How many of you in the WordPress community are currently key workers? This isn’t strictly limited to health and emergency workers, I’m talking anyone that cannot work from home. Nurses and doctors, police officers, bus drivers, delivery drivers, bin collectors, security guards, taxi drivers… there is a big list of jobs that qualify.
I ask because I am thinking of doing some posts inspired by those that have to travel to work right now. Learning about life in lockdown for someone that still has to roam the quieter streets and occupy buildings other than their home. On my travels in recent years I have been able to meet people in so many different industries, and I loved sitting down and sharing experiences. There is something fascinating about having a conversation with someone that has a completely different daily routine to yourself. Two worlds colliding and a quick glimpse of another way of life. In fact, I have been speaking to a couple of people that have agreed to share their stories and I am looking forward to posting them, hopefully this week.
It is something different for my blog, I can only ramble on about my life for so long before the same daily walks become all I talk about! I am going to try and find ways to share stories from readers of my blog (both key workers and those of you working/blogging from home) as so many of you have fascinating stories from around the world. And I will of course continue to share my experiences in London throughout this lockdown.
I wonder what the percentage is, I assume the majority of you are working from home? It is also interesting to consider whether the number of blog posts from key workers is higher with the opportunity to blog outside the home, or if working from home (or simply staying home if unemployed/retired/not able to work) is forcing bloggers to keep being creative and putting out blog posts regularly?
Let me know, and I will see you in the comments!
Sam
Due to the Coronavirus outbreak I am somewhat limited as to what I can do in London, but I aim to post as much as I can during this time. I promise to have some great posts coming your way once this is all over as I continue to explore London.
Also, I would love to grow on Instagram, please give me a follow over there as I will have plenty of London shots coming your way. Any help would be amazing as photography is fast becoming a passion of mine. Click here for onechancetoseetheworld on Insta and thank you so much for your support. It means the world to me.
I have one bad habit every new year. Not the typical broken resolution but thinking ahead and forgetting to put the rose tinted glasses on first. Especially if everything in the past year or so has gone fairly well… I cannot help but to ask myself ‘what sh*t will go down next and when will it be?‘.
Where will it be?
You know how every December, TV stations will do an annual recap of the year? Major events that took place, new sports stars becoming household names, new political scandals. Some of these events come totally out of the blue and I find it fascinating that we cannot predict the next unpredictable event, but it’s inevitable.
I find it pretty scary in all honesty. I have always done this, and I remember in particular this being a very dark thought even as a kid. My earliest memory of this was whilst in the back seat of the car with my family, probably on the way back from my grandparents one evening. As a treat on the return journey (I would often get travel sick and they lived a good 40 minutes away) we would get a takeaway to enjoy on a Sunday evening before school the next day. I don’t know why I thought this then, or why I remember it, but we were outside of the fish and chip shop and I thought to myself ‘one day I am going to get very sick and it’s going to feel awful’ in whatever way my internal dialogue would have manifested at 10 or 11 years old. It is one of my earliest memories of self made anxiety and I tell you it hasn’t really ceased since. I like to obsess about the inevitability of something bad happening and the fear of not knowing when.
At the beginning of the year I did genuinely wonder what would be the next major catastrophe or world changing event. When would it be? Who would it affect? Is it natural or man made? Every year there is at least one huge news story. And knowing 2020 would be no different is frustrating as all we can do each and every time is get on with our lives in the hope that it stays at bay for as long as possible. Whatever it is. It is a monster that we know exists but we don’t know what to look out for.
2020 didn’t take long to become movie like. WW3 almost began as my New Years hangover was only just going away and that caused enough anxiety. For the first time in a while I had a reminder that life is fragile and realised that if something like that did kick off, there isn’t really anything we can do but experience it full on. Our individual lives are dictated by things much larger than ourselves and we have to hope that things just stay calm enough for us to live relatively stable lives. And this kind of stability that only some of us experience in the world today hasn’t always been the norm. This is the best time to have existed for so many of us. But it doesn’t mean this is how it will always be.
