Bow Tie To Die For: Jim Fanning Friday

A cult phenomenon based around a character with barely five minutes of screentime, Jim Fanning Friday demonstrates the dedication and diversity of the Bond fan community. It was celebrated internationally on 26th February 2021 for the first time - but not the last. Here’s how it all began…

It started with a tweet:

It sounds quite self-indulgent looking back but, in truth, I was at was at a pretty low ebb. It was a Friday night after a tough week at work. I’d just returned from the pharmacist, who had ummed and ahhed about whether to sell me a third bottle of Day Nurse, having sold me two previously in the week. I think it was the bow tie which won him over in the end. Surely, he probably thought, no one with such an ostentious dress sense could possibly be addicted to cold and flu remedies?

Alex Miller made the link with Jim Fanning, MI6’s resident art expert in Octopussy:

Fanning is one of those minor characters I have always warmed to, perhaps because of his queer aspects. It turns out, I wasn’t alone. The Really, 007! boys love their Octopussy and were primed with a quote and an apt image.

I typed #JimFanningFriday for the first time as a joke, but it was the Really, 007! who suggested we get it trending. They’re responsible for egging me on (not sorry, btw).

The next Friday, I tentatively used the hashtag again. Thinking that only the hardest core of Bond fans would even know who I was referencing, I included a photo of Fanning.

A couple of weeks later, Jim Fanning Friday was becoming associated with finer things beyond merely Fabergé eggs. Namely: cocktails. Ardent Octopussy admirer ‘The Wizard of Ice’ championed the toasting of the first drink of a Friday with the now-standard salutation ‘Happy Jim Fanning Friday’.

Fanning’s name even made its way into some of the Wizard’s own concoctions.

For several months, Fanning made his appearances each Friday, regular as the antique clock that undoubtedly keeps perfect time on Jim’s mantlepiece. But, in all honesty, it was rarely anyone but me. And that was fine. I had taken to wearing a bow tie to work most Fridays to mark the passing of time. During lockdown, everything had got a bit timey-wimey, wibbly wobbly. Choosing a bow tie gave me something to look forward to each Friday, no matter how crazy the world had been that week.

Fast forward to February 2021, and a conversation with Robbie Sims, author of Quantum of Silliness, started the ball rolling on what would eventually become the first international Jim Fanning Friday, aka Bow Tie To Die For. He suggested we get a talented artist to make a poster for #JimFanningFriday using the essence of one of his puns:

‘Zorin’ more than delivered on the artwork and made his logo available for anyone to add to their own pictures should they wish.

On the day itself, more than 60 people took part on Twitter and Instagram, with most of them featuring pictures of themselves, other family members and even pets.

In the words of one contributor, it was “encouraging that folk from many different backgrounds and persuasions come together over something as trivial as a bowtie.”

One must imagine Jim Fanning happy.

International Jim Fanning Friday will return next year.

In the meantime, please continue to use the hashtag if the Jim Fanning fancy takes you on a Friday. I know I will be doing so.

In addition to the selfies, Bow Tie To Die For inspired original artwork from none other than Pat Carbajal (top) and Lowbellstudio (bottom):