Glod Glodsson

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Glod Glodsson
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Name Glod Glodsson
Race Dwarf
Age
Occupation Musician
Physical appearance Small even for a dwarf
Residence Phedre Road, Ankh-Morpork
Death Possibly dead
Parents Glod (Father)
Relatives Modo (cousin)
Children
Marital Status
Appearances
Books Soul Music
Cameos


Glod Gloddson is one of those unconventional Dwarfs, who with Giamo Casanunda, Hwel the playwright, Mad, Armpit, Sharn, Pepe and Cheery Littlebottom, express rebellion against the limited life of a conventional Dwarf. Glod is a musician, a horn player, who comes to Ankh-Morpork apparently after some years' experience elsewhere, since he is first encountered applying for membership in the Musicians' Guild. In the office he meets Imp y Celyn and Lias Bluestone, two more newcomers. They join up to try to raise the Guild membership fees and form The Band With Rocks In.

For a time he also acts as the band's leader and financial manager, not very effectively as the latter.

The other two are from ethnic traditional music in rural areas, but Glod is an experienced professional. His heritage has instilled an affinity for gold, of course, but Glod's attitude is pure musician.

"Famous I don't know about. It's hard to be famous and alive. I just want to play music every day and hear someone say, 'thanks, that was great, here is some money, same time tomorrow, ok?'" He wants people to say "we need a good horn man - get Glod Glodsson!"

Not that he doesn't become very attached to a bag containing several thousand dollars after the band's tour; he feels that dropping it to save his life wouldn't be a good trade.

Fleeing with the proceeds, the band's coach goes off a cliff very much as Mort's did. In one reality, the players seem to have been killed in the fiery crash. In another, Glod may have gone back to see his mother with a very respectable sack of gold.

Annotation

On a non-related note, it occurs to me that Glod the dwarf, who is seen to sweat a lot and conscientiously avoid baths of any kind (an affinity with Roundworld musician and soap-dodger Bob Geldof?) has another layer of meaning to his name. Note the concealed "Glod" in the name "Geldof".

In parts of the Welsh borders and especially Flintshire, this is one of the very few Welsh words to have made it the opposite direction and is regularly used in local English. Sglod, (s)glod, Glodion, Glods are words used to denote potato chips, ie French Fries, as bought in the local chippie such as the one in the alley in Quirm, where the QAYL girls regularly go out of bounds for the taste of fried food. And the girls think the chip fat is too old and dirty and greasy... now TP had to research some Welsh dialogue to get Imp y Celyn's name spot-on and deliver background detail to Llamedosian culture. Just perhaps the secondary Welsh association of "(s)Glod" also lingered?