Category: People

Visiting The Home of the Penalty Kick: Milford, County Armagh, Northern Ireland and William McCrums Legacy

Visiting The Home of the Penalty Kick: Milford, County Armagh, Northern Ireland – William McCrum’s Legacy

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Pelanty, ref!”- football players and supporters. I grew up in Northern Ireland and am a football geek. My Dad played football, I played football, my friends played football and my brothers played football. That quadruple also watch football week in, week out. A few years back I cracked the 501 not out for attendance at Read more about Visiting The Home of the Penalty Kick: Milford, County Armagh, Northern Ireland – William McCrum’s Legacy[…]

Das Alte Gefängnis, Braunau Am Inn, Austria: Spending A Night in a Converted Prison in Hitler’s Town

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Escape from our history, history” – Manic Street Preachers. I headed back to Austria recently with two main places to be visited – the Republic of Kugel Mugel (a micronation in a sphere in Prater Park, Vienna) and the town of Braunau Am Inn. Braunau Am Inn is not exactly a backpacker’s paradise and is Read more about Das Alte Gefängnis, Braunau Am Inn, Austria: Spending A Night in a Converted Prison in Hitler’s Town[…]

Sunday’s Inspiration: A Hat-Trick of Years Since My Hat-Trick City Arrival in Gdańsk

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Time flies” – Anon. On this exact Sunday evening, 156 weeks ago (3 years ago), I arrived by flight into Gdańsk in Poland. It was just another city on my journey, surely. Nothing special, nothing was about to change. Sunday 3rd July 2016. I had never been to Gdańsk before but it was my fourth time in Read more about Sunday’s Inspiration: A Hat-Trick of Years Since My Hat-Trick City Arrival in Gdańsk[…]

Sunday’s Inspiration: Why Did I Ever Ever Travel?

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“Where do you go? Buttoned in your favourite coat, stepping out to a different world. And you might be home late.”- Ocean Colour Scene. Aged 17 I flicked through the CDs in His Master’s Voice record shop in Belfast city, the Northern Irish passion-drenched capital. Imagine the thrill of it all. Life was amazing. I Read more about Sunday’s Inspiration: Why Did I Ever Ever Travel?[…]

Arrival in Antarctica at Barrientos. Panny Yu, unmet.

The Day I…Met My Ex-Girlfriend in Antarctica

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“We got a love that ain’t got no name. We kiss our love with lips like pain. I said Oh Ho” – Brett Anderson (Suede). OK so…on my travels I often told this story to people who were somehow fascinated. But now, almost 8 years on, it’s not such a fantasy or a dream any Read more about The Day I…Met My Ex-Girlfriend in Antarctica[…]

International Anthem Live: Last Day in Tasman Backpackers, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia

International Anthem Live: Last Day in Tasman Backpackers, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia

Posted on by Jonny Blair

“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 Read more about International Anthem Live: Last Day in Tasman Backpackers, Devonport, Tasmania, Australia[…]

Studying Saturdays: Backpacking Centurion In The Grammarian, Bangor, Northern Ireland

The Latest Saga on my TWO Books: “1 – Backpacking Centurion” and “2 – Seek Well”

Posted on by Jonny Blair

** This post is dedicated to Lance Queens, a friend I met only a few times in life but a man who spoke his mind, respected me, gave me support in depression, and every second of his life he supported the Cherries (AFC Bournemouth). We enjoyed a climb up the divisions together, 4th Div to Read more about The Latest Saga on my TWO Books: “1 – Backpacking Centurion” and “2 – Seek Well”[…]

Friday’s Featured Food: Dinner At the Oldest Restaurant in Gdańsk, Poland – Kubicki

Posted on by Jonny Blair

  Again, Friday’s Featured Food has been a neglected part of my blog and as you can imagine, I have eaten enough different types of food on my journey to keep this as a weekly fixture for ten years or more, probably 100 years in fact! But I won’t have time to do one every Read more about Friday’s Featured Food: Dinner At the Oldest Restaurant in Gdańsk, Poland – Kubicki[…]