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Terry Pratchett cuts ribbon on Treacle Mine Road

Somerset town honours Discworld

Sir Terry Pratchett yesterday dropped in on a new Somerset housing estate where two roads have been named in honour of his Discworld novels.

Some 30 residents of the Kingwell Rise development in Wincanton will in future be able to boast they live on either Peach Pie Street or Treacle Mine Road - an agreeable result of the town's official twinning in 2002 with the fictional city of Ankh-Morpork.

Developer George Wimpey presented Wincanton residents with a list of 14 possible names chosen by Sir Terry, and over 1,000 voted online for their pair of faves.

The company's Richard Goad told the BBC: "With Wincanton's well-established links with Ankh-Morpork, it seemed fitting to name the roads at Kingwell Rise after places in Discworld."

Wincanton's former mayor, councillor Colin Winder, chipped in with: "The association with Discworld works extremely well for our town, helping to boost the local economy. I even know of three families who moved to Wincanton because of this quirky connection."

Sir Terry said: "It's a lovely idea, to do something for the sheer joy and incongruity of doing it. I have to say well done to Wimpey for having the guts to do this. It's nice that an organisation should unbend and join in the fun.

"These are nice names, even though I say it myself. Personally, I'd pay good money to live somewhere called Treacle Mine Road."

Other names on Sir Terry's list were Tenth Egg Street and Moon Pond Lane, the Independent notes. The author concluded: "These names are made up by me but they have the feel of some of the strange street names that were part of our old cities, so they are kind of inventions but based on real things." ®

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