The Day I…Got 6 A Grades in my GCSEs (and the Aftermath of the Great Exam Heist)

“There’s a bridge to the other side, don’t take your eyes from the prize.”- Dodgy Get ready for it to pour out of me. It feels like some back tracking is needed to my teens and a follow up to last Friday’s Paddy Campbell story. This won’t fill you with wonder or excitement, but it’s something…

Read More
addy campbell bangor

The Day My Best Mate at School Nicked the Exam Paper (and got expelled)

“I, I sometimes lose myself in me, I lose track of timeAnd I can’t see the woods for the trees, you set them alight.Burn the bridges as you’ve gone, I’m too weak to fight yaI’ve got my personal hell to deal with” – D:Ream (Londonderry, 1993) Paddy Campbell and I sang along to it instead…

Read More

Backpacking in Turkey🇹🇷: Watching Northern Ireland Lose 1-0 to Turkey in Adana

The Background to my adventure backpacking in Turkey to Adana This is probably my first ever backpacking adventure that led me by chance to watching my beloved Northern Ireland football team. It was just amazing. Having made my return to Northern Ireland matches after more than four (count them, four) years at the 2-0 defeat…

Read More

5 Most Horrific Places To Go Backpacking In

Don’t paint yourself a picture of travelling as beaches, hot sun and cocktails please. That’s not backpacking, and in all honesty it’s not reflective of travel as a whole and it’s certainly biased. You’re only seeing the good things. Yes we love the good moments, but on my travels I feel the need to explore…

Read More
xinaliq backpacking

Backpacking in Azerbaijan🇦🇿: Exploring the Mountains of Xinaliq, ‘Europe’s Highest Village’

Xinaliq is a magical place. Anyone who has ever explored this spot has had a truly memorable experience for sure. Some references site Xinaliq as “Europe’s Highest Village”, a fact that could well be true, though geographically the inclusion of Azerbaijan as ‘Europe’ is slightly misleading. It’s more Middle East than Europe. Yet it’s more…

Read More
northern ireland belfast sailing out

World Borders: Getting the Belfast to Birkenhead Ferry (Northern Ireland to England)

It was a return to the familiar border crossings for me earlier in the year as I got the ferry from Belfast to Birkenhead. It’s a great way to get from Northern Ireland to England, and also avoids the hassle of flying, allows you to drive there by car, bring as much as you want…

Read More
dont stop living fortaleza

Is this the way to Fortaleza?⚽Don’t Stop Living goes full circle again, my Brazil🇧🇷World🌎Cup🏆Travel Plans!

I cast my mind to my trip to Suriname in 2011. On the way to meet my friends in Recife, Brazil I had a stopover in a city unknown to me at the time, Fortaleza. It was a four hour layover and I was back in Brazil after the magic of tropical Suriname. It was…

Read More
shakshuka israel

Friday’s Featured Food: Helping Prepare Shakshuka🍲for Brunch in Jerusalem, Israel🇮🇱

This is the second part in a “brunch fest” we experienced while backpacking in Jerusalem in Israel recently. When you stay at the fantastic Abraham Hostel, the amount of different activities you can try and the range of foods available is amazing. Just thinking about it makes me miss the Israeli food. It comes with…

Read More
lock in lee brummie

Barmby Army: The Freaks, A 10 Year Journey With Lock In Lee and Jonny Blair featuring Nicky Barmby, Jonny Evans and Jack Barmby

Time for one of the most random posts ever on here. I’m not giving you a visa guide for Suriname, a backpacking overview of Taiwan or indeed how to get a farming job in the land down under. Life can freak you out sometimes. And in this case it’s a good thing. If you have…

Read More