But WW3 didn’t happen and so far hasn’t. And as we were just calming down a virus decided to take over the world. Invasions don’t always come in the form of armies and is another reminder on top of the reminder that the ways in which our lives can be disrupted are endless. Ways we cannot predict or prepare well for. Ways that cripple businesses that have been around for hundreds of years. I swear if anyone told me that in 2020 a pandemic would spread and put the world on lock down I would be incredibly skeptical. McDonald’s would close its doors.
McDonald’s!!!
Sporting events would halt. The Premier league here in England would be postponed and stadiums would be considered as temporary hospitals. Liverpool are well on their way to winning their first title in 30 years and I wouldn’t be surprised if the virus emerged from a Manchester lab. I’m just saying…
But as this spreads, and as much as it is a killer, we have to see the positives. Hopefully this will be a warning to us all that we have to have solid plans in place for lock-downs in future. The death rate is pretty low in general, obviously it is higher the older we get and for those with other illnesses, but if it was the same danger to everyone the NHS and services around the world would struggle even more. It is bad, but could be a hell of a lot worse too. A virus that truly hits us all and wipes us out completely. As much as this is disrupting our lives it is sobering to think we have still got it good in the grand scheme of things. I remember the White Island volcanic eruption in New Zealand in December, an eruption with power we simply cannot comprehend as humans. It killed over 20 people visiting the island and a sight the survivors will not forget in a lifetime. The eruption caused an ash plume to rise 12,000 feet into the air. I mention this event because it was considered ‘a throat clearing’ in terms of volcanic activity. And I guess this virus, as dangerous as it is, is probably the same thing.
We are very lucky to witness ‘throat clearing’ events, in the sense that they could be so much more. They aren’t enjoyable, they aren’t safe but they aren’t species ending. If I had to have something positive to take from 2020 so far it would be that. It hasn’t ended us. But I hope it fuels a bigger desire to come together and be aware of the more catastrophic events that are possible, and inevitable.
I hope this is a positive post? It doesn’t really feel it now I read it back, but I was trying.
Also for anyone in the UK, at 8pm (20 minutes time!) the population will be clapping out of their windows to thank NHS workers for working hard to fight the virus. I will be doing so. Thanks mum for letting me know.
Hey everyone, over the past couple of days I have been arranging all of the photos I have taken in the two years I have been travelling Australia. I have found my favourites and will be posting them onto Instagram starting August 1st, ending around September 1st. I can safely say it took forever to sort through them, decide which ones I thought were worthy and find the best way to consistently upload so many photos over the course of a month. I aim to upload all of them throughout August, uploading three a day using a scheduling app called Later, created by Instagram themselves.
This app will really help me to go about my blogging and daily duties as my Instagram pictures upload, however I will be on the app regularly as I do really enjoy using it and would love to grow the channel. It is a great site for photography and I look forward to sharing my journey through these pictures.
This brings me onto the next thing, I was going to ask you all for some help… I wasn’t sure how I wanted to upload these pictures. Should I do it chronologically, from the plane ride from London to Australia up to the current day, or in a different style? At first I was planning to upload them in a random order, and this made more sense in a way. As Instagram is focused on photography more than text, date order may not look as visually pleasing. For example if one day was beautiful blue skies and the next stormy, the page would look very untidy or inconsistent, whereas if I added pictures of blue skies together and slowly changed the pattern of uploads to match a drastically different image, this would work much better.
Buuuut, saying that, I went into the uploads folder and sorted the pictures into date order… and it didn’t look bad at all. The pictures flowed nicely and even if one does stick out, I am sure I could play around with the surrounding images a little. I went from not fancying date order to being pretty convinced this is what I am going to do. But I would love to know what you think and if you prefer date order as to appear more of a journey, or in a style that might fit a more visual theme.
