Dear Readers,
Good afternoon, and welcome to Off The Fence. As promised, we’re joining you twice this week, as we’ve got our summer sale on, and subscriptions have been slashed – but only for the next 25 of you to sign up. There’s 30 percent off the £30 annual price, a hilariously good deal, and much, much cheaper than our quarterly peers (and all those highly influential Substackers). If you’re relatively new to what we do, or you’ve read what we’ve done from a vantage point, take a skim of these endorsements below to get a view on the quality of our output, and whether you should put hand to purse:
Let’s go. There are only 25 of these subscriptions left and we’ve got the link right here for you. They will be gone, we reckon, by about 7pm.
The launch of Issue 16 is coming up next week, and there’s a lot to be excited about there. We’ll have some State of the Nation-type comment on the various earthquakes in London’s mediascape in future iterations. For now, here’s a little buffet to keep you sated.
Heaven Is A Half Pint
Three streets over TF’s HQ is The French House, which is probably, and this is no exaggeration, the capital’s most infamous pub. For much of the 20th century, the Berlemont family ran the show, divvying up demi-schooners to Francis Bacon and the Gang. Now, while much of London’s bohemian energy has been diluted, The French is still a lighthouse for artists, and above the bar you can see a work by John Broadley, whose illustrations frequently grace our pages. At the moment, they have an exhibition by artist Rupert Shrive, who used to have a studio above the Coach and Horses before moving to Paris.
In the exhibition, there is a long frieze running along the right-hand wall of the pub, of a polyptch of 11 differently sized canvases that looks to echo the conversazioni of The French House regulars. The exhibition is on until the end of August – do drop in if you’re in town.
Mrs Henderson Presents
Headline news with our neighbours downstairs at The Windmill: its co-owner, Ryan Bishti, has been convicted of bribing a police officer, and the investigation has found a ream of really quite amusing corruption on his phone, which you can enjoy here.
You would think that trying to run a magazine above a nightclub operated by a criminal would be troublesome, but really, the team working there couldn’t be more obliging and friendly. As for the ‘Soho Walking Tours’ who caterwaul outside our window on a daily basis… don’t get us started.
The Ideas Man
Every so often, we’ll put some pieces in front of the paywall, and this week, you can read James Waddell’s investigation into Hilary Lawson, the director of the Institute of Art and Ideas. James spent months diligently reporting for this piece, and it’s one of the most ambitious – and successful – things we’ve ever published
By Mary Ann’s Hand
Thank you, also, to Fiona Mozley, the Booker Prize nominee, who earlier this week described The Fence ‘as the best new magazine around’. This week, Fiona was inducted as a fellow of the Royal Society of Literature, which is a pretty neat achievement. Looking through the 600 fellows on Wikipedia, you might imagine that Sir Tom Stoppard would be the longest-serving fellow – but no. Kubrick collaborator, Frederic Raphael, has been a fellow since 1964, and the classical historian, Peter Green, who turns 100 next year, has been FRSL since 1958, which must be some kind of record.
In Case You Missed It
Free lunch editor, Ed Cumming, writes a timely denunciation of rosé for his more regular employer.
Barbie in Clapham: remembering Margot Robbie’s tenure in SW4.
Vittles’ Ruby Tandoh has mapped the best ice creams of London.
A question on everyone’s minds: why are there no Irish professional tennis players?
Maddie Mortimer reflects on the inspiration and comfort that she’s found in reading the journals her mother has left behind.
Has Caitlin Moran ever met a man? Will Lloyd plunges the hatchet on the Times’ columnist latest book.
Dream of Antontoffication: Mitch Therieau digs into pop music’s blandest prophet.
And Finally
We thought we’d finish up with one of the funniest shorts ever made in British comedy – Harry Enfield reimagines Terminator 3, but as directed by Merchant and Ivory. Hasta la Vista, pheasant!
Harry Enfield - Terminator 3 - video Dailymotion
That’s it for this week, and we’ll join you next Tuesday when we’ll be back operating on a weekly schedule, and the newsletters will be back to a chunkier length. We’re very excited to launch Issue 16, too. Don’t forget that the sale ends at midnight tonight, and you can score a cheapo subscription here.
If you would like to speak about an order, please email subscriptions@the-fence.com.
All the best,
TF