Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 397

Unsung Heroes

There are several people I should thank a bit more often for keeping the books-N-writing roadshow rolling here at Fowler Towers, so here's a shout-out to Graham Humphries, here seen with his own Whimshurst Machine. Graham did the covers for 'Red Gloves', the upcoming 'Hell Train', and helped on many other designs going back to [...]

Where The Magic Went

Earlier in this column we were investigating what happened to London's magic shops, and found that there are at least four, including the wonderful one in Clerkenwell where disgusting magician/comic Jerry Sadowitz can sometimes be found behind the counter.

And of course there's this guy in Camden Market, who has been there for a few [...]

You'd Have To Be Nuts

It must be Christmas, there are jingly commercials on TV and a few austere miserable-looking Christmas displays in town, and oh, here's the Nutcracker again.

It seems there are a handful of entertainments that will never, ever go away no matter how hard you pray they will – Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Batman, Ebenezer Scrooge, the [...]

Ten Ugly Truths About Books

I was talking to a writer the other night who was proud that his new book sold 160 copies. I'm happy he was happy, but why do writers and publishers so rarely talk about the numbers? To answer the age-old question, if a book comes out and nobody reads it, it doesn't exist. To sell [...]

More Magic In London

My friend Phil Baker (I highly recommend his excellent biography of Dennis Wheatley, 'The Devil Is A Gentleman') has sent me more photos of the old Davenport's magic shop, now Starbucks. True to magical form it didn't disappear, but simply magicked itself from opposite the British Museum to another place a few streets over (under [...]

It Really Is Time

This Australian ad has been seen by millions, but it's worth running again. Daily Mail readers, look away now.

2011: Welcome To The Decade Style Forgot

I never dressed cool. In my teens I was broke so it looked like I was wearing outfits cast off by circus clowns. My favourite outfit was an orange nylon polo-neck shirt with velcro fastenings, bought from one of the catalogues my mother then sold. I looked like Simon Dee.

In my twenties I went through [...]

Re:View – 'Pippin'

I can't help thinking that the Menier Chocolate Factory is a victim of its own success; lately too many shows have been chosen for their ability to transfer to the West End, and too many have disappointed since the genius reworking of 'Sunday In The Park With George'. Now comes the Stephen Schwartz/ Bob Fosse [...]

If You've Been Naughty This Year, Start Running

One From The Tabloids:

The Scottsdale Gun Club in Arizona is offering families, including toddlers and babies, the chance to pose against a festive backdrop with their choice of gun for their Christmas cards. The club, which is taking the pictures for the second time after hundreds flocked to the event last year, have called it [...]

The Twitter of 1860

As if I don't have enough to read, with reviews and award-hopeful books to plough through by the caseful, the British Library (which is right on my doorstep) is making available more than 4 million pages, drawn mainly from 19th-century regional newspapers, which were previously kept in decent obscurity at the library's newspaper archive in [...]