Raising Steam by Terry Pratchett

Being both a long term fan of Discworld and having an appreciation for Steam Locomotives, I would like to read the new Terry Pratchett novel Raising Steam, which is the 40th Discworld novel, written by Terry Pratchett and was originally due to be published on 24 October 2013 but will be published 7 November 2013. It will feature the introduction of locomotives to the Discworld. According to a November 2012 interview with The A.V. Club Pratchett suggested an entirely new character might be introduced, but it is set to star Moist von Lipwig. Change is afoot in Ankh-Morpork. Discworld’s first steam engine has arrived, and once again reformed conman Moist von Lipwig finds himself with a new and challenging job.

Sir Terry Pratchett sold his first story when he was thirteen, which earned him enough money to buy a second-hand typewriter. His first novel, a humorous fantasy entitled The Carpet People, appeared in 1971 from the publisher Colin Smythe. Terry worked for many years as a journalist and press officer, writing in his spare time and publishing a number of novels, including his first Discworld novel, The Color of Magic, in 1983. In 1987 he turned to writing full time, and has not looked back since. To date there are a total of 39 books in the Discworld series, of which four (so far) are written for children. The first of these, The Amazing Maurice and His Educated Rodents, won the Carnegie Medal. A non-Discworld book, Good Omens, his 1990 collaboration with Neil Gaiman, has been a longtime bestseller, and was reissued in hardcover by William Morrow in early 2006 (it is also available as a mass market paperback (Harper Torch, 2006) and trade paperback (Harper Paperbacks, 2006). In 2008, Harper Children’s published Terry’s standalone non-Discworld YA novel, Nation. Terry’s last book, Snuff, was published in October 2011.

Regarded as one of the most significant contemporary English-language satirists, Pratchett has won numerous literary awards, was named an Officer of the British Empire “for services to literature” in 1998, and has received four honorary doctorates from the Universities of Warwick, Portsmouth, Bath, and Bristol. His acclaimed novels have sold more than 45 million copies (give or take a few) and have been translated into 33 languages. During his literary career Pratchett  has won many awards, he

 was also knighted by Queen Elizabeth II on 18 February 2009 and was awarded the World Fantasy Life Achievement Award in 2010

happy birthday Damon Hill

Retired Formula One driver Damon Graham Devereux Hill OBE was born 17 September 1960. He is the son of the late Graham Hill, and is the only son of a world champion to win the title. His father died in an aeroplane crash when Hill was 15. He started racing on motorbikes in 1981 and after minor success, he moved on to single-seater racing cars and progressed steadily up the ranks to the International Formula 3000 championship by 1989, where, although often competitive, he never won a race.Hill became a test driver for the Formula One title-winning Williams team in 1992. He was promoted to the Williams race team the following year after Riccardo Patrese’s departure and took the first of his 22 victories at the 1993 Hungarian Grand Prix. During the mid-1990s, Hill was Michael Schumacher’s main rival for the Formula One Drivers’ Championship. The two clashed on and off the track. Their collision at the1994 Australian Grand Prix gave Schumacher his first title by a single point. Hill became champion in 1996 but was dropped by Williams for the following season. He went on to drive for the less competitive Arrows and Jordan teams, and in 1998 gave Jordan its first win. Hill retired from racing after the 1999 season. He has since launched several businesses and has made appearances playing the guitar with celebrity bands. In 2006, he became president of the British Racing Drivers’ Club, succeeding Jackie Stewart. Hill stepped down from the position in 2011 and was succeeded by Derek Warwick. He presided over the securing of a 17-year contract for Silverstone to hold Formula One races, which enabled the circuit to see extensive renovation work.

