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Garrie Fletcher

~ writing and all that

Garrie Fletcher

Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Meaning Of Corbyn

03 Monday Aug 2015

Posted by fletcherski in Uncategorized

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I was at the Jeremy Corbyn meeting in Birmingham yesterday and thought I’d write something about the feeling in the hall when he spoke. I may still do that, but Yasmin Ali has captured wonderfully the ‘Meaning of Corbyn.’ Read on…..

FUTURE TENSE

Yesterday afternoon, along with over a thousand other people, I turned up at a community centre in Birmingham to watch Jeremy Corbyn on the campaign stump in his bid to become leader of the Labour Party.  But even as I write that sentence I know it is misleading. Corbyn is not campaigning to become leader of the Labour Party. He said nothing about his plans were he to become Leader of the Opposition.  He scarcely used the personal pronoun unless he was talking about his constituency. The campaign was little to do with Corbyn, and everything to do with the Labour Party and its role and purpose in British political life.

That is the key truth that Corbyn has understood, and which his opponents simply cannot see. They are, in this instance, the ones with the problem. For is Labour a mass party, a movement, or is it a technocratic…

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Suits You Sir.

12 Sunday Jul 2015

Posted by fletcherski in Comics, Film, Review, Uncategorized

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Colin Firth, Great movie, Kingsman, Mark Hamill, Mark Millar, Mark Strong, Matthew Vaughn, Michael Caine, Must see film, Samuel L. Jackson, Secret Service, Sophia Boutella

Kingsman

Do you pine for the days of the classic spy movie, for the suave Bond who dispatched enemies with grace and a witty aside? Or the megalomaniac villains with their jaw dropping bases carved out of the hearts of mountains and their singular vision of world dominance and destruction? Do you miss the sophisticated gadgets, the bullet proof umbrellas or the poisonous ink and yearn for the femme fatale with their killer smiles and razor blade feet? Then Kingsman is the film for you.

Rollicking fun.

Rollicking fun.

Directed by Matthew Vaughn and starring Colin Firth and Samuel L. Jackson, Kingsman is adapted from Mark Millar’s and Dave Gibbons’ comic book of the same name and whilst I enjoyed the book the film is far superior.

I don’t want to give away too much of the plot as I think this is a film that you all should see. It’s visceral, sharp, clever and just the right side of bloody: exploding heads anyone? Elements of the book have been tinkered with slightly, but these only add to the drama and a female Gazelle -played by the stunning Sofia Boutella- is far more graceful than the original black man in the comic book. Samuel L. Jackson is sublime as the lisping genius Valentine, a man who’s mission is to save the planet by killing most of its inhabitants. Firth is gloriously assured as the arse kicking Galahad -a member of the secret Kingsman organisation that spies on the spies bringing impartial justice to the world- and I can only imagine the Bond producers punching themselves repeatedly in the nuts having overlooked him for that role.

Valentine, Gazelle, Galahad, 'Eggsy' and Arthur.

Valentine, Gazelle, Galahad, ‘Eggsy’ and Arthur.

I wanted to take my son to see this, but he was less than enthusiastic at the time and I missed it at the cinema. I wont be making that mistake again, it really shouldn’t take sitting through Jurassic World to realise that a twelve-year-old is not the best judge when it comes to film, this is the lad who raved about After Earth and that was less interesting than watching flies crawl over dog shit.

There’s a lot of humour and warmth in this film and fun, tons of fun. It’s not a high-brow soul beater, far from it, but it’s everything a movie should be -I love films that make me think, but this is not a film, it’s a movie, there is a difference. I’d be interested to know how it did in the States as it’s a very British film with run down boozers and Millwall scarves. Matthew Vaughn has said that it’s his hymnal to the stuff he watched growing up: Bond, The Avengers, The Man From U.N.C.L.E. etc. and the inclusion of the umbrella had me pining for the days of Steed and Emma Peel.