I think if I upload three images a day, it won’t be too much. It would allow me to show you all my favourite pictures before I get back to the UK and explore further. I don’t plan to stop blogging, so I pretty much need to get them all on here now so I don’t create a queue for myself once I get back and start snapping more. It will be frantic, like one of those full time Instagrammers, but I look forward to it! What I may do is upload a weeks worth of my favourite shots here for you to look at as well, especially for those of you that don’t have the app.
I just wanted to give you a little update on this as I think it is a nice way to bring this travelling chapter to an end, and remind myself of the places I have been. Thank you for joining me on this amazing journey and I hope you have enjoyed reading about it! I look forward to seeing the pictures I haven’t seen for a while and with that, the memories from those experiences. Two years seems a long time ago but I remember it like yesterday. I remember getting on that flight to Singapore wondering what experiences I would take back with me and I wouldn’t change a thing. By the time the uploads are complete I will have another flight to blog about, London under my feet and Europe on my doorstep.
Until then… here is my Australian travel experience from September 2017- September 2019. I hope you enjoy, whether it is here or on Instagram.
Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!
Welcome to my meet and greet page, inspired by some of the first bloggers I followed. I love that my followers are eager to put their blog posts out there and read posts shared by others, for this reason I have introduced this page and I will keep returning to it regularly. I feel my community is now large enough to provide a page for you to promote your blog and get to know other bloggers a little better.
So with this, feel free to introduce yourself here. Who are you and where are you from? I love the diversity here with such an international blogging audience. Feel free to link your blog for others to read.
New to this page? Welcome!
Already posted here in the past? Feel free to stop by and say hello anytime.
It is going to be hard if not impossible to keep up with comments on here whilst I publish posts around it, however I am constantly on the page looking at all the contributions and I will re-post this regularly to give a better opportunity for posts to be seen.
Hopefully you find a new cool blog to follow and someone feels the same way about yours!
I was recently inspired by a conversation I had in the comment section of a post. It was about the nations we come from and how we can lose appreciation for it, simply because we live there.
It is easy to get bored and if we haven’t traveled, easy to take for granted what we have that other countries don’t.
My example of this was when I moved to the USA. Back in 2010 I had only flown long haul twice, two short visits to NYC with college just before the big move. All my holidays were within Europe prior to this and after living outside of the UK for a whole year I began to realise why people visit the UK. It was hard to think that people would flock to such a rainy nation in vast numbers, but now I understand.
For one, I took our history for granted. The USA is a relativity modern country and is amazing for other reasons. The diverse landscapes and huge modern cities. Amazing foods, movies, music and sports. We often travel to get something we can’t back home. I wanted to live in great weather, watch an american football game and hear different accents when I walk to my local grocery store. That is actually true by the way, when I knew I was moving one of the things I looked forward to the most was going to Walmart and seeing how it was different from Asda. Buying peanut butter and jam and putting it in a sandwich together. Madness, but I’m up for it.
What I realised in this year was how old our buildings are back home and how amazing the architecture is. The high school I went to was 400 years old for crying out loud! But growing up this was a boring fact for me. Even this was relatively modern compared to the castles I have visited and I used to walk by castles everyday. Durham Castle and Newcastle Castle mainly, and many major towns and cities in the UK have one. I know when I am back I will gaze up at them and marvel the design and history instead of seeing it as just another building in the street.
I took the picture below when I was wandering the city centre back in Newcastle. Probably before or just after work as I worked around the corner to the right in a hotel. The picture is of St Nicholas’ Cathedral in the foreground and Newcastle Castle in the background. You can still climb to the top of the castle (with amazing views) and I once had dinner in there during an event.
The little windy streets we have looked a lot more appealing when I went home again 13 months later. The style of traffic lights and pedestrian crossings, with ‘Look Right’ painted on the road for those not familiar with our left hand driving. When we see that our nations designs aren’t universal, they become more unique and we can appreciate them a little more.
