand. I have remained ruler by getting the city to understand me."

There is a website devoted to his quotes and is well worth a delve now and again. You can find it here.

Now don't get me wrong, the guy is not just a latter-day Plato. He has a humour of which I can only dream, a fertility of imagination that consumes me with envy and a capacity to write, write and write again.

His characters are very real (which is saying something, especially about an orang-utan who is the Librarian of the Unseen University!) and evoke an empathy of spirit which ranges from the optimistically futile Rincewind the wizard to the futilely optimistic ethos of a certain C.M.O.T. Dibbler, purveyor of anything saleable (or not, come to think of it).

I know that my love of the DiscWorld is shared by many and I welcome your favourite quotes, characters or thoughts on what to me is, at times, a far saner world than that in which I live. If you've never read Pratchett, I do commend him to you.

Sometimes, reading his work, I think to myself "Why do I bother? How can I possibly compete with an writer such as he?" I know people speak kindly of my efforts but well, what can I say? I've rationalised it by using a football analogy insofar as maybe a Division 2 footballer can look at a Premier League player and lose heart. However, they fail to appreciate that there are many only competent enough to play Sunday league.

So here I am, writing as an Accrington Stanley stalwart, an appreciation about the Steven Gerrard of the world of humorous literature. If there is ever a literary equivalent of the FA Cup, I can only hope that, one day, I might be drawn against him and he can wonder about this other bloke that wears a long coat and big black hat, gibbering gently in his majestic presence.

Bless you, Mr Pratchett, you bring insanity into a world of ...........well, insanity.