The Strike and Ellacott Files Podcast

I have for a long time been a fan of podcasts. My own version of working in a Café as J. K. Rowling did is to work while listening to the spoken word. As a student this meant talk radio (which in the UK in the 80s and 90s meant BBC Radio4) and for the last eight years or so this has meant podcasts, or the BBC’s own Sounds application. The pleasure of podcasts is being able to tailor your listening by both content and schedule and one of my current favourites is a podcast hosted by Lindsay, Pools and Kenz called The Strike and Ellacott Files. This podcast debuted in 2021 and covered a read through of Troubled Blood. The show is currently part way through a re-read of Cuckoo’s Calling.

At the start of this month I was lucky enough to feature in an extra episode with Dr Beatrice Groves to discuss the epigraphs, past and future, in the Strike novels. The episode was recorded over a Zoom connection, linking the hosts in the US to Beatrice and myself in the UK. As a rank newbie, I was delighted to find the hosts just as friendly and engaging as I had imagined from listening. You can find out how I fared via the link below:

Episode 5.5

It was a strange (but thoroughly fun!) experience talking directly to people I had already grown used to listening to as an audience member. I have corresponded with Beatrice for some years but this was my first opportunity to talk (albeit at a distance) face to face. I hope in the near future to gain some more podcasting experience, but other than The Strike and Ellacott Files and the similarly excellent (but on hiatus) Denmark Street Deep Dive, I know of no others. If you have any comments or recommendations, please let me know down below:

Rowling Speaks at London Premiere of Fantastic Beasts: Secrets of Dumbledore

Yesterday was the World Premier for Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore in London. The event was ‘live streamed’ for fans worldwide here, and like many adoring fans I tuned in at 17:30 British Summer Time, wondering if J. K. Rowling would make an appearance.

No appearance on the live stream, but twitter was awash with photographs of her there and it quickly became apparent that she was interviewed (briefly) and entered the theatre before the official live stream started. Fortunately enough, ODE entertainment managed to capture the interview, which I have included below.

Two key take outs for me: Covid forced a change in location, which may explain the move from the intended Brazil setting, and Rowling is excited to show the manticores.

 

The Rowling Headers – in Context

I’m very please with the list of headers to J. K. Rowling’s twitter account we have assembled, but there are still many that haven’t yet been identified. There are also many that while we have identified them, we haven’t yet got a good explanation of the meaning of the image. In an attempt to foster further investigation and comment, I present an analysis of what Rowling has admitted to be currently working on when the headers were live.

 

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Strike Season 5 Filming Now

Brontë Film and Television, J. K. Rowling’s own television production company has started filming for Troubled Blood. Filming has completed in Skegness. On location work in St Mawes and Falmouth will be completed next week.

 

 

The weather for filming in St Mawes turned suitably inclement at times, if not quite to the same level as the storms of 2014.

To follow the filming, and to see some spectacular photography, you can follow Stikefans.com twitter account here.

No definitive news on a release date yet, but it likely to air first on the BBC late 2022 or early 2023.

Rowling and Rugby

Wales is my adopted home, and it’s national sport is Rugby, so I was pleased to discover that J. K. Rowling was a fan. I first started playing rugby as a 10 year old for my local town, and I have since supported the national sides (both England and Wales) and the county of Cornwall. Rowling started watching and supporting her national side of Scotland after she married her husband Dr. Neil Murray.

“It’s not until I married a Scot that I was taken, not entirely willingly, to the rugby. And then I accidentally ended up enjoying the rugby. So there is hope for you. You can definitely convert.”

J. K. Rowling on Woman’s Hour, BBC Radio4, 28th April 2014

To find out more about Rowling and Rugby, join me after the jump.

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