For the Bohinj area of Slovenia to be regarded as a village is somewhat misleading. There isn't as such a settlement simply called 'Bohinj', with the valley between regional centre Bohinjska Bistrica and the hamlet of Ukanc, translated as 'the end', consisting of several villages including Polje, Ribcev Laz, Kamnje, and Brod. Whilst all of…
Aviation: My 2023 Wish List
To simply use the word 'aviation' is as vague as can be. Furthermore, my ideal scenarios for 2023 in this sector relates to how it affects me, and not the vast majority of frequent flyers. Nevertheless, there are many UK-based travellers who would benefit from my wish list, whilst such a set of hypothetical requests…
Blackpool FC: My 2023 wish list
The following is written without much expectation that any of it will come to pass but for what it is worth, this is what I would like to see take place at Blackpool FC as I enter my fortieth year of watching the often not-so-mighty tangerines: Some humility from the club's owner Simon Sadler, the…
Blackpool FC: Fans voting with their feet as the Appleton Experiment reaps what it has sown
Blackpool 0 Birmingham City 0 - a result that technically stopped the rot but did nothing to suggest Blackpool will get out of relegation trouble, nor that Michael Appleton is the right man for the job. It is only eight months since a then Neil Critchley's Blackpool put six past Birmingham - two results and…
Maribor’s Airport is an asset the region needs to and can fully exploit
As a country Slovenia has incredible green credentials - something which inevitably jars with broadening its aviational connectivity. Nevertheless, the question must be asked - does the country want more tourists, or is it focusing on bringing in fewer visitors who arrive with deeper pockets and are more respectful of their natural surroundings? Each trait…
Pitztal-Oetztal: What it could and should mean for future winter sports projects
The cancelling of a proposed connection between the Tirol's Pitztal and Oetztal valleys has become something of a line in the sand for future 'marriage' proposals between municipalities whose reliance upon tourism and in particular winter sports has become excessive. It was perhaps surprising that opposition to the connection which was to include new lifts…
Relegation or Championship survival, a significant churn of players awaits at Blackpool FC
The four-week enforced cessation of Premier League and Championship fixtures has allowed Blackpool to step back from an appalling run of defeats, several of which were fully merited. It is indeed without doubt that the World Cup came at the right time, with on and off the field issues at Bloomfield Road in need of…
A continued lack of air connectivity is reputationally and economically damaging to Slovenia
It will come as no surprise to those versed with the nuances of Slovenian aviation that talks between the country's Ministry of Infrastructure and low-cost carriers Wizz Air and Ryanair have drawn a blank, facilitating a continued stasis in growth at both Ljubljana and Maribor airports. Despite the outcome being highly predictable it is nevertheless…
Obergurgl must blend ancient and modern to avoid becoming a monotonous tourist village
Overdevelopment of and within the European Alps is nothing new, and by my definition is the excessively intense building of any edifice(s) and infrastructure common to mountainous regions that impacts upon their aesthetic beauty and undermines the very reason they are visited. These may be sympathetically designed and sited or their antithesis, quite simply through…
Wigan debacle brings Blackpool F.C. failings to a head
I have delayed this post for a few days after Blackpool's dispiriting reverse at Wigan Athletic not only to gather my thoughts away from the heat of the moment, but also to see if manager Michael Appleton would be relieved of his duties. One has taken place, the other has not. The DW Stadium debacle…
What Blackpool F.C. must do to retain their Championship status
A topsy turvy first three months to Blackpool's season in the second tier of English football has failed to give any definitive indicators as to whether the club will survive in the Championship. A more volatile set of results in the club's recent history, or even in my 39 years of watching the club, does…
Why you should visit Maribor Porhorje
In the final part of a mini-series of blogs detailing the locations in Europe where I focus my alpine attentions, we turn to the least well known of the areas chronicled, Slovenia's second city Maribor and its Pohorje massif: Pros: One of my trio of stays in Maribor was at the Hotel Orel, perfectly situated…
Why you should visit the Oetztal, Galtuer, and St. Anton am Arlberg
Continuing the theme from my previous blog post, this time around I will be extolling the virtues of several other Austrian alpine settings, which if only given a limited number of places to visit for the remainder of my existence, would rank alongside the Wildschoenau, Saalbach Hinterglemm, Kitzbuehel, and Bohinj (Slovenia) as 'go to' locations.…
Why you should visit Saalbach Hinterglemm, the Wildschoenau, Kitzbuehel, and Bohinj
There isn't enough time left in my life, nor available funds, to venture everywhere in the world where I would ideally like to visit. That isn't to say I presume that death is imminent, nor that I exist on the very brink of destitution, but it isn't unrealistic when reaching a certain age to accept…
How Low Cost Carriers can improve access to Austrian and Slovenian Airports
When national newspapers and travel periodicals post reviews of a particular Austrian or Slovenian resort, or a certain aspect of one such as a new hut to hut trail or multi-peak walk, articles are usually concluded with where the author stayed, and how he or she arrived. Although a London-centric media will invariably seek to…
A Selfish, Misguided, Money-First UK is unsurprisingly Europe’s Most Nature-Depleted Nation
The following is just a sample of the environmental realities in the UK that seeks to justify the title of this blog post: Without land set aside for wildflowers and ground-nesting birds, agriculture in the form it is increasingly taking is one of the main causes of nature-depletion in the UK. Intensive farming, in effect…
Exploiting Climate Change is a Double-Edged Sword
It has been said that Russia's 'Special Military Operation' in Ukraine was the precursor to the UK's energy market heading into a tailspin, exposing a short-sighted eggs-in-one-basket approach that failed to learn from the Kremlin's 'previous' of invading Georgia and in 2014 the Crimea and Donbas. If the West doesn't like Russia's behaviour in Ukraine,…
The Duke of Lancaster ‘fun ship’ -perhaps North Wales’ oddest point of interest.
Ask a sample of the population which sites/sights come to mind that North Wales has to offer most would namecheck Snowdonia, the Clwydian Range, and Llandudno's limestone leviathan Great Orme as some of the region's most notable natural assets. Factor in its numerus fortresses including those dating back to the reign of Edward the First…
North Wales – a coastline of heritage, stunning natural assets, and a microcosm of social upheaval
It is a toss-up between North Wales and Shropshire as to which is my favourite area of the UK. Whilst both share some topographical characteristics and are the seats of wonderful historical buildings (and ruins), the coastline of the former and its varied and eventually steepling hinterland just about gives it the edge over landlocked…
Blackpool FC stand on a precipice as injury crisis as inadequate replacement of star players starts to bite
The transfer window was a painful and protracted experience for Blackpool Football Club. Deals for players with whom they had been linked continually fell at the final hurdle or the mere rumours of certain tie ups alerted rival clubs, who invariably could offer more attractive terms and realistically a greater chance of playing in the…
Alpine Adventures, Soccer, Central Asian Autocracies & Secessionist Politics 
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