Writer. If You Were There (HarperCollins, 2021), We All Go Into The Dark (HarperCollins, 2023). franciscogarciadf
@gmail
.com. Repped
@katbuckle
/
@LondonBookBoy
In 2019, Glodi Wabuela became the first ‘county lines’ drug dealer to be tried & convicted for human trafficking. It was a shock to realise I’d gone to primary school with him. I’ve spent the last year putting together his story for
@gdnlongread
Strolled past a young couple having a minor row in Soho. Girl turns to the bloke in exasperation. ‘I’m so sick of you talking about Young Sheldon’. A chilling glimpse into the abyss…
Nothing but my undivided respect and admiration for the two 16 (?) year olds at the pub last night, who came dressed in full suits to get served. A properly outrageous hustle, that gives me some hope for the future.
Heard a rumour that your boyfriend got an A* in A-Level 'Philosophy' by answering the exam question 'What Is Bravery?' by simply writing 'this.' and decking an invigilator.
Teenage boy just stopped in the street to shout ‘oi Ed Sheeran’ at me. Good to see the ancient, subtle art of ‘absolutely mugging off randoms’ is alive and well. The kids are going to be alright.
Fully embracing the enthusiastic Instagram aunty stage of the p*ndemic. Replied to my mates photo of his breakfast with an enthusiastic 'yum!' this morning. Who knows what the weekend will bring. Nothing dignified, I imagine.
Don't usually post personal stuff on here, but my girlfriend's left me. She says she couldn't handle my pasta touching fetish anymore. I can't even lie guys.... I'm feeling Cannelloni right now!
I saw a play called A Dream of Dying a few years ago, at the Edinburgh Fringe. It led to a decade old missing persons case in Ireland that has baffled and haunted me, and so many others, ever since. Spent the last few months reporting on it for
@VICEUK
.
Been in Stoke Newington 2 hours and seen multiple fully grown men roller skating. Think that’s me done with the borough of Hackney for another 30 years
Just got off the Eurostar at St Pancras after a particularly enlivening FBPE silent disco outside the European Parliament. Bought this in a Brussels petrol station on the way home and realised this is the last meal I will eat as a European. For shame, Mrs May.
Wrote this about missing people, ‘closure’ and the wonderful shock of reconnecting with my long lost family in Spain. It’s in todays
@ObsMagazine
,if you fancy a read
Is there any greater pleasure in life than being on a gentle wind-up? Telling your 6ft 6 mate you're taller than him. Loudly proclaiming 'food is shit', or 'laughter is for perverts'. Boorishly insisting on being 'London's fastest walker' a current fave. Here fishy fishy... 🎣🎣
Gran was one of my primary carers growing up, before I ended up as one of hers. It's been ten years since she died, though not a day goes past when I don't think about her, and the things I should have done differently. Wrote a short piece about it.
I went to Glasgow last month to write about the sad, savage story of Bible John, the 60s serial killer that still haunts the city's imagination 50 years on.
Setting up a support group for other late onset hayfever sufferers who used to mock and belittle their beloved friends and family about 'crying over a bit of pollen' x
🎉 Very surreal that this book is now officially out there in the world. It was a real honor and privilege to tell these stories of the missing and left behind, and I hope people enjoy reading them. Too many thanks to give, to everyone who made this possible! 🎉
Not a new point, but the idea of being encouraged to vote for the Conservatives on an anti-racism platform is so headspinningly grotesque that it's difficult to find words for it
Imagine being the first caveman to have stuffed a bit of baccy in a Rizzla. Dipping it in the fire outside your filthy stone hovel and just instinctively chuffing down. What a buzz it must have been. Wish it had been me, to be honest.
From the archives (2010): BBC film crew is given permission to paint graffiti while filming on Heygate estate because it wasn't 'edgy' enough for them.
At the start of the year, I finished writing a book about missing people, including my own absent father and Spanish family. Not long after, I received a series of messages that have genuinely, beautifully, changed my life forever
It is insanity inducing that Peter Mandelson- one of the most laughably corrupt figures in modern British history- is uncritically treated as a wise elder statesman
Not a new thought, but I really do find it satisfying to sit at the top of a packed rush hour bus. All the hopeful little people rushing up, convinced they'll be ones to get the 'last seat'. Far too late Patricia, but do try the lower deck, much more your speed!
Me and
@CBethell_photo
went back to Forest Hill last month, and I wrote about deep childhood memories and a place that I'll forever be a bit in love with. Even if that love might occasionally be unhealthy- I don't know.
In May 1992, Te Rangimaria Ngarimu walked into a London hospital & murdered a man in cold blood. She was, & remains, the only known female contract killer in UK criminal history. Spent a while writing & reporting on a strange, grubby tale for
@VICEUK
I'd like to clear up one of the vicious rumours being put on my name by the trolls. Yes, I went to a London coffee bar once or twice in my youth. I didn't like it and I didn't inhale. I never went to one again.
Card machine isn't working in Imperial War Museum cafe & I didn't have cash, so the bloke next in line bought my sandwich for me. Might be my comically overwrought emotional state this week but almost burst into tears of gratitude. Should be a Christmas film made about this imo.
I went up to Glasgow at the end of last year to spend time with The Digger, Scotland's most notorious crime magazine. It was certainly an experience. I've been adding to that initial reporting ever since, & you can read the results here, for
@ftweekend
William Lyttle, aka the Hackney Mole Man died in June 2010. By then, the facts of his life were already buried in rumour and bullshit. I’ve spent the last year trying to get nearer ‘the truth’. It’s on the cover of the
@FTMag
& I’m proud to share it here
20 years to the day since mum died. Feels like yesterday and also about a million lifetimes ago. Don't really have anything 'new' to say about it that I didn't write here, so forgive me for sharing it again!
I know 'this' will all be over the night I can fall asleep fully clothed on my friends sofa after an evening of moderate excess, waking up the next morning to a paused Rush Hour 3 on the TV and several overflowing Gü ashtrays dotted around the room
So Beale is getting offed by a poisoned Christmas pudding? You wouldn't see De Niro agreeing to go out like this. This country treats its artists like filth.
Watched my friend eat a calzone double the size of her head last night in Ciao Bella, with absolutely minimal fuss. I'm not exaggerating when I say the waiter gave her a standing ovation on completion. One of the most exhilarating things I've ever witnessed. Just pure showbiz.
Having to accept I might be getting to an age where my 20/20 is starting to slip. Just thought I’d seen Greta Thunberg outside a Superdrug in Holborn. A figure, on closer inspection, that turned out to be a middle aged man
Delighted that it’s finally publication day. I’m excited for people to read this now it’s out in the world. I just hope I’ve done the story justice. Lovely to see it in
@Foyles
Changed my little profile picture on here to a nice, up to date number. Creasing that it's been cropped to make it look like I'm offering out my hand for a firm but fair handshake. Unbelievably powerful 'LinkedIn recruiter' vibe.
My friend was telling me the other day about a mate of his who was christened 'the professor' in his teens because he would occasionally read a book in public. Will always love that kind of impeccably annoying/light patter