The Guy Fox Blog

#8. Guardian Charity Award (2004)   Previously on ‘A History of a Charity in Twenty Objects’…    We were stuck. We won’t rehash it (you can read it for yourself here ), but in a nutshell:  We needed £5,000.   We’d tried everything we could think of – applied for grants, developed proposals, submitted pitches, we’d even spent a day at IKEA Croydon with a donation bucket – and we’d come up with nothing. In fact, we were slightly worse off because our train fares to Croydon and the donation bucket had cost more than we’d collected.   Frustrated and dismayed, the Board of Trust called a special meeting to discuss options. Their conclusion: It was time to call it quits.  Ding dangit.   We just couldn’t see our way over, under or through. We were all devastated.   Lori Bean, a good, good friend and smart cookie, took Kourtney to Wagamama; over a steaming bowl of chili chicken ramen, she gave her an attitude adjustment:  “Do you have to pu...

#2. Letter from Peabody Trust (March 23rd, 2000) With those sample cartoons ( Object #1 ), the rest was easy: Establish a charity, raise some money, recruit volunteers and start doing our work in the local community — and the rest is history!  Right? Wrong.  Not even close.  We took the ‘scenic route’. In fact, in 1998, Kourtney wasn’t thinking about charity work at all — just work! She put those cartoons in her portfolio and submitted Guy Fox to lots of London children’s publications. “Nope,” said Kids Time Out. “No, thank you,” said the Funday Times. The rejection letters piled up.   Kourtney even received a rejection from the New Statesman, which was bizarre because she hadn’t sent them anything! (But that’s another story.) Finally, there was a ‘Not-Quite-No’, from TwoCan Publications, who didn’t want the Guy Fox cartoons, but who offered Kourtney illustration work on their magazines. Kourtney settled into a routine as a freelance illustrator — wo...

#1. Drawings of Guy Fox (Autumn 1998) These pen and ink drawings are the very first iterations of the Guy Fox character. As you can see, he's gained a little weight since then – mostly in his nose! These days, we draw him in pencil, add the black lines with an old-fashioned dip pen and ink, and then scan the drawing so that we can colour it in Photoshop.  But back in 1998, when Kourtney Harper created Guy Fox, she and her husband were relocating from Chapel Hill, North Carolina to London and living out of a suitcase – no computer, no scanner, no software. So when inspiration struck, Kourtney popped in to see Mr Poole at Cornelissen .  Mr Poole was one of those living institutions who can only exist in a place like London. Dressed in pinstriped trousers, waistcoat, pocket watch with fob and immaculately-polished shoes, and wielding a walking stick that doubled as a grappling device, Mr Poole sold pen and ink drawing supplies. Nib holders, nibs, brushes and in...

Pious Edward the Confessor Built Westminster Abbey, yes sir. But he did not, that saintly Ed, Appoint a King when he was dead. Harold and Wills both wanted the crown, So William brought his team to town. At Hastings, they battled, mob against mob. William conquered and demanded the job. Squashing rebels, wielding his power. The Domesday Book and London's Tower: William I did all these things And fathered two of England's kings. William II , the redheaded one, Then Henry I , William's other son. Then Stephen and Matilda , like a boxing bout, Fought for the crown, 'til Stephen knocked her out. When Stephen died (such a shame, boo hoo!), Matilda's son was crowned ' Henry Two' . He reformed the Law, but Thomas Becket Opposed the King and tried to wreck it. The careless words that Henry bade Caused Thomas Becket to be slayed. You should hear that tale — it's gory! But that, my friends, is a different ...

HOW DID THEY BUILD TOWER BRIDGE (PART TWO) First, they built the Towers The steel for the towers was made by William Arrol and Company in Scotland, and it was shipped to London and brought up the river on barges. There wasn't much space to store equipment and materials, so the steel was brought up the river when it was needed. Crews of workers set about 200 rivets per day – by hand. There are two million rivets in Tower Bridge – so you can do the math.The work took a long time! Slowly but surely, the steelwork rose from the Thames like a huge black skeleton. Each tower had four steel pillars. The two pillars on the land-side of the tower would support the suspension chains, while the river-side pillars would support the high level walkways. When the structure was in place, workers built the Walkways. When the pillars were finished, workers started building the high level walkways. They worked 46 metres above the river, without safety nets! Boats would pass below them,...