Jonn Penney (Ned’s Atomic Dustbin)

When I was younger I used to think the Ned’s were fantastic and hearing these great songs again brings back many happy memories, anyway, Jonn Penney best known as the lead singer of Ned’s Atomic Dustbin,  was born 17 September 1968, Quarry Bank, near Stourbridge, West Midlands .He went to Thorns School and Community College in Quarry Bank, where he met Ned’s bass player Matt Cheslin. Penney used to live in a house near the Swan Hotel in Stourbridge, where he used to drink. He now lives within walking distance from there.He formed Ned’s Atomic Dustbin in 1988 while still at sixth form college. In the early 1990s they had several hit singles, including “Happy”, “Kill Your Television” and “Not Sleeping Around”. Together they released three successful albums (God Fodder, Are You Normal? and Brainbloodvolume). The band split up in 1995 after record company problems.In 1998 he formed a new band, Groundswell, initially with former Ned’s Atomic Dustbin guitarist Rat. The band released a few singles, and played some successful shows, but did not have much commercial success. After Groundswell split he completed a degree course, and now works as Media officer for Wolverhampton Civic Hall, while lecturing part-time and writing a weekly column titled ‘Up Penneyscope’ for local newspaper The Express & Star.In 2000 he reformed Ned’s Atomic Dustbin (with an altered line up including Andy King (bass) and Martin Warlow (guitar) for occasional gigs. The band completed a five date tour in 2004, and Penney continued to play occasional gigs with the band.Ned’s Atomic Dusbin reformed with original line-up for a re:united gig at the London Astoria in December 2008 and then a home gig in Wolverhampton. Penney recently contributed vocals to a song by Wolverhampton rock musician and free software advocate, Jono Bacon.

Ned’s Atomic Dustbin are an English rock band formed in Stourbridge in West Midlands in November 1987.The band took their name from an episode of The Goon Show. The band were unusual for using two bass players in their lineup: Alex Griffin played melody lines high up on one bass, and Mat Cheslin played the regular bass lines on the other. This gave the band a tense and highly driven sub-hardcore sound featuring distorted effects-laden guitar and energetic drums. The band was formed while at sixth form college and they recorded their first album while some of the members were still teenagers. This led to a strong teenage fanbase with a reputation for enjoying crowd surfing and moshing at their gigs. The band were also noted (and occasionally ridiculed) for their early image which consisted of uniformly crimped hair and a predilection for sporting shorts and band/skateboard T-shirts. “The Neds” (as their fans referred to them) were well known for their own distinctive T-shirt designs, reportedly producing over 86 different designs within three years (1987–1990). (In 2009, Jonn Penney stated, “We’re still adding designs – old habits die hard”.)

NED’S ATOMIC DUSTBIN LIVE AT BRIXTON ACADEMY http://m.youtube.com/watch?&v=dLr6F_XzO-w

Police by Jo Nesbo

Being a big fan of Jo Nesbo and having already read the novels The Snowman, The Leopard and Phantom I would like to read the latest Jo Nesbo novel Police, which is The thrilling follow-up to Phantom  which was a Sunday Times #1 bestseller and  is Jo Nesbo’s ninth internationally acclaimed novel featuring Inspector Harry Hole to be translated into English, and the tenth in the series. The new novel features a killer who is stalking Oslo’s streets. Police officers are being slain at the scenes of crimes they once investigated, but failed to solve. The murders are brutal, the media reaction hysterical. The victims are carefully chosen. The locations former crime scenes. The killings no accident.

Police urgently need the assistance of Detective inspector Harry Hole who After recovering from a near fatal shooting, has finally retired from active duty. He hears about the case but tries to keep his distance, determined to protect those he loves from the danger that he can never seem to escape. But as the media pressure intensifies, Harry finds himself advising an unofficial task force investigating the murders. As he investigates he gets drawn into a dangerous web of cold cases and precarious allegiances, and can’t guarantee protection for anyone. Least of all himself.

