Happy Hogswatch?

It's been 12 years this year since Terry Pratchett's 'Hogfather' aired on TV in the USA in 2007, which was the Year of the Pig, just like it is this year.

BREXIT 2019 anyone?-)

Although 'Hogfather' did air on British TV in 2006 for Christmas, just before the Year of the Pig got underway in February 2007.

I'd never heard of this TV show until this year when I dug into
Neil Gaiman's  and Terry Pratchett's work after watching
'Good Omens' on Amazon Prime recently and then listening to Neil on a 'Fiction Predictions' podcast -
Neil Gaiman and 'Good Omens'?

I find it amusing that Terry Pratchett and Neil Gaiman are born 12 years apart and were both born in the Year of the Rat in the Chinese zodiac, and that Terry has the word RAT hidden in plain sight in his surname of Pratchett:-)

There is even a Death Rat in 'Hogfather', too 

And 2020 will be the Year of the Rat once more.

Whether that is a good omen or not I guess we will have to wait and see:-)

Ironically, actor Ian Richardson who was the narrator and did the voice of Death in the 'Hogfather' passed away on February 9th, 2007, which was just over a week shy of the Year of the Pig commencing on February 18th of that year.
So Ian Richardson was alive when 'Hogfather' aired for the first time in Britain on TV, but by the time it aired in the USA and Britain again in 2007, Death had claimed him.
With 2019 being the Year of the Pig, I decided to find an upload of 'Hogfather' on You Tube and give it a watch last week in the lead up for Christmas, and found it amusing in parts, but quite a slog to watch overall.
I watched 'Santa Clause Conquers the Martians' on Amazon Prime today and found that movie much more watchable and entertaining in the way that it was so bad that it was good.

And watching the opening 42 seconds of 'Hogfather' I couldn't help think that maybe Terry's story is to blame for the current generation of 'Flat-earthers' annoying us "round-earthers" these days. 

At least Terry added four elephants and a giant turtle to his more realistic flat-earth model;-)
But of course pigs might just fly in this year of the pig, too.

I saw this photo above in a local Australian newspaper of a black pig taking to the sky on the wings of a sea-eagle not long after my NRL team the Cronulla-Sutherland Sharks had their season come to and end for 2019 at the hands of the Manly Sea Eagles.

I guess that flying black pig kind of summed up my year, as the same night the Sea Eagles ended the Sharks season my AFL team the Brisbane Lions had their 2019 season ended by the GWS Giants.

In the same newspaper edition that the pig and the sea eagle was in was a story about a lady who had survived a shark attack from the year before.
And at the end of the month the newspaper that the pig was in had more shark attack headlines on its front page where this time an English tourist had his foot bitten off.
And then the day after the newspaper is writing up headlines about the state of Queensland not wanting to "foot" the bill.

I wrote about the night that all my Christmases didn't come at once in this post -
Heroic Self Care with Rosie Waterland?

I hope 2020 the Year of the Rat will turn out a lot better for the Sharks and the Lions.
And pigs might fly I hear you say?-)

Happy Hogswatch to you, too;-)

Chilling Charles Dickens Stories?