Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 195

Free Bryant & May card now with USA postal size!

Many here will know a gentleman named Snowy who we regard as a FOTS*, often turning up in the comments column. Now it seems he has revealed his Blue Peter side and tapped his inner John Noakes (someone explain this to our overseas friends) and armed himself with sticky-back plastic and an eggbox in order […]

Free Bryant & May Christmas card!

Many here will know a gentleman named Snowy who we regard as a FOTS*, often turning up in the comments column. Now it seems he has revealed his Blue Peter side and tapped his inner John Noakes (someone explain this to our overseas friends) and armed himself with sticky-back plastic and an eggbox in order […]

Agents: Foes Or Enemies?

In 1963 Mel Brooks’ comedy partner Carl Reiner wrote the autobiographical ‘Enter Laughing’, about being a young TV scriptwriter working on live TV comedy for a showrunner who’s described as ‘the Ulcer That Walks Like A Man’. Forced to write up his ideas just minutes ahead of the performers going in front of the […]

The Changeless Lives Of London Buildings

When we think about the multiple uses that buildings in London have over the years, it’s hard not to believe in psychogeography, the theory that land retains resonances from times past. But I think the reason for some changeless buildings lies less in the spirit than in the patterns of the land, and you could […]

On Top Of The British Library

There’s a lovely cartoon by John Glashan showing cashiers waltzing through a grand old building. It’s called; ‘Few people know what goes on in banks after they shut.’ I feel like that about libraries. When I was a child I read a disturbing story about a man who lived in the book stacks. So I’ve […]

Reading Beyond The Headlines

Recently a newspaper article which appeared in several national dailies caught my attention. The headline was; Tory MPs block bill to give first aid training to children by talking non-stop until debate ends There’s a knee-jerk reaction to the subject. After all, we don’t have a filibuster history in this country.But because the proposed law […]

The Lady Downstairs

A few years ago I wrote a Sherlock Holmes radio play for the BBC called ‘The Lady Downstairs’, starring Hannah Gordon. Typically, they didn’t invite me to the recording and then trimmed it massively when Hannah’s delivery proved excellent but rather stately, extending the time too much. I don’t mind the fact that they trimmed […]

Falling Back In Love With London Part Three

If you really want your faith restored in London, autumn and winter are the seasons for you. We don’t do outdoors well; this isn’t Auckland. If you’re looking for sports, head for the coast in July. Here it’s about the arts, socialising, dining, creating, and autumn is a fine time to do it. The evenings […]

Everest 3D: A Bit Of A Climb

After watching ‘Everest 3D’ I felt as if I’d dragged myself up that mountain as well, and needed oxygen when it was over.Baltasar Kormákur’s visually stunning film certainly has the sweep and roar of an epic (especially as I was viewing it at Dolby’s own screening room, where the sound is exemplary) but it also […]

Raymond Kirkpatrick Watches British Television

Raymond Kirkpatrick is a colleague of Arthur Bryant’s. The bear-like heavy metal-loving Professor of English is currently working at the British Library and is our occasional guest speaker. His opinions are very much his own. Oh, Downton Abbey, Sherlock Holmes and Dr Who, isn’t British television wonderful? they say. Bollocks. It’s bloody awful. Have you […]