Influences
Some people come screeching into our lives accompanied by a fanfare of trumpets, and some come in quietly, tiptoeing so as not to announce their arrival. Once there they may clump around in our heads wearing size twelve boots, whilst others sneak around trying not to disturb us. Whatever method they choose they influence our lives daily. Oh we may not think they are, but every contact we have with another human being is going to affect us in some way.
Recently, two people who have had an enormous influence on my life and those of many others, passed away. One of them I knew personally and one I did not. Neither was aware of the effect they had on my life and I doubt they were aware of the enormous influence they had on the world.
Sir Terry Pratchett's books are not to everyone's taste, but through the inhabitants of Discworld and his other work he was able to entertain millions around the world. He leaves a legacy that will no doubt influence and entertain countless numbers over many years. For my own part I can read his work over and over again, finding other nuances or satirical remarks I had missed before. Not only has he provided me with entertainment but has influenced the way I see the world. I no longer find the idea of an orang-utan as a librarian to be an outlandish idea, and of course we must have somewhere to store the Pork Futures before they exist; Death is really a jolly nice man doing a difficult job and the guy who works down the chips shop, I swear he's elvish. He may have left this world, but somewhere he will be looking at a new one with wonderment and a whole raft of new ideas.
Jeanette Wragg came into my life in 2006. She came in quietly and for several years beavered away in the recesses of my mind. My dealings with her were in her capacity as the Events Manager at the charity Riders for Health. This contact increased over several years as my own involvement with the charity changed. On an almost daily basis Jeanette would be dealing with Rock, TV, Cinema and motoGP stars but was never phased by any of it. From cleaner to charismatic TV star everyone received the same down to earth treatment. I used to joke to people we met together that making eye contact with Jeanette would result in them volunteering for something they didn't know they wanted to do. You never did mind doing it though, because you were doing it for Jeanette, and we would do anything for her. Jeanette's influence on the world is different to Sir Terry's. Most of the people she helped and indeed most of the world will never know of her existence and yet she has been involved in the saving of lives in Africa for many years. She never gave up believing in the fantastic work of Riders.
Sir Terry made big footprints in my mind and Jeanette left little ones everywhere. They will be cherished equally, and the people who left them will be sorely missed. If I could do just a fraction of what these people have done for the world then I would be very proud.
Sir Terry Pratchett, OBE 1948 - 2015
Jeanette Wragg 1957 - 2015
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