Warhorses of Letters

Remember when I got all millitant about Warhorse? I'm about to get more millitant.  And slightly more millitary.

Ages ago I raved about a literary night I'd been to in Kilburn, called Tall Tales.  Among the things I said about it were this:

We were privy to the early stages of an ill-fated equine love affair, conducted entirely by letters. Hints came which suggested there could be a sequel to this at some point; I really really hope there is. 

Various circumstances mean I haven't been to Tall Tales forever, but from all accounts it is going from strength to strength.  They now have a podcast and a website and Toby Davies is still writing brilliant stories which sometimes feature excellently named cats. 

Which is all very exciting for everyone involved, I'm sure.  But the very very exciting news is that wishes sometimes do come true. Warhorses of Letters - the story of the love affair between Napolean's horse Marengo, and Wellington's horse Copenhagen, is going to be broadcast on Radio 4; starting from next week and running for four weeks. 

And that's not even the most exciting part.  The most exciting part is the casting. 
Daniel Rigby is playing Copenhagen, and the part of Marengo is being played by Stephen Fry. Stephen actual Fry.

That's right.  Stephen actual Fry will be on the radio next week, playing a love-struck French horse.  What's not to love? Having heard early versions of the first two installments, let me add the following rider: this would be worth a listen even if it didn't feature Stephen actual Fry.* But since it does, you'd be mad not to tune in.

By now you must be wondering how. If you are in the UK you can hear the first installment of Warhorses of Letters next Tuesday (October 25th) at 11pm.  Also if you are in the UK- more specifically London, more specifically north-west-ish London - you can see the next Tall Tales at the Good Ship in Kilburn on November 24th.  (Unless, annoyingly, you are me.  I can't make this one either.  Don't let that put you off.)   In the meantime, if you live ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD** you can listen to Warhorses of Letters on the iPlayer, from October 25th onwards.

If all that still hasn't convinced you, I should probably mention that co-writer Robbie Hudson  currently appears to be suffering from a very manky-looking, tea-related foot injury.  Surely that deserves a sympathy vote.

*HA! Rider! I didn't even mean to make a joke.


** Also if you are in London.

2005: Australian man threatens to shoot down chopper with tomato-bazooka*.

I *love* the Today in History web gadget.  Especially today.

 

On a less violent note, today also saw the world's first jukebox unveiled, the debut of Life Magazine, Dr Who being broadcast on TV for the first time, and the invention of the horse-shoe making machine. 

 

If it happens to be your birthday, you share it with Otto the Great, Alfonso the Wise, and John Wallis, who invented the infinity symbol. (If you're not as wise as Alfonso, that's the one which looks like a sideways number eight.)  Also Harpo Marx (from the Marx Brothers),  and Maxwell Caulfield (from Grease 2, also known as The Worst Movie Sequel Of All Time) and a bunch of musicians, namely Bruce Hornsby, a rapper called Tha Dogg Pound and Ken Block.  Ken Block is the lead sister of Sister Hazel, who are a band you might (probably) have never heard of, but probably (might) have heard, because loads of their songs are used in films and TV shows.
 
I really, really like Sister Hazel.  Their music is great, which would be reason enough to like them, but I also heard them interviewed on a podcast once, and they just seemed like such nice blokes. Other great things about them: their hard-core fans are known as "Hazel-nuts"; they named themselves after a nun who runs a homeless shelter; they have a great song about a starfish, as per the video below. What's not to love?

By the way, if you arrived here because you are off to Tall Tales at the Peckham Literary Festival tonight, and followed that link in the program, then hello. You're in for a real treat. 

 

 

*The tomato-bazooka was home-made, apparently; the man was so irritated by the noise being made by a helicopter flying over his house that he rang Air Services Australia and threatened to shoot it down.  "Fruit is hardly a weapon of mass terror", said his solicitor.