An Interview with Robert Obodai Nicholas Torto

Robert Obodai Nicholas Torto is a civil engineer with over twenty years of experience in sustainable travel, managing public and private sector projects from concept, design and consultation through to construction. He not only designs cycle lanes but is arguably the face of London’s Tweed Run: an annual event ‘with a bit of style’ in which thousands take to the streets in vintage and cycle through London’s iconic landmarks.

Robert’s key professional achievements include having designed many of the key cycle routes running through London’s boroughs. He was responsible for implementing the most ‘School Streets’ in Britain (a proactive solution for school communities to tackle air pollution, poor health and road danger reduction) Robert’s rewilding efforts are a key part of his ‘School Streets’ work, which helps restore nature to the city.

As a British-born African of Ghanaian and Jamaican parentage, Robert O.N. Torto uniquely merges these two parts of his culture through the medium of fashion, while cycling his distinctive Penny Farthing. Robert’s iconic look: Ghanaian kente and tweed plus fours, waist-length locks, and his enormous penny farthing garner all the Tweed Run media coverage. Robert attributes his style to his great grandfather, Assistant Treasurer for West Africa, James Godfrey Tetteh O’Baka Toro, Esq, MBE OBE (first Black African to be awarded an MBE and OBE by George VI).

Who/what made you want to write? Was there a particular person, or particular writers/works/art forms that influenced you?

A recent survey showed that more than half of Britons know so little about Black British history that they cannot name a single historical figure. It also showed that while 75% of British adults surveyed acknowledged that they did not know “very much” or “anything at all” about the subject, more than half (53%) could not recall any Black British historical figures and only 7% could name more than four.

I imagine this would have been the outcome had Benjamin Zephaniah sat down with Dr. Seuss to pen a historical adventure book about Walter Tull.

What inspired you to start writing this book?

As a father to young children, our little family has inherited, been gifted, and purchased shelves full of kids’ books that get their most use at bedtime. By far, the kids’ favourites are the rhyming ones. This, coupled with a very keen interest in African and Caribbean history, provided the motivation for this book.

Tell us the story of your book’s title. Was it easy to find, or did it take forever?

The book tells the tale of Walter Tull and the trials, tribulations, and triumphs he experienced growing up in late-1800s Britain as a mixed-race child, through to his football and army careers in the early 1900s. My interpretation of his life is written in a manner to open up this historic adventure to a younger, more impressionable audience, hence the rhyming style of the title Walter Tull Was Never Dull.

If your book had a soundtrack, what are some songs that would be on it?

Bob Marley – “Buffalo Soldier”

Aretha Franklin – “Respect”

The Special – “Pass the Dutchy”

Edwin Starr – “War”

Lupe Fiasco – “Sway”

Samuel Coleridge-Taylor – “Violin Sonata”

Describe your dream book cover.

My dream cover would be a digital tapestry of Walter Tull’s life.

What other professions have you worked in? What’s something about you that your readers wouldn’t know?

I am a civil engineer with over twenty years of experience in sustainable travel, managing public and private sector projects from concept, design, and consultation through to construction. I also help organise and marshal London’s Tweed Run: an annual event ‘with a bit of style’ in which thousands take to the streets in vintage and cycle through London’s iconic landmarks.

My key professional achievements are as follows:

Designed many of the key cycle routes running through London’s boroughs

Responsible for implementing the most ‘School Streets’ in Britain (a proactive solution for school communities to tackle air pollution, poor health and road danger reduction) Robert’s rewilding efforts are a key part of his ‘School Streets’ work which helps restore nature to the city.

What books did you read (for research or comfort) throughout your writing process?

I read several Dr. Seuss books including The Cat in the Hat and Green Eggs and Ham to understand his writing style. I listened to as well as read as many Benjamin Zephaniah poems as I could find, including Black House and Too Black, Too Strong, to help inform my writing style for this book and those to follow.

What is one thing you hope readers take away from reading your book? How do you envision your perfect reader?

My ambition is to write a series of these historic adventure books of African and Caribbean figures that will have as much universal appeal as Julia Donaldson books, but with real-life characters that inspire children to emulate new heroes. Perhaps this project will expand the diversity of World Book Day costumes beyond Harry Potter and Henry the Eighth, and deservingly popularise individuals in the series as much as the aforementioned two.

Are you a writer, too? Submit your manuscript to Atmosphere Press.