With a lockdown impending I've decided I'm to going go through my photos of happier times on England duty and spam you all with them

So, kicking it off for today: Switzerland, September 2014.

Basel and Strasbourg

@NeilRands @OHaraChrisO

Where it all began. Wouldn't change one bit of it. The people I've met, the places I've been, the beers I've drunk. Not one single bit.

Hopefully not too long before the journey continues.

Estonia, Oct 2014. Tallinn + Stockholm. The first of many Air BnBs we've been spoilt with. Highlights of the trip being the Depeche Mode bar in Tallinn, and the overnight ferry playing Celine Dion's 'My Heart Will Go On' as we docked, without a shred of irony.

@Wealdstone_Kit

First game in the wrong end on England duty. Dull game from the little I remember, think Rooney's goal was photographed by @NeilRands

Also the first time I met @Scottharbo @Chatistuta and @positive_ion4. First of many

Scotland, November 2014. Glasgow. First trip to what's become one of my favourite cities in the world. Can't wait to go back.

Don't have many photos, enjoyed it too much. One of the best away games I've ever been to though.

Few days off work cheered us up, but back again now so back to spamming you all

Italy, March 2015. Aosta, Pila, Turin.

Started off, as you do on a football away trip, with a few days skiing in Pila and staying in Aosta. Beautiful place.

Turin was a much nicer place than I expected.

Would've seen a lot more if we hadn't got stuck in the lift of our Air BnB for most of the afternoon.

And, of course, the main attraction (the Shrowd) was closed for refurbishment.

The game was decent for a friendly, 1-1 draw in Juve's new ground.

Remembered more for that video of all of us flicking the V at the Mexican wave, rather than Andros Townsend's worldie.

England unbeaten since the World Cup in Brazil. It's Coming Home.

All the excitement of the Stones last night, forgot yesterday's installment.

I can see why.

Ireland, June 2015. Dublin. Terrible game.

Today's planned installment, however, was a belter.

Slovenia, June 2015. Trieste, Ljubljana, Munich.

Trieste was one of the best places I've visited, beautiful scenery combined with night time carnage.

The piazza saw one of the greatest 5 a side matches of all time. We lost

Ljubljana was another beautiful place, and the game was a cracker, 3-2 win with two Wilshere screamers and a late Rooney winner.

First time I can remember all of our group actually being stood together at the game as well.

Finished off with an overnight train to Munich. There wasn't much sleep involved.

Rolled in at 6.30am, @NeilRands getting dressed on the platform and tramps everywhere.

The only bar open at that time (pic 2) turned out to be quite something eh @Wealdstone_Kit @NeilRands

San Marino, September 2015. Split, Rimini, San Marino.

Uncle Deano's first away. Another beautiful place, first time in Croatia, followed by an over night ferry to Italy.

Dunno how the game was. Don't think anyone really cared.

An all day and night session in the Bounty Bar followed. Like being at a Courteeners gig, the amount of beer flying everywhere

Lithuania, October 2015. Brussels and Vilnius.

Ironic, considering right about now I'd be on my way for yet another trip to Brussels.

And it was this first one which msde me fall in love with the place. No where better for a drink.

The scenes in Delirium that night

We won again. Making it 100% in the qualifiers. All plans for the Euros next year now begin. It's Coming Home.

My last game in the wrong end as well. Took about 37 seconds of the game for the storm troopers to come piling in.

Spain, November 2015. Alicante.

A messy, messy trip but a lovely town from what we saw of it.

Our first loss since Brazil. Although with the Arsenal hat on, seeing Cazorla play was a treat.

Remember all the Spanish booing Pique as well, which was funny.

That's 2015 over.

Other sporting highlights:

-Darts at Ally Pally
-First visit to Cheltenham
-Seeing England lift the Ashes
-Second FA Cup Final in a row

Here we go @Wealdstone_Kit

Germany, March 2016. Berlin.

We've had some crackers but this will be very difficult to ever top. And the football didn't even ruin this one.

Spent a week there and still had plenty left to see. A city steeped in history.

It was also the perfect location for us to shoot the cover for our debut album.

And the game. Insane when you think about it. 2-0, wonderful goals from Kane and Vardy and then that header from Dier. Limbs were insane.

Celebrated with a session long into the morning. In an off licence that was also a pub and a fast food restaurant at the same time.