HOW DID THEY BUILD TOWER BRIDGE? (PART ONE) From the bottom up! It's not a joke. When you look at Tower Bridge, you see a magnificent structure, but did you know that more of the bridge is below the water than above the water? You start with the foundation. And in the case of Tower Bridge, you start deep, deep, deep under the surface of the Thames - 10 metres below the surface of the water , in fact. On 22nd April 1886 , divers started preparing the riverbed for the massive piers. It must have been a scary job - after all, it was 1886. They didn't have scuba gear and safety devices and computer equipment. The divers wore leather suits with metal helmets, and they were connected to the surface by air tubes. They used hand tools and shovels. Above them, on barges, other workers built caissons . What is a caisson? I'm glad you asked. A caisson is an open-ended watertight metal box, with sharp edges. Workers lowered each caisson into the river - down, down, down...

Smack dab in the centre of the City of London, on Fish Street Hill, you will find one of the world's tallest free-standing stone columns, The Monument . You can visit it any day except Christmas. Just buy yourself a ticket, then hike up 311 steps -- each one EXACTLY six inches high. When you get to the viewing platform, you will see amazing views of the City of London, the Thames River, and beyond. And the view feels extra impressive, because you've earned it! Hiking up The Monument is not for everybody. It's a long, windy stone staircase, which gets narrower towards the top. There's only one way up and down, so while you are ascending, other tourists are walking DOWN the self-same six-inch steps as you. Whatever you do, DON'T look down! (You're tempted now, right?) If you do muster up the courage to look over the handrail, ALL the dizzy way down to the bottom (gulp!), you will see a red-lit chamber underneath the staircase. And THAT's where our sto...

The truth be known, it's actually called ' Guy Fawkes' Day . Every year in England, on the fifth of November, people celebrate something which did NOT happen. And my oh my, do they celebrate! What did NOT happen? A large explosion, that's what. A large explosion on 5th November 1605 at the State Opening of the Houses of Parliament. A large explosion which the plotters had intended to kill the newly-crowned King James I along with other members of the Royal Family and the aristocracy. You see, the plotters wanted England to be a Catholic country. Or at least to be a country which did not persecute Catholics. (A quick recap of 17th century religious ping pong: Henry VIII had separated from the Roman Catholic Church over his divorce(s) and created a Protestant religion; his heirs, in turn, were Catholic ( Mary I) and Protestant ( Elizabeth I ). Whenever a Catholic was in charge, the Protestants were persecuted; and vice-versa. Not particularly friendly behaviour ...

WHY did they build Tower Bridge? Let me take you back to 1860. London had a problem: TRAFFIC! (Does that sound familiar?) Thousands of people and carts and horses crossed the River Thames . You could take a boat across the Thames, but that was slow and expensive. You could cross London Bridge for free, but it was really crowded. You could swim across, but that, well, it was wet! And in the winter, pretty COLD! Obviously, the River Thames needed a new crossing. But the new crossing needed to 1) allow carts and horses and people to cross over it, and 2) allow ships to come into the Pool of London. At the same time! After all, London was one of the world's busiest ports. The big question of the day was: How do you design a bridge which carts and horses can cross over, while tall ships to sail under it? All sorts of architects submitted all sorts of designs -- there were TUNNEL designs; there were designs for really tall BRIDGES; or BRIDGES with steep roads; there was a de...

Marc Brunel built the first tunnel under a river in the history of the world. Let me repeat that. Marc Brunel built the first tunnel under a river in the history of the world. Ever . Impressive, no? (Well I think so, and so should you!) They say the Assyrians dug an underwater tunnel in Babylon , but the Assyrians moved the River Euphrates out of the way, dug their tunnel, and then returned the river to its original course so that the tunnel ran underneath it. It's odd to say Marc Brunel 'built' the tunnel; maybe I should say he 'dug' the tunnel. But many men had tried to dig a tunnel under the River Thames, and exactly for that reason, they had failed. You see, the soil underneath the River Thames (or any river) is very soft. When you dig a hole underneath a river, the water creeps in and collapses it. If you've ever dug a hole in the sand at a beach, you'll know what I mean. The waves come along, and it's 'good-bye' hole. Just a ...

There are THREE HUNDRED AND THIRTY-FOUR steps to the top of the clocktower (whew!) which houses Big Ben. That's right, Big Ben is NOT the clocktower. And he's NOT the clock. Big Ben is the BELL, the really BIG BELL , which hangs alongside four other bells in the clocktower at the Palace of Westminster. I know what you're thinking: "Hold it, there! I thought Big Ben was in the clocktower at the HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT ." And yep, you're right. It's the self-same clocktower. But the OFFICIAL name of the "Houses of Parliament" is, in fact, the Palace of Westminster . Feel free to impress your friends with that little fact, the next time you're chewing the fat. Despite the fact that Big Ben is ONLY the BELL (and you might think I'm pedantic for having mentioned it), most people think of 'Big Ben' as the whole tower, the clock mechanism, the clock face, and the bells. So you'd be forgiven for thinking the same thing (except...