I’d only been home from my latest Himalayan expedition a few days, before another adventure began. The Kendal Mountain Festival might only last a few days in the eyes of the public, but to the organisers, planning a trip to the moon would be easier. The tsunami of e-mails that my inbox sank under took some sorting, but by the Thursday morning of the festival, I was ready to go.
For almost 20 years I have worked with the press and media. Our relationship has been a happy one, with both sides benefitting – they have their story and I have free PR (and occasionally a bit of money too!) I’d like to share my experiences over a few blogs to help you work more effectively with the them…Read More »Working with the media part I – An overview…
Well it was that time of year again. Time to head to Kendal for the Mountain Festival and volunteer as a presenter. Volunteer you say??? Well, I may be a professional speaker, but there are times when the outdoor community comes together and works together. We all give our time for free for the good of the community, and work harder than any professionally paid staff. Working in engineering, I hear a great deal that ‘Money is the greatest motivator’. If only these people knew how wrong they were. Passion drives people, love drives people, people drive people. And it’s the people I meet at the festival who drive me…
Read More »The Kendal Mountain Festival – backflips, books, slacklines and grand prizes…
I still feel a bit shell-shocked from last nights reception as I write this blog, but I’ll do my best…
I often come home from an expedition and find the doormat covered in post. Many of the letters are full of sales pamphlets, offers and bills, but one postmarked Buckingham Palace caught my eye. I carefully opened the envelope to find a wonderful invitation to the Palace to commemerate Robert Falcon Scott’s fateful South Pole journey in 1911 – 1912.
The Kendal Mountain Festival is the highlight of the climbing calendar in the UK, but for me it wasn’t always that way. I had visited the festival years back and even had my Discovery Channel documentary “Nightmare at 20,000ft” premiered there, but I always felt a little lost. Was it because I was on my own? Or the fact that I didn’t know a soul? Who knows, but it all changed one day on the Hornli Ridge.
September is the month when Balls, Parties and Speaking Engagements return from the summer break. I’ve spoken in numerous schools across the UK with my keynote ‘Once Bitten’ and have a busy few months coming up. My messages of Self Belief, Determination and Turning Your Ideas into Reality seem to be proving popular.