It was also TM's 50th to make it even better. Here was the beautiful cake we got him.

Brilliant trip, one that looking back has made me missed it so so much.

A slightly cheeky one today as it's going to take me the whole weekend to go through photos from the Euros.

Sunderland, May 2016. Euros warm up v Australia. Edinburgh, Sunderland, Durham.

We also did Manchester the weekend before but don't have any photos.

A great night in Edinburgh followed by the game at Stadium of Light.

The real highlight was the test match at Durham the next day.

These lads dressed as chickens popped up absolutely everywhere. Kept us very entertained.

The night out in Newcastle afterwards was a let down

Here we go then, the big one.

Euro 2016, France.

Part 1 - Bastogne

We worked out in our planning session the Windy that we could visit the place featured in Band of Brothers, where part of the Battle of the Bulge took place.

So we set off in 'Elvis' (once we got him going)

It was a staggering and haunting start to the trip.

So much history in the place.

Highly recommended to anyone who's seen Band of Brothers. Or just likes history in general.

Particularly the woods overlooking Foy, where the foxholes and craters left by shelling are still preserved.

To walk where these men sat in the freezing cold, bombarded night after night, was breathtaking.

It was the perfect way to start the trip, before the debacle that would follow in the football

Of course, we managed to sink a few Belgian beers along the way

Part 2. Football

First up, a trip to Marseille for a 1-1 draw with Russia, overshadowed by the carnage you're all well aware of.

Followed by another all nighter in Aix-en-Provence. We all fell asleep somewhere along the high street. Also turned Dean's phone to Chinese.

Then to Lille (via Valenciennes) for the 2-1 win over Wales.

The only football highlight, but what a one it was.

Although the worst ever experience I've had getting in a ground.

France qualified the night before too.

On the way to St Etienne, Elvis gave us all a good scare as we had a blow out on the motorway.

I don't think we truly appreciated it at the time, but we got very lucky. Could've ended very differently if it wasn't for TM's brilliant driving.

Stopped off in Troyes after.

So, St Etienne (via Lyon) to play Slovakia. Momentum with us after Wales, and Roy makes 6 changes. A dull 0-0 followed.

@MAPhillips2010 joined us for this game, including at our beautiful remote campsite, where we managed to have a game of footy, a swim and some Elvis karaoke.

We were through, all that mattered.

Iceland in Nice. Sounds perfect.

Started well. @NeilRands birthday, beautiful scenery, seeing Tyson Fury get wankered all over town.

Even met up with @JeremyAlbert20.

Not to be. A horrific night as the dreams came crashing to an end.

Part 3 - Monaco

After a day of moping about, we had to decide whether to go home or carry in the trip.

Thank god we did the latter.

Short train down the road to Monaco, and it was quite something.

A must visit for anyone in my opinion, just to walk from the top of the hill down to the sea.

And take in the track at the same time.

Unfortunately we didn't let Elvis have a spin at it. After his earlier mishap, we didn't fancy his chances up the hill.

Part 4 - The Journey Home

After Monaco we slowly headed back north.

Two major highlights: Firstly, stopping in Orleans for the Lemon (Deano's) birthday. The nicest place we visited. There was even a Delirium.

The second highlight was visiting Le Mans.

Walking around the track and then visiting the brilliant museum on site.

Part 5 - Normandy.

One of the most important historical sites, barely even mentioned in education.

We spent a week from sunrise to sunset going around and still didn't see everything.

I could've posted all 443 photos I took. But I think just the one is more befitting.

I'm sure you'll be delighted to read that, with lockdown nearing conclusion, I've decided to save the 2016-2018 glory years for the inevitable next lockdown in the new year.

So, lockdown has been in effect for three days, which means three trips!

First up. Slovakia, Sep 2016. Brno and Bratislava.

Bratislava was another cracking place for a cheap drink, and featured one of my favourite photos @NeilRands @Scottharbo @positive_ion4 @Chatistuta

Also featured my favourite 'lost in translation' photo

The start of Big Sam's reign. Start as we mean to go on, a dull 1-0. Last minute goal was good limbs though

Brno was a cracking place to finish. Good drink up and a lovely view from the top of the castle

Next up, Slovenia, Oct 2016. Ljubljana.

