Christopher Fowler's Blog, page 517

The Winners of the Campaign For Real Fear

Well, the Campaign For Real Fear is over, and was everything we hoped it would be. The entries were smart, mad, trying, puzzling, disturbing and every stop in between. We doubled the number of winners and added seven Honourable Mentions because we simply couldn't narrow it down any further. The big surprise in the statistic [...:]

Old Lady Rocks!

Ah yes, Spam. Monty Python. Need to know where Monty Python filmed their assault on the Uxbridge Road? Or perhaps you want to know the exact site of the fish-slapping dance? Not a Python fan but you'd like to see Sir Michael Caine's London or take the Rock Stars' Death Tour?
Head here for one [...:]

Lovely Spam

…In a Mornay sauce with a fried egg on top and spam. Every morning I sort through the previous day's comments for the site, and notice that the Spam comments are getting sneakier. Luckily, most give the game away by posting; 'Love the article! Have you tried ordering larger dress sizes online?' Some arrive in [...:]

An Avalanche Of Lies!

These Auto Tunes spots have been knocking about the inter-thing a bit lately, but this is the funniest and most tuney yet. We seem to be moving toward a new art form here. It starts with the monstrously embarrassing Euro-row that was in the headlines a couple of months back that somehow felt so right [...:]

Who Said Farmers Have No Sense Of Humour?

Proof that farmers keep up with pop culture; the Lady GaGa Scarecrow.

London Pubs: King Charles I

King's Cross has some rubbish pubs, but this gem in Northdown Street is worth a visit (along with The Driver and The Fellow). It's the Brigadoon of boozers, seemingly vanishing at certain times when you most want a drink. Ben the landlord cheerfully admits he went a bit AWOL for a while but now the [...:]

When Does Belief Become Bigotry?

Sometimes news stories seem to overlap. After Brown's embarrassing climbdown following the microphone that picked up his expressed dislike for the party voter with whom he had been forced into a photo-op, a marriage guidance counsellor's bid to challenge his sacking for refusing to give sex therapy to gay couples has caused clashes between the [...:]

Black Static Takes A Great Leap Forward

Black Static magazine is the best horror fiction & review magazine on the market, bar none. A sister magazine to Interzone (SF) and Crimewave (crime), it has been quietly upping its game over the last two years, and with issue 16 has exploded into full colour with better paper stock and beautiful illustrations. (Although I [...:]

How Do You Choose A Book?

I'm drowning in books. The TV hasn't been on in weeks – months – I'm reading four books at once and still can't keep up. Why? Because I'm reviewing them as well as trying to keep on top of my chosen personal reading, and also researching my own novel. Press space is more limited than [...:]

Hidden London: Sir John Soane Museum

It's not as hidden now as it once was. The Sir John Soane Museum at Lincoln's Inn Fields now gets morning queues outside it because of the reduced numbers of visitors allowed in. This is a good thing, as the house is fragile and crowded with relics, and visitor numbers are increasing. It's the world's [...:]