Armenia: Soviets and Christians

Hello :) This is an episode I've been meaning to do for about three years, but for mainly logistical reasons, this is the first chance I've had. The original idea came from the lifestyle podcast Sounds Fake But Okay; whenever they get stuck for content they scour the AITA forums on Reddit, and similar content in other places, to highlight allonormativity and generally go 'NTA, dump him'. I figured I could do the same for this pod, but looking at things more travel-related, ecen if there's less content about that. However it's not the sort of episode that works well with just one person as it sounds like I'm just being bitter and ranty. So, my friend V was more than happy to help get involved. Even though she's not an ardent traveller.  Topics discussed in this episode are: * I'm going to South America * Running update * Reclining seats on aeroplanes * Be nice to your flight crew * Yes, you do need to stow your designer handbag * How many photos do you need to take? * How to take a selfie * Does travel broaden the mind or narrow the attitude? * Travel privilege (in brief) * The trouble with defining how to count countries * Do travel bloggers need more accurate visas? * Learned helplessness and weaponised incompetence with travel companions * Foreign Languages * The Bermuda Triangle and Public Information Films * Is 22 too old, or too young, to backpack Europe? A PDF transcript of this podcast is available, largely due to the wonders of open-source AI which saved me several hours of transcription work. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. There are no contributions in this episode, however here's the articles we discussed (assuming they're still up): * Couple banned from Cathay Pacific after seat reclining incident * Passenger evicted from flight following row over handbag * What's the appropriate number of photos to take on a trip? * Traveling the world makes people assholes * Learned Helplessness of my travel companions * Is the Bermuda Triangle still A Thing * Is 22 too old to backpack Europe In addition, I ought to link to: * The Sounds Fake But Okay Podcast * Victoria Pearson's Website Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) I often say "Everywhere Is Interesting", but what do I mean when I say that? What makes a place 'interesting'? Or rather, given any random place in the world, what can make you 'key in' to that location over and above any other? Of course, this could be very personal, or at least subjective, so when I say 'Everywhere Is Interesting', what I mean is that there is something everywhere, in every place, that someone is going to have a connection to, or is related to a hobby or interest that someone has. Topics discussed in this episode are: * Why I was too busy to release this episode on time * A refresher about Hometown Travel * Travel for hobbies and interests * Vicarious travel through music lyrics * Every song and TV series is set somewhere * Travel to film and video locations * Overtourism A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. Contributions in this episode come from: * Amanda, who has a website at Not A Ballerina, * Claire, who blogs at Curious Claire, and * Rebecca, who can be found at Almost Ginger Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) So, despite recently moving out of Salford, I felt it was an interesting enough place to do a podcast about. Partly because 'Everywhere is Interesting' and my VA wanted me to prove it. And what could be more interesting than the location of the world's first municipal public park, the world's first bus route, the world's first street lighting, and the world's only canal swing bridge. And the UK's most polluted river, but let's not talk about that, and anyway the other half of it is in Manchester. Topics discussed in this episode are: * Running along country lanes * A potted history of the Salford area * Salford Central ... isn't * Salford Quays - the posh bit * Canals and Rivers and Bridges and Hotels * Old and Listed Buildings * Peel Park * Vimto * A short overview of Salford Pop-Culture from The Smiths to Coronation Street * Salford Firsts A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. For this pod I've uploaded about 9 mins of extra content all about Salford's pubs, which I thought would make the episode too long for no real advantage, but which I might use in a future episode. Who knows! There are no contributions in this episode, although my VA does purposely misrhythm a song lyric at the beginning. Here, by the way, is my YouTube Short about Salford Lad's Club. Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) Given recent big concert tours, it feels like the right time to do an episode on 'travelling for music'. It's a subject I didn't think I'd have a lot to say about, given I don't often go to concerts even locally, never mind for travels, but the more I thought about it, the more interesting comparisons and contrasts I could find between my trips. Topics discussed in this episode are: * My first concert (Heavenly, 1992) * The first concert I travelled for (Bon Jovi, 1995) * Travelling to Paris to listen to French singers ... * ... three times * You Look Like Taylor Swift * Other ways of travelling for music [This latter point will be expanded and the episode re-uploaded once I get a further contribution] A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. Contributions in this episode come from: * my old schoolfriend Alistair, * Claire, who blogs at Curious Claire, and * Juliet, who can be found at I Am A Polar Bear Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) I've been thinking a lot recently about nostalgia. I mean, I always have, but I think over time my feelings have changed about it. There's so many people who think 'life was better when I was young', and I wanted to probe more into that, into how I felt about nostalgia, why people of my generation tend to be nostalgic, and also put some colder facts around it. I also took a couple of trips recently to the places I grew up in, and it was interesting to compare memories of those places with how those places vibe nowadays. Topics discussed in this episode are: * I have moved house yet again * Music and TV from my younger days * Why nostalgia is different for older generations than younger ones * "The Good Old Days" * 1970s comedy is barely golden * How nostalgia can affect your world outlook * The world is a better place now, statistically * Aircraft safety has improved * Foreign Office Travel Advice from February 1998 * Some things change, some stay the same * The House(s) I Grew Up In * How it feels to go back to a childhood area * Birmingham and La Rochelle - when I tried to be amatonormative A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. There are no direct contributions in this pod, though you do hear the voices of my co-conspirator V, my step-dad, and my friend Sarah, not that one, this is someone I went to Primary School with, and who might well be the person outside of family who I've known the longest - we met at the school gates on our first day. Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) It's been noticed that I've now done 100 episodes. Quite which episode was my 100th is open to question as it depends on your definition of episode - indeed if you don't count the Twitter Space recordings I did with V, I've not got there yet. But, just like with counting countries, there's always going to be arguments either way, and in terms of what my podcast host and the podcast apps say, I've made three figures. So it seems kind of appropriate to acknowledge that. I am aware that one of my Glasgow episodes was 'what I wish I'd known before starting a podcast' and I didn't want to do another episode like that, so instead what I thought I'd do was an actual retrospective of the topics I've talked about in my podcast episodes thus far, so that people who may be new to my words and content can get a feel for the sort of things that I've talked about before. Topics discussed in this episode are: * Vague things I've been up to in the Spring * My most popular episodes * Extracts from my episodes about Uzbekistan, Bucket Lists, Apartheid, and Sexuality while Travelling * My favourite episodes * Extracts from my episodes about Travel Privilege, Influencer Responsibility & Integrity, and Instagram v Reality * Episodes I'm proud of * Extracts from my episodes about The Wars Of The Roses, Do You Have Pride In Your Country, and Travel Podcasting with ChatGPT * Some stats about my podcast and episode downloads A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. There are no direct contributions in this pod, though a couple do appear in extracts. Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) This is part three of an overview of my recent trip to the Caucasus region of Eurasia, and covers the four days I spent in Armenia. I talk about why Yerevan feels quite Soviet, why Armenia and Azerbaijan don't like each other, and the architectural legacy of being the world's oldest Christian country. Topics discussed in this episode are: * Asexuality Interview with an unexpected newspaper * Local Elections * How to spend 7 hours in Yerevan with a backpack * The Yerevan Cascade(s) * The Soviet vibe of Victory Park * Kond Historic District * The Cathedral of Saint Gregory the Illuminator * The Blue Mosque * Monasteries in northern Armenia * Why Armenia and Turkey/Azerbajian don't like each other * The Armenian Genocide Memorial * Food and drink in Armenia * Going home * Impressions of Armenia and being non-binary there A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. There are no contributions in this pod, though I would like to link my appreciation to Envoy Hostels and Tours. Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) This is part two of an overview of my recent trip to the Caucasus region of Eurasia, and covers the five days I spent in the country of Georgia, mainly the capital city Tbilisi. I also talk about far too much cheese and garlic, the worst beer I've ever had in my life,  Topics discussed in this episode are: * Audio quality of recent episodes * Problems when your debit card gets cancelled * Arrival in Tbilisi * First experience with Georgian food * Transport in Tbilisi * The Georgian National Museum * Beer and bars in Tbilisi * Uplistsikhe - the city built into a sandstone hill * Food in Tbilisi * The overnight train to Yerevan * Tbilisi street sculptures * The cable car and the Mother Georgia statue * Being enby in Georgia A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. There are no contributions in this pod, but I do want to provide some links: * Blog post by Wander-Lush on how to catch the train between Tbilisi and Yerevan * The 80 Days Pod about Georgia * Polar Bear Juliet's post about sulphur baths in Tbilisi * Polar Bear Juliet's post on the Chronicles of Georgia * Tales of a Backpacker's blog * Little Lost Travel's blog * Blue Marble Vagabonds' blog * Jon (Everybody Hates a Tourist)'s blog * Jason and Carla (Don't Miss The Plane!)'s YouTube Channel * Traverse Events' Website Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) So, as you know, I've recently been away for two weeks, ostensibly to attend the Traverse Travel Blogger Conference, which this year took place in Tbilisi, in Georgia. I've never been to that party of the world, and it'd always been on my list. I clearly went at the wrong time of year, but that's just what happens sometimes. This is going to be the first of a couple of pods about the trip, and concentrates mainly on talking about the conference itself, the background to why I went, and on my first couple of days travelling, mostly spent in Azerbaijan. Topics discussed in this episode are: I'm not running at the moment The Traverse Blogger Conference Niching out my website Background to my journey 4 flights and 5 airports One day in Baku Mud volcanoes Ancient and mediaeval rock art Fire Temples and Fire Mountains Impressions of Azerbaijan, including money, language, and queerness A PDF transcript will be available shortly. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. Until next time, bye for now. :)

Hello :) It's coming up to Valentine's Day (and Quirkyalone Day), so this feels like the right time to issue an episode all about love, sex, and illicit encounters while travelling. Obviously there's content warnings in here, mainly for, well, sex and kink, but I do always try to keep it quite light-hearted. One might well ask how an AroAce can talk so much about this subject. Well. Topics discussed in this episode are: * Full Swap Radio * Meeting people in backpacker hostels * Dating apps * Why I don't use dating apps but might use hookup apps * Staying safe on the road * Interesting hookups I've had on the road * Good and bad dating app experiences from contributors * Long Distance Relationships * Relationship Admin A PDF transcript of this podcast is available. As always, if you have anything to say about the topic, or indeed about my podcasting in general, leave a comment or let me know. I have a newsletter with extra content, and where I'll be mentioning future podcast episodes if you want to make your own contribution. I also have a Patreon - if you like what you hear, and want to access exclusive content (or just to show your appreciation), then head on over. Contributions in this pod come from: Maja (Away With Maja), Kylie (Between England), and my friend Kitty. Until next time, bye for now. :)