Whether you've been with us for a short time, or if you've hung on since before the Great Crash, or even in the dark ages Before The Website [*shudders*], it would be great to hear about how you came to find out about the Australian Discworld Convention.
I remember finding the MSN group Addicted To Discworld when they had just been talking about 'Let's start a Discworld Convention!' and joined in just before they said 'oh [asterisk asterisk asterisk asterisk] what have we got ourselves in for?'
And they all lived happily ever after.
How did you find us?
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Grombek @ 11:32am, 7 Dec 2005…
- : Geelong
- 575
Edited 2:31pm, 17 Feb 2006
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molokov @ 5:42pm, 7 Dec 2005…
- : Adelaide
- 827
In the beginning....
A friend introduced me to Terry Pratchett's books when I was but a youngster, over 10 years ago....
Then came The Intarweb, with all things cool. I discovered various Pratchett themed websites (like Lspace) and that was cool too.
Then in 2000, a new Theatre Company started in Adelaide specialising in Discworld Plays - Unseen Theatre Company ( www.unseen.com.au ). I joined them for their second play (Guards! Guards!) and stayed for quite a while.
At one point in the next few years, someone in the Theatre Company said I should take a look at this "Addicted To Discworld" MSN group, as I would enjoy it. I did look, and I did enjoy.
I even met The Lady and Pat when they came to see one of the plays I was in.
Of course, when the idea of a Convention in Australia was bandied around, I knew I had to attend. So that brings me here...
I met up with Pat and a few others in March this year to get a few faces to names, and that's a start :)
You can’t kill me because I’ve got magic aarrghh!
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Sgt Colon @ 7:47pm, 7 Dec 2005…
- : Gold Coast, Qld
- 653
Well I first discovered Terry via his two sci-fi books, 'The Dark Side of the Sun' and 'Strata', started looking outr for more of his books and then came 'The Colour of Magic'. From that point on I was hooked and was lawaus looking out for more of them. I was able to get them all as they came out even though at times it was difficult. At one stage, until he really became more popular the only place I could get them was through Galaxy Bookshop in Sydney.
Once I got a computer and able to get on the web I then started searching for Terry Pratchett and thus discovered Discworld Monthly and subscribed to that. From there I learnt about the original site (pre crash) and joined then and have stayed ever since. Haven't paid for 2007 yet but must do so soon.
“Experimental animals, under carefully controlled conditions, do what they damned well please”.
Harvard Law of Animal Behaviour.
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Carrie @ 8:01pm, 7 Dec 2005…
- : Sydney, Australia
- 192
I think I first got into Discworld when I was about ten... I had a Dymocks voucher, walked into the shop intending to buy LoTR and saw Discworld instead. I was hastily discouraged from buying it by my mother and brother because they had bought me the audio tapes read by Tony Robinson for Christmas and couldn't remember which titles they were. Needless to say it kind of stuck.
As the years passed my teacher dispaired as I tried to explain that Pratchett was legitimate literature. The I arrived at a performing arts school (Newtown PA to give it a shameless plug) and realised odd though I may be, there were others who were also fans. Indeed, I met the PE teacher standing on the train station platform only because I was carrying a dw book at the time. One of the lovely things about most teachers at that school was that when they heard about something they thought you'd be interested in they made sure to pass it on.
During my final exam I had the librarian ring me at home to tell me about a signing in Sydney, my Modern History teacher occasionally would drop a line in from dw to class discussion that noone else would understand, and I belive it was both my English teacher and the afore mentioned PE teacher who heard about the Convention on Triple J and told me about it.
Funnily enough, I always loathed PE and my English teacher's exact words were, "you people are a just a teensy bit strange... Probably best not to breed with the rest of society." He still occasionally calls me to let me know when he's found a cheap hardback copy of a Pratchett book.
I haven't met any other Con people, but to compensate I'm making up your personal histories in my head :)
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pat @ 8:15pm, 9 Dec 2005…
- : Melbourne, Australia
- 586
I found out about the Australian Discworld Convention when... well... when I thought of it? Um, not quite. I ran a Discworld website a few years ago, advertising Discworld events of various sorts. Anyways, someone emailed me asking 'Did you know about an Australian Discworld Convention happening in Sydney? Could you give me some details on it?' I replied, saying I'd never heard of such an event... but it would be a great idea...
And, yeah, look where that thought has got me...
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Sgt Colon @ 7:05am, 10 Dec 2005…
- : Gold Coast, Qld
- 653
<< And, yeah, look where that thought has got me...>>
Yes grey hairs and an icipient ulcer no doubt. If so best you contact Granny Weatherwax.
“Experimental animals, under carefully controlled conditions, do what they damned well please”.
Harvard Law of Animal Behaviour.
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TheOtherDibbler @ 5:43pm, 11 Dec 2005…
- : Somewhere in NSW
- 390
Hmmm.... discovered Discworld many many years ago when I picked up 'Men At Arms' at the library 'coz I liked the cover (I borrowed it 'coz I liked the blurb and kept borrowing it and others because I liked the story).
I seriously cannot remember when or how I learned about the existance of an Australian Discworld Convention.
