Böcker av Jonny Blair

"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.

"We'll support you evermore" - Northern Ireland fans."ChampIAN STEWARTnova" is the first GAWA-focused book from travel writer Jonny Blair after his epic "Backpacking Centurion" series came to a culmination in March 2015.Conceived in the 1970s, collecting Jim Platt stickers in the 1980s, watching Iain Dowie goals in the 1990s and witnessing the heroics of Healy in the 2000s, this story is brutal, rewarding, footballic, sickening and addictive. This story is only about one thing - the rollercoaster that is supporting the Northern Ireland football team. Nothing else matters.Jonny kicks things off during the 1980s glory days where his Dad bought him his first Northern Ireland kit and scarf while cheering on his World Cup heroes Norman Whiteside, Ian Stewart, Pat Jennings and Gerry Armstrong. Defeating the Germans, the Spaniards and the Romanians in the early 1980s felt commonplace. But those were glory days - with a population of less than 2 million people, Northern Ireland were always punching above their weight. After the Mexico 86 curtain fallation, some barren years followed on the pitch, but love don't wane. Jonny writes passionately about those days as a Bangoric Ulsterman attending Windsor Park dreaming of Adrian Coote hat-tricks, Alan Fettis pelanty saves and top of the table destructions of Germany. Most of our dreams as Northern Ireland fans never come to fruition but we dare to dream.Expect tales of crushing home defeats intertwined with shock away wins and uninspiring draws. Be ready for GAWA trips abroad full of over indulgence in both alcohol and football. In the midst of all of that, Jonny will enlighten you with his real life stories, quirky anecdotes, geek facts and unusual tales as he dreams of reaching another major tournament.When Jonny walked out of Windsor Park in 2009, an era had come to an end. He left Europe behind to travel the world but he left part of his heart in Belfast's Windsor Park. And we know he will be back there again. When the sun shines over Cavehill and the dust settles on the Lisburn Road, will life ever be the same again?"The stars in the bright sky looked down where Healy" - GAWA.

"She just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich" - Men At Work.When Jonny Blair's 100-country book "Backpacking Centurion" was completed in August 2015, it was supposed to be released soon after that, and as a one-off book. That didn't exactly happen the way it was intended. Over the next five years, as Jonny continued on his travels, it became clear that chapter after chapter needed to be re-edited, re-positioned and in some cases, removed, delayed or in other cases - posted faster and onto the online travel blog "Don't Stop Living", which meant they didn't make the book because they made the blog instead.In those five years, unfortunately depression kicked in and was the major reason for the book's delay. It was even possible that the book would never see the light of day at all. In 2019, the book was split into three distinct volumes. These three volumes are more or less in chronological order and are now being released one by one. The second volume, here with its volume title "Lands Down Under" has finally arrived in print.Volume 1's "Don't Look Back in Bangor" began in the seaside city of Bangor in Northern Ireland and tracked Jonny's childhood and early travel days. This volume, "Lands Down Under" sees Jonny's completion of visiting all seven continents and hitting the 50 country mark aged 30. This story is a bit more mature and extreme than the first volume as Jonny ventures into lands afar.Jonny finally appears to have found a home in the land down under - Australia, and a lot of this book was written in his old flat in Parramatta, or in a lonely tent in Poatina from 2009 - 2011. In between times, we have tales from Taiwan, anecdotes from Antarctica, perils in Peru and adventures in Africa. By the book's end we will see the progression of Jonny's nomadic life in full swing. Even his Australia dream came to an abrupt end and it was time for lucky land.While the first volume showed mistakes, failed romances, multiple job changes and footballic tales, "Lands Down Under" definitely has a more travel focus. Here, Jonny comes face to face with tribes, lands on remote islands, spends months working on farms and falls in love in one of the least likely places on earth.In seven flying hours, he'll be landing in Hong Kong.

Don't Look Back In Bangor is the first volume from Jonny Blair's "Backpacking Centurion" series. This book focuses on Jonny's early days growing up in Northern Ireland, watching football and dreaming of one day travelling to far flung places like Yugoslavia, East Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Jonny kicks things off in Northern Ireland, with stories of childhood hobbies, teenage angst and global aspirations. Expect honesty and lies intertwined with regret, remorse, desire and passion. This is a journey of ups and downs. By the end of volume one, Jonny will have taken you from Bangor to Bobruisk, from Belfast to Bournemouth and from Newtownards to Osterweddingen. The book includes diaries from Jonny's first trips abroad, his discovery of unknown places and the loves of his life. It is a thrilling and emotional journey with boundless energy, flawless flair and unstoppable aplomb.This volume has the timespan 1980 - 2008.