Richard Newton
@irnewton.bsky.social
Writer, reader, traveller. Author of 'Taylor & Burton in Africa'.
The ultimate male role model.
December 7, 2025 at 1:03 PM
The ultimate male role model.
The Monkey Wrench Gang?
December 7, 2025 at 12:52 PM
The Monkey Wrench Gang?
A labour of love that I finished researching and writing months before a certain biography was published. I then got an email from the biographer's agent warning me about the potential pursuit of 'proprietory rights'. This is therefore a novel that includes a seven page list of sources.
November 10, 2025 at 1:23 PM
A labour of love that I finished researching and writing months before a certain biography was published. I then got an email from the biographer's agent warning me about the potential pursuit of 'proprietory rights'. This is therefore a novel that includes a seven page list of sources.
Give them all a copy of Infinite Jest, then they can performatively red flag themselves.
November 10, 2025 at 11:36 AM
Give them all a copy of Infinite Jest, then they can performatively red flag themselves.
Me in the unofficial throne room of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 1994.
October 31, 2025 at 10:11 PM
Me in the unofficial throne room of Emperor Haile Selassie of Ethiopia, 1994.
My pic from a cheetah sighting in Kruger National Park, South Africa, in 2023. On the whole, Kruger is an example of how mass tourism can work in a wildlife area. But lately there's been an explosion of OSVs (Open Safari Vehicles), and they don't always follow the rules.
October 27, 2025 at 1:20 PM
My pic from a cheetah sighting in Kruger National Park, South Africa, in 2023. On the whole, Kruger is an example of how mass tourism can work in a wildlife area. But lately there's been an explosion of OSVs (Open Safari Vehicles), and they don't always follow the rules.
The Serengeti wildebeest migration is perhaps the most extreme example. Tourists are now blocking the prime riverbank exit routes, forcing the wildebeest back into the river.
October 27, 2025 at 12:19 PM
The Serengeti wildebeest migration is perhaps the most extreme example. Tourists are now blocking the prime riverbank exit routes, forcing the wildebeest back into the river.
Treasure Island was apparently inspired by the coast around Carmel, Clint Eastwood's bailiwick, and now the golden retriever capital of the world.
October 25, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Treasure Island was apparently inspired by the coast around Carmel, Clint Eastwood's bailiwick, and now the golden retriever capital of the world.
Steinbeck link: Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Monterey.
October 25, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Steinbeck link: Robert Louis Stevenson lived in Monterey.
Perhaps the best adaptation of a Donald E Westlake book - and there have been plenty.
October 22, 2025 at 7:09 PM
Perhaps the best adaptation of a Donald E Westlake book - and there have been plenty.
This one's good fun.
October 21, 2025 at 11:23 AM
This one's good fun.
I can never get over the fact that Charles Dance's dad fought in the Boer War.
October 10, 2025 at 10:05 PM
I can never get over the fact that Charles Dance's dad fought in the Boer War.
The Duellists, based on a story by Joseph Conrad, is terrific.
October 6, 2025 at 6:39 PM
The Duellists, based on a story by Joseph Conrad, is terrific.
More likely, he watched Brian De Palma's Scarface, which opens with Castro flooding the US with prisoners and asylum inmates.
September 20, 2025 at 7:51 PM
More likely, he watched Brian De Palma's Scarface, which opens with Castro flooding the US with prisoners and asylum inmates.
Its election time in Malawi as we speak. I still have this flyer from the 1994 election.
September 14, 2025 at 7:49 PM
Its election time in Malawi as we speak. I still have this flyer from the 1994 election.