http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/John---Miranda/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from John Miranda en-us Sun, 19 May 2013 07:32:50 +0000 Sun, 19 May 2013 07:32:50 +0000 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 can39t keep Secret So http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Bethnal-Green/blog-772700.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Serbia/West/Belgrade/blog-758879.html As a certain former manager of a team in the North West once saidSome people believe football is a matter of life and death. I am verydisappointed with that attitude. I can assure you it is much much more important than thatAnd 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Serbia/West/Belgrade/blog-754128.html 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 tshirt. 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 th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Serbia/West/Belgrade/blog-756491.html 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Serbia/West/Belgrade/blog-756953.html We going to live for a very long time.. Glen Gregorys 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. Its 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 th http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/South-Yorkshire/Sheffield/blog-752375.html 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 didnt 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 He http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-752374.html Walls have Ears. In Shoreditch they do Shoreditch home of the cool people the Hipsters. Wed 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 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/Hackney-Central/blog-752373.html 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 don39t 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 20 http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Wales/Cardiff/blog-749720.html Dumfries might be the Queen of the South but a number of other towns in the south west of Scotland are not to be outdone by a title. Castle Douglas is Food Town Kirkudbright is Art Town and Wigtown is Book Town. Its all quite refreshing really and a far better aspiration than being the town that has a Morrisons and a Tesco as a motto.We made for Food Town which did in fact have a Tesco at t http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Kirkcudbrightshire/blog-747738.html Queen of the South was one of those mythical places a memory from childhood that only ever came up on the football results on a Saturday afternoon. It was joined by Raith and Albion Rovers. Where was Raith I could not find them on a map Of course I learned as I got older they were in Dumfries Kirkaldy and Coatbridge respectively but I never got any closer until 1992. I can remember it vivi http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Dumfriesshire/blog-746913.html As omens go my attendance at a Scotland International match does not bode well for the Tartan Armys prospects of success. Admittedly they have never had the privilege of my support at a Hampden game. My previous run of Scotland home games dates back to the Ibrox days of 1992 1993 season when Hampden was being redeveloped and the SFA mandarins reached agreement to use the Govan as the http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/Scotland/Lanarkshire/Glasgow/blog-741849.html There is something about the extremity of land that has a compelling draw. Slope Point and Cape Reinga in New Zealand spring to mind as per our blogs from the bottom of the world. The Republic of Ireland was no different. Malin Head is the most northerly point of Ireland. The most northerly point of Inishowen. North of Northern Ireland but its in the South. The compelling draw was big news. It http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Donegal/blog-740571.html It was shortly after 9.30 pm on a wet Tuesday night. Mine host of our accomodation kindly provided a superb drop off and pick you up at the pub service .............. only up to 1am mind or we39d ask you get to get a taxi. This sounded late to a man who specialised in the 8.20 pm bus. It looked like they weren39t planning to call last orders anytime soon then. We entered the bar in the vill http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Donegal/blog-739870.html They say a week in politics is a long time. It stands to reason then that 2 weeks in travel can be an eternity. In early August it was all hustle and bustle and the thrill of London 2012. 80000 in a packed athletics stadium almost half the population of County Donegal . Noise. Excitement. Donegal was therefore the peace and quiet and relaxation. Empty beaches. Fresh air. No more of the trinke http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Donegal/Donegal/blog-739688.html We find ourselves high on a desolate hillside in County Mayo en route to County Donegal. This was no ordinary hill for it is occupied by an airport. An airport that to the uneducated has no obvious reason for being. There is no significant population in the immediate vicinity. The airport has no military significance past or present. It was only built in the mid 1980s. The dream of Monsigno http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Ireland/County-Mayo/blog-737405.html The Lord of the Rings. They might well find this an appropriate name for Sebastian himself after the success of London 2012 the Lord of the Olympic Rings that is. The nation is hooked. The unhappy people spending half of their life in the last minute scramble for the returned tickets might think a different name for the Games Jumping Through Hoops could be a strong bet. After our intial forray http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-735893.html A nightmare of a journey down to London why does there have to be a crash on the M1 on the afternoon of the Opening Ceremony The first of many questions on the Olympic adventure. We had got some tickets for Wimbledon in what seemed like phase 33 of the official ballet but had been applying on and off for others to fit in around the tennis session for what seemed like a lifetime of internet hou http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/United-Kingdom/England/Greater-London/blog-733807.html There was a day to kill before the Eternal Derby. I needed an adventure out of Belgrade for the day. The bus station is an adventure of sorts in its own way. It turned out to be the wrong one. The helpful locals eventually got it through to me that all buses to Smederevo depart from the Lasta bus depot across the road. Time to take my life in my hands again. The delay in finding the correct dep http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Serbia/East/Smederevo/blog-703507.html It was the day of the Eternal Derby. There would be tension in the air. It wasnt apparent as I made my way outside after breakfast. It was just another sunny morning In Belgrade. I decided that I wouldnt stick around in the city to watch the drama unfold ..... at least for the time being. I caught the bus to Ada Cinajila the island playground in the Sava River where Belgrade goes to relax o http://www.travelblog.org/Europe/Serbia/West/Belgrade/blog-696128.html