Boxing Day and Bob Rothwell ...

[Charles]

Dear All,

I hope you had a good Christmas Day, not too cold, and that you're having a suitably mellow Boxing Day ... perhaps you're sitting by a log fire, re-reading your favourite Dennis Wheatley novel

I just wanted to take this opportunity to say thanks for Bob, who died four years ago today, for all the work he did in starting the website and in publicising the name of Dennis Wheatley.

Many of those who helped, or are helping with the venture are very much around (I won't mention you all by name, but you know who you are), and some of us have the pleasure of meeting up at Conventions - but we all miss Bob with his welcome-for-all, his quiet sense of humour and expertise.

Perhaps in due course a series of Dennis Wheatley adventures will become standard fare for Christmas Day Televison just like Dr Who - which I know Bob enjoyed as much as I do (sorry - clearly neither of us grew up !).

I hope you enjoy the remainder of the holiday season - whether you're in the U.K., Spain, Sweden, the U.S.A., Australia (presumably no snow there ?!), New Zealand or somewhere else ...

All best to you all !

[Jim]

Four years--oh my goodness! Hard to believe he's been gone that long. Thanks always to Bob, who brought us together, and to Charles, who keeps us going in the here and now.

Who would ever have thought, when I first visited this site, that I would one day be part of a mini-convention in a cozy London restaurant, enjoying the company of like-minded DW fans? (Who would have thought, reading some of the epic journeys of Those Modern Musketeers, that New York and London would one day be a mere seven hours apart?)

A very happy New Year to all: good reading and good times!

[Alan]

Dear All,



I hope you enjoy the remainder of the holiday season - whether you're in the U.K., Spain, Sweden, the U.S.A., Australia (presumably no snow there ?!), New Zealand or somewhere else ...

All best to you all !

No snow, but in this part of the country, plenty of water! Thanks to the gods I suffered only minor damage myself, but quite a few friends got hit. Personally I headed for higher ground for most of it (actually, that isn't as cowardly as it sounds, I was already in the bush when the floods hit and got trapped there)... Anyway, not to bore the forum with OT piffle. Happy (belated) new year to all. Could this be the year of the big DW revival...

[Charles]

Hi Alan,

A belated happy New Year to you too !

Delighted you're o.k. - and I hope the floods didn't do too much damage to your things, and especially your books !

As for being 'in the bush' ... it sounds so much more exciting than living in London !

Seriously, delighted you're o.k.

Best wishes from all the DW Community over here ...

[Alan]

Charles, for some reason I missed this post - apologies for my unintentional rudeness in not acknowledging. A belated thanks for your well wishes... and, happily, none of my DW collection (which is stored at the house in the bush) nor any of my other books suffered any damage. Carpets are less important!

[Charles]

No apology ever required, and I'm delighted all is o.k.

Best wishes as always !

[Charles]

Dear Everyone,

I hope you have had a wonderful Christmas Day, and that you are sitting down 'recovering' on Boxing Bay re-reading your favourite DW book, or reading a 'new' one, and I hope that like Fleur, you and your family received lots of nice 'toys' !

This is just a short Boxing Day post to thank you all for your support of the website, and to remember and celebrate the life of Bob Rothwell, who died on Boxing Day five years ago. Without Bob and his gifted collaborators, we would not have this website.

Very best wishes for the remainder of the holiday season to you all,

[Jim]

Five years! Oh my goodness.

I often think of him when I come here, and I'm very thankful for this site of his, which enables me to share DW tidbits with other fans.

Best to all...

[Garry Holmes]

I'm so pleased that this site exists. For a long time I thought that I was DW's only surviving fan, and then I found this! As for Bob, whenever I visit here I think of Christopher Wren's epitath in St Paul's "Reader, if you seek his monument-look around you".

[Charles]

Dear All,

I hope you had a good Christmas Day, and aren't feeling too full as you approach Boxing Day lunch

This is just a short Boxing Day post to thank you all for your support of the website, and to remember and celebrate the life of Bob Rothwell, who died on Boxing Day six years ago, and also Iwan Morelius, who died earlier this year.

Without Bob, Iwan, and all those stalwarts who are still around and contribute either on or off-site, the site wouldn't be a fraction of what it is today, and we wouldn't be meeting up for our regular Conventions and Field Trips.

All the very best to you all !

[shanedwyer]

Many thanks for the seasonal greetings Charles. I do apologise for being so tardy with my reply, but I’ve been off-line for a couple of weeks. No bad thing perhaps in this hectic season.

I’ve always enjoyed reading Bob Rothwell’s posts on this website. Their warmth, courtesy and intelligence make it quite clear that he was one of life’s gentlemen. By creating this website and fostering its membership in such a welcoming manner, he did us, and the memory of DW, an inestimable service. No wonder people miss him so. That the ‘good die young’ can be a terrible cliché, but in my experience, it’s not a totally invalid one.

Boxing Day lunch (since you mention it) was rather nice. I attempted to create a frisson of Reichleau-esque sophistication by reading a DW novel in the conservatory, with Charpentier’s Noëls on the turntable and a glass of something reviving to hand. Mind you, being clean out of Imperial Tokay, I’d had to make do with a bottle of Whitechapel Porter (4 for £5 at Asdas) instead...

Best wishes to you, yours and all other members of this site for 2013!

[Charles]

That does sound a very DW way to spend Boxing Day ... especially if you finished the bottle - although that might not have done too much for your reading !

Glad you're back online ... All best !

[shanedwyer]

Why thank you Charles.

Actually I drank considerably more than the one bottle- like I said, only a fiver for four at Asdas. But if anything, it only enhanced my enjoyment of Sir Gifford's Ka wondering through the back streets of Earls Court.

[Garry Holmes]

I recall reading DW's opinion of drinking champagne, which was something along the lines of 'If you don't mix your drinks, and drink nothing but champagne all night, you won't actually get drunk'. I know that he was in the wine trade, but I do wonder how accurate this is. I didn't drink a drop this Christmas, but maybe one of us can make a project of it for next year's celebrations. Just out of a sense of scientific enquiry, you understand......

[Charles]

One for the next Convention perhaps ... but then they may not invite us back to the venue ... !