To see photos of the launch, click the image above, or here
Being There – Travel Diaries 1970s-1980s, was launched to a packed house at Dublin’s favourite independent book shop, Books Upstairs on 15 October 2023. Following a cold snap,the afternoon was sunny and warm, creating a very special ambience as authors Jean and John Dillon read from the book. Being There takes the reader fondly back to the days of pre-millennium travel, when getting there was achieved with the use of maps and signposts, as opposed to pings and notifications. Jean and John both kept daily diaries and notebooks recording their travels, an and being there was recorded in a daily journal. Whether for leisure or scholarly pursuit, Jean and John bring us to North America, Mexico, Europe, Hawaii, Israel – and most fondly of all, perhaps – to Greece. The diaries are frank, witty, and always entertaining. They represent the first sortie into travel writing for the authors.