Dear Readers,
Good Afternoon, and welcome back to Off The Fence, a newsletter capable of looking behind the horizon.
We hope you have those watches set, the new issue draws nearer and nearer. To push that new-issue fever through the end of the thermometer, we are prepared to declassify a trio of pieces: Lauren Cochrane, senior fashion writer at the Guardian, remembers the life of legendary designer Pam Hogg; Will Kaye tells of how his first flat in London was cuckooed by drug dealers; John Banville and his daughter Ellen Quinn Banville pay homage to a legendary Dublin eatery. And, of course, John Niven and Sophie Heawood have their first pieces in the mag. We told you, this one’s a pearler.
There are no new photos of 26 to speak of, and that is indeed well, because we have our winner. There were some very strong contenders: we greatly enjoyed this fine feline who was indeed ‘On The Fence’, as well as this beautiful scene from Britain’s 5th best county (Cornwall). The unnerving mystery behind this photo intrigued us for some time, until we conclusively proved, and can now reveal, that it was actually taken in Telford.
But the cream of the winter crop was, as so many of the best things are, made in China. Hugo Gye’s photo from the Forbidden City in Beijing is simply a beauty and proves definitively that The Fence is more interesting and beautiful than the ancient palaces of China. If only Matthias Clottu could have designed them too.
We’re also taking inspiration from our American brethren who are nearing the end of their annual college basketball phenomenon known as ‘March Madness’. Predictably, the name is nonsense, as its most important games happen in April. In this spirit, we offer a final few March discount tokens. MARCH20 at the checkout will give you 20 percent off a subscription, that’s print, digital or both. But we have only printed ten of these, and this deal will end at midnight tonight, so do snaffle them rapido.
Well then, let’s get into this, shall we? We’ve got some great viewing for you this week, alongside a look at the latest addition to the modern trend of performers becoming statesmen that Ronny ‘Teflon’ Reagan made so cool all those years ago. But first, we begin with a tribute to a real friend.
Style on Style on Style
It is a real shame, no, a genuine disaster, to see The Face shutter its doors after a second coming. Not only was the format, tone, identity and very name an inspiration for The Fence, but they were possibly the very first UK publication to give a tip of the cap to us, commissioning our editor and the editor-at-large to write a dispatch from Frieze Week in a ‘TF-off’, which comes with a superb set of photos from Alexander Coggin.
Many favourites from our own pages appeared there too, as have many staffers over the years. Under the aegis of the charming and talented (and, yes, very handsome) Matthew Whitehouse, it published brilliant pieces from across the British Isles and beyond.
It should have prospered, not least in the current necrotic mediascape. Why it failed to flourish from a business standpoint, we are sure will be covered elsewhere, and in due course.
But for now, we want to raise a glass to all those involved with The Face, and wish them the best with all future endeavours.
Doing the Civil Unrest Skank
The ongoing situation in Iran will be dominating our news feeds for the foreseeable. But the Fencey eye is keen and irreverent, so we’ve been paying attention to Nepal instead. Why? Because they have just elected and now sworn in a new PM, Balendra Shah, a man who has been a part of the Nepali underground hip-hop scene since the early 2010s.
The social and political themes of his music lead to a run for Mayor of Kathmandu, which he won as an independent in 2022. The next breakthrough moment came with Nepal’s Gen Z protests in 2025. Organised online, they were youth-focused and led, and part of a new global phenomenon. Morocco has its Gen Z 212 movement, the number a reference to the country’s area code, and similar uprisings have been seen in Bangladesh, Kenya, Indonesia, Philippines, Timor-Leste and the Maldives.
They seem to be surprisingly effective. In Morocco, the country’s still-influential king, Mohammed VI, came out to pressure the government to address the problems of poor healthcare and youth unemployment that drove the movement. Likewise in Kenya, the protests led Kenyan President William Ruto to veto the highly unpopular finance bill that sparked the unrest.
None, however, can be seen as more initially successful than those in Nepal, which actually brought down the reigning government and the elections that have swept Balendra Shah to power. Perhaps part of the force of these protests has been the genuine risk involved for its participants, who have not baulked from violent unrest including rioting, arson and stone throwing. Morocco’s protests saw 3 people killed, 28 injured and over 400 arrests among the protestors, with over 300 security personnel injured alongside them. Nepal’s protestors suffered more heavily, with over 2000 injuries and 76 deaths reported.
It’s quite a stark comparison to the footage coming out of the most recent wave of the ‘No Kings’ protests and the recent anti-far right protests in London. These affairs drew large crowds and boisterous atmospheres but a notable lack of conviction. There was footage of protestors forcing open the gates to an ICE detention facility only to sort of stand around outside and then move back when the bully boys turned up. Likewise, the ‘House Against Hate’ event in Trafalgar Square (ft. MC Zacky P) feels a world away from burning cars in the streets; basically an excuse to have a good time in the name of activism. We need elaborate no further on this dance re-enactment of the shooting of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.
This is not a TF call for armed revolution, but from a pure performance review standpoint, you’d have to say a few lessons could be learned from the hardier set of protestors around the world. You can see this in some incredible footage of Nepal’s protests which actually come from a YouTuber called Harry Jackson, who simply happened to be travelling through the country when it all kicked off. His footage and conversations are absolutely fascinating, if not especially fun.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IyxSqeFrlp0
So which way will Nepal’s new MC PM take them? A lot of people have been quick to see the move as positive, shaking up a corrupt party system and bringing in an anti-establishment candidate. But the picture is not so clear. One of the better pieces on it was actually penned by a writer who featured in our own Capital Letter not too long ago, one Norpell Wilberforce. As he points out, the crushing of the traditional parties at the ballot box has not removed two of the key power brokers in the country: the army and the police.
