My New Book: 💚STARO🌟GARD🏰GIRL🩷👱‍♀️Is Released

“Maybe one day you will make my hometown famous ” – St🌟rogard🏰Girl🩷👱‍♀️.

After years of delay, I finally can bring you my latest book, 💚STARO🌟GARD🏰GIRL🩷👱‍♀️. Starogard Girl is Volume 2 of my This Is The Next Century series, which is about my backpacking journey from country 100 to country 200. This specific book, Starogard Girl tracks my journeys from May 2016 (though references back November 2014) until December 2017 (with a slight overlap into January 2018). It was a burden off my shoulders, and this was actually finished in July 2024 in the city of Starogard Gdanski itself, in the Browar Stary Rynek, photo below of the final edits…

Buy Starogard Girl on Amazon (available now – since October 2024)

Buy Starogard Girl on Lulu (available now but on a premium price since August 2024)

💚STARO🌟GARD🏰GIRL🩷👱‍♀️Book Description

Starogard Girl is a book by Jonny Blair that mixes poetry, travel, and a personal love story. It centers around a girl from Starogard Gdański, a town in Poland, whom the author encounters during his global travels. This mysterious figure has a profound influence on his life, shaping his adventures. The story incorporates travel experiences from places like Senegal and France, and features unexpected twists. Blair’s narrative is infused with suspense, drawing inspiration from various cultural influences and his own Northern Irish background.

Below is the book description from the cover.

“Drowned in love and false kisses. A gathering of no meaning” – Richey James Edwards.

Starogard Girl is a poem, a song, a story, a book and a person! On Jonny’s journeys he encountered the famous to infamous “Starogard Girl”. She, perhaps unknowingly, was to influence his journeys ever since. Hailing from the calm Kociewien capital city of Starogard Gdański, the Starogard Girl came and went into Jonny’s life with fleeting charm, wacaday aplomb and free spirit.

“Egg is jajko; and apple’s jabłko. A travel writer who fell in love with; a Starogard Girl. She’s a Starogard Girl” – Jonny Blair.

As Jonny backpacked hardcore through far flung places like Senegal, Kyrgyzstan and France, something was waiting and missing. This was his Starogard Girl, who was lying in wait. A cycle tour, a Slavic kiss and a spate of unforeseen lies were to follow. This story has more twists than a Hercule Poirot thriller, gaping suspense borrowed from Alfred Hitchcock with that added Northern Irish charm sucking down influences from Belfast’s George Best to Starogard’s own Kazimierz Deyna.

When the sun goes down tonight, where is Jonny’s Starogard Girl?

“Maybe you will make my untouristic town famous” – Starogard Girl.

💚STARO🌟GARD🏰GIRL🩷👱‍♀️Chapter Listing

These chapters took a lot of editing, chopping and changing – some were finally omitted.

I’m still not satisfied this is correct, but this is the final chapter listing and it is published now.

Chapter 190 – Starogard Girl (Chapter)

Chapter 191 – Backpacking In Lovely
Chapter 192 – Everton Away
Chapter 193 – Growing Up With War
Chapter 194 – Dhaka To Dakar
Chapter 195 – Kachikally Catchy Kissy
Chapter 196 – Slight Return
Chapter 197 – It’s A Corker
Chapter 198 – The Kiss Eye No
Chapter 199 – Green Gherkins
Chapter 200 – The Monaco Bars
Chapter 201 – McGinn’s Our Tonic
Chapter 202 – Paris Prolongation
Chapter 203 – Fabrique Belgique
Chapter 204 – The Dam She Won’t Say No
Chapter 205 – Flirty Gdańsking
Chapter 206 – My Special K
Chapter 207 – Small Part Of Russia
Chapter 208 – Starogard Boy
Chapter 209 – Starogard Girl (Poem)
Chapter 210 – Tczew Travel Tips By Maggie
Chapter 211 – Suicide Bid
Chapter 212 – Disturbia
Chapter 213 – Mister Sarajevo And Miss Mostar
Chapter 214 – Nothing To Crow At
Chapter 215 – The Drugs Won’t Work
Chapter 216 – A Slow Bus To Kuklówka
Chapter 217 – Teaching English In Poland
Chapter 218 – Northern Irishman In Poland
Chapter 219 – Five Weddings And No Funeral
Chapter 220 – The Last Plane Out Of Hong Kong
Chapter 221 – The Red Hero
Chapter 222 – Lonely Prison Walls
Chapter 223 – Backpacking In Popeye
Chapter 224 – Whackpacking The SMOOM
Chapter 225 – Checkpoint Charlie
Chapter 226 – The World’s Smallest Kingdom
Chapter 227 – She’s A Nazi
Chapter 228 – Reefer This Side
Chapter 229 – Western Sahara
Chapter 230 – Peeler Car

💚STARO🌟GARD🏰GIRL🩷👱‍♀️: The Song

Starogard Girl is also a poem and a song – I wrote them all on the same theme. The finished version of that isn’t quite here, but here are two early demos of it…