And it isn’t just visual of course. The foods, the accents and languages, sports, cultures… everywhere I have been I have appreciated something that I couldn’t get back home. And what makes us unique helps us to understand why people pay for a flight here.
So with this in mind I ask you, what is it you think you have back home that makes people visit? And what do you want to see when you travel to a different country?
I look forward to hearing your thoughts!
Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!
I was looking at the recent featured image of my laptop from my Reddit post, the bright green shell was met with mixed reviews. One person told me it was a great colour, another told me he wasn’t surprised my laptop didn’t get stolen because of the colour. Mixed emotions to say the least.
What’s your verdict?
Also, I think I am overdue another sticker soon, it has been too long. What Aussie themed sticker should I get next? And who knows, maybe your countries flag will be on here soon!
Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!
New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section
Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diaryor follow me @samest89 on Instagram
Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.
I’m rather astounded that most of the countries here are in a certain shade of pink. That means there are only a small number of nations I haven’t engaged with in some way. According to the stats, the number of countries engaged with is 162.
Interestingly the European Union is listed below, so I guess it is 161. I don’t know why sometimes views comes through as the EU instead of a specific nation, I am sure there is a reason for that. And also, there are a couple of places on the list that I believe may be dependencies instead of countries. But the list is fascinating and I am so glad so many nations share their stories on WordPress.
Here is the list, and I was looking through to see the ones I have been to (so far):
Is your country here? If not, you’re my first visitor from your lands!! A few of these nations have given me one view, so thank you for placing your flag upon my blog.
Hello to you all, wherever you may be!
Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!
New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section
Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diaryor follow me @samest89 on Instagram
Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.
I have seen these weird looking pod things recently on my travels in Australia. They look a little alien, and when I remembered that my sister has a strange phobia of things with lots of holes in them, I had to show her one.
She didn’t appreciate that.
This phobia is actually pretty common. It is called Trypophobia and I found this article that goes into a little detail about the fear and possible reasons that we may have it.
I don’t know what this plant is but I have seen it on my walks. It does look a little strange I admit.
Have you seen it before? If anyone knows what it is I would appreciate the name. If not I will have to ask on my next round of souvenir shopping!
Thank you again to all my followers and regular readers, and hello to you if you are new to my blog!
New to this site? Click here to visit my About My Blog section
Want to keep up with my travels? Click here for my Travel Diaryor follow me over on Instagram
Want to introduce yourself and your blog and discover new ones? Click here for my meet and greet page.
If you could take a selfie (or just a photograph in general) from anytime in history before cameras were available, what or where would it be?
I think for me it would be somewhere surrounded in mystery, the Pyramids of Giza, Stonehenge or Machu Picchu. Somewhere where we can only try to imagine what went on during the construction and the ways in which they completed it.
Would it be a place or a building? Would it be next to someone or something? It is pretty amazing to think we have only just left the era in which everything had to be written down for us to understand what went on and what life looked like. Where painting were the closest we got to photographs, and some paintings did a damn good job.
We can now screenshot life as we see it through our eyes without having to memorise it for us to describe later. No replicas or descriptions, the actual view. It is pretty incredible.
Let me know where you would tagged yourself in history if you had the chance.
So at 1am Eastern Australian time, the final game of the 2018 World Cup was played and France won the competition. Congratulations France, a very good team and hardly a shock result. This didn’t make me look forward to my 77th day of farmwork today as I work with a French girl that I knew would be more than happy to boast about it. I also work with her friend, a Belgian girl that beat England to third place the day before. The French girl was more upset she wasn’t at home celebrating with her fellow Frenchmen and women.
I’m honestly happier with our performance at this World Cup more than anything. This was the joint-best performance by England in a World Cup on foreign soil, we ended our penalty shootout curse and made it to the final four.