And Balendra Shah looks like an unlikely candidate to contain them. He is an inexperienced figure, and during his tenure as Kathmandu’s mayor was criticised by domestic and international watchdogs for using excessive police force to evict informal squatters and street vendors. Observers should watch whether he will make transparent the large-scale infrastructural contracts that previous administrations gave to the army. Indeed, Nepalis may come to see the departure of Sushila Karki, the former interim PM, as a sliding doors moment when they lost a more experienced, redoubtable candidate. You can read Norpell’s full piece in The Wire here.
Whatever his premiership produces for Nepal, Balendra Shah’s election has placed him in a unique category of Premiers who have released post-election singles. Please, no one show this to Kier Starmer.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yse0H0mXEuQ
Nice Nice, Very Nice
The very nice people at It’s Nice That have just this morning published this piece by Olivia Hingley about… US! Talking to our editor and art director they have dug into what makes The Fence, The Fence. Basically, it’s a good amount of clever thievery which we’re very proud of indeed. The piece is full of insights into where all sorts of our trademarks come from which we’re sure will interest you. And they say some very sweet things about us too, we’re blushing.
It might perhaps encourage you to keep supporting this mag, given it is so lovely (a peer reviewed opinion). If you’ve been teetering on the edge of buying a subscription, why not teeter off of it? The recent print semi-revival is driven solely by support and interest from people such as yourselves and, as the newsletter has already had to lament, the continued operation of good magazines is never a given. Those tokens are so, so active right now.
How to Get on in Society
Speaking of cool and stylish offices, we are absolutely transfixed by the engagement videos coming out of the Sheerluxe hub. Here, they celebrate the fourth set of pending nuptials this very year, and with coffee and an unopened bottle of Lady Bamford’s rosé wine. Do you know anyone who has worked at the SL offices? We are all ears at editorial@the-fence.com.
King of Saxony, Bird of Paradise
‘Why does the van need maintenance?’
‘Because we put 30,000 miles on it.’
‘Why did we put 30,000 miles on it?’
‘Because we’re trying to find as many birds as we can.’
‘Why are we trying to find as many birds as we can?’
‘That I don’t know.’
So begins Listers, a bizarre and fascinating documentary on the extremes of birdwatching. It’s not a word usually associated with ‘extremes’ of any kind, which is why this is such a brilliant topic. Two brothers going around the states, going to all lengths to achieve what is known as a ‘big year’ in birding circles, an effort to see as many US birds in one calendar year as possible. If your eyes are tiring of the regular media parade, this is a welcome break.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zl-wAqplQAo
In Case You Missed It
An excerpt from a 1926 edition of the Baltimore Sun.
This 1974 Japanese TV show had a villain for one episode called ‘Starfish Hitler’.
An interesting perspective on the ‘Middle East crisis’ from Cambridge Professor Andrew Arsan.
The New Yorker interviewed John Lithgow.
Big Narstie does Tai Chi and speaks Chinese.
And Finally
In the coming issue, we’ve had a think about some so-called ‘endangered species’, types of people and things you just don’t see these days. And though they couldn’t fit into the piece (for reasons that will become clear when you receive/buy your copy), old-school vaudeville variety acts have got to be on there as either ‘Critically Endangered’ or ‘Extinct In The Wild’ (to use the International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s official categories).
Of those acts, Frank ‘Cannonball’ Richards has got to be one of the most incredible. Frank’s talent was simple: you could hit him as hard as you like, and he could take it, seemingly without any serious pain or damage.
The peak of Richard’s prowess was his infamous cannonball trick (yes, that is where he got the name from, although a source close to TF’s grandad said he also loved jumping into swimming pools), where he would simply stand in front of a cannon and take the full force of a 47-kilogram cannonball. Insane. This was a stunt recreated by Preston Lacy for one of the Jackass films. Crucially, however, where Lacy did it once for the cameras, Richards was doing it twice a day at the peak of his career. He limited it there because apparently doing it three times a day would have been ‘too painful’.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-bxd1EsVhI8
When he wasn’t getting walloped by a device used to blow up ships and castle walls, he wasn’t exactly relaxing either. Other more standard stunts included getting repeatedly punched in the stomach by all of the day’s best heavyweights, such as Jack Dempsey, having troops of people jump on his belly, and taking sledgehammer blows to his solar plexus. Predictably, taking all this punishment took its toll on Richards in the end. Just kidding, he died aged 81, having been born in 1887, a year when the average life expectancy for newborns was in the mid-40s. They just do not build them like that any more.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I4lZUwsri8Q
Well shit, piss and all things Swiss, that’s the end of another week’s events from our vantage point. Do remember to score one of those last remaining cut-price subs as we won’t be repeating the offer for months, if not years. As ever those email addresses are editorial@the-fence.com for editorial needs and support@the-fence.com for support needs (non-emotional unless it’s urgent). Mumbai was originally seven islands before the completion of a series of land reclamation projects in 1845.
All the best,
TF