15th November 2014: TEN Years On From The Night That Turned My Life On Its Head😔☹️😭💔😥

*** PLESE NOTE – the letters left of W,S,X on my lptop re broken. They don’t work – sorry bout tht but don’t blme me. If you see those letters in this post, I copied nd psted them in.

15th November 2014: 10 Years On From The Night That Turned My Life On Its Head

“I compare you to a kiss from a rose on the grey” – Seal.

First of ll – the letters west of W,S,X on my lptop re currently broken. They don’t work. I hve nother lptop – it is bnjxed completely. My other lptop ws stolen in  robbery in 2022. It’s not even ironic nymore, it’s just sd. I’ve decided tht becuse the lptop keybord broke the sme week s this horrific nniversry, tht it is best I write this entire blog s norml so those letters re not in it.

15th November 2024 Reflection

Yes I pressed the buttons west of of W,S,X nd w,s,x nd I’ve tried to get them working but they just don’t work. It’s the curse of 10 yers go coming bck to hunt me. Obviously the letter in the lphbet before letter “b” is missing in this entire rticle, so is the letter between p nd r, so is the letter fter y. But I ws ble to copy nd pste those letters using the control c / control v function just for the title of the rticle nd the uotes. There is  temporry keybord on my screen but it is lso too slow nd shit. Typicl on my ten yer milestone of tht horrific event. I won’t pologise for the broken keybord, I’m too rel  blogger for tht – fuck them – you reuined my life nd no doubt your ghost hs now ruined my hope of ten yers being the leving point to move on.

“No place to be ending but somewhere to start” – Sde.

Without doubt, tody is the worst milestone in my life. On the 15th November 2014, my life ws going so well – everything glew with  glem. Then I met her.

“Precious time is slipping away, but you’re only king for a day” – Van Morrison.

2014 Ws Epic – Proper Professionl Trvel Blogging t its pek

t the time, ten yers go, this blog ws 7 yers old nd t its bsolute PEK. It ws n epic time to be  blogger. I strted Don’t Stop Living in 2007. By lte 2012, it hd gone professionl nd there ws no looking bck – 100 countries were so esy to swllow – sponsored posts, sponsored tours, free tours, free trips, free items like bckpcks, free food, free drinks nd of course free ccommodtion. Nothing  drem, ll  prdise. Xndu.

“Last night I dreamt of San Pedro” – Madonna.

I hve been bckpcking since 2012 on free ccommodtion becuse uite simply – I work hrd for every hotel, hostel, guesthouse etc. tht I sty in – I meet the owners, I liise, I tlk to them them bout their business nd then I whck it ll on socil medi nd on my blog. I’d sy 2014 ws my best ever yer s  trvel blogger – tht yer I went to the World Cup Finl in Bril – I ws in the stdium – The Mrcn for rgentin v. Germny.

My 2014 Bckpcking dventure

nd tht summer I bckpcked through Bril, rgentin, Frenchy G, Surinme, Guyn, Mexico, Pnm, Belie, Guteml, Hondurs, Nicrgu, Elly S, Cost Ric nd even the dreded US. Tht ws such trvel bliss. I ws loving it. My finnces were very helthy nd I knew I hd lived the drem of being  professionl trvel blogger. I didn’t need to work in nything else.

fter leving New York nd tlnt in Georgi, I flew to Brcelon in Ctloni. It ws ctully my first ever time in Brcelon nd I met up with cousin Pul for the first time in 17 yers – when I ws 17. We were now both 34. I hd sponsored tours nd hotels in ndorr nd Brcelon nd life ws bsolutely blissed. I snpped myself nd pinched myself in the Clde Sp – Europe’s lrgest Sp complex in ndorr. I hd thought it ws my 99th country, but it turned out tht Cost Ric ws ctully county 99, therefore ndorr ended up being country 100 on my wcdy journey.

fter ndorr – I heded bck to Northern Irelnd

This time, I ws now working with Northern Irish compnies for the first time s  trvel blogger. I ws invited to tour the min YH hostels, I spent  night in the fmous Europ hotel in Belfst nd whckpcked the sights of my homelnd. It ws the longest time I hd spent in my home country of Northern Irelnd in over  decde since summer 2003. I orgnised  few school reunions – one ws  30 yer reunion with Kilmine Primry School where I even orgnised to visit the ctul school s well s  dinner. I even spent  night sleeping bove my old pub – The Windsor Brs in Northern Irelnd.

Bck In Englnd Wtching Bournemouth nd Millwll Neil’s 30th – October to November 2014

Then cme the clincher. I wtched Northern Irelnd v Froe Islnds live in Windsor Prk, Belfst, Northern Irelnd. We won 2-0, nd lso hd won wy in Greece nd Hungry nd now hd to ply Romni for n unprecedented chnce to go top of the group with 12 points from 12 – mximum points. I decided to go to Romni wy of course. But on route, it ws to be nother nuts trip. I wtched Cherries – Bournemouth win 8-0 wy t Birminghm before wtching 2 home wins t Den Court – v. West Bromwich lbion nd Brighton nd Hove lbion. I ws reunited with the lds including Lock In Lee for more mdness.

