Long overdue then this one! Seventeen years ago this week I was backpacking in the North Island of New Zealand. Across a brace of trips to New Zealand, I have backpacked the North Island and the South Island but not yet Stewart Island. I ended up in Rotorua where I have backpacked through twice. I…
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“Seventh Son Of A Seventh Son” – Iron Maiden. I wrote about some musical backpacking sights of London before. On that trip I backpacked Pulp, Oasis, The Clash, The Beatles and Iron Maiden. Sadly the day I visited Iron Maiden, the pub of their birthplace, was shut for renovation. I was there on 1st January…
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“An extraordinary guy can never have an ordinary day” – Noel Gallagher. The truth is that I have been way too busy to actually write this blog post! I am brimming with ideas and I was meant to post this on the EXACT 25 year anniversary of the epic album “Be Here Now” being released.…
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Be Here Now🎸ðŸ️: The Time Of My Life At Casa De Snagg, Chester Cottage, Saint Vincent🇻🇨 “You gotta be bad enough to beat the brave”- Noel Gallagher. A 23 year delay was eventually put right on the 23rd December 2021. I was finally doing that Noel Gallagher pilgrimage that I craved back when “Be Here…
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Get ready for this one. As a kid growing up in Northern Ireland, I watched football incessantly. At the 1982 and 1986 World Cups, Northern Ireland excelled and took on the world, playing 8 matches and the only 3 we lost were to World Cup winning countries (France, Spain, Brazil) we even beat Spain 1-0…
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“England Wednesday. Sheffield Saturday” – Chris Woods Advert (1990s). When I worked in the “high flying” PR industry in London from 2006-2007, I was into Podcasts a lot. I downloaded lots of them and always listened to them on the tube on my way to work and back. It was a sweet release from the…
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“Some might say, we will find a brighter day” – (Some Might Say)* all quotes on this post are from Oasis and this post is dedicated to Colin Walker and Keith Freel. August 1996. Rock’n’roll. I was only 16 years old. I was still officially a student at Bangor Grammar School, having just finished “fifth…
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“Even in the sun, defeat is cold. At the end of the rainbow there’s no gold” – Jonny Blair (International Anthem). I spent cumulatively about 10 weeks in Tasman Backpackers in Devonport, Tasmania, Australia from February to June 2010, with many nights in between spent in my tent, my car, sleeping in the Molly Malones…
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“Last night I dreamt of San Pedro” – Madonna Ciccone. I’m a fast mover. I’m a fan of pop music. I loved Madonna in the 1980s and can still remember playing ten pin bowling in Bangor for the first time when Like a Prayer was number one single in the UK. “Life is a mystery.…
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Never forget that life is a crazy rollercoaster ride and be ready for the weird and wacky all the way. I had never been to Derby or even Beeston until October 2014. But things fell into place on my return to England. I had lined up a few days in Birmingham and Nottingham on route…
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