Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 414

Compo Time: Join Me For The Launch

At least, five of you can. I've struck a deal with Transworld, who are going to allow me to invite five guests to my launch party for 'Bryant & May and the Memory of Blood' on October 4th. All you have to do is drop a comment on this site answering a simple question. The [...]

Re:View – 'Troll Hunter'

I had rather higher expectations for 'Troll Hunter' than the actual fun it delivered. This Norwegian creature feature is no 'Monsters', that's for sure, but it's funny in a deadpan Nordic way. Hopefully, though, we'll have seen the end of the motion-sickness inducing 'found footage' phenomenon.

Three students hoping to make their name as broadcast journalists [...]

As If Summer Wasn't Bad Enough

Apparently the worst summer in two decades is going to have an upside. We're about to have a bumper crop of…autumn spiders, some poisonous (there are 12 different venomous ones in the UK) and one, the Tegenaria parietina, or cardinal spider, reputed to have bitten Cardinal Wolsey, which can measure up to 6in across, about [...]

London Did You Know? No. 2 – Cabbies

The first trip after a cabbie passes his Knowledge test is free to the customer. I've never found one yet. Cabbies have to learn about public buildings as well as roads, and remember roads for their test knowledge with mnemonics. Cutting through Covent Garden is 'Wet T-Shirts' – Wellington, Tavistock, Southampton, Henrietta.

Many cabbies have slang [...]

The 1950s Weren't All Horrible

I hate nicking shots from other sites but I noticed this on Matt's excellent Londonist site, and it's simply too good to pass up, so thank you Matt for the original posting. It's a trip from Hammersmith to Kensington (we think) that's had the shakes and colour smudges electronically removed from it to leave a [...]

London Did You Know? No.1 – Westminster Abbey

When the comedian Ronnie Barker died, he had a memorial service at Westminster Abbey, and the choir entered behind the vergers carrying four candles (this joke may need explaining – check YouTube).

By the way, not everyone buried in Poets' Corner is a poet. Thomas Parr lived through the reigns of ten monarchs, from Edward IV [...]

Red Gloves Now Has An Added Extra

I've just found out that my limited edition slipcased box set of 25 new short stories will come with an added extra – two full colour illustrated frontispieces. Looks like the publishers are just going to keep chucking good stuff in!

Hidden London

This bucolic scene is, believe it or not, about a two-minute walk from the manic bustle of Euston Road, thanks to the reconfiguration of streets currently going on there. To reach it, you need to note where the bridges cross the canals, and find staircases down to the waterside.

The entire area is shortly to be [...]

Rewriting War Of The Worlds

I've been meaning to post this YouTube clip for weeks but keep forgetting (love those freeze-frames – thanks, YouTube!)
Here's a quick bit of me banging on about the writing of the upcoming 'War Of The Worlds' video game from Paramount, starring Sir Patrick Stewart.

More London Boozers

The Castle pub in Cowcross Street, Farringdon is the only pub in London to have its own pawnbrokers' licence. A refreshingly down-to-earth Farringdon boozer, it was once frequented by King George IV, who was tempted in by a spot of cockfighting. Arriving without money, he promptly issued the pub with a pawnbroker's licence and handed [...]