Dear Readers,
We are absolutely thrilled to announce the arrival of Issue 23 of the magazine, weighing a healthy few ounces and looking, we think, the most beautiful yet. What’s in it? Well, content-wise, we are pretty confident that this is the very best yet, too, on which more presently.
But first, just gaze at this cover by Ed Steed.
If you are not a subscriber to the magazine, then the time is now. We’ve even provided a discount code – to the tune of a juicy 20% off print and digital (or both) subscriptions with the code SPRING20.
Our servers at TF have been going gaga over the interest in the sensational anonymous piece Hotel Britannica about the catastrophic failings at the heart of the asylum system, by someone who works on its front line. But if you loved that, then there’s plenty more not yet online.
We’re delighted with David Whitehouse’s brilliant piece which tells us what it was like pretending to be a horny nurse at the end of a premium rate sexting line on the morning of 9/11. Just as brilliant is Georgia Brown’s blend of personal experience and social commentary as she explores the world of Britain’s borstals. On a lighter note, Louis Staples does a tasting tour of the thinly veiled copies of popular brands found in Aldi and Lidl.
One of the things we pride ourselves on at The Fence is putting stuff into print that you cannot read anywhere else. Pre-eminent among the examples of such a genre in this issue is our very own Kidnap and Ransom Man, who gives us the insider story on how the market price for ransoms is determined. In the same vein of sparkling insider pieces which you won’t find elsewhere, we’ve got an anonymous peek into 24 hours in the life and work of a Zone 1 London escort. We’ve also got a moving and funny piece by Alex Taylor about how he ended up accidentally becoming a professional eulogist, while Katie Lewis pens her own eulogy for the indie music scene.
The weird and wonderful abounds: delve into Jeremy Beadle’s private library of esoterica with the always masterful Mark Blacklock and take a trip down Minge Lane and the world of dirty street names with the hilarious Emma Magnus.
Then, of course, there are the gags themselves: we’ve got ongoing brilliance from TF stablehands Séamas O’Reilly and Róisín Lanigan as well as an Easter special imagining of how Ticketmaster would deal with the events of 33 AD courtesy of Lucy Wilson. Tasty morsels at the back include a new set of personal ads, King Charles III’s manga obsession and Chris de Burgh’s successes in the Islamic Republic of Iran. And we finish with another bonkers diagram from William Clarke.
Remember: SPRING20 for the discount here.
Do let us know how you find the issue, and we’ll join you again next Tuesday with a conventional newsletter. Until the next time.
All the best,
TF