Last year at the
Keswick Mountain Festival I gave a talk in a tipi in the Festival Village
whilst at the same time Joss Naylor MBE was talking at the Theatre by the Lake.
It is funny how things have changed after my Wainwrights run, I have moved up
the billing, and this year I twice shared the stage with Joss at the Theatre by
the Lake with two very large and enthusiastic audiences. It was a pleasure and privilege to share the stage with the legendary Joss Naylor with Claire Maxted
from Trail Running magazine doing an excellent job hosting both sessions.
I had talked to
Claire and Joss about the sessions beforehand and we had a rough idea that Joss
would talk for 10-15 minutes about his Wainwright run, then I would talk for
10-15 minutes about mine (highlighting
the differences and similarities) and then we would answer questions from Claire
and the audience. But I had no idea how it was really all going to work which
made me a bit nervous on the first night. However, it all seemed to go
reasonably smoothly. A lot of people commented on our different styles: I need
a presentation with pictures and film to talk around and I answer questions
precisely, whereas Joss is happy just to talk, tell some great stories, and
go off at a tangent, for example talking about his dogs.
After we finished
talking a long queue formed to see Joss and get his autograph (Joss is
obviously the star of the show!!). Some people also asked for mine, which I
still cannot get used to or quite understand, but it is nice that they want it.
Claire did a great job collecting money for mine and Joss' charities. Also
Peter Knowles from Rivers Publishing was giving Wainwrights maps away for a £10
donation. Overall Claire collected over £400 for Joss and my charities and
Peter collected over £1000 for community Action Nepal (CAN). So thank you for
everyone who donated.
Normally I donate to
MS charities as my sister has MS. This time I will give the donations together
with my speakers fee to CAN, as there is obviously considerable suffering and
hardship in Nepal at the moment.
