Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 216

What Bryant & May Did Next

Cats, eh? They just won’t stay in bags. After my day-long online Q&A over at GoodReads the other day, I think I let slip a little more than I intended about the future of Bryant & May. The main question I kept being hit with was; ‘What are you going to do now that you’ve […]

What’s Your Point?

There’s a scene in ‘Trains, Planes & Automobiles’ when Steve Martin rounds on John Candy and says, ‘Here’s a good idea; when you tell a story, try to have a point.’ It’s pretty good advice. Watching ‘Wild Tales’ the other night that simple idea was driven home to me six times in a row. Having […]

After Close Up Magic, Here’s Close Up Terror

That’s the second night in a row I’ve been spattered in blood. After the first time, we walked blood across the pristine white floors of our apartment and made the place look like an abattoir. I had just seen ‘Carrie’ on stage at the Southwark Playhouse, an energetic production of the pulp novel that boasted […]

Crime Collectives: Why ‘Killer Men’ Wouldn’t Work

Crime fiction accounts for a third of all UK fiction sold, and the majority of its readers are women. As the crime festival season gets into gear this weekend, starting with Bristol Crimefest, a new collective of crime writers has formed called Killer Women. A vast swathe of novels fall into the mid-list category, where […]

Why Holmes Always Gets Reinvented, And Other Puzzles

Last week I had lunch in an Argentinian restaurant in Barcelona with the Sherlockian society. That may sound rather an esoteric thing to do, but within the context of the city’s ‘Freak Zone’ it seemed a rather wonderful way to spend the afternoon, munching empanadas and wondering what Holmes got up to Europe. It […]

Bonkers London Ceremonies

January 6th The Royal Epiphany The Queen and the Yeomen of the Guard hand out three purses symbolising frankincense, gold and myrrh to the poor of the parish. The three wise men’s gifts symbolise birth, life and death. It’s also the day that Baddeley cake is handed out. The failed actor Robert Baddeley bequeathed money […]

Those Nominations In Full

Just a sounding-own-trumpet heads-up on the following news just in. ‘Bryant & May: The Bleeding Heart’ has now been nominated for; Theakston’s Old Peculiar Crime Writing Festival Novel Of The Year Longlist Bristol Crimefest Last Laugh Award CWA Dagger In The Library Award And I’ve just been shortlisted for the Margery Allingham Short Story […]

Odd London Objects: Legal & Non-Legal Tender

Strangely enough these aren’t so terribly rare; this unlovely example recently sold on the London Peculiar website here, which sells London oddities. It’s a Carausius Roman Bronze coin minted between AD287-293, and they sometimes turn up at building sites in the city (Londonium was ranged further East back then). These days the Royal Mint makes […]

Blog From The Bog: Subsiding Subsidies

This is the post where I occasionally run a past blog and rewrite it, as it seems apposite again in the light of current events. My friend Porl Cooper reminded me of this, originally posted under the heading ‘Stage Fright’. It seems appropriate as a triumphant London Mayor prepares to dump the arts and concentrate […]

Back To A Small ‘C’ Britain

Sometimes it’s easy to forget that we’re a little Northern country that financially punches above its weight, combining sophistication with brutish selfishness, and in uncertain times we timidly retreat to a level of safety. Last night we did it again; after six weeks of campaigning that might have stood for the very model of democracy […]