Liebster Award nomination by @MrsJosieGrant

Howdy there guys 🙂

I am happy to let you know that I have been nominated for the Liebster Award by fellow blogger Josephine Grant (@MrsJosieGrant).

I really want to thank Josephine for the nomination. She has posted content that I and gotten to know her a bit personally over Twitter in recent weeks. Josephine’s lifestyle blog focuses on life in the workplace and as a parent and childcare responsibilties. I highly recommend you check out her blog via the link given below:

https://www.josephinegrant.wordpress.com/

Again I was surprised when this nomination arrived in my notifications, and I never thought when I started blogging about my travel life back in October last year that my first 10 blog posts will get me two award nominations. That is dope and is a true testament to how supportive the blogosphere is and I’ve been grateful to be a recipient of that support.

At the time of being nominated I was at the Black British Bloggers Travel meetup, which was a sick event. Therefore for me naturally, the nominees will be those special bloggers that I’ve had the honour and delight of meeting and sharing our wanderlust with one, as well as bloggers and writers who deserve more attention for recent content they have provided to the blogging world.

Basically the Liebster award is created for the bloggers by the bloggers. By that meaning it is a way of connecting bloggers across many areas of blogging with one another and bringing recognition and awareness to others. Normally you do a post that allows your readers to get you know you more personally and give you the chance to get to know your nominees on a personal level too by asking a number of questions on the post. Much like the Sunshine Blogger award, and there’s obviously a process when casting your nomination which is detailed below.
The simple rules:

1. Display the award on your blog
2. Thank the person who nominated you and put their link on your blog
3. Write a small post about what makes you passionate about blog posting
4. Provide 10 random facts about yourself
5. Answer all 11 questions that the blogger gave you
6. Nominate 5-11 other bloggers for this award and notify them of this
7. Give the nominees 11 questions to answer

What’s behind my passion for blogging?

I’ve always loved writing when I was younger: whether that be writing poems, thought-tracking when I’m going through some tough times, being an actual writer for a website or a little old-school rap or two. There’s something about putting pen to paper and letters to word documents and doing something meaningful. Before going Uni I was a Motorsport writer but took a break due to Uni getting in the way and I needed to focus on my degree and enjoying the Uni experience. But since graduating I’d been dying to get back into writing in some way, shape or form and that tied in perfectly with my decision to start travelling more often. That’s when the idea of blogging about travelling came to mind, I was a bit hesitant starting at first because I wasn’t sure if I was going to be one committed to blogging but then I thought the quantity of my blog posts didn’t matter and shouldn’t be a competition or something so I took the plunge. As long as my audience are learning something from what I was sharing and I was enjoying writing and travelling when I wanted to and felt like to, I will continue to do so.

10 random facts about myself

1. I have a small crush on Rita Ora
2. I’ve cycled from East London to West London in the space of two hours (Stratford to Hyde Park)
3. I’ve written an autobiography about my secondary school life and growing up and unsuccessfully attempted to get it published
4. I used to be a Formula 1 writer/reporter for ReadMotorsport.com. Shoutout to my guys over there 🙂
5. I co-produced and starred in my own opening sequence to a film and my short film when studying Media in Sixth Form
6. My guilty pleasures snack is custard creams (I never stop when I eat one!)
7. I once went to Wireless music festival on my own (one of the very best experiences of my life – but actually nothing compared to solo travelling lol)
8. My favourite hobby is going to the gym and (I can’t feel good about myself if I’m not living the gym life)
9. I used to work at Wembley Football stadium regularly as a Bartender
10. I have three siblings, three nephews and been to three weddings (so far – and I’m far from being the groom in one at the moment)

My nominees:

Mo (@onthemovewithmo) – Blackgirlandbackpack.com

Char (@char_x0) – Memoirsmusings.com

Jayonlife (@herroyalj) – Jayonlife.com

Paul (@PaulMcG1994) – https://paulmcginleylifeandexperiences.wordpress.com/

Ofai (@NewMan_Everyday) – lifestylegems.com.ng

Annie (@MissAnnieLarkin) – Thenextavenger.com

Michelle (@michk_) – Littletinyhope.com

Liza – spontaneoustravel15.wordpress.com

If you could have one superpower, which one would choose?

Telepathy. It can benefit your mental well-being a lot because you’ll be able to know what a lot of people are truly thinking about certain topics and yourself. A lot of insecurities, particularly in the realm of friendship and dating, can be resolved with that superhuman ability. They say knowledge is power but with being a genuine mind reader power is knowledge.

Do you text more or call more? Why?

I tend to text more due to different schedules and us being constantly hooked onto our smartphones and the social media and instant messaging apps on them means it is easier to communicate with words. Although I do prefer if I spoke to people over the phone so I can gauge their emotions and reactions in a conversation much better. Being able to hear their voice gives you the impression that you are closer to them.

