A Very British Blog or Not - Chris Longmuir
I was invited by John
A. A. Logan to take part in A Very British Blog Tour 2013, but being me I
was a bit slow to get off the mark, so instead of being part of the tour I
thought I would simply explore how British I am by answering the same questions
that everyone in the tour did.
Now, according to the rules of
the Blog Tour, there is a dress code, and as I am averse to dress codes it’s
maybe just as well I’m doing my own thing. If you want to know what the dress
code is, after all you may want to follow it! Here it is:-
Gentlemen will wear suits, white shirts and dark ties (or
kilts, sporrans, baggy T-shirts etc). (Tartan ties are expected wherever
possible). Ladies will wear dresses (one inch above the knee, no higher, no
lower) and floral summer hats (or baggy troosers and bunnets if preferred). A
break for TEA and cucumber sandwiches (or Irn Bru and Girders) is expected at
some stage and is permissible. The list at the bottom of the page is not a
queue. We British hate queues and will accept them no longer. It is an
invitation and you are expected to accept that invitation and support the
home-grown product. Now then, let us proceed in an orderly fashion. As you
know, we are all very boring and staid in
So what do I think of the
above? Blah, that’s what I think. For a start, men in suits and shirts, or even
kilts, have no hopes of pulling me – if I wanted to be pulled that is. Give me
jeans and tee shirts any day. As for dresses, I can’t remember the last time I
wore one, and hats should be banned. I don’t mind the tea, but please put
something more in my sarnie than cucumber. And I hope you’ll notice when you
reach the end of the page, that there is no queue there, nor is there an
invitation. However, I have no objection if you want to join in.
So, what about the myth about
the British, that we’re stuffy, class conscious, boring, staid? Is this still
relevant in today’s world? That’s what the quiz is all about, so let’s find
out.
Questions
Q. Where
were you born and where do you live at the moment?
A. I was born in
Wiltshire. Trowbridge to be exact, but I left there when I was only two years
old, and have never been back. Must rectify that sometime. I now live in the
seaside town of
Q. Have you
always lived and worked in Britain
A. I’m not very
adventurous, so I’ve always lived and worked in Britain .
Q. Which is
your favourite part of Britain
A. I suppose that
has to be where I live, although I’ve holidayed in many places and I also
attend writers’ conferences in this country. Bristol Crimefest, and the
Harrogate Crime Festival come to mind. Harrogate
is a lovely place. But there are lots of lovely areas in Scotland . I
live not too far away from several glens, and the scenery is fantastic. The
east coast of Scotland
is well worth a visit, but I have some favourites on the west coast as well.
Ullapool is quite nice.
Q. Have you
‘highlighted’ or ‘showcased’ any particular part of Britain
A. My Dundee
crime series, two books so far, with a third on the brink of publication, are
set in Dundee which is only thirty miles south from where I live. But I also
feature Montrose and Ferryden in my historical saga, A Salt Splashed Cradle,
although I’ve given them the names of Invercraig and Craigden.
Q. There is
an illusion – or myth if you wish - about British people that I would like you
to discuss. Many see the ‘Brits’ as ‘stiff upper lip’. Is that correct?
A. I think you’re
right, but I’m not sure the stiff upper lip exists anymore. Maybe in my
granny’s time it would have done. The older generation weren’t given to
displaying their emotions. But I’m sure the present generation are much more touchy
feely.
Q. Do any of
the characters in your books carry the ‘stiff upper lip’? Or are they all
‘British Bulldog’ and unique in their own way?
A. I don’t think
I have any British Bulldogs in my books, although I have several tough guys. I
think I’ve read so much American fiction that its influence has rubbed off on
me. I would say that my books are probably a blend of Scottish noir written
with a touch of American style. If you read them maybe you can let me know if
my analysis is the correct one.
Q. Tell us
about one of your recent books?
A. I’ve just
finished a new book so I’m in the throes of revision, rewriting, and editing,
but when it hits the shelves it’s one of my Dundee
crime stories. In it I’m having ‘fun’, if that’s the correct word, bumping off
internet predators, and the story revolves round the disappearance of a child
five years previously. It is quite obvious from the beginning that the killer
is a member of one particular family, but which one is not so clear. There is
also another question around whether the missing child has reappeared, and I’m
not going to tell you any more. Just keep an eye out for my publication date.
Q. What are
you currently working on?
A. The previous
question supplies the answer to that, but I suppose I now have to think, what’s
next. And I think I’m going to return to a character I developed several years
ago in an, as yet, unpublished book. I’m going to write the prequel to that and
make it the first book of a series, then rewrite and publish the one that’s
sitting in my hard drive. The books will be about a policewoman in the early
part of the twentieth century, so they will be historicals.
Q. How do
you spend your leisure time?
A. Leisure time?
What’s that? But if you really want to know, when I’m not writing, I’m reading.
I have taken time off occasionally to build computers, but I’m afraid there are only so many computers that will fit into a bungalow, so I’m going to have to
stop.
Q. Do you
write for a local audience or a global audience?
A. I’m not sure
how to answer this one because I don’t have an audience in mind when I write. I
have a reader in mind, and that reader can be anywhere, as long as they want to
read what I’ve written. So, locally or globally, I don’t mind in the slightest.
Q. Can you provide links to your work?
A. Yes, and thanks for the questions!
Chris Longmuir
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