Experiencing a total blackout in Mongolia and being blessed by the Pope in Vatican City are just some of the dozens of travel yarns included in a series of books penned by the rather well travelled former mayor of Eastleigh. 

The latest book by Martin Kyrle from Chandlers Ford, who is about to turn 91, spans seven decades and each evening you will be transported to a different country. 

It's the third in a series of four 'nightbooks', intended to be read one story per night in bed just before you go to sleep. 

Daily Echo: Martin Kyrle's latest nightbook has just been published

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Readers can explore Mycenaean tombs in Cyprus; and learn about volunteering in a refugee campaign in Austria and a workcamp in Poland.

They will find out what it was like to be 10,000 feet above the South China Sea on a flight to Beijing when the pilot announced that one of the engines has failed and, as a midshipman in the Special Branch of the Royal Navy stationed in Malta, being invited to a dinner by Admiral Lord Mountbatten.

Martin's adventures are never-ending and utterly compelling.

He has travelled all over the world, visiting nearly every country in Europe, and loves to explore off the beaten track.

Surrounded by mementoes from his travels, including a lucky sandstone charm blessed by a Buryat shaman living near Lake Baikal, Martin told the Daily Echo: "The stories are intended to be entertaining, it's as simple as that. They're about where I went and what happened to me when I got there. 

Daily Echo: Author Martin Kyrle in his garden in Chandler's Ford

"I've been to Paris several times, but nothing of note happened when I was there. Some of the more remote locations are another story altogether."

Martin's favourite place to visit was the medieval city of Dinan in Brittany, and he hopes his forthcoming trip to Croatia will provide more inspiration for the fourth book in the series. 

Brought up in Clanfield, Martin did national service in the Royal Navy and a degree in History at Southampton University and MA in Russian Studies in Sussex led him to teaching.

He was Mayor of Eastleigh in 1993/94, following in the footsteps of his late wife Margaret, who served in 84/85 and then again in 98/99 after being awarded the OBE for services to local politics.