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Matthew Turner

@thewalkingfool

Author of the novel SWEDEN (2018), translator, traveller on foot, Japan lover, jazz buff, albatross watcher, Ōtautahi resident. *Not* a photographer.

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25.08.2023
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Latest posts by Matthew Turner @thewalkingfool

Would be nice to have at least one day without Trump appearing in my timeline.

10.03.2026 19:33 👍 5 🔁 1 💬 1 📌 0
A little girl in an elementary school uniform , the yellow on her backpack indicating she was in 1st grade. A woman in a beige trench coat holds her arm as they walk through the station together. That girl would be in her 20s now. I’m sure she still remembers the trench coat lady.

A little girl in an elementary school uniform , the yellow on her backpack indicating she was in 1st grade. A woman in a beige trench coat holds her arm as they walk through the station together. That girl would be in her 20s now. I’m sure she still remembers the trench coat lady.

I took this photo 15 yrs ago today, at Korakuen station, after being stuck underground on the Marunouchi line. The little girl had been on the platform crying alone, so the woman in the trench coat- a total stranger- comforted her & lead her over to the long line of people waiting for the payphone.

10.03.2026 22:05 👍 146 🔁 14 💬 8 📌 1
A supermarket sign advertising something they call “gingerbread caramel brioche hot cross buns”

A supermarket sign advertising something they call “gingerbread caramel brioche hot cross buns”

Meanwhile, my local supermarket is advertising these monstrosities

10.03.2026 00:46 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Citrus-scented hot cross buns are New Zealand's best Judges were unanimous that these buns, studded with mixed peel and perfumed with orange liqueur, score the top prize.

From Michael’s Bakery in Hillmorton, just a few stops on the #7 bus from our place.

10.03.2026 00:39 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Front cover of "The Divide" by Evan Morgan Williams

Front cover of "The Divide" by Evan Morgan Williams

Says one reader: "I have read your stories, and they are alluring. And troubling. They will bear rereading." If that's your cup o' tea, grab one at your local bookstore!

06.03.2026 15:56 👍 4 🔁 2 💬 0 📌 0
The cover of the novel “The Names” by Don DeLillo

The cover of the novel “The Names” by Don DeLillo

Currently reading THE NAMES by Don DeLillo

#books #booksky 💙📚

05.03.2026 07:40 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

A man asked me last night what publishing needs to do for literary fiction to begin appealing to men again. I said, as nicely as I could, that, with over 2,000 books published every Tuesday, of which many would appeal to men, it’s not a publishing problem, it’s a men problem.

04.03.2026 16:58 👍 3531 🔁 591 💬 109 📌 108

Congrats, man!

04.03.2026 01:59 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0

I managed to photograph it in the wild on Route 7, my very own route into town. Look forward to riding it soon!

03.03.2026 02:10 👍 8 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Congratulations!

01.03.2026 21:06 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Researchers praise ‘stunning’ results of new prostate cancer treatment Early trials of the drug VIR-5500 showed it shrinking tumours in some patients

More of this sort of thing, please. And faster!

28.02.2026 08:49 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
View across river to Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial

View across river to Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial

View of Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial

View of Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial

Red Cross personnel on the bridge

Red Cross personnel on the bridge

Civic service at Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial. The minute of silence was shared at 12.51pm, and the names of the 185 people who lost their lives in the earthquake were read aloud with the HMNZS Canterbury bell tolled with each name.

Civic service at Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial. The minute of silence was shared at 12.51pm, and the names of the 185 people who lost their lives in the earthquake were read aloud with the HMNZS Canterbury bell tolled with each name.

Yesterday was the anniversary of the 22 Feb quake. Here are some pics from the Civic service at Oi Manawa Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial. It's quite something to hear a bell tolled softly 185 times.

23.02.2026 00:31 👍 29 🔁 11 💬 1 📌 0
Preview
Memorial service to be held in Christchurch to mark 15 years since 2011 earthquake A minute of silence will be held at 12.51pm, the time the earthquake hit, then the names of the 185 people who died will be read aloud.