Same as before really, except we went to Lake Bled this year, which was stunning.

The start of the Southgate era.

Again, start as we mean to go on. 0-0. A classic. Justice for Allardyce.

And finally, a new year. Germany, March 2017. Dortmund.

Germany is always great, but Dortmund was fairly dull. Apart from the excellent football museum.

The game? We lost 1-0, all I remember.

We were so far away, I couldn't tell the difference between Jesse Lingard and Ross Barkley.

And I was very drunk

Another double header today, still getting back in the swing of it

First up, Scotland, June 2017. Glasgow.

Always worth a trip to a brilliant city. Even took in a bit of culture at the Kelvingrove museum.

The game was one to remember. A 2-2 draw with Kane grabbing a last minute equaliser at Hampden.

Next, France, June 2017. Paris.

One extreme to the other. One of my favourite cities, to my least favourite.

Great to look at, but ultimately an over priced shithole.

Got to see the Mona Lisa, but I seem to remember being far more concerned about following the cricket.

The game?

Not a clue, the only time I've done a 'Villa Tony' (picture included) and not bothered. Getting in was such a hassle, we gave up and watched in a bar round the corner.

A long one today. But worth it for probably my favourite non tournament trip.

Malta, September 2017. Brussels, and pretty much the whole of Malta.

Any excuse to go to Brussels for a drink, so naturally that's where the trip started.

Malta was just beautiful. Delighted we got to spend a full week there, and can't recommend highly enough to anyone.

A place steeped in military history, so for buffs like us there was plenty to see!

And even more so if you're plane geeks!

Malta was also used for the early filming of Game of Thrones.

Mdina was used for King's Landing I believe

Apparently there was some football going on though.

We won 4-0, and I think we managed to miss every single goal

However, we definitely didn't miss any goals at the Maltese FA Trophy double header we went to watch for some unknown reason.

Finally, a tale we tell many times.

T20 finals day. From breakfast to closing we sat in the same bar, watched all 3 games, ate and drank the bar dry, and somehow only spent 50 quid each.

What the locals must've thought of everyone singing Sweet Caroline and Suspicious Minds

Lithuania, October 2017. Kaunas and Vilnius.

Changed it up this time, starting in Kaunas. In my opinion a much better city than Vilnius.

Got to be a plane geek again as well!

I actually had to google the score of the game

Apparently, we won 1-0.

It was wet @NeilRands

Holland, March 2018. Brussels and Amsterdam.

New year, the World Cup in Russia is around the corner.

Started in Brussels, of course. Don't have many photos, too busy drinking.

So here's one of Lance probably shouting at me for something.

Terrible game, won 1-0. Brilliant ground.

What proceeded is stuff of legend. A couple of quiet pints in Zaandam turned into a lock in, and us missing our flight to see @WealdstoneFC FA Trophy semi final.

Thanks to @NeilRands we still made it, somehow.

Leeds, June 2018. Costa Rica.

The last warm up game before the big one.

A trip to Elland Road followed by a night in the Stone Roses bar. What could possibly go wrong?

Busy yesterday so missed the installment. No double header today though, as it will go on for bloody hours.

It's the big one. Russia 2018. The World Cup.

We missed the first two games, so here's a photo of me and Deano from @NeilRands birthday, the night before we set off (the day we beat Panama).

The wine was a pub quiz winning prize. We remain undefeated there since.

We set off with an almighty hangover the next morning, for a couple of days in Kaunas (the Belgium game was in Kaliningrad, bordering Lithuania).

A great start with @NeilRands @Sam75600 and Maidment

We bid our farewells to those two and set off on the train to some tiny border town before boarding the overnight train from Moscow to Kaliningrad. Absolutely no one knew what was going on, but somehow we met up with @positive_ion4 and Villa Tony.

The beer never tasted so good.

Kaliningrad was probably a good place to start, as everyone spoke Russian but the place felt like Germany.

Still a hell of a culture shock. But after buying a Russian sim card (somehow) and downing a couple of takeaway beers in brown bags, we found the digs and got started.

It was quite a stressful start, but despite the obvious cultural differences, the majority of the locals were exceedingly friendly, and not what I expected.

Anyway, a good drink was required. After a marshrutka (never again) into town, we all met up with @OHaraChrisO in town.

