blog.djstead.net

In the creative world, there are two individuals whose influence on my own life towers above the rest. One of those was the late, great, Douglas Adams; who’s Hitchhikers Guide is the single piece of work that has the biggest impact on my view of life, the universe and everything. The other, was that man you see above this text: Terry Pratchett. The photo was taken in the now-just-a-coffee-shop-but-back-then Peak Books in Chesterfield; it was Autumn 2005 and I had been in town since about 2pm, which meant I was once of the first in line to meet Terry - and, on the promise of ‘no flash’, I got to take this picture, after he signed my copy of the book ‘Thud’, addressed to me, with the word ‘Diamond’ above his signature. [Diamond being, as it turns out, the name of the King of the Trolls - a shining example (literally) of the living rock.] I remember briefly talking to Terry (back then he was renowned for staying through to the end of book signing...

Now those of you familiar with the irrefutable laws of the universe will know that it is impossible to do nothing but change, but I’m being a bit more narrative than that. The other week I was reading a blog from a few years ago*; in which I reflected on my accident a year on , and what had changed. And what I remarked on at the time was how there was no overwhelming feeling of ‘OMG MY LIFE HAS CHANGED’: In many ways, it was not a life-changing event. Not that I took what happened lightly; there were no long-lasting effects - either physically (thankfully!) or otherwise. What did start to change were my emotional faculties. Around the same time, I went through an experience akin to falling in love, which questioned my logical approach to - well - everything. And therein lies the roots of my change. - Let’s back-track a bit: Around age 14 I had begun to question everything, and establish ideas centrally to my philosophy. Whilst at the time this was a fun and exc...