Dear Readers,
Good afternoon, and welcome to Off The Fence, a newsletter that is very proud to announce that Issue 16 is finally here, and it’s an absolute pearl – by far the best issue we’ve ever done. The Classified Special has a jaw-dropping dispatch from our Man in Ukraine: an anonymous correspondent (who firmly denies that he is a spy) who has been on the dating apps in Kharkiv to find out how the country’s gay community are still hooking up even as the bombs fall. That’s what we call frontline journalism. We’ve also asked a suite of eminent bods – Andrew Lownie, Janine Gibson and an unidentified government employee to tell the readers how it feels like to handle classified information. Elsewhere, Clive Martin travelled to Southsea, to witness Jim Davidson’s ‘anti-woke’ comedy night, and Sophie Elmhirst writes about her travails with the Highway Code.
Every issue, we look to publish young writers – the stars of tomorrow – alongside more established names, and Issue 16 sees Killian Faith-Kelly, Archie Cornish and Margaret Mitchell land big features, and the whole thing has been drawn beautifully by Miki Lowe, Nishant Choski and Natalya Lobanova.
Now, Issue 16 has been sent to subscribers this very afternoon: please do share photos on Twitter and Instagram when the copies land. We want to know what you think about the latest issue! Now, if you haven’t already subscribed, you can do so here.
Today, we’ve got another little buffet, because we’ve been sorting the mag distribution all week. And here it is.
Costa Prize Crimewave
One of the first things we ever published was this rather mean (but very funny!) insider piece from a senior figure in the publishing industry, listing 12 tips to follow for would-be authors. Four years later, the piece is still regularly re-upped on Twitter, so we contacted our insider to see if they’d be interested in writing another piece. And they have done so – it’s another caustic listicle for writers who’ve just had their first book published. It’ll be going online soon…
Fermez La Manche
With the passing of Jane Birkin, the Marylebone-born beauty who became a French icon, it’s worth reflecting on how many of the country’s leading lights left grimy old England for La Belle France. Kristin Scott Thomas. Charlatan Rampling. There are more. Thankfully, things have now changed. We’ve had a little think about it, and the most famous young Brit resident in France today is probably Paul Taylor. Paul who? He’s a comedian who thinks saying the word ‘fuck’ a lot is funny, and is, for some inexplicable reason, something of a household name in France – you can sample his work here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pz0XgAKR9Oc
Slay Rayner
While we’ve got a pretty faultless record at recommending books that go on to win prizes, we’ve got a less sturdy record when it comes to shining a light on London’s restaurant scene – sadly, two places we have celebrated in the past year have recently shuttered, so we hope that we’re not putting the Mark of Cain on Outcrop, a new joint opened by the team behind Luca and Clove Club at 180 The Strand. Set amongst hanging gardens and brutalist architecture, it dishes top-notch Anglo-Thai food with delicious cocktails. It’s also just… very cool? The music is really… good? While we do love French restaurants in rickety Georgian townhouses with approachable wine lists, sometimes you want to feel like you’re living in 2023 – and you certainly get that at Outcrop, and you can go for a long walk by the languorous Thames afterwards, and feel, albeit briefly, that all is well in the world.
Il Miglior Fabbro
Lots of people like this newsletter to an almost disconcerting degree. Now we’re not going to do a Gerald Ratner on our own efforts, but there is one weekly mail-out that is just hitting different at the moment, and that’s Popbitch. Many of you will already be signed up for their Thursday outings, but if you haven’t already had the pleasure, then do read last week’s dispatch, which is a start-to-finish banger. If you’re interested in media gossip, political juice and cracking celebrity tales – like Paul McCartney pulling a whitey at the River Cafe after sharing a spliff with Harrison Ford – then sign up here. It’s also free…
In Case You Missed It
Tom Cruise is allegedly living near the M25. Caity Weaver went to track him down.
Cleaving to the theme of American icons residing in unlikely parts of Britain, Bob Dylan’s Scottish mansion is up for sale.
‘I’ve always had a strong sympathy with the Luddites.’ Bron Maher interviews TF icon Peter Hitchens for the Press Gazette.
Radiant Ambiguity: James Butler previews Keir Starmer’s impending move to Downing Street.
As Greta Gerwig constructs the Mattel universe, Caspar Salmon asks why credible film makers are selling out.
And Finally
Okay, let’s row back on that previous anti-French sentiment: we love our Continental cousins, and let’s celebrate all that is best in Gallic culture with this amazing video from 1988, which shows a children’s choir decked in full Serge Gainsbourg regalia – whiskies and cigarettes in hand – regale Gainsbourg himself with one of his songs as the Frenchman weeps with emotion. One to warm your stony hearts!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=unYu22Ign1E
That’s it for this week: excuse the slightly strange schedule this week, there’s only been one of the team at the wheel while everyone else enjoys a much-needed holiday, and that one person has been amending lists, printing lists and labelling magazines. A lot of magazines. We’ll be back with you on Tuesday, and please do share snaps of Issue 16 as it arrives – all being well – on Friday and Saturday. We’ll be sharing pieces from the middle of next week, too, for our digital subscribers. Have a lovely weekend.
All the best,
TF