First up, The Guardian marked the fiftieth anniversary of the publication of John Le Carré's classic novel The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, and challenged its readers to a quiz about how well they know the novel. I took it; shamefully, I only scored 5 out of 10. Far too long since I read the book!
Second, London's Evening Standard newspaper reported this week that Whiteley's, the West London department store, is to close and, inevitably, become luxury flats. The story by the paper's property correspondent looks back at the historical links with the store, which includes:
"In the film version of Billion Dollar Brain, the hero uses an X-ray machine in Whiteley's shoe department to examine the contents of a sealed package"Why on earth does a shoe department need an X-ray machine?
Finally, I've just finished an excellent book at the moment which I'd go so far as to describe as 'the spy fiction fan's spy fiction. It's The Double Game by Dan Fesperman, a winner of the Crime Writers' Association of Britain's John Creasey Memorial Dagger award for The Small Boat of Great Sorrows.
The Double Game is set in 2012 and follows a journalist Bill Cage who inadvertently reveals a startling secret about a best-selling spy novelist, Edwin Lemaster, a friend of his father's and writer of the 'Folly' spy novels. He's drawn into a web of intrigue involved encoded messages, and the nub of the story rests on Cage's encyclopaedic knowledge of spy fiction, and the fact that he knows someone mysterious is testing his knowledge of spycraft. There are plenty of knowing references to blog readers' favourite writers, including Len, of course:
"In le Carré's Call for the Dead, George Smiley is summoned from sleep by a ringing telephone. In The Miernik Dossier, Charles McCarry's Paul Christopher is yanked from bed in Geneva by the doorbell. In Berlin Game, Len Deighton's Bernard Samson waits in the midnight cold of Checkpoint Charlie for a contact who never shows. And in Knee Knockers, Lemaster's Richard Folly is lured into the murk of predawn Prague. Such a lonely procession of nocturnal seekers. Literally and figuratively they were all in the dark. Now, so was I, an unlikely initiate to the midnight brethren."Definitely one that's worth checking out.
"Why on earth does a shoe department need an X-ray machine?"
ReplyDeleteI think there was a gimmick at the time, advertised on TV, of X raying your foot inside the shoe. It not being enough to just ask the customer if the shoes were too tight.
"Why on earth does a shoe department need an X-ray machine?"
ReplyDeleteThe answer is found here:http://www.orau.org/ptp/collection/shoefittingfluor/shoe.htm and in similar links by simply
Googling the key words; we discover that shoe-fitting fluoroscopes were indeed used in a some shoe stores.
"... London's Evening Standard newspaper reported this week that Whiteley's, the West London department store, is to close and, inevitably, become luxury flats. The story by the paper's property correspondent looks back at the historical links with the store, which includes:
ReplyDelete"In the film version of Billion Dollar Brain, the hero uses an X-ray machine in Whiteley's shoe department to examine the contents of a sealed package"
First, about this department store. One of my friends, an elderly Londoner in his 80s said, this was an iconic department store in 1950s and 60s -and even before that, but this Londoner having visited this store many times then could only relate to his experience, and the following blog in Daily Telegraph says more about its glory and decline:
http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/finance/jameshall/100002415/whiteleys-the-decline-of-a-icon/
As for converting it to a block of flats, you are right, looking at the demand of properties in that area, and the interest shown by the Middle East property investors there-the area has already a large Middle East population.
Second, talking about r historic links: the restaurant in which Fleming and Deighton took their lunch in that meeting at Goodge Street in 1960s-it was historic as after Deighton's "The Ipcress File" novel was published Fleming gave a highly commendable review of it and the two met there, needs a recognition say, a blue plaque of the English Heritage at the wall of the site. These two novelists created their own distinct genre at that time. Would beeven better , if Deighton could be present ( health permitting) when it is unveiled.
Talking about the Billion Dollar Brain film: Only the like of Harry Saltzman could have recognised the story strengths of: the Ipcress File, the Funeral in Berlin and Billion Dollar Brain novels, and their widescreen appeal. After all, he took an option of filming Bond novels , months before Albert Broccoli realised their potential wide screen value.
ReplyDeleteI would be interested to know how Harry Palmer detective agency office location was chosen in Pentonville Road, near Kings Cross station in Billion Dollar Brain, and his flat in Shepherd's Bush in Ipcress File. In those days, these were not dingy places for Harry Palmer to rent with a modest income.