London peculiar and other nonfiction

Cover......Page 1
Copyright......Page 7
Contents......Page 8
THE MAN ON THE STAIRS: INTRODUCTION BY IAIN SINCLAIR......Page 12
EDITOR’S FOREWORD BY ALLAN KAUSCH......Page 18
Scratching a Living......Page 20
A Child’s Christmas in the Blitz......Page 24
LONDON......Page 44
 Heart and Soul of the City......Page 45
 A Place of Perpetual Rehearsal and Audition......Page 49
 Building the New Jerusalem......Page 53
 City of Wonderful Night......Page 58
 London Peculiar......Page 61
 Introduction to Gerald Kersh’s Fowlers End......Page 67
 A Child of Her Times......Page 71
 Mysteries of London......Page 74
 Benglish for Beginners......Page 77
 Cockney in Translation......Page 79
OTHER PLACES......Page 82
 Diary: 13th October 2001......Page 83
 Diary: 30th August 2003......Page 86
 Diary: 7th January 2006......Page 89
 Diary: 26th October 2007......Page 92
 Diary: 12th April 2008......Page 95
 Diary: 4th October 2008......Page 98
 Diary: 28th March 2009......Page 101
 Diary: 31st October 2009......Page 104
 Diary: 15th May 2010......Page 107
 A Review of Another Fool in the Balkans: In the Footsteps of Rebecca West by Tony White......Page 110
 A Construction Site of the Mind......Page 112
ABSENT FRIENDS......Page 116
 The Patsy......Page 117
 Jack’s Unforgettable Christmas......Page 120
 When the Political Gets Too Personal......Page 126
 Andrea Dworkin: Memorial......Page 130
 JG Ballard Introduction......Page 132
 Time Made Concrete......Page 134
 The Voice......Page 139
 The Atrocity Exhibition......Page 142
 JG Ballard: In Memoriam......Page 144
 Introduction to The Secret of Sinharat by Leigh Brackett......Page 148
 James Cawthorn: 1928–2008......Page 153
 Fascination with Mortality: The Late Thomas M Disch......Page 155
 Tom Disch Tribute......Page 158
 A Constant Curiosity......Page 160
 Introduction to Expletives Deleted by Angela Carter......Page 166
 Ted Carnell......Page 172
 A Review of No Laughing Matter by Angus Wilson......Page 174
 Mal Dean......Page 177
 The Ego Endures......Page 179
MUSIC......Page 182
 Adding to the Legend......Page 183
 Phil Ochs......Page 185
 The Deep Fix......Page 188
 Death by Hero Worship......Page 191
 Living with Music: A Playlist......Page 195
 Signs of the Times......Page 198
 Rewriting the Blues......Page 201
POLITICS......Page 204
 To Kill a King......Page 205
 Before Armageddon......Page 208
 A Million Betrayals......Page 221
INTRODUCTIONS AND REVIEWS......Page 228
 The Cosmic Satirist......Page 229
 Dark Continents, Dying Planets......Page 233
 A Fiercer Hen......Page 237
 An Introduction to The Babylonian Trilogy by Sébastien Doubinsky......Page 240
 Like a Fox......Page 242
 Button-Holed by Erudition......Page 245
 Cricket by Moonlight......Page 248
 Introduction to The Aerodrome by Rex Warner......Page 261
 Les Livres Dimanches......Page 267
 Echoes of Peake......Page 274
 Breaking Free......Page 276
 The Time of The Time Machine......Page 279
 Ubu C’est Moi?......Page 291
 What to Buy for the Grown-Up Boy......Page 295
 Yesterday’s Tomorrow......Page 297
 A Review of Mythago Wood by Robert Holdstock......Page 300
 North Pole Ghetto......Page 303
 Wagner and Wodehouse, Together at Last......Page 306
 Homage to Cornucopia......Page 308
 Forever Dying, Forever Alive......Page 311
 Introduction to Lud Heat and Suicide Bridge by Iain Sinclair......Page 314
 Norton Goes to the Seaside......Page 317
 How to Poach Magpie Eggs......Page 320
 The Triumph of Time......Page 329
 Conan: American Phenomenon......Page 333
 Learning to Be a Jew......Page 341
 Introduction to The Hooligan by Rudolf Nassauer......Page 346
 When Worlds Collide......Page 352
 Kit Carson Rides Again......Page 355
 The Undertaker and the Actress......Page 357
 The Spaces in Between......Page 359
 Bites at the Red Apple......Page 362
 The Water Maze......Page 366
 Sexton Blake, Detective......Page 368
 A Review of The Manual of Detection by Jedediah Berry......Page 378
 Paraxis Introduction......Page 380
 Frances Bret Harte......Page 383
AFTERWORD BY MICHAEL MOORCOCK......Page 386
BIBLIOGRAPHY......Page 389
ABOUT THE AUTHOR......Page 396