Bespoke tailors or spy HQ?

Bespoke tailors or spy HQ?

The original idea was that this first film would be the start of a trilogy and I can only hope that that happens and that the writing and directing stays as razor-sharp as this. Mark Strong, who plays Merlin -Kingsman’s answer to Bond’s Q- has said that, “This [movie] will be to Bond what Kick-Ass (2010) is to superhero movies” and I can’t help but agree with him.

Check it out and let me know what you think and see if you can spot Mark Hamill.

Value And Worth

09 Thursday Jul 2015

Posted by fletcherski in Uncategorized

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What do you value? Not being paid £2.60 an hour that’s for sure.

FUTURE TENSE

The budget yesterday is scarcely worth commenting upon, delivering as it does a hefty dose of human misery, combined with some cheeky opportunism, and the usual sops to petrol heads and The Daily Mail. No surprises there.

What has been exercising me is perhaps more philosophical. It is the question of value, or worth.

Both of these terms are moral concepts, yet they infuse the vocabulary of economics, finance, money. “Shareholder value” is held to be sacrosanct, whilst “high net worth” individuals command a raft of services to protect and defend all that dosh.  Whilst I’m always happy to attack the short-termism of “shareholder value” thinking, and mock the “How To Spend It” vacuity of the super-rich, I’d like to begin by attacking someone at the bottom of the pile.

That person is a nail polish operative from Southend. She was one of a group of people interviewed by Channel…

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Charles Wilkinson’s story appears in Best British Short Stories 2015

03 Friday Jul 2015

Posted by fletcherski in Uncategorized

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I’m lucky enough to be a member of the same writing group and have a story in the same collection that this is from, Unthology 5. Two great reasons to check it out: http://www.unthankbooks.com/unthology.html

Tindal Street Fiction Group

charlesTSFG member Charlie has a story ‘Fresh Water’ in the prestigious anthology, alongside such luminaries as Hilary Mantel and Helen Simpson.

bbss15

The story originally appeared in Unthology 5.

Out of the five ‘Best British Short Stories’ anthologies so far, TSFG members have appeared in four of them.

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The Script Angel Journey So Far…

19 Wednesday Mar 2014

Posted by fletcherski in Uncategorized

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Script Angel: sounds like a great service for script writers.

Scriptangel's Blog

kindness It’s been a little while since I announced that Script Angel was expanding. After years as a solo business I took the step of inviting the brilliant Xandria Horton to join me. So I thought it was time to share with you how I got here and what might be next for Script Angel.

How Script Angel came about. Being really honest with you, the sole reason I established Script Angel in 2009 was to enable me to carry on script editing (as I had been for nearly ten years by then) without having to work away from home. It really was that simple. I love script editing; I love working with writers, helping them make their script the very best it can be. I also love variety; I love working on a thriller one day, a crime series the next and a comedy the day after that. As a result I would take jobs because they interested…

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Book Launch.

20 Thursday Feb 2014

Posted by fletcherski in Uncategorized

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Mick Scully is a great writer and this’ll be well worth getting your teeth into. I should know, we’re in the same writing group: the marvellous Tindal Street Fiction Group.

Tindal Street Fiction Group

Image

Following his short story collection ‘Little Moscow’ TSFG member Mick Scully’s first novel ‘The Norway Room’ will be launched on March 13th 2014 at Waterstones in Birmingham at 7:00pm. Flyer above. See you there!

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How to write a short story (and get published)

08 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by fletcherski in get published, Short Stories, Uncategorized, writing

≈ 1 Comment

Some sound advice from the Ideas Tap website on how to write short stories:
How to write a short story (and get published).

How to read your manuscript like a paperback book

27 Monday Jan 2014

Posted by fletcherski in Reading, Uncategorized, writing

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editing, manuscript, paperback, reading, revision, scrivener

Some sound advice from David Hewson on using Scrivener to check your manuscript.

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