Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 286

Maddest Book Of The Year

I admit it, the credentials drew me in. Who could resist a book written by a couple of historians and Brian May from Queen? ‘Diableries: Stereoscopic Adventures In Hell’ is a massive hardback collection of demonic scenes in 3D, and is an utterly bonkers labour of love that’s worth every penny of £40.

It turns out [...]

The Hallowe’en Dogs Of War

Yes, it’s that time of the year when Americans inexplicably choose to humiliate their pets by dressing them up in Hallowe’en costumes, but I have to admit that some are pretty funny.

We’ve never quite grasped the whole Hallowe’en shoppertunity here in England, because of the event’s late arrival so close to our more political dark [...]

Re:View – ‘The Returned’

NO SPOILERS

While you’re waiting for the DVD box-set of ‘Breaking Bad’ this Christmas, may I suggest you try the measly 3-disc set (and they could have easily got it on 2) of ‘The Returned’, the French drama based on an eye-smartingly boring movie called ‘Les Revenants’ (2004)?

So far, ‘The Returned’ shares little more than a [...]

‘Every Tart In London’

Welcome to England, where for some, it’s still 1935.

Queen Charlotte’s Ball was created so that the daughters of society’s old-money families could make their social debut. Theevent was introduced by King George III in 1780 as a way to celebrate his wife’s birthday. It was intendedto help the ladies find a suitable husband.

Incredibly, it’s [...]

The London Eagle Flies

Another month, and another extraordinary archaeological find, this time a complete Roman eagle with a snake in its beak,carved in the first century AD, at a time when the Roman city was exploding in population and wealth. It is believed to have stood on an imposing mausoleum, on the roadside edge of the eastern cemetery [...]

Funny, How?

Channel 4 has announced that Danny Boyle is working with the Peep Show and Fresh Meat team on Babylon, a comedy-drama set in a London police station. The channel has also given the go-ahead to No Offence, an eight-part comedy series about a trio of female cops by Paul Abbott.

Meanwhile, police spoof Scot Squad was [...]

Apres Moi With The Deluge

Thanks a lot, Global Warming! (Are there still sceptics, excerpt in the GOP?) Having seen the disastrous effects myself in Iceland, I got to experience them the night before last in a slightly less powerful rerun of the hurricane that hit the UK in 1987. It tore out forty feet of my glass-walled terrace from [...]

5 Unusual London Objects No.5

1. The Key In The Pavement

On London’s Marchmont Street there are a number of odd objects embedded in concrete paving stones, including a pineapple, a fish and this key. In 2007 an artist created them to symbolise the tokens left behind by impoverished mothers who needed to identify their babies. The children were left in [...]

New Adventures For Bryant & May

They’ve gone to bed for another year: The next Bryant & May mystery, ‘The Bleeding Heart’ has been fully finished, the two edits and proofs (US and UK) have gone back – they’re quite different – and the covers have been created. The UK cover reflects the darker, more gothic tone of the novel, although [...]

Today’s Clown News In Full

Trust this blog to provide all your clown-related news for the day.

Leaders of clowns gathered for a convention in Mexico City said yesterday that they were saddened that a killer disguised himself as a clown to kill a drug lord last week, and insisted no true member of their profession would have committed the crime.

The [...]