“I stare at the sky and it leaves me blind” – Manic Street Preachers.
Backpacking Centurion was supposed to be a hat-trick, a trilogy. But Jonny Blair’s 100-country journey had too many stories for that. These are the uncut ones, or should I say the “cut ones”. They were left out for a reason and then stuck back in as a last minute supersub.
They were too gruesome, gory, crazy, insane, wacky, zany, ridiculous and mad for inclusion in the hat-trick. There were the horrors of death camps, overflowing toilets, innocent drug smuggling, border confusion, cider sinking on night buses and mates having intercourse with inflatables in the author’s living room.
This Volume, The Black Volume, completes the Backpacking Centurion era and will leave us with a splendid 147 break. 147 chapters about 100 countries before the darkness fell over Malaga on that night down the pub when a new era was about to unfold.
Out of the darkness and into the next century went Jonny Blair and his backpack.
“Everywhere death row; everyone’s a victim” – Manic Street Preachers.
Buy The Black Volume on Amazon here.
Buy The Black Volume on Lulu here – direct from the Publisher.
Backpacking Centurion
Volume Four: The Black Volume
1980 – 2023 (38 chapters)
This volume has all the uncut stories and there are TWO options for reading it –
1.Chronologial order (order it happened).
2.Chapterical order (order it was written).
#theblackvolume #ulsterczyk #dontstopliving #backpackingcenturion
How to Read The Black Volume in Chronological Order
Chapter 123 – Vicky Shoots At My Stars (September 1997)
Chapter 128 – Regression Of 1997 Beer Pour (December 1997)
Chapter 143 – Watership Ballroom (After 1996)
Chapter 137 – The Blowjob Robbery (Unyearable)
Chapter 116 – Donkey Dong Front Room (August 2004)
Chapter 114 – Drinking The Piss (November 2004)
Chapter 118 – That’s Be Cider Pint (January 2005)
Chapter 120 – Locked Out / Lock Doubt (May 2005)
Chapter 111 – The Day We Didn’t Die Yet (July 2005)
Chapter 112 – 40 Points Behind With 5 Minutes Left (March 2006)
Chapter 141 – Swedish Wood (October 2006)
Chapter 144 – Frog (December 2006)
Chapter 138 – The Day I Didn’t Meet Noel Gallagher (April 2007)
Chapter 124 – Excrement Exit Showall (June 2007)
Chapter 142 – Smith’s Not Dead (August 2007)
Chapter 146 – Sticking It In A Dentist’s Mouth (August 2007)
Chapter 113 – Footloose And Legless (December 2007)
Chapter 136 – You Cannot Stand Under My Umbrella (2007 – 2009)
Chapter 119 – One Seventh Of A Television (September 2008)
Chapter 140 – Doctor Yes (The 1980s to 2009)
Chapter 117 – For Urine Only (2009)
Chapter 139 – Singapore Slinged (Unyearable)
Chapter 133 – Gay Rights Lecture (November 2009)
Chapter 125 – Last Bus Out Of Sydney (January 2010)
Chapter 130 – Irish Pub Nomad (December 2010)
Chapter 134 – Channer British (January 2011)
Chapter 129 – Leapfrog A Leprechaun (March 2011)
Chapter 115 – Man, You Shited (January 2012)
Chapter 132 – Death Camp Palace (July 2012)
Chapter 126 – Love Rocks: The Willy (September 2012)
Chapter 135 – Love Rocks: The Fanny (September 2012)
Chapter 122 – Meeting The Hero Of Israel (September 2013)
Chapter 127 – Europe’s Highest Village (October 2013)
Chapter 145 – Wet House (October 2014)
Chapter 131 – Everything But The Girls (November 2014)
Chapter 121 – A Lifestyle Of Reunions (December 2014)
Chapter 110 – After The Hat-Trick (September 2020)
Chapter 147 – Jonny O’Sullivan (The 147 Break) (October 2023)
“And I dub thee unforgiven” – Metallica.
“Times are hard when things have got no meaning; I’ve found a key upon the floor” – Noel Gallagher.
#beherenow #standbyme #whatsthematterwithyou