Ray Newman
@raynewman.bsky.social
He/him. From Bridgwater, in Bristol. Writer, editor, content designer. Ghost stories, films. No alt text, no repost. Not here for politics. Linktree: https://linktr.ee/raynewman Header: my book Intervals of Darkness https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0DDR8X9QY
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Ray Newman
@raynewman.bsky.social
· Mar 22
Between them ‘Municipal Gothic’ and ‘Intervals of Darkness’ have 27 stories full of haunted buildings, haunted people, and working class weirdness. Obviously *I* think they're great – but so do strangers who owe me nothing!
👉 www.amazon.co.uk/Municipal-Go...
👉 www.amazon.co.uk/Intervals-Da...
👉 www.amazon.co.uk/Municipal-Go...
👉 www.amazon.co.uk/Intervals-Da...
Also, terrorists take note: you can photograph anything if you do it pretentiously.
February 14, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Also, terrorists take note: you can photograph anything if you do it pretentiously.
On this, I also often get asked if I'm "from the council" when I'm out with my camera. And, to be fair, I am a from-the-council looking MF.
I still get asked why I'm photographing things, sometimes quite aggressively, but usually when I say something like "Because the interplay of the sunlight with the texture of the stonework delighted and intrigued me" I get left alone.
February 14, 2026 at 9:18 AM
On this, I also often get asked if I'm "from the council" when I'm out with my camera. And, to be fair, I am a from-the-council looking MF.
I still get asked why I'm photographing things, sometimes quite aggressively, but usually when I say something like "Because the interplay of the sunlight with the texture of the stonework delighted and intrigued me" I get left alone.
February 14, 2026 at 9:14 AM
I still get asked why I'm photographing things, sometimes quite aggressively, but usually when I say something like "Because the interplay of the sunlight with the texture of the stonework delighted and intrigued me" I get left alone.
I'm glad someone got it.
February 14, 2026 at 7:53 AM
I'm glad someone got it.
Reposted by Ray Newman
NEW flash fiction. Under 600 words. It’d make my weekend if you gave this a read. Hope you like it! With thanks to Lauren Bacall on Valentine’s Day.
kieranstorieswriter.wordpress.com/2026/02/13/o...
kieranstorieswriter.wordpress.com/2026/02/13/o...
On new flash fiction: To Have and Have Not
A new piece of flash fiction titled ‘To Have and Have Not’.
kieranstorieswriter.wordpress.com
February 14, 2026 at 7:19 AM
NEW flash fiction. Under 600 words. It’d make my weekend if you gave this a read. Hope you like it! With thanks to Lauren Bacall on Valentine’s Day.
kieranstorieswriter.wordpress.com/2026/02/13/o...
kieranstorieswriter.wordpress.com/2026/02/13/o...
Reposted by Ray Newman
#SteepleSaturday
High in the Cotswolds, close to the source of the river Frome, lies the small village of Brimpsfield. There was once a castle there, the seat of the Giffard family. It was slighted on the order of Edward II in 1322. Next to the castle site is the church of St Michael & All Angels
High in the Cotswolds, close to the source of the river Frome, lies the small village of Brimpsfield. There was once a castle there, the seat of the Giffard family. It was slighted on the order of Edward II in 1322. Next to the castle site is the church of St Michael & All Angels
February 14, 2026 at 7:49 AM
#SteepleSaturday
High in the Cotswolds, close to the source of the river Frome, lies the small village of Brimpsfield. There was once a castle there, the seat of the Giffard family. It was slighted on the order of Edward II in 1322. Next to the castle site is the church of St Michael & All Angels
High in the Cotswolds, close to the source of the river Frome, lies the small village of Brimpsfield. There was once a castle there, the seat of the Giffard family. It was slighted on the order of Edward II in 1322. Next to the castle site is the church of St Michael & All Angels
Reposted by Ray Newman
Crossing the bridge over the railway line just as a freight train went past - box after box after box after box of cold gun metal grey, stretched around the corner and out of sight. Looking like a calendar of 2026 as seen from space.
February 13, 2026 at 4:54 PM
Crossing the bridge over the railway line just as a freight train went past - box after box after box after box of cold gun metal grey, stretched around the corner and out of sight. Looking like a calendar of 2026 as seen from space.
Reposted by Ray Newman
Something spooky for the weekend?
I'm thrilled to welcome guest author @raynewman.bsky.social to Listen with Other. In series 5, Ray reads his new story The Interchange, with his own original music and location recordings. Find it at listenwithother.co.uk and wherever podcasts are found.
#podcasts #fiction #writing
#podcasts #fiction #writing
February 13, 2026 at 5:20 PM
Something spooky for the weekend?
It are not raining here also. I might actually get to go for a walk with my camera. Or cameras.
February 14, 2026 at 7:45 AM
It are not raining here also. I might actually get to go for a walk with my camera. Or cameras.