The next day was game day. A 1-0 loss to Belgium didn't dampen spirits. We were already through, and I got to see England playing at the World Cup. It's hard to put into words quite how I felt that day.

I think @NeilRands World Cup peaked when he met @JacquiOatley as well!

We were off and running. Back to our new local before flying to Moscow the next day...

So. Time for Moscow.

Just getting off the train from the airport, you knew the place was a bit special.

We checked into the shitty hostel and went for a walk round the place. It was simply breathtaking.

We were approached by a young lad, instantly thinking he was flogging us something. He came up, asked 'English', and then 'football team'.

We said Arsenal, he whipped out the Russian match attax and gave me this card, then got his mum to take a photo.

It set the tone

Even managed to find a pint of Delirium Red

Next day, before we checked out of the hostel and into the new digs.

Somehow @NeilRands did a park run (and met @rachelburden) after what must have been 2 hours sleep

It was the Royal London cup final, so we took a walk around Red Square in the day before settling down in the John Bull pub to watch the mighty @KentCricket

We lost the cricket sadly, but later on France beat Argentina, and as a result, the greatest photo in existence was taken

The next day we did a tour of the Metro stations. They're every bit they are cracked up to be.

In the evening, it was Russia beating Spain. The scenes on the streets that night were like nothing I've seen before.

Following that, we did the Moscow zoo in the blazing sun, followed by the fan zone for the Belgium game.

Not a fan zone person in general, but if you're gonna do one, do this one.

It's now the reason we're here. Game day. Up early for a walk around the grounds of the Kremlin, and seeing Lenin's embalmed body. Not your usual pre match vibe.

Onto the game. I was a bag of nerves, I really didn't want to go home.

I went through every emotion possible that night. @NeilRands got his wallet pinched, Kane's pen, shit ref, last min equaliser, extra time, and then pens.

Simply incredible. So lucky to be there.

We drank long into the night.

We figured out plans for Samara, and met with @Cutty70, who was joining us.

A walk around Gorky Park before we left, and then began the journey east.

The party continues.

Samara.

A very bizarre place to arrive into. It was closed city until the end of the Soviet era, as it was the space hub of the USSR.

But what an beautiful city it was.

Day before the game it was a double header in the fan park while watching @KentCricket v Surrey on the phone. @joed1986 got 100 and a hat trick and we won.

A very messy evening of which I remember very little.

It was a struggle getting up for game day, but we did, and what a day. 2-0 win against Sweden, and we were in a World Cup semi final again. Certainly took a while to set in.

A cracking night of celebration was had in our new local pub. They took incredible care of us.

Managed to meet up with @peterwealdstone too. Think this photo was taken on leaving the pub

We had one more day to check out the space museum, as well as a cider bar (wtf?), before heading back to Moscow.

Don't take me home..

So, back to Moscow. England are in a World Cup semi final. The buzz is incredible.

Villa Tony came back out to meet us. We did a bit of tourism, but mainly drinking.

With an almighty hangover, we set off for a walk around Red Square and a few beers to soak up the atmosphere.

On the train to the game, the locals were handing out these chocolates to England fans. It was incredible. Everything we were warned about Russia couldn't be more wrong

The game was another emotional rollercoaster. But after the initial despair, the sense of pride in what we'd watched was incredible. Tears were shed, beers were drunk. Some night.

After some deliberation, we decided we would carry on and head to St Petersburg for the 3rd place.

On to St Petersburg. Once we got over the disappointment, we treated the last leg of the trip as a celebration, and I'm very glad we did.

I pulled on the first night too

Wasn't a big fan of the city. As beautiful as it was, it felt far more European than anywhere else, which reminded me I had to go home soon.

Did manage to find the greatest cider in existence mind you.

The highlight was definitely the boat trip to Peterhof Palace. Absolutely stunning.

The game was irrelevant, but still a good day out none the less, and a brilliant stadium again.

The highlight of the day was meeting the 'Southgate lookalike', or Neil as we now know him. One pint turned into an all day session. The scenes at the ground were just surreal. What a brilliant lad he is.

So, that was it.

One last night in Moscow, and an afternoon in Vienna (featuring the most disgusting pint of all time), and we were home.

The greatest 3 weeks of my life. I am so fortunate to have been there, and I miss it an awful lot.

Thank you @NeilRands