Where did I get my inspiration?
So at the end of last summer I went on a camp out to Arundel, where I met some really amazing people. I believe the universe has a plan for us all and somehow my path was supposed to cross with these people at that time. I had already chosen to stay in the UK for the summer and wanted to use that time to finish up my plan to shake up my life.
So on the Friday I set off for Waterloo station to meet these random people I didn’t know under the clock and then travel to Arundel. I should say (for those of you who don’t know) that Dave Cornthwaite was the brainchild for these campouts, as he wanted to meet his Facebook friends in the flesh and gather like minded people together. My friend Fiona Trowbridge from the Isle of Wight had also posted a week earlier about another campout she had attended to Hadleigh Castle, which I could not make. So having read about her experiences I was really looking forward to the weekend ahead of me. We set off on the train and chatted away to each other introducing ourselves and playing silly quizzes (which I’m always really bad at – never invite me on your quiz team, as my brain doesn’t work under pressure). I soon discovered that some of the group had attended these events all summer, some had been before and others were new like me. We walked out the station and headed off to our spot via pub for a well earned cool drink and then climbed the small chalk escarpment to reach our spot. Spectacular chalk downland with views down the valley and the castle in the distance. We then played frissbie, flew a drone camera, had a lovely picnic and then when it finally got dark turned the game into glow frissbie and glow photography! The camp out was really good fun and everybody was really friendly and had stories to share about adventures, rather than what job do you do etc. However, what made it so great was getting to know a few of the people a little better by hearing their stories; there were three that stood out for me on this weekend. Rob Small, Adam Sultan and Terri Witherden.
Rob Small (top left) is a larger than life character, who escaped his burning house out in Zanzibar in 2010 where he was a diving instructor. His story is very inspirational in that he had severe burns, which many would not have survived and despite not being given the correct treatment until he was transported back to the UK days later, he survived. He is now in preparation for a journey to complete Shackleton’s unfinished journey to the South Pole, where he will test his body yet again to the limits, but this time he will be monitored to aid medical research. Rob is extremely humble and I felt privileged to hear his story. Check out his website below.
Next up is Adam Sultan (top right) who had quite literally finished a cycle from Lands End to John o’ Groats solo and unsupported, before heading out for the weekend camp. Not only had Adam completed his ride for Macmillan Cancer Support, he was also progressing well through his 15 in 15 Marathons for 2015! In fact when we returned to London Waterlooo, he ran off with Mirko to get another run in that night! Adam though was not content to stop there and had been thinking about what his next challenge would be. He wanted to bring even more meaning to time and was going to introduce the concept of ‘Lifeyears’ where we each set ourselves some goals for each year. I never go around to publishing mine, but my 2016 Lifeyears, were based around the concept of helping others succeed in their adventure plans and I have been doing this in a variety of ways. I’ll explain more later on. I just want to finish off about Adam; well not content on doing 16 in 16 this year, Adam set off a few weeks ago on a round the world bicycle tour called #RideTheWorld. You can follow him on Facebook or on his website.
Lastly, is the lovely Terri Witherden (bottom left). Now Terri is just a wonderful person, very humble like Rob and Adam, but what I really liked on meeting her was how welcoming she was and that she wanted me to have a really nice time. She’s a people’s person there is some sparkly magic about her. Terri had even baked for the occasion – even if it was with bugs! But her flapjack was really nice – if not a little crispy. For those of you reaching for your sick bowls. If we all ate bugs, then we could solve some of our food issues across the world.
Since meeting Terri, we went to run with Elise Downing (https://elisedowning.com) at the tailend of last year in Portsmouth. It quite literally might have been the windiest day ever, but our smiles never faded. She has also embarked on her new career as an adventurer, completing some great achievements and writing with real style. I really like the approach that Terri is taking, both simultaneously trying new things, but equally accepting that some of these won’t work out and just incorporating it all into her being. Follow Terri on Facebook and at:
So this is just a small snippet of the awesome people I met that weekend and through this connection to Dave Cornthwaite’s ‘SayYesMore’ community I have been lucky to meet many more likeminded souls. Check out:
So in the months that remained of 2015 I played around with some ideas of my own. How I could add even more vibrancy to my life and remain connected to this awesome group, which is largely London based. I thought about how I could do this through my work, in my spare time and involving my friends. However, I knew things were about to change in my family and when my Dad did pass away in December, things would definitely not be the same afterwards. Of course I was not the same afterwards, but what my dads passing did give me was the determination to draw a very clear line and when people stepped over it and stopped me being creative, it just meant I was not going to accept it any longer.
