{"title":"Jonny Blair","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"backpacking-centurion-a-northern-irishman-s-journey-through-100-countries-book-jonny-blair-9781098337698","title":"Backpacking Centurion - A Northern Irishman's Journey Through 100 Countries","description":"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.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49547570446609,"sku":"GOR013712143","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51272797782289,"sku":"NIN9781098337698","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1098337697.jpg?v=1750888159"},{"product_id":"backpacking-centurion-a-northern-irishman-s-journey-through-100-countries-book-jonny-blair-9781098315061","title":"Backpacking Centurion - A Northern Irishman's Journey Through 100 Countries","description":"Hyde Park is a London favourite. You can walk, lie in the grass, play games, take exercise and engage in sport. It has been a venue for mass celebrations since VE Day and for public events including Proms in the Park, the Olympics and countless music festivals. There is a truly fascinating history behind the park we know today and the neighbouring Kensington Gardens. On 1 July 1536, Henry VI compelled the Convent of Westminster to hand over land that he then enclosed for hunting purposes - and so Hyde Park began. However, it was not until the reign of Charles I that the people of London were allowed access to the park. Sold by Parliament in 1652; beset by highwaymen when the village of Kensington became home to much of the aristocracy; partially appropriated by George I to make Kensington Gardens - Hyde Park has a dramatic past. It was, however, the Great Exhibition that was to have the greatest impact on its history. The world came to Hyde Park, with as many as 100,000 visitors occupying the exhibition at a time. It became London's central attraction and remains the city's greatest open space. It is truly the people's park and, without a doubt, one of the greatest places to visit in London.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49547570839825,"sku":"GOR013712142","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1098315065.jpg?v=1751174143"},{"product_id":"i-went-to-gdansk-with-somebody-book-jonny-blair-9781667820200","title":"I Went To Gdansk With Somebody","description":"I Went To Gdansk With Somebody is the story from travel writer Jonny Blair after his epic Backpacking Centurion series came to a culmination in March 2015. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eThe story of how Northern Irishman Jonny Blair ended up in Poland is far from straight forward. Even the pages of this book are not enough detail to explain. The journey was long and fateful. It was a golden dream and a blackened nightmare all in one. But it had to be written and released. Not every Bangorian Northern Irelander dreams of a plate of pierogi with smietana and a glass of grzaniec in a stare miasto. In this world, Jonny seems like the odd one out. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eHe's like a man with a fork in a world of soup - Noel Gallagher. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eIt all started with a Gerry Taggart brace in 1991. Northern Ireland beat Poland 3-1 in a football match that Jonny attended in Belfast that night. Jonny's journey to Poland took him via an ice cream hut in Bournemouth, a hostel dorm room in Bucharest, a visit to a windy cave town in Georgia, a Russian translator, nudity in Antarctica and a craft beer pub in Sofia. But it wasn't as simple as that. Jonny doesn't do simple. He also doesn't do lazy, dishonest or boring. He writes from an unwiltable heart and a boundless mind. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eExpect thrills and mishaps along the way. We read about Jonny's first ever trip to Poland, a Stalin inspired poem, a night on the rip in Poznan drinking grzane piwo and a chilling visit to the German Death Camps.\u003cbr\u003eExpect football, friends and beer to feature heavily. Jonny likes a drink and isn't shy about it. He finds the comparisons between George Best and Kazik Deyna uncanny. Is it any wonder this Ulsterczyk ended up supporting the Polish green and white fifth tier club KP Starogard Gdanski in 2016? \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWorking as a barman, a teacher, a PR rep, a travel writer and a broccoli farmer all add spice to this szalony journey. We end up in far flung places here. Tashkurgan in Afghanistan, Lam Tin in Hong Kong and Gr dig in Austria all serve as geographical pins on this man's globetrotting odyssey to Poland. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eWhen the sun comes up in your unknown Polish town, don't be surprised if Jonny Blair turns up cradling a dobra kawa and craving your Babcia's pierogi ruskie.\u003cbr\u003eLove remains the drug that's the high, not the pill - Seal.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":50882806022417,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50882806186257,"sku":"GOR014103743","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1667820206.jpg?v=1751025429"},{"product_id":"backpacking-centurion-book-jonny-blair-9781447788591","title":"Backpacking Centurion","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51093948727569,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51093950497041,"sku":"NIN9781447788591","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1447788591.jpg?v=1751272789"},{"product_id":"this-is-the-next-century-book-jonny-blair-9781446187159","title":"This Is The Next Century","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51225506677009,"sku":"NIN9781446187159","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1446187152.jpg?v=1751210207"},{"product_id":"champian-stewartnova-book-jonny-blair-9781447877547","title":"ChampIAN STEWARTnova","description":null,"brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51303813873937,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51303814594833,"sku":"NIN9781447877547","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1447877543.jpg?v=1750858320"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-jonny-blair.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}