James Herriot: Difference between revisions
Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.1
m (Mass update links) |
(Rescuing 1 sources and tagging 0 as dead.) #IABot (v2.0.1) |
||
| (2 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown) | |||
Line 1:
{{creator}}
{{creatorstub}} <!-- please leave this here until the page has either a bibliography or creatortropes section - or, preferably, both -->
The really funny thing is, James Herriot was [[wikipedia:Jim Herriot|an obscure Scots soccer player.]]▼
{{Needs Image}}
▲The really funny thing is, '''James Herriot''' was [[wikipedia:Jim Herriot|an obscure Scots soccer player.]]
The man who took his name as a pseudonym was bestselling author and eventual (if highly unlikely) cross-Atlantic multimedia sensation '''James Alfred 'Alf' Wight''', in reality as well as in fiction the archetypal [[Kindly Vet]]. Thus almost singlehandedly the reason why there seem to be [[Animal Planet|so many of them around in media these days]].
Wight was born in 1916 in [[Oop North|Northern England]] but raised in Glasgow, Scotland. Upon qualifying as a veterinary surgeon shortly prior to [[World War Two]], he ventured into Yorkshire for the first time in 1940, to begin practice in a small farming community seat that he would dub 'Darrowby', but which was in reality Thirsk with some elements borrowed from nearby Sowerby -- ironically enough about twenty miles distant from the harsh, starkly beautiful Dales his stories would make iconic to legions of tourists as 'Herriot Country'.
Line 29 ⟶ 31:
Meanwhile the deeply bemused but generally gracious Wight, along with partner and assistants, was trying to cope with an explosively popular veterinary practice that involved about 10% actually sick animals; the other 90% were eager pilgrims clutching books to be signed or pets to be appreciated. Through it all -- and probably adding to it -- the centre of this tourist storm resolutely clung to his unassuming outlook and lifestyle, considering himself a working vet above all else. (One documentary crew, asking one of the 'local characters' for an interview, was told that they should talk t'vet instead, since "don't let it get about... but I've heard he's written a book!")
T'vet had in fact been admitted to the Order of the British Empire as of 1979, and various honourary doctorates, fellowships and memorial awards followed regularly over the years (including, of all things, the Life Presidency of the Sunderland Football Club). His death in 1995 occasioned a service at York Minster. The old practice, along with house and grounds, has since become [https://web.archive.org/web/20110719131910/http://www.worldofjamesherriot.org/ a historical attraction and veterinary museum.]
The books also [[The Red Stapler|inspired countless students to pursue veterinary medicine]] - both as veterinarians and as veterinary nurses - in generations to come, leading to the familiar pre-vet (nursing) professor's admonition that "If you're here because you think it's like the Herriot books, think again!"<ref>That professor was both right and wrong - most of vet work is, quite frankly, boring, but Herriot quite accurately portrayed the all-too-rare rush of ecstasy that comes from finding that diagnosis and administering that lifesaving medicine just in the nick of time. Those who ignored that professor and made it through the exhausting, mind-numbing, brain-overloading courses of study needed to qualify did so because they discovered that the life wasn't nearly as glamorous as they thought and decided they wanted to do it anyway.</ref>
{{reflist}}
[[Category:Authors]]
[[Category:James Herriot]]
| |||