Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 465

Hidden London: Bermondsey Market

Around this time of the year I entertain thoughts of visiting Bermondsey market. The problem is that you have to get up very early to do it. Situated on the other side of Tower Bridge, it has become a shadow of itself in the last decade, thanks to rampant property development. It's also a parking [...]

Peculiar English Humour 1

The English sense of humour really does take a lot of explaining. It's a mixture of coarseness, surreality, amateurishness, cruelty, subtle wordplay and very dry wit. We don't do puns – they're loved by the French. We do like the strangeness of language (why else would we find the words 'Nesta Bough' so funny, and [...]

The Moisturizer's Gift Guide

Apparently I have an online nickname – The Moisturizer – which appears to have been started by the writer AM Esmonde, and as you can't stop anything that appears on the net I'm running with it this once.

Well, you may have finished your Christmas shopping but I haven't started and probably won't until late next [...]

Write Your Own Bad Book Blurb

This year I'm honoured to be one of the judges for the CWA Gold Dagger, possibly the world's most prestigious award to be granted to a crime writer in the English language. I'm part of a team reading nearly 200 books (this is outside of my regular review-reading for the Indie and the FT), and [...]

London Hots Up For Christmas

The coldest Christmas since 1963 is heading our way, and another white one this year by the look of it.

So, what is there to do? This year the choice is borderline insane, with special sites set up to list the myriad possibilities, but I already missed the Great Christmas Pudding Race – Held on [...]

Fox News Gets Even Uglier

Press reports today reveal that journalists at international joke channel Fox News were under orders to cast doubt on all mentions of climate change, according to leaked emails obtained by media monitoring group Media Matters.

Fox News's Washington bureau chief, Bill Sammon, imposed an order to make time for climate sceptics within 15 minutes of the [...]

Re:View – Hamlet @ The National Theatre

As a white Christmas looms in London, it was my Christmas treat to myself to see Rory Kinnear tackle Hamlet in a lengthy amalgam text that brought the play to just under 3 3/4 hours. The National's pricing policy guarantees affordability, younger and more ethnically audiences, which suited this highly acclaimed production, set in a [...]

Creepy Christmas

Last weekend while I was away, I was fascinated by the different ways in which Christmas is celebrated. Italy is obsessed with automata – some very beautiful, some unbelievably tacky – that bring religious scenes to life.

When I lived in America, it felt as if Christmas was mainly represented by Coca Cola. In England it's [...]

Bring This Exhibition To The Tate

'Mapping The Studio' at the Palazzo Grassi is one of the most fascinating modern art exhibitions I've seen since 'Sensation' was at the Saatchi Gallery. If exhibitions can be judged by the state of mind in which they leave you after you exit, this one succeeds. It features world artists largely exploring states of modern [...]

'Celebrity' Will Be Back!

Well, 'Celebrity' may have ended but we'll definitely be back! We've had several enquiries about renewing the run elsewhere, and are deciding what to do next. Meanwhile, I'm lengthening the play with a couple of new scenes, so watch this space. Meanwhile, here are Victoria, Mark, Neil, Lucy, the writer and Bill the ASM (sadly [...]