Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 261

Where Celebrity Scandals Started

With the jailing of slimy publicist Max Clifford it would wonderful if the age of celebrity obsession became too tarnished to be worthy of our attention (although the Sunday Times is eerily obsessed with the idea of ‘hanging out with the famous’). But it’s not a new thing at all. The age of the ‘kiss […]

Remembering The Panarmonium

My London neighbourhood is pretty old, founded around 60 AD. Prasutagus, the ruler of the Iceni,ruled it as an independent ally of Rome and left his kingdom jointly to his daughters and the Roman emperor his will. But when he died, the will was ignored and the kingdom was taken. His wife Boudica was […]

How To Get Free Books

I notice that I have a lot of bloggers and readers who run book club reviews here on the site. Some of you doubtless already know about this, but if you read on Kindle or any e-reader, and genuinely review books or spread the word about them via book clubs, you need to sign up […]

We Don’t Need No Writing Classes

The playwright Dennis Kelly has credits that include ‘Matilda’ (co-credit) and ‘Taking Care Of Baby’, and his first play ‘Debris is being revived at Southwark Playhouse. He recently had this to say in an interview given to the excellent website What’s On Stage. He’s talking about plays and television, but I think it applies to […]

Dead Letters

My friend the writer Conrad Williams is rather good at coming up with ideas for anthologies. He created ‘Gutshot’, a superb ecollection of western-themed horror and fantasy (including my tale ‘The Boy Thug), and now he’s come up with another smart idea. He decided to mail out a package to each of the authors he’d […]

Favourite Soundtracks No.1: ‘Isabel’

Now that I’ve mastered the posting of chunks from my own soundtrack collection, I thought you might like a little accompanying music every now and again (yes, this site caters for all your needs. I’d feed you if I could. I’m a natural nurturer. Please tell your friends). So, themes in motion pictures – they’re […]

Overlooked Movies No.3

‘Who’s Minding The Mint?’ was released in 1967, following in the wake of ‘It’s A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World’, during an efflorescence of astonishingly creative films that appeared over roughly a three year period at the end of the sixties. It was a comedy heist movie with no intention other than to entertain well, […]

Ten Ways To Fall Back In Love With London

After a long and particularly boring winter, we have a tendency to disrespect London and find fault with the city. Then along comes a warm spring evening and everything is somehow alright again. In order to maximise this rare and lovely sensation, here’s a handy guide to what you can do on the next impromptu […]

Ten Ways To Fall Back In Love With London This Evening

After a long and particularly boring winter, we have a tendency to disrespect London and find fault with the city. Then along comes a warm spring evening and everything is somehow alright again. In order to maximise this rare and lovely sensation, here’s a handy guide to what you can do on the next impromptu […]

Great London Pubs No.3: The Coal Hole

Gilbert & Sullivan were opposites. WS Gilbert was nervous, prickly, insular, difficult, hard to like and rather posh. Sullivan was lower class, charming, expansive, relaxed and put everyone at their ease. On their opening nights at the Savoy, Gilbert would drive himself into a state of nervous tension so great that he could not bear […]