15 years

21.02.2026 19:44 👍 3 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

douglas adams was our most accurate futurist

15.02.2026 22:10 👍 10962 🔁 2781 💬 110 📌 33
A weather map showing rain in Christchurch

A weather map showing rain in Christchurch

A programme for a concert titled A Rainey Day

A programme for a concert titled A Rainey Day

A photo of six jazz musicians playing in a small hall

A photo of six jazz musicians playing in a small hall

A list of musicians including four members of the Rainey family

A list of musicians including four members of the Rainey family

Appropriate weather for today’s concert at the Arts Centre, A Rainey Day, featuring four members of the Rainey family

16.02.2026 02:18 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
The cover of the novel “The Predicament” by William Boyd

The cover of the novel “The Predicament” by William Boyd

Currently reading THE PREDICAMENT by William Boyd

#books #booksky 💙📚

14.02.2026 06:24 👍 4 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Video thumbnail

Well worth 60 seconds of your time! 😂😂

12.02.2026 22:23 👍 173 🔁 64 💬 8 📌 5
Preview
JR’s new overnight sleeper train will connect Tokyo and northern Japan; will be private cabin-only For many years, the shinkansen has been time-conscious travelers’ go-to method for going from one region of Japan to the other. That doesn’t always mean that the shinkansen is the option that maximizes your sightseeing time, though, since while it’s often the fastest point-to-point way to get around, you’re still…

There’s a new one coming in 2027

11.02.2026 20:17 👍 3 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

Liked for the marriage, not the threatened closure.

11.02.2026 01:39 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0

Happy birthday, Reese! Hope your year is much more than OK.

08.02.2026 18:55 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
Map

Map

Frame in the red zone

Frame in the red zone

River with ducks and rowers

River with ducks and rowers

Bridge

Bridge

Rode the Ōtākaro Avon trail on Waitangi Day. More than 27km on the bike which isn’t bad when I haven’t been on my bike for yonks. It’s a wonderful trek from Barbadoes Street Cambridge Green through to Pages Road in Bexley right by New Brighton.

07.02.2026 05:04 👍 14 🔁 1 💬 2 📌 0
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Half of Japan’s samurai were women, groundbreaking exhibition at British Museum says ‘Samurai’ explores over a thousand years of Japanese history related to the elite warrior class

There isn't a sigh hard enough for these dumbass headlines. Warriors were a SOCIAL GROUP, and later a legal classification. Gender was not relevant to whether one was part of a warrior group/family/etc. You might as well write: THIS JUST IN: WOMEN EXISTED! www.the-independent.com/asia/japan/b...

05.02.2026 17:29 👍 330 🔁 101 💬 11 📌 7

I've been following bitcoin crashes since 2011, i don't want to get my hopes up for this one

05.02.2026 23:59 👍 7 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0
the lines are open, by The Close Readers 10 track album

Wilkins has his own band, The Close Readers, and "close reading" is just what happens in the article 👆

And wasn't aware that their 2014 LP 'The Lines are Open' had garnered an A- grade from US critic @rxgau.bsky.social

theclosereaders.bandcamp.com/album/the-li...

06.02.2026 00:17 👍 1 🔁 1 💬 0 📌 0

That’s wonderful. Hope you continue getting good news.

05.02.2026 02:09 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0
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National milestone: It’s been 10 years since the Waitangi dildo strike When Josie Butler threw that dildo, she split our nation’s timeline into two eras: before dildo (BD) and after dildo (AD).

"In the weeks following the purchase, she and her flatmates trained hard at “dildo target practice”. “It was mostly us just throwing the dildo at each other unsuspecting around the house,” she explains." thespinoff.co.nz/politics/05-...
Top yarn by @haydendonnell.bsky.social @thespinoff.bsky.social

04.02.2026 19:36 👍 21 🔁 4 💬 0 📌 5
Preview
Another London, by Hari Kunzru Excavating the disenchanted city

If you want a break from snow or ICE, I have a #longread in the current @harpers.bsky.social about a mystical drift through London. Includes Blake, Hawksmoor, the Sex Pistols, Derek Jarman, John Dee and conversations with Alan Moore and Iain Sinclair harpers.org/archive/2026...

25.01.2026 18:53 👍 251 🔁 84 💬 11 📌 23
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The Clear Blue Sky - Evan Morgan Williams — Bulb Culture Collective “Oh, it’s definitely our story, Paul.”

The light is on for Evan Morgan Williams! @pahoehoe.bsky.social💡

“The Clear Blue Sky” is a moving story of tension, where the fractures between two people stand starkly against love.

Check out Evan’s amazing writing over at the site!

06.01.2026 14:03 👍 6 🔁 6 💬 0 📌 0

Very sorry for your loss, Greg.

02.02.2026 00:24 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0
Preview
Helena Bonham Carter joins Steve Coogan for The White Lotus season four The Oscar-nominated star of The King’s Speech will check in for the new season of hit comedy drama set in France

I missed the Steve Coogan announcement. Hope I’m still alive when this comes out.

29.01.2026 22:29 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0