A rolling Moss gathers no stone (but loads of trophies)

Former English race car driver Stirling Moss OBE FIE (Fellow of the Institute of Engineers) ,  was born September 17th 1929 . Moss  was a pioneer in the British Formula One racing scene and placed second in the Drivers’ Championship four times in a row from 1955 to 1958 and won 212 of the 529 races he entered, including 16 Formula One Grands Prix.Moss’s first Formula One win was in 1955 at his home race, the British Grand Prix at Aintree. His Mercedes-Benz W196 led home a 1–2–3–4 win for the German marque. This victory made Moss the first British driver to win the British Grand Prix. It was the first race where he finished in front of Juan Manuel Fangio, his teammate, friend, mentor, and arch rival at Mercedes.One of his best remembered drives was in the 1955 Mille Miglia, which he won in the record time of 10 hours 7 minutes 48 seconds, finishing almost half an hour ahead of teammate Fangio in second place. In 1957 Moss won on the longest circuit to ever hold a Grand Prix, the daunting 25 km (16 mi) Pescara Circuit, again demonstrating his skills at high speed, long distance driving. He beat Fangio, who started on pole, by a little over 3 minutes over the course of a gruelling 3 hour event. In the 1960 Formula One season, Moss took the top step of the podium at Monaco, winning in Rob Walker’s Coventry-Climax-powered Lotus 18. For the 1961 F1 season, which was run under the new 1.5-litre rules, Enzo Ferrari rolled out his state-of-the-art “sharknose” Ferrari 156 with an all-new V6. Moss was stuck with an underpowered Climax-engined Lotus, but managed to win the 1961 Monaco Grand Prix by 3.6 seconds (beating the 156s of Richie Ginther, Wolfgang von Trips, and Phil Hill). In 1962, Moss was badly injured in a crash at Goodwood in a Lotus in the Glover Trophy. The accident put him in a coma for one month and partially paralyzed the left side of his body for six months. He recovered but decided to retire from racing after a private test session in a Lotus 19 the next year.He would compete in as many as 62 races in a single year and drove 84 different makes of car over the course of his racing career, including Lotus, Vanwall, Maserati, Jaguar, Ferrari and Porsche. Like many drivers of the era, he competed in several formulae—very often on the same day and was as gifted at the wheel of a sports car as he was in a Grand Prix car. For three consecutive years (1958–1960) he won the gruelling 1,000 km (620 mi) race at Germany’s Nürburgring, the first two years in an Aston Martin (where he won almost single-handedly) and the third in the memorable Tipo 61 “birdcage” Maserati, co-driving with young American prospect Dan Gurney. Moss was also a competent rally driver and is one of only three people to have won a Coupe d’Or (Gold Cup) for three consecutive penalty-free runs on the Alpine Rally (Coupe des Alpes). In addition, he finished second in the 1952 Monte Carlo Rally driving a Sunbeam-Talbot 90 with co-driver John Cooper. He retired in 1962 after a crash left him in a coma for a month, as afterwards he felt unable to continue driving at a professional level. In spite of this early retirement he has remained a well-known figure.

Keith Flint (the Prodigy)

Keith Flint , the rather scary looking English singer-songwriter from English electronic dance music group the Prodigy was born september 17th 1969 I used to be a big fan so I thought I would mark the occasion. Formed by Liam Howlett in 1990 in Braintree, Essex. Along with Fatboy Slim, The Chemical Brothers, and other acts, The Prodigy have been credited as pioneers of the big beat genre, which achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s and 2000s. They have sold over 25 million records worldwide, and have won numerous music awards throughout their career, including two Brit Awards—winning Best British Dance Act twice, three MTV Video Music Awards, two Kerrang! Awards, five MTV Europe Music Awards, and have twice been nominated for Grammy Awards.The group’s brand of music makes use of various styles ranging from rave, hardcore techno, industrial, and breakbeat in the early 1990s to big beat and electronic rock with punk vocal elements in later times. The current members include Liam Howlett (keyboardist and composer), Keith Flint (dancer and vocalist), and Maxim (MC and vocalist). Leeroy Thornhill (dancer and occasional live keyboardist) was a member of the band from 1990 to 2000, as was a female dancer and vocalist called Sharky who left the group during their early period. The Prodigy first emerged on the underground rave scene in the early 1990s, and have since then achieved immense popularity and worldwide renown.