Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 384

London's Retail Wonders

The first in an occasional series looking at London shops, here's the place where movie directors spend their fortunes. Comet Miniatures is the legendary Lavender Hill shop that appeals to both nostalgists and modern-day model makers, an Aladdin's Cave of kits and collectables. Want the Corvette from 'Animal House' or the Famous Monsters Aurora models? [...]

Bueller? Anyone?

Hey, the Superbowl ad was the closest we'll ever get to a sequel. It didn't make me want to buy the car, it made me want to see the film again.

The Whacky World Of Going Out

I love a new restaurant, but if I ate out in London all the time I'd be broke pretty quickly. So how come, even in the year of the 'Jubilympics', we're getting so many new restaurants? I did a little research and discovered that this month alone, 102 new restaurants opened. And it's the internet [...]

Going For Baroque

Anyone who thinks London no longer has its Gothic atmosphere should check out my pal Joel Meadows' photographs; he shows that the city can still be as moodily baroque as it ever was. He's been creeping about in all the graveyards and alleyways of the city with his camera to create a book called 'Spooked'. [...]

He Broke The Code

The UK government has rebuffed a campaign to retroactively pardon Alan Turing, the Bletchley Park 'father of the computer' whose career ended in tragedy after a conviction at a time when being gay was legally discriminated against.

Justice minister Lord McNally used the precedent argument to discourage the notion in the House of Lords during this, [...]

Where Ideas Come From

My old friend Kim Newman, whose own excellent Sherlock Holmes book series far exceeds the quality of the current TV reinvention, has pointed out that TV doesn't need to purchase new ideas so long as they can get away with stealing work from writers, in the same way that TV reality shows don't need actors [...]

Inundated London

This comes from Matt at The Londonist here, where you can see the full range of shots, but in case you've missed the story it's connected to an art installation called PLUNGE that charts the possible rising sea level next century. The rings are fitted around a number of London landmarks and, apart from carrying [...]

Little Dot

The polka dot-obsessed red-headed octogenerian artist Yayoi Kusama has a new exhibition at the Tate Modern, and it looks utterly bonkers. Love this installation and can't wait to see the rest.

Wonka Applications Now Open

British residents can now enter a lottery for free tickets to the Queen's Diamond Jubilee Buckingham Palace Concert here. Caution: May Contain Cliff Richard. It's organised by Gary Barlow, who has now undergone a remarkable transformation from Boy-Band Sex Toy to the Vicar of Stiffkey.

Charles Dickens and Mr Punch

It's Mr Punch's 350th birthday, and there are all sorts of Punch-related celebrations taking place across England this year. The wife-beating baby murderer who plays shows to children has always been a controversial figure, but when one outraged petitioner complained he famously got short shrift from Charles Dickens: the novelist defended the Mr Punch as [...]