Tuesday 3 February 2009

City Life

A varied couple of days for me. I spent Sunday afternoon at Anfield, where a stadium packed to capacity watched the big match between Liverpool and Chelsea. A fascinating experience, though one of the coldest sporting occasions I can remember. It’s always fun to go to Anfield – and in my early days as a crime writer, I used the football setting as the backdrop for a short story featuring Harry Devlin, called ‘Never Walk Alone.’

The snow duly arrived yesterday, making commuting even less appealing than usual. However, I had an added incentive to venture through the blizzard that descended on the city in the afternoon, as I was due to be interviewed on City Talk, the Merseyside radio talk show, by Dean Sullivan during his regular show – the topic for discussion being Dancing for the Hangman.

I was looking forward to meeting Dean, a good actor who is best known for his long-term role as Jimmy on ‘Brookside’, since a few years ago he was mooted as a possible Harry Devlin in a televised version of my Liverpool mysteries. That never happened, unfortunately, and neither did my interview with him. Dean was unwell and the interview was conducted by an affable deputy, called in at short notice.

As I walked back to the office from the Liverpool Beacon which is home to City Talk, my mind wandered to those crime novels with a snowy setting. There are several good ones. A favourite of mine is Agatha Christie’s The Sittaford Mystery, an under-rated detective story with a pleasing (if not extensively clued) solution. If you saw the recent, very unsatisfactory, televised version, but haven’t read the book, I can promise that the book is much better.

5 comments:

Uriah Robinson said...

It was one of the most dramatic sporting events I have ever watched on television. Interesting in that only 5 of 22 players were English and one of those was sent off. As a Chelsea supporter I have to say there was only one team in it, and although the decision to send Lampard off was ridiculous, Liverpool were worthy winners.

Martin Edwards said...

I agree about the red card, Uriah. Bad decision. And though I haven't watched much live football in years, I was reminded again of the raw, sometimes almost menacing, excitement of being part of a huge crowd.

Dorte H said...

Have you seen that Stephen Booth has also written about snow (harrowing London)? We have been sadly cheated of this ´event´ so far, but last year we had a proper blizzard with closed schools. Really nice when one is a teacher, and it is such a beautiful force mejeure :)

Jane said...

I am sorry you had your interview cancelled but I am having trouble with the thought of Dean Sullivan as Harry Devlin.
I imagine a younger version of Trevor Eve.

Martin Edwards said...

Dorte, by an odd coincidence I came across Stephen's blog today and must add it to the roll.
Jane, I take your point. You'd also be surprised at some of the others who have been mooted and/or lined up for the part. A younger Trevor Eve (in his Shoestring days or just after) would have been great. I also tried to encourage the people who took out the original option to cast Robert Lindsay. Alas, it was not to be...