10/9/2022 0 Comments Find Your Zen ZoneWhile travelling the world on your lonesome, you might find that it all becomes a bit overwhelming. You miss your friends, family or environment. Or, more often than not, a combination of the three. You might need some time to recharge your social battery (even I need to do this sometimes!) or take time to ponder what an utter shit-show your life is (I definitely need to do this). The above is what makes it important to discover what I like to call your 'Zen Zone'.
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9/9/2022 0 Comments Victorious Festival - New Allies, Slinging Fries and Cutting Ties (With Normality)
Nestled right at the heart of the city of Portsmouth, Victorious Festival is a new kid on the block having only been in action for 10 years as of writing. Starting as Victorious Vintage Festival, it's grown in size and stature into the beast that it is today. Initially, the festival was host to a mere 35,000 people. In 2022, it has grown to over double that, with nearly 80,000 in attendance.
This all started on a (albeit too) sunny day at Boomtown Festival in Winchester. It was 34 degrees Celsius, one of the hottest in history, and I was dancing my ass off at the front of one of the main stages to an artist named Dub FX, one of my favourites, and was having the time of my life. Next to me I spotted a wacky looking group of individuals having the time of their lives also, and so I joined them. We larked around, dancing erratically in the hot sun and soaking in the blissful vibes found at music festivals. After the set had finished, I spent a day with Leo, a shockingly fun individual without a care in the world - apart from building sound systems having a good time. I discovered quickly that he was a part of the festival food scene, and spent his summer hopping from festival to festival with a vegan food stand, serving up grub and partying the nights away. I enquired about the chances of getting involved, and as simple as that, I was in. The following week they were headed to a festival in Portsmouth, on the South-Coast of England, which boasted one of the best line-ups I've ever seen. I was determined to go, and following Boomtown I bounced back and forth, trying to find ways in which I could attend the festival proper, albeit unsuccessfully. 8/21/2022 0 Comments A Love Letter To BoomtownI had the astute pleasure of attending Boomtown Fair, Chapter One: The Gathering in Winchester, United Kingdom in August 2022. That week was one of the best weeks of my life. Thank you to everyone that made Boomtown as stupid, wacky and special as it was. I love you all ❤
Following the absolutely earth-shattering spectacle that is Boomtown Fair, I wrote A Love Letter To Boomtown. Please let me know your thoughts in the comments below! 8/21/2022 0 Comments A Night In The Cells Pt. 2Welcome back to The Lonesome Wanderer's adventures through the English criminal justice system. If you haven't yet read the first part that details my heinous crimes and high-octane arrest, make sure you go back and read this first else you'll be lost and confused.
If you're all caught up, hello there, welcome back, gripped and eager reader. You left me as the heavy iron cell door clanged shut, echoing profusely and wailing down the corridor like a violent shudder of sadness. It was akin, in fact, to the shudder of sadness that ravaged it's way through me. Its a funny thing being in the clink. There is an unshakeable sense of impending doom that tells you you are going to prison for the rest of your life and there ain't a damn thing you can do about it. Having your freedom taken away from you is truly awful. You have to ask to eat, ask to drink, ask for toilet paper, ask them to turn the light down. It really sucks. you feel inhuman, and it's no wonder why those that have done long stints in jail turn into such animals. 8/6/2022 0 Comments A Night In The Cells Pt. 1Now this is a different tone, isn't it.
Recently, I had the astute pleasure of spending a night in the old bill hotel, otherwise known as Holborn Police Station. It's a funny thing being arrested in broad daylight in the middle of Oxford Street, London. Something about the thousands of shoppers wandering up and down, aimlessly meandering amongst the sprawl of high end stores and fashion boutiques adds to the embarrassment of it all. Such a calm and unsuspecting scene, sliced down the middle by a sheepish looking Lonesome Wanderer being herded into the back of a bully van by four fully armed Metropolitan Police Officers. At 5:30 on a Thursday evening no less. Now I'm sure you're scrambling for your wits and questioning your very eyes. "Sorry WHAT!? You got nicked!?". And the answer is yes, yes I did. Read on to find just why I did, and how bizarre and introspective I found the situation to be. 7/27/2022 2 Comments Paint Your Front Door YellowI recently came out of my home office (read: my bedroom) to my darling Mother standing in the hallway, beaming at me and exclaiming that she had just bought some yellow paint for the front door of her new house.
She had this mad grin across her face that was just infectious, and I was instantly on board with the idea. A bright colour for a bright household - Excellent! My Mum explained to me that she had read countless forums and articles about which colours to not paint your front door, no doubt written by poncy troglodytes and wanky home design experts, in which the colour yellow featured in pretty much every list. 7/23/2022 1 Comment A Night at The BoxingSitting in the bath an hour and a half before doors open to my evening's entertainment: a bunch of builders, accountants and chavs beating the shit out of each other for a good cause.
I'm still hungover from last nights lonesome shenanigans in the blues bar in Soho, followed by drinking, singing and dancing by Canary Wharf docks to watch the sunrise with my cousins at 5:30 in the morning. 7/5/2022 0 Comments 5 More Rules For Solo SuccessFollowing the overwhelming response to my previous post, How to Cope on Your Own: 10 Rules For Solo Success, upon reflection I identified another 5 rules that drive oneself to becoming comfortably lonesome. In addition to the 10 rules mentioned previously, the 5 found below, once put into practice, learned and mastered, are crucial on the road to self discovery, self love, and with a little bit of magic, happiness.
As identified in the precursor to this colloquy, happiness is the driving factor in travelling the world successfully solo, while actually enjoying it. Becoming happy overnight is an impossible ask, but with these tools in your hypothetical toolbox, you'll be well on your way to achieving it. Thank you for taking the time to read this, it means a lot to me that so many of you have found my posts to be useful. Drop me a hello in the comments box, I'd love to hear from you! Enough of the soppy shit now, you're here for rules and rules you shall have! You might be thinking, what the hell is this guy talking about? He's ranting and raving about his travel blog and all I'm getting is crappy life advice and not-so-witty captions.
I want to clarify, humble and wholesome reader, this is a travel blog! However, there are some really important points that one must address when making such a huge change as to live the 'Travel Lifestyle'. One of these is to find your true purpose. What your purpose is exactly doesn't matter. What matters is that day in, day out, you are pursuing a life that you want to live. In finding this answer, you are led towards that magical fairy dust known as Happiness, which then opens the door to a world you never knew existed, a world in which you can travel with a sense of purpose. So, where do we begin on this journey to the 'Travel Lifestyle'?
As a solo explorer, the very first port of call is learning how to cope on your own. Loneliness can be a dark and desperate place, regardless of whether you're sitting in a damp basement flat with thick black curtains in the suburbs of Brighton, or sipping piña coladas on a beach in Maui, surrounded by crystal clear oceans and white sandy beaches (although the second scenario makes it a hell of a lot easier to manage!). |
AboutThe Lonesome Wanderer is a blog dedicated to all things solo travel, including the philosophical and introspective aspects involved with being on the road alone. More Posts
September 2022
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