John & Miranda

John Miranda

The original purpose of the blog was the 20th wedding anniversary trip in 2006 / 2007 - Ashes cricket in Oz, setting off early in April and going the long way round!

The trip came to an end in February 2007 and for a while retrospective blogging was the only option (for reasons that you can find in the Road to Freedom).

There are still two to travel and the passport is now back in use in 2009.



Travel Blog Posts


Journeys to Glory

Published: May 22nd 2013Europe » Netherlands » North Holland » Amsterdam
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John Miranda
May 18th 2013

The road to European glory is seldom smooth. Chelsea's defence of their Champions League trophy came well and truly off the rails somewhere in the Group phase, leaving only the Europa League to aim for. Roman was less than impressed and wielded his customary axe. If only he knew how some of us used to dream of just seeing the club play a game in Europe, let alone win anything. Too young by a million miles to be in Athens in 1971, the journey never looked like coming around again and probably hit a personal rock bottom for me with a 7-2 defeat at Middlesbrough.........just as I was getting access to some money to go to a few games .......... and then another relegation at the hands of you've guessed it - Middlesbrough. A lot of ... read more



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John Miranda
February 23rd 2013

The Fence Collective were in town for the big Roundhouse shindig, but the music business is not all glitz and glamour. A free night is an opportunity to spread your sound to a wider audience and so all roads for Johnny Lynch aka the Pictish Trail lead to Dalston. The Dalston Victoria or to be more precise - the up and coming music venue that is the backroom of the Vic. You can't keep Secret Soundz to yourself. This is proper touring, complete with a transit van. We arrived on the bus from the more up market surroundings of Highbury & Islington. Arsenal fans meandered past us down Upper Street with sullen faces. It was difficult to tell whether they had won, lost or were just the 30,000 disinterested that follow them. Another FA Cup defeat. ... read more



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John Miranda
November 18th 2012

They say there is no rest for the wicked. It is the same for football fans. The tour leader always has an actioned packed diary of events to attend, so Sunday morning saw an early start for Hajduk Beograd v FK Zemun. The second experience with the famous Zemun Dragons..... well they think they are famous anyway. Hajduk ............ Lion ........ play in the Belgrade district of the same name, but curiously have a dove on their club badge. They carry the nickname, Pigeons. When was the last time a pigeon worried a dragon? It didn't happen today either! The usual random stadium photos ensued. A disused ticket hut shot. A policeman exchanged glances with the Man in the Middle. Mad was the joint conclusion. Shaking of the heads was a mutual reaction. It was 300 ... read more



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John Miranda
November 18th 2012

As a certain former manager of a team in the North West once said: "Some people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am very disappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much, much more important than that" And so it is with the eternal derby of Serbia. At least twice a season, to the supporters of both Red Star and Partizan, this fixture becomes much more important! The 143rd meeting on 17 November was no exception, so it was with much excitemnt and a little trepidation that we finally left the comfort of FK Rad's bar and took the 10 minute bus ride down the road to the Marakana. The bus took a slight diversion from it's normal route and skirted past the ticket offices of Partizan. They were ... read more



May The Force Be With You!

Published: November 28th 2012Europe » Serbia » West » Belgrade
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John Miranda
November 17th 2012

The rain had cleared the next morning. Breakfast in the hotel was a lot busier. The weekend had almost arrived and the foreigners were beginning to surface for the big match. A hefty looking German sported his Grobari t-shirt. We worried for his future out in the real world. After breakfast, we went on our own military mission .... back to the Military Museum in the Belgrade Fortress. We skipped the bows and arrows bit and went straight to the sections on the First Serbian Uprising and the First World War. A group of Serbian military were on a guided tour. They seemed oblivious to the temperature and kept their thick winter coats on. An afternoon followed in the Melody Bar. It was meant to be a pub crawl, but we got comfortable. The beer was ... read more



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John Miranda
November 15th 2012

An England Under 21 game. A last minute away victory. Missiles from the crowd. Players fighting. A red card. Coaching staff fighting. Alleged racist chanting and abuse from the crowd towards England players. Arrest warrants issued against a number of English and Serb players and coaches. Hostile rhetoric in the press in England. My cyrillic is not up to scratch or I might find that the Serb press was none too thrilled about it all either. A good time to go back to Serbia then! The usual preconceptions cast aside and doubters dismissed, it was time to get on with my 4th excursion to Serbia. The Man in the Middle is back for his 2nd visit too - last seen checking out a Trabant in East Berlin - keen to get his fill of Derby action. ... read more



The Luxury Gap

Published: November 8th 2012Europe » United Kingdom » England » South Yorkshire » Sheffield
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John Miranda
November 6th 2012

We going to live for a very long time………….. Glen Gregory’s vocals resonate around the 02 Academy in Sheffield. 28 years on, they are back on the road in their home town. It was Penthouse & Pavement 18 months ago. It’s the Luxury Gap tour this time, with a bit of Penthouse & Pavement and early Human League thrown in for good measure. Being Boiled indeed - actually that was earlier in the week at The Roundhouse. The centre of Sheffield still sees Heaven 17 a bit overshadowed by the Human League, 32 years after the split with Phil Oakey. The Park Hill flats still tower over the approaches from Junction 33 of the M1. They have a bit more colour these days with some decorative panels on the front, but are now adorned with the ... read more



Underground Overground

Published: November 6th 2012Europe » United Kingdom » England » Greater London
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John Miranda
November 2nd 2012

There are no references to the creatures of the Common here, but you can hum along to a Wombles tune if it makes you happy. In fact, the blog goes nowhere near SW19. This was primarily supposed to be an East London experience ......... it didn’t turn out that way of course with a, a trip to the Houses of Parliament and the National Theatre on the Southbank. There was also a quick wander round Heals on Tottenham Court Road in search of inspiration for cushions. Yes, indeed ...... another story of which more later. The title was inspired by yet another night out in Shoreditch at the Village Underground. A happening music venue and artists space, complete with 2 old carriages from the Jubilee Line perched on top of the building. I use the word ... read more



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John Miranda
October 28th 2012

Walls have Ears. In Shoreditch they do! Shoreditch - home of the cool people – the Hipsters. We’d seen the new Scottish reincarnation of the Hipsters at the Roundhouse the night before, as Deacon Blue closed their UK tour. Shoreditch where big game roams the walls, if not the streets and the little people can still make an impact at ankle height. We went on a Street Art tour, which was not so much necessarily 2 hours of history and painted walls, but a lesson in opening you eyes to what is around you. Look high, look low, look for the big and small and the unusual. The Alternative London Tour comes well recommended on that well known travel review website and with good reason. It's technically free too, but donations are welcome. People have rent ... read more



Chasing the Dragon

Published: October 15th 2012Europe » United Kingdom » Wales » Cardiff
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John Miranda
October 14th 2012

As you might have read in the Roar to Rio, my record of Scotland 0 was maintained with some comfort for the recent visit of the Serbs to Hampden. The Tartan Army clearly don't hold grudges for too long and my presence at another game was deemed no problem to their prospects of success on the continued rocky road. Whilst my previous incursions into the world of Welsh international football in 2002 hadn't resulted in a victory, it had resulted in me actually seeing them score. Top quality opposition too! Argentina had decided that the minnows of world football - ranked 101st in the world - would make a suitable warm up for the 2002 World Cup. The Millennium Stadium with a closed roof was a perfect replica of the indoor Sapparo stadium, but they hadn't ... read more






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