If you were arrested with no explanation, what would your friends and family assume you had done?

I have absolutely no idea lol, I’m a guy that likes to be moral and principled with the way I do things hence why I don’t go looking for trouble and stay out of trouble (unless . The one thing my mum always tells me when I’m off to be around people who are strangers to her is “Don’t argue with anyone”. Maybe by her theory it would be something that might have escalated from an argument in public but as I’ve said I’m not the kind of person to engage in anti-social behaviour. I keep myself to myself when in a conversation with strangers.

What is your zodiac sign?

Leo 🙂 Now that would mean I’ve told you that my birthday is between 23rd July and 22nd August.

What is the most embarrassing thing you have ever worn?

It was a superhero costume that I had to wear for a fancy dress party when I was working at a holiday camp last summer. It was made up of so much foil and I remember having some of it crunched up to make grenades for my weapon belt. So rather than being the knight in shining armour and looking like the black modern version of Sir Lancelot I looked like the head of a recycling centre. My colleague would not let up in calling me a twat because of how ridiculous it looked.

What’s the most ridiculous fact you know?

That chocolate has several health benefits to you.

No joke. *serious face*

Apparently it can effective for reducing stress levels and protects the cardiovascular system; I got this knowledge from the Belgian chocolate museum when I visited Brussels late last year and was so shocked, even more so considering I have a degree in Sport Science. There’s even research to back it up as well:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128112793000215

What was your favourite TV show growing up?

Definitely a sitcom. Most likely a show that had a lot of re-runs so it had already run its course when I started watching it. Probably that favourite show would be Fresh Prince of Bel Air.

Special mentions to Family Guy, Suite Life of Zack and Cody and Eastenders

It’s one of those timeless comedies (Friends is another example) that can have humour that makes you laugh just as well as it did the first time round, especially the ones made by Will, Geoffrey and Carlton but all the characters have their fair share of hilarious (and deep, educational) moments. I have fond memories chilling with my bro in my living room and our shared bedroom watching it endlessly. The Banks family, Will Smith included, were so relatable as characters too and had their own character arcs over the course of the series. It was the perfect escape.

It’s very rare nowadays for TV sitcoms nowadays to have a fine balance between character development and humour, because most of the characters are comic reliefs for the purpose of entertainment and a certain element of their characters needs to stay fixed in order to keep the show as entertaining and enjoyable as possible.

Also whilst I’m talking about the show – R.I.P Uncle Phil (James Avery)

Where do you find meaning in your life?

Most of my meaning in life I would say comes from the sports, TV shows and films I’ve watched when growing up. Not that I haven’t been influenced by my parents or older siblings but I find that the former has shaped my personality on a fundamental level and has inspired me to defy many obstacles put in front of me and is continuing to do so.

What’s your favourite way to waste time?

Swiping through my phone. Hey, we’re all guilty of this haha! Also walking around, just getting my blood circulating.

What is something that is popular now that annoys you?

Unpopular opinion: The mass number of people who have suddenly taken up vegan diets.

Personally people have told me that their main reason behind vegan dieting is to lose weight and have . I am far from being against vegans and weight loss is one of the benefits it brings, but I feel that the growing movement has the potential to become so over-saturated by people jumping on the bandwagon that the identity of veganism (protecting the environment through the removal of animal food sources from their diet) can be in danger of being lost (and being replaced with a materialistic one (e.g. save money). Also, quite a few of the people around me have told me the lack of enjoyment they’ve experienced not having meat on their plate and think they make the switch overnight. A change of habit takes time and work to build into your life.

I’m not saying don’t become a vegan because you want to lose weight (as a qualified fitness instructor I can say a special diet isn’t necessary at all!) but believe in the cause firstly, secondly do the research and decide whether the change is worth it and thirdly, take small steps at a time towards committing to the lifestyle full-time.

What’s your favourite season? Why?

Definitely summer. The better time to go on holidays, when you’ve been in education in some way for so long you’re so used to looking forward to the moment June arrives. The days are longer and people are more inclined to be outside for longer. Generally I feel like the summer, and winter period as well, brings out a youthfulness in people and they do things they used to do in their childhood: guys playing Football in the park, couples having picnics. I’m even tempted to start running after ice cream vans again; I have three nephews so I think it’ll be a good chance to recover that nostalgic feeling with them.

My 11 quick questions to my nominees:

1. If you could be one superhero who would it be?
2. Which recent film have you seen and would you recommend it to friends or other bloggers?
3. Which fictional character would you say is the most similar to you and why?
4. What would be the first thing you would do if you had a TARDIS ( basically a time machine for those who don’t watch Doctor Who)
5. What’s your most memorable travel experience and why?
6. If you had only one more day to live how would you spend it?
7. Pizza or Ice Cream?
8. Which three people dead or alive would you have dinner with?
9. Who is your current celebrity crush?
10. Films or books?
11. What kind of bagel can fly?