Richard de Nooy

Author's details

Biography

Richard de Nooy (1965) grew up in South Africa and vowed to travel the world. He didn’t get much further than Amsterdam, where he has lived for the past 25 years. He spends his days writing and translating and staring at the sky, trying to guess where the planes are going. He will be mapping his ignorance of the world’s cities from his desk chair, using his preferred mode of transport; the worldwide web. He hopes readers will excuse his ignorance and help fill the vast gaps in his knowledge with entertaining and enlightening anecdotes about their home towns. Richard de Nooy’s novels have been published in English and Dutch. You’ll find further information on his site www.richarddenooy.com. Photo by Stefanie Grätz

Latest posts

  1. My Father and the Sunflowers — May 3, 2013
  2. You Vee Double-You Ex Why Zzzzz — April 12, 2013
  3. Wandering Art — March 29, 2013
  4. “Hey, they all start with T!” — March 15, 2013
  5. Musical masters painting in perfect unison — February 22, 2013

Author's posts listings

04
Nov
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Stockholm

I thought everyone was going to say: ABBA, Bjorn Borg and IKEA, but I was wrong, very wrong. Only one of my e-friends had similar thoughts when I ran a poll on Facebook and Twitter, asking: “What/who are the three things/people that come to mind when you see the word ‘Sweden’?” Here are some of… read more »

28
Oct
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Punta Cana

Last week, I wrote a blog about Mexico, lampooning some of the stereotypical ideas people have about Mexicans. Unfortunately, some readers did not read the whole blog and subsequent comments from readers which helped set the record straight and revealed some interesting facts about Mexican history and culture. This week I intend to tread more… read more »

21
Oct
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Mexico

Mexicans are fun-loving bandits with large hats and moustaches. When they aren’t lazing around in the shade of their sombreros, they’re either robbing banks or swilling tequila and playing guitar, which usually contains a concealed weapon of some sort. This is how Mexicans were portrayed in the cowboy movies and comic books I grew up… read more »

14
Oct
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Is that a Volvo Amazon?!

We had a science teacher at school called Mr Loukakis. He was very proud of his Greek heritage and whenever we did anything stupid in class, he would growl: “My ancestors were playing chess while yours were still up in the trees.” Not surprisingly, Mr Loukakis was the first person who came to mind when… read more »

07
Oct
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Philippines

This is my second visit to the Philippines. Last time, I took a look at the country’s ingenious modes of transport, ranging from brightly decorated jeepneys and horse-drawn carts to an endless variety of engine-driven rickshaws. This time I’d like to take a closer look at the language of the Philippines, guided by Liarnie, who… read more »

30
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Romania

If you’re anything like me – and I sincerely hope you’re not – you know that Romania is located somewhere in Eastern Europe, but you’re not quite sure where. Is it somewhere between Hungary and Bulgaria? Or is it further north, below the Czech Republic? And the capital, was it Budapest or Bucharest? So, let’s… read more »

23
Sep
posted by Richard de Nooy at 14:00 comment View Comments
Hong Kong tekst

Imagine a door with four locks, behind which is hidden a secret message. Now imagine yourself running through a maze looking for the keys to the four locks. When you have all four keys, you have to turn them in the right order to open the door. And when the door finally swings open, you… read more »