I started 2016 like a dug up mole in the daylight; just flailing all over the place. People would approach me and speak to me as if everything was fine because now I had attended my Dad’s funeral, had Christmas and New Year, some how everything must be just great. I recall doing a duty in the first week back (for those of you who don’t know I work in education) at work and being left in charge of 10 plus students in detention and I could not even recall what I had been doing just hours before. In those first few weeks of the year I would be asked to do things and then get back to my office and not recall what what I was supposed to do. Even worse was that there is just nowhere to hide in teaching, if your in the classroom you are fully exposed to the will of the teenagers before you. I was lucky my students really like me, I told them what had happened in the hope they would be respectful (they were) and I’m also pretty mentally robust. However, some of my experiences taught me a lot about people around me and environments which don’t really allow all voices to be heard and made me question if we should be carrying on like we are on an eternal hamster wheel. I feel very passionately, that I want to been seen and felt by others positively and it really costs nothing to ask how people are or pause for a second and think about what it might be like to be in their shoes. It’s amazing how much you can learn at these times in your life and I would like to say ‘thank you’ to my close friends and colleagues who were extremely supportive.
As February kicked in and the fog began to lift I increased my involvement in SayYesMore and I thought about how I could use Adam’s idea of LifeYears and what my goals would be. I should point out I don’t really know Adam very well, but I just thought his approach to life was just ‘magic’. Taking his idea, I thought I really like being helpful to people, so mine was to try and support through encouragement, help nurture ideas and give advice (where possible) to those challenging themselves. This took several forms.
Firstly, I wanted to involve SayYesMore people in my life, spread the word and support them in return. So I ran some assemblies and lessons, which included the stories of Harry and Charlie Thuillier from Oppo Ice Cream, Elise Downing, Adam Sultan, Dave Cornthwaite and even invited Danny Bent to speak to my year 11's in the Spring. I followed people’s adventures on Facebook and tried to offer words of encouragement. I started to attend some of the SayYesMore events and contribute to the running of these if I could. For instance I cycled up to London with Vicky and Kevin having not owned a bike since my university days. I went to the Isle of Wight to support Paul Clifford, which involved cycling a lap, some camping and helping to organise a beach clean to support Amy and Ella Meek, who want to reduce plastic waste. The beach clean with fossil talk was great fun and there was a merry band that came along; even my friend and her daughter came down for the weekend too. I went along to Andy and Chris’s Quapaw 24 Big Paddle and tried my hand at SUPing for the first time with mixed results! And finally went with along with Helen, George to Worcester to cycle to Oxford and then with Charlotte onto London. They were all very kind, much fitter than me; but with patience we got there.
I am also hoping to set up some kind of bursary to help fund people to go on adventures. The exact details will get sorted when I return in September, but I think when I was in my twenties I would have gone on adventures if I’d had some access to funding and a support group like SayYesMore. I’m in no way old now, but I guess I feel less confident now on embarking on adventures that I know will push my physical buttons. I doesn’t mean I can’t go now – I can I’m in Canada cycling at the moment, it’s just I feel I’m learning things now, I’d like to have had the opportunity to learn earlier on and build that resilience.
And finally, I am supporting YesTribe by spreading the word to those that I meet along the route while in Canada. When you put yourself outside your comfort zone, it’s amazing how many people step forward in support. So my advice would be to think who inspires you and then reach for what you want, you won’t be disappointed. My final point nestles in this quote posted my Master Shift. It’s not about being Rob, Adam or Terri, it’s about being in a community that allows you to be the person you want to be.
