Just re-reading Wyrd Sisters and was quite surprised to find there's a young
Willikins in that too....



________________________________
From: dicconf <dicconf@...>
To: themendeddrum@yahoogroups.com
Sent: Saturday, January 28, 2012 6:02 AM
Subject: [The Mended Drum] Re: Willikins. no spoilers.



 

-- In themendeddrum@yahoogroups.com, "Sue McIlroy" <sue@...> wrote:

> I think he is mentioned in Night Watch
> as being the boot boy ... or some
> similar position. Which would suggest
> that he is a few years younger than
> Vimes.

Ah, canon evidence. Thanks!
Yes, I have the impression that boot boys
tended to be younger, even preteen. Once
they were tall enough to be expected to
lift heavy objects or deal with horses,
they either were promoted to a better job
or were discharged (if incompetent). I've
read that there was a peculiar requirement
for certain jobs to be held by preteen
children.* For instance, messenger boys
would be fired as soon as they developed
pimples; apparently an unwritten job
requirement was cuteness, and gawky teens
didn't fit, no matter how good they were
at delivering messages.

> Vimes also remembers the gang and that
> the one he was in didn't fight it but
> had some sort of agreement to ignore
> each other

I had forgotten that. But the probable
youth of the boot boy makes it seem more
likely to me that Willikins could have
been as much as six years younger than
Vimes.

*Tweenies, for instance, were required
to run up and down stairs virtually all
day long; only a child would be expected
to have the energy.

=Tamar




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