Also, football helps inspire me to do as well as I can in my personal life. It is times like these that make me realise that I cannot solely rely on others for bragging rights, if I want to achieve I have to put my own effort in. The England players, as well as the players from all 32 teams, are representing a nation but also being the best they can be, making the most of their own lives. Losing helps remind me that we have to be the best we can be and probably have to rely on ourselves if we want to be successful and victorious as individuals regardless of the paths we choose to go down.
But back to the recent tournament. The majority of England thinks that the team did very well and are happy with that. But that doesn’t prevent many people making their voices heard on YouTube videos and England’s social media sites.
‘No one cares’
‘Without the trophy though’
‘At least something came back…’
‘You were lucky to get that far’
There are some very bitter people in the world. It takes effort to be negative online- first, I have to search the page I want to be negative on. That is unless I have already followed the page and get regular updates, which confuses me as to why someone would ‘like’ something or someone in the first place if they prefer to insult. Secondly, I have to hit ‘add comment’, type away and spread a little poison. This procedure takes a little time, enough time to make me think ‘Do I really want to spend my time doing this?!’.
Admittedly I have been a little salty on occasions in my life, and I have been drawn in to respond to people too. Now I refrain from such comments altogether, instead I prefer to let them inspire a new post on my blog. It’s healthier and more productive.
I understand some of the hate, some people get their kicks from negativity for a number of reasons. Some are bitter they may have been knocked out by England, as I’m sure many England fans are and have been in the past. Every country is prone to this. Some see England as a big footballing nation (despite many England fans being more than willing to disagree due to our bad World Cup and Euro record) and take great pride in seeing Iceland knock us out in 2016 and Croatia this time round in the semi finals.
In my opinion, we were much more humble during this tournament than many would think. Yes we chanted ‘it’s coming home!’ endlessly throughout each stage, a song we have sang since its release 22 years ago to no avail. If you haven’t heard it or seen the video, take a look. It’s pretty catchy:
It is a song we sing with great optimism and a little humour. If you asked many people in recent decades if they truly felt it was coming home as they belt the lyrics out in chorus, it would seem apparent that we know we aren’t the greatest football nation to grace this earth. If we are great at something, it is laughing at ourselves. It is a shame British humour doesn’t always seem so apparent outside of the border.
But with this in mind, how many other nations have anthems that actually envision the glory seen by the eight teams that have won the competition in its 88 years of existence? I’m sure a few. Can you imagine any teams chant being humble?
‘La la la la… we may potentially win with a good performance… La la la’.
Not in a million years!
Sport is about competition, and having the belief in winning surely helps it become reality. It doesn’t bother me that nations convince themselves they will be victorious. It’s a football game, not a world war. But then again, I guess I am being over dramatic. It’s only a few comments after all. But it does seem to be aimed towards the more dominant teams in world football. If Iceland’s fans shouted at the top of their lungs how great they are, it is seen as cute. National pride. If it’s a more dominant nation, it is arrogance. I guess that comes with it, everyone roots for the underdog.
But that is what many of us think we are. Underdogs! We never expected to get as far as we did, the hope of winning something that we haven’t won since ’66 has us dreaming but not expecting. We are in that weird place between seeing ourselves as underdogs (not to the same degree as smaller footballing nations of course) and being seen overseas as an overly optimistic country that thinks it is a favourite, when really it is an underdog.
Gary Lineker, former England player and now TV presenter for Match of the Day for the BBC, tweeted a great response to the accusations of England being ‘arrogant’ with the song:
See…
Just having a laugh, guys…Just another laugh, he didn’t really buy a trophy cabinet. I don’t think…
So these are my thoughts on this. Maybe I’m being too bitter myself, it’s only football banter after all and boy did I love seeing our European and South American football rivals leave the competition early. But I wouldn’t bother searching their national teams Instagram to talk shit. If we spent as much time being creative as so many people do being negative, we would all be winners.
What do you think? Do you feel certain nations of the world are seen as arrogant whilst other nations get away with it? How does your country compare and was it in this years World Cup?
As always, I would love to hear your opinion and personal perspective wherever you are.
One Chance to See the World 