Sometimes you want to share your passion with others. Therefore Benjamin Lind, an English teacher, created his very own blog: The Bond Bulletin. A talk about Brosnan, Bond locations and very alluring villains.

HuntingBond: Tell us a little about yourself. What do you do for a living? And what do you do for fun – except James Bond?

Benjamin Lind: I was born in 1981 in Winterberg and currently live in Braunschweig in the North of Germany. In my professional life, I’m a self-employed English teacher helping kids and adults to master the language and succeed in school or business. I also do thesis and book translations. Apart from the big hobby James Bond, I love music and recording cover songs in various styles, but mostly Swing & Jazz. My circle of friends is very dear to me and I spend as much time with them as I can but also enjoy to be completely on my own.

How did you get the idea for The Bond Bulletin?

I wanted to do a web project for a long time before I started The Bond Bulletin in 2013. I consider blogging as a powerful contrast to mainstream media or online news websites, mainly because you alone decide what you want to focus on and how detailed you want to approach certain topics. Throwing personal opinion into the mix is also a vital element of this hobby.

I wouldn’t say I offer something that other websites lack, I just do it in a different way while paying close attention on what potential readers might be interested in reading. My main focus at The Bond Bulletin is to cover as many aspects of the James Bond history as possible so that it’s accessible for everyone.

Just as much as we do, you love to travel and visit James Bond locations. What is so far the most memorable?

Many to choose from actually. Piz Gloria in Switzerland is a very impressive location because it is both so iconic and beautiful. I very much enjoyed my visits there and the surrounding villages are a must-see with many adorable highlights.

And what is a must see apart from the movie location?

Apart from the Bond films, I really recommend visiting Kitzbühel in Austria. Not only is it a great place to ski in winter, it was also temporary home to Bond creator Ian Fleming in the 1920’s as well as a popular spy hotspot during WWII. It has a Casino as well as many lovely Cafés and restaurants. My family has frequently been on holiday here since the 1970’s and I always love to come back. I guess that makes me sort of an alpine spy.

With a great love to details your readers can catch up on the whole story of Ian Flemming and his creation. What do you think about the assertion, that everyone loves the Bond actor he grew up with the most?

It is in fact true that I will always prefer the Pierce Brosnan era films over the ones of Connery and Moore. My first Bond film in the cinema was GoldenEye and growing up with Brosnan greatly influenced not only my perception of the character but also my own style. Naturally, I love all the 24 films in a way but it’s more a love of certain elements that each individual film has.

For example, I don’t like Diamonds Are Forever very much as I found it too silly for my taste. However, the music was fantastic and I do quote some of the funny lines from time to time. At one stage, you appreciate every actor and decade individually while gradually shying away from being pinned down on a particular favorite.

Talking about actors: We do believe that Daniel Craig still will do his fifth Bond movie. But there are a lot of talks about new upcoming actors. Does James Bond always has so to be white, male and British?

It is a difficult subject and one has to be careful with words here. But still, I strongly believe that Ian Fleming made it quite clear how James Bond looks like although some descriptions can be interpretive. In my personal opinion, Bond has to be white, male and British. Female? No! In a spin-off maybe.

Thinking about Bond two things are always coming to one’s mind: women and cars. But what about the villains? Who put James Bond to the test the best?

Le Chiffre was a ruthless adversary, he really rocked the boat in Casino Royale. Ernst Stavro Blofeld on the other hand plays in his own league of course, he’s like the Moriarty of the Bond films and put Bond to the test quite a number of times. Elektra King is also one of my favorites as she was pretty vicious behind that alluring facade. Often it is not the physical violence that villains have to demonstrate but the ingeniosity with which they try to fulfill their plans.

You are a book aficionado – which books can you recommend for those who already finished Ian Flemmings Originals?

I would really recommend the books by fellow Bond aficionados because they take you into a totally different sphere that make you see the Bond universe from almost countless fascinating angles that you might never have thought of.

Some Kind of Hero by Ajay Chowdhury and Matthew Field is one example. A delightful read that fills many knowledge gaps and makes you feel the unparalleled competence of the writers in every chapter.

For those who want to get a fascinating insight into the man who created James Bond, I recommend The Man with the Golden Typewriter by Fergus Fleming. Through Ian Flemings personal correspondence you are taken back in time to the creative process of writing the Bond novels. An exceptional book which I enjoyed immensely.

For the German readers, I recommend all the books by my dear friend Danny Morgenstern who has painstakingly researched every aspect of the 24 Bond films. In his feature book James Bond für Besserwisser (James Bond for smartypants) you will find the most unusual information ever assembled, his “007 XXS” pocket books explore every film in great detail paired with his own research on certain topics.

Thank you, Benjamin, for your time!

Hunters Note: Benjamin Lind also made a Fan Documentary “A Bond For Life: How James Bond changed My Life” retracing his love for James Bond over the last 20 years and around the globe. Please check out his Facebook appearance for upcoming screenings. All revenues are being donated to UNICEF to help Syrian refugees.

A little pretaste? Here is the trailer:

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