‘If there were more morals about we wouldn’t be crashing into stars’
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The Duck @ 8:08pm, 13 Dec 2005…
- : Somewhere in the rimwards region of XXXX
- 449
I discovered discworld when I found a copy of Sourcery on our bookshelf. I blame Mum.
“If you’re attacking a man with a sonic screwdriver, don’t let him near the sound system.”
Support the Red Dwarf Movie! -
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Abee @ 4:48pm, 14 Dec 2005…
- : Beaconsfield, Vic
- 259
I discovered discworld through my sister who I have now surpassed as the token weirdo in the family. I discovered AusDWCon through Discworld monthly... at least I think I did, it was a while ago
whoever said nothing is impossible, never tried slamming a revolving door….
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Granny Weatherwax @ 6:55pm, 27 Dec 2005…
- : Sydney
- 135
I heard about the Convention through Discworld Monthly, an internet newsletter about all things Discworldly. Reading that newsletter over the years whilst living in remote places like Selebi Phikwe (Botswana), and Vatukoula (Fiji) made me long to return to a thriving metropolis where there would be a chance of attending a book signing (yes I am one of those few fans or pterry that has NOT got a signed copy of one of his boloks), a Thud event, a Clarecraft meeting or a convention. Now I am in Mount Isa, and whilst it may be a bit remote, I am at last on the same continent as a Discworld convention and I will definitely be attending.
How I came to know the Discworld books is another story.... I read The Colour of Magic whilst at Uni in Sheffield and loved it, but then I moved to Africa and there was not a pterry book to be had anywhere. By 1986 I was living in a small town in South Africa and was a regular at the library. I got to know one of the librarians quite well and one day she produced a copy of The Light Fantastic! As I was a pommie she wanted to know what the appeal was since she and a couple of other librarians had read it before putting it on the shelves... and didn't get it! I soon persuaded her to let me take it out, read it , went back, explained a few matters of colloquial english and soon had the entire Afrikaans speaking staff at the library as new pterry fans. Since then I have collected his books as they have been published, though this was an arduous process in some places i have lived until the inception of Amazon and the wonders of online shopping. Now I have a tradition of rereading the discworld series each year. Even better is that I have persuaded the Mount Isa theatrical soc to put on Wyrd Sisters next year and you can bet that I will be auditioning for a part. I am in heaven now that I have discovered a number of other Discworld fans in the Isa.
I can’t be having with foreign parts
Edited 10:21pm, 13 Sep 2009
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TheOtherDibbler @ 3:23pm, 29 Dec 2005…
- : Somewhere in NSW
- 390
You seem to be a very persuasive person. If you don't mind me asking, how come you've moved around so much? Something to do with your work, or do you just like travelling and living in different places? (I realise other people live there too, but you hopefully know what I mean).
‘If there were more morals about we wouldn’t be crashing into stars’
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Granny Weatherwax @ 2:31am, 9 Jan 2006…
- : Sydney
- 135
Greetings, purveyor of dodgy sausages. To answer your question.....I've moved a lot because my husband is in mining, and the opportunity to travel is there if you are willing to take it. however, we have just become permanent residents in Australia and plan to make this our permanent home (with possible side trips after the kids have gone through Uni).
I can’t be having with foreign parts
Edited 10:21pm, 13 Sep 2009
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Missgoo @ 9:08pm, 9 Jan 2006…
- : sydney
- 485
I'm pretty sure I found out about the convention through discworld monthly as well. A fine publication which many of us seem to read.
As for Pterry in general... In high school a friend lent me some audio tapes where the reader made a fluff. I think it went something like "the night was dark and stormy... oh bugger. Lets do that one again.... The night was DARK and STORMY".
We thought is was hilarious but not as funny as the rest of the book (I THINK it might have been guards guards but can't remember for sure)
We have both been solid fans ever since.
She recently had to split up her collection when she broke up with her boyfriens... sooo sad.
My boyfiriend prefers Ben Elton so my collection is safe.
“crivens”
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nicko @ 12:33am, 11 Feb 2006…
- : Geelong
- 25
I stumbled in to the local secondhand bookshop (who never, ever have any pratchett) in James St, Geelong, just this week and in glorious inkjet was a print out of a half page flyer with news of the conference on it and I was signed up as soon as I could get back to a 'puter.
(I notice Grombek is from geelong. Could he be the poster pasting culprit responsible?)
As for all things Discworld and how I came to them, I can only remember buying my first Pratchett novel before boarding a plane to Hong Kong in August of 1988 (yes, I am THAT old). I think it was Diggers, but I could be wrong. Infact I could even have the wrong flight but there was almost certainly an airport involved. Curse those free drinks on international! Since then I simply bought everything the man wrote. And anything some other cunning bugger wrote that looked like his stuff...
Gullible yes, but happy.
Nicko
"There is no emoticon to describe how I feel right now"
<span class='smallblacktext'>[ Edited Sat Feb 11 2006, 01:02AM ]</span>
‘I think, if you want thousands, you’ve got to fight for one.’
Edited by nicko 1:11am, 18 Feb 2006
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TheOtherDibbler @ 6:08pm, 11 Feb 2006…
- : Somewhere in NSW
- 390
1998? That's not all that long ago.
‘If there were more morals about we wouldn’t be crashing into stars’