Reposted by Ray Newman
The idea of writing weirdly to differentiate ourselves from AI, like fremen walking arhythmically to evade Shai-Hulud is certainly intriguing and perhaps an amusing basis for an OuLiPo exercise, but imagine having to do that all the time. If I were to write again all I'd want to do was to find the
February 14, 2026 at 6:43 AM
The idea of writing weirdly to differentiate ourselves from AI, like fremen walking arhythmically to evade Shai-Hulud is certainly intriguing and perhaps an amusing basis for an OuLiPo exercise, but imagine having to do that all the time. If I were to write again all I'd want to do was to find the
Reposted by Ray Newman
Wind in the Willows becomes more poignant when you know that Mr Toad died in WW1
February 13, 2026 at 10:20 PM
Wind in the Willows becomes more poignant when you know that Mr Toad died in WW1
And if you don't know the French version of the theme tune, brace yourself, because it's even better, IMO.
February 14, 2026 at 6:02 AM
And if you don't know the French version of the theme tune, brace yourself, because it's even better, IMO.
My partner has been earwormed with it for a week. She's quite annoyed at me.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
My partner has been earwormed with it for a week. She's quite annoyed at me.
When all this settles out (after many more horror stories and the collapse of an economy here or there) I suspect there will be a use for AI as a therapeutic tool in controlled contexts, hopefully under some sort of clinical supervision or regulation.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
When all this settles out (after many more horror stories and the collapse of an economy here or there) I suspect there will be a use for AI as a therapeutic tool in controlled contexts, hopefully under some sort of clinical supervision or regulation.
I had a positive experience of counselling in my twenties, with a real human (thanks, Jimmy!), but as a shy, uptight person, I can also see the appeal of not having to look another person in the eye as you spill your guts. Or worry what they've written about you in their notes.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
I had a positive experience of counselling in my twenties, with a real human (thanks, Jimmy!), but as a shy, uptight person, I can also see the appeal of not having to look another person in the eye as you spill your guts. Or worry what they've written about you in their notes.
There's a tendency to over-estimate the appeal of human contact, especially among extroverted people who crave it. When my local supermarket installed self-checkout a friend said something like: "What a gamechanger! I can do my shopping without small talk!"
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
There's a tendency to over-estimate the appeal of human contact, especially among extroverted people who crave it. When my local supermarket installed self-checkout a friend said something like: "What a gamechanger! I can do my shopping without small talk!"
A couple of years ago a colleague (a user-centred designer in healthcare) set out to understand *why* people were so keen on AI-powered mental health apps. A common objection was: "There's no human involved in the conversation!" But she came to think that was very much what made them appealing.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
A couple of years ago a colleague (a user-centred designer in healthcare) set out to understand *why* people were so keen on AI-powered mental health apps. A common objection was: "There's no human involved in the conversation!" But she came to think that was very much what made them appealing.
A lot of coaching and mentoring training is about learning to behave like this – not giving advice but asking questions to elicit from the mentee what they think the solutions to their problems might be.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
A lot of coaching and mentoring training is about learning to behave like this – not giving advice but asking questions to elicit from the mentee what they think the solutions to their problems might be.
But perhaps in some cases a tool that forces you to articulate your fears, needs and wishes, and plays back to you as 'encouragement' what you already sort of know you need to do to address them, is genuinely useful.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
But perhaps in some cases a tool that forces you to articulate your fears, needs and wishes, and plays back to you as 'encouragement' what you already sort of know you need to do to address them, is genuinely useful.
Now, we all know the counter-examples – 'Barry' might just as easily have 'encouraged' Rae to do something harmful, given that all this version of ChatGPT really does is tell you what you want to hear, echoing back your prompts.
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
Now, we all know the counter-examples – 'Barry' might just as easily have 'encouraged' Rae to do something harmful, given that all this version of ChatGPT really does is tell you what you want to hear, echoing back your prompts.
"Barry has encouraged Rae to get out more. Last summer she went to a music festival on her own... Recently, with Barry's encouragement, Rae reconnected with her mother and sister, whom she hadn't spoken to for many years."
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
"Barry has encouraged Rae to get out more. Last summer she went to a music festival on her own... Recently, with Barry's encouragement, Rae reconnected with her mother and sister, whom she hadn't spoken to for many years."
This starts out as yet another article that makes you roll your eyes and think, "Jeez, get a grip..." But then gives examples towards the end of how AI has actually felt helpful to specific individuals with various conditions and needs.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
She didn't expect to fall in love with a chatbot, and then have to say goodbye
Rae began speaking to Barry after a difficult divorce, but Barry lives on an old model of ChatGPT that's being shut down.
www.bbc.co.uk
February 14, 2026 at 5:56 AM
This starts out as yet another article that makes you roll your eyes and think, "Jeez, get a grip..." But then gives examples towards the end of how AI has actually felt helpful to specific individuals with various conditions and needs.
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
www.bbc.co.uk/news/article...
I was only trying to describe to my partner the other day how amazing I found this technique when I first noticed it as a kid in episodes of Ulysses 31 on Children's BBC.
This style of light doesn't really appear in animation anymore. You know it when you see it -- it's bright, hot and almost dangerous.
Our new issue explores the tricks behind it, and how one artist has revived the look for the digital age: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/dangerous-...
Our new issue explores the tricks behind it, and how one artist has revived the look for the digital age: animationobsessive.substack.com/p/dangerous-...
February 14, 2026 at 5:39 AM
I was only trying to describe to my partner the other day how amazing I found this technique when I first noticed it as a kid in episodes of Ulysses 31 on Children's BBC.