Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 316

From Obsession To Debate In 140 Characters

There’s nothing I like more than a good argument. Working at home, a rowdily creative office environment is what I miss most of all. When I shared an office with four other writers, the ideas that were hothoused and theories that were espoused may never have been put to practical use, but were good for [...]

Eat Up, Move On

Story, the debut eatery from 26-year-old Tom Sellers, who previously worked at the French Laundry (I’m assuming this is a restaurant and not, good forbid, something useful) sent out apress release on Friday to confirm that the reservation line would be opening at 9am on Saturday, before warning that “diners will have to move quickly [...]

Cannibal Callout To Come Back

A sweet story from London24 on Saturday: The phrase ‘Mind the gap!’, heard for forty years at Embankment station because of the alarmingly large gap off the train (the platform is curved), played here long after it had been phased out by other stations. The widow of the man who recorded it used to go [...]

Toward More Meaningful Prose

It’s been said that nobody can set out to write something meaningful; you can only write what you feel passionate about and hope that it means something. I was struck by a recent quote from an author who said he ‘set out to write something important and got sidetracked into his career’. We could ask [...]

If Things Get Tough In The Writing Trade, There’s Always This:

How Hard Do You Work?

When I lived in America, I was shocked by how hard everyone worked. They took no time off, stayed late, had few public holidays, worked incredible long hours and seemed to get little thanks for their efforts. Many people I knew had two or even three jobs.

Millions of Americans work full time, year round, for [...]

Why Nobody Needs To Take A Meeting

The history of the business meeting is hard to pin down. There don’t seem to have been any before 1800, and they may have arrived much later. Businesses had boards of governors that met, but the idea of endless subgroups holding an infinite number of nanomeetings to reach decisions by common consensus doesn’t appear to [...]

One Month Without A Supermarket

A comment struck me during the recent supermarket horsemeat scandal. Said one whistleblower, ‘If you don’t actively look for a problem, it will never come to light.’ Now dairy and other produce scams are being investigated.

Add to this a new study of 448,568 people in 10 European countries, which has found that eaters of processed [...]

When London Got The Needle

Whenever I put a London peculiarity into a book, I usually visit it after doing my research, so that I know more about it. In an earlier novel (I forget which) I mention the needle, which is in a very visible spot on the Embankment, and flanked with benches overlooking the Thames that are held [...]

What Made Admin Grumpy Today

I watched this short video, which shocked me and made me feel bad, and I’m not even an American! It seems I spent the first half of my life going on marches to try and halt this kind of thing, but the sense of powerless is now all-pervasive…