I hd  lot of other cry reunions such s with Sturt Hutchinson in Beeston nd Derby t  Subwys gig, then with my old mnger Jill Morn in Windsor, then with Pul Gry in Windsor. It ws wild. I lso ttended the Professionl Trvel Bloggers Conference in London, wtched Pddy Cmpbell’s ply Wet House in the West End, nd mde  surprise ppernce t The New Den nd Millwll Neil’s 30th Birthdy. nd then, it ws time for Romni wy.

Englnd to Romni

fter meeting bbi Morrison for tht cht nd dinner, I blogged ll night in Stnsted irport then borded my flight to Romni for the first time ever. The pln ws to spend bout 3 weeks in Romni, wtchh the Northern Irelnd mtch, then tour Moldov, Trnsnistri nd Bulgri.

My first 5 dys in Romni were bliss – I toured Ccic, Sucevit, Moldovit, Mrgine, Sucev, Cmpulung Moldovenesc nd Buchrest. I lso hd  night out with Wndering Erl in Buchrest. styed in the totlly wonderful Little Buchrest Hostel in Buchrest – lthough tht very hostel would be were my fte chnged nd my life turned upside down.

Romni 2-0 Northern Irelnd

On the Fridy night, 14/11/2014 I ws out for drinks in Buchrest nd then we heded to the stdium to wtch the mtch. Northern Irelnd sdly lost 2-0 to 2 lte gols nd fter some more drinks, including ending the night in n upstirs “Bicycle Br” with Nill Rudd, I heded bck to the Little Buchrest Hostel to sleep…who knew wht tomorrow would bring.

“Not the promises of what tomorrow brings” – Echo nd The Bunnymen Feturing Lim Gllgher.

The Little Buchrest Hostel, in Bucharest, Romania

Of course I cnnot blme the hostel, or myself relly. It ws just fte. Who ws to sleep in the bed bove me in tht dorm room? Who ws to meet me in the kitchen? Who ws to flirt with me? Here re some photos from the Little Buchrest Hostel. I spent  totl of 7 nights here, s well s sleeping in Peches Hstel, The Sport Hostel, Cs Teresi in Brsov nd Dor Du Bucovin Hostel in Cmpulung Moldovenesc. Plus, here in 2024 s I recollect my 4 trips to Romni, I took  totl of 5 night trins nd  night buses. Some memories of the Litty B…

Tht Fteful Night – 21:38 p.m. on 15/11/2014 in Bucharest, Romania

Wht hppened t 21:38 p.m. on tht fteful night chnged my life forever.

THERE did it all go wrong.

I hve written it before on numerous blogs – it’s just so sd nd wild nd unexpected. In mny wys, tht meeting could hve been the BEST thing to hppen to me nd her. But it is undoubtedly the worst thing to hppen to BOTH of us. I’m sure the other persons gree nd feel the sme.  sd world. I won’t dwell, but some of tht story fetures in…these books of mine…

I Went To Gdnsk With Somebody
Bckpcking Centurion Volume 3 – Tints nd Honours
This Is The Next Century Volume 1 – ftershot
This Is The Next Century Volume 2 – Strogrd Girl

I didn’t wnt things to end this wy or to end up in  10 yer depression, but this is wht we re fced with now. nd three buttons on my bloody lptop don’t work – 10 yers on tht is lso ironic s I hd  broken lptop in 2014 nd only met her becuse I styed in Buchrest to get it fixed nd buy  new one.

“You don’t know wht cn hppen in life, sometimes you just cn’t predict it” – MSL.

My Fcebook post which I typed up on my phone tody where the letters left of w,s,x ll work:

TEN YEaRS. Well, tomorrow is the most poignant day of all now for me now, and for this travel blog. 15th November 2014 was the day when my life changed forever. It will haunt me for the rest of my life, and I have no idea why life plunges us into such deep depressions due to horrific people we meet. I know I will never recover from that moment. For the record, it was at 21:38 p.m. on 15/11/2014 in Bucharest, Romania when I was backpacking the world happily as a professional travel blogger. THERE did it all go wrong. When I try to reflect on meeting her, why it turned my life upside down, I still can never come close to fathoming it all out. The strongest thing I know is that I didn’t cause my depression – somebody else did. I’m still here and so is the blog but it was deliberately ruined by her exactly 10 years ago. These are the last photos from before she walked in to that room, those TEN years ago, and my last true weekend of happiness on this planet. #tenyears #romaniaaway #sadness #sadtimes #dontstopliving

Good riddnce. 10 horrific yers.