Hi everyone,
Well this last week has just been crazily busy. Great fun though!
On Monday I visited the Wren school in North London and did two talks there which was good fun. Later that day I hopped on a train up to Bradford where I had one of Bradford's famous curries and stayed the night. The following morning I went to visit an organisation called The Lighthouse Group. I've never quite seen a setup like the one they had and I was pretty impressed to say the least. The Lighthouse Group is an organisation that works with guys who have been excluded from school and their aim is to get them back on track. An amazing fact is that two thirds of people who are in prison were excluded from school.
I worked with a couple of small groups of people there and it was great to see just how determined some of these guys were to get out there and really lead an exciting life. One of the girls has an ambition to get out to Africa and work there for a while. I know the people heading up the organisation are looking into that and it shows just how committed these people are to getting these guys back on track.
I got on the train back to London, had a super busy day with more engagements and then on Thursday I popped up to Stafford to stay at my relatives house, as I was to do a talk at their college the following day which went really well. The guys at Stafford college made us feel very welcome so thanks guys!
My throat has started to give up now so I'm cutting back on the speaking a little to let it mend but in the meantime a good old friend of mine and I are flying out to France this afternoon to go skiing for a week! We only booked it a few days ago as a spur of the moment bargain holiday but I'm sure we're going to have some great fun out there. We're skiing in Tinges which is an amazing resort, so it should be pretty good that's for sure.
Anyway, I better be off, as I've got to get out to the airport shortly. I'll let you guys know how the skiing goes when I get back.
Mike
Saturday, 23 January 2010
Friday, 15 January 2010
New Website
Hi everyone,
Welcome to the new website! Hope you all like it!
We've expanded the content here and there which should make the use of the site easier. Also the blog should be easier to use now.
It's fantastic news to see that Jessica Watson has now rounded cape horn nice and safely and I'm really chuffed for her. She's always in such high spirits and I continue to be really impressed by her super positive attitude.
I've finally sent off all my university applications so am waiting to hear some replies. Fingers crossed I get the offers that I'm hoping for.
The snow is finally melting away here in Potters Bar which is kind of a good sign to be honest. Finally things can get back to normal!
Next week, I'm visiting three schools all in different parts of the country, I'll keep you updated about how it's going.
Mike
Welcome to the new website! Hope you all like it!
We've expanded the content here and there which should make the use of the site easier. Also the blog should be easier to use now.
It's fantastic news to see that Jessica Watson has now rounded cape horn nice and safely and I'm really chuffed for her. She's always in such high spirits and I continue to be really impressed by her super positive attitude.
I've finally sent off all my university applications so am waiting to hear some replies. Fingers crossed I get the offers that I'm hoping for.
The snow is finally melting away here in Potters Bar which is kind of a good sign to be honest. Finally things can get back to normal!
Next week, I'm visiting three schools all in different parts of the country, I'll keep you updated about how it's going.
Mike
Monday, 11 January 2010
Snow - 10th January 2010
Hi everyone,
We finally put away the chirstmas decorations here in at home yesterday. Late I know!
It's been so nice having christmas at home here in the UK this year, and to have a white-ish christmas made it even more special. It's been snowing rather a lot here recently and I find it hilarious how the UK can just grind to a halt at times with only 6inches of snow. It does seem like the country is getting used to it though as the roads are steadily improving now.
I'm looking forward to visiting some schools over the next couple of weeks over the country as part of my Live the Dream schools program. It's always exciting to visit schools and talk about the trip.
Not much else to chat about at the moment really, but I'll keep you all updated in due course.
Mike
Reader Comments
Dan near Toronto :
Thanks for the update Mike. You Brits have more bloody snow than we have near Toronto..lol..and me sitting here with my snowplow truck and nothing to do. Great to hear about more school program stuff..please post more as it happens with that..maybe links to news articles etc.
10/01/2010 18:39:01
johnboi :
Hi mike, 6inchs of snow, lucky. Only got an inch here so far, but saying that, there is plenty of ice. Times like this I wish I was back at school, those kids you visit are very lucky. Enjoy the snow! john
10/01/2010 19:05:18
Jim :
So, Mike - how did you enjoy your first experiences driving in snow? Or did you drive in it? We have ice and a bit of snow here in the Atlanta,USA area and I found out that even experienced drivers in the stuff can go sledding using the car as the vehicle : ) Not recommended. I was on the way to a store to buy something to create a 'surprise' for Timothy and the car just developed a life of its own. Glad you were able to get out and enjoy the snow you had. Hope your talks go well next week.
11/01/2010 02:34:05
We finally put away the chirstmas decorations here in at home yesterday. Late I know!
It's been so nice having christmas at home here in the UK this year, and to have a white-ish christmas made it even more special. It's been snowing rather a lot here recently and I find it hilarious how the UK can just grind to a halt at times with only 6inches of snow. It does seem like the country is getting used to it though as the roads are steadily improving now.
I'm looking forward to visiting some schools over the next couple of weeks over the country as part of my Live the Dream schools program. It's always exciting to visit schools and talk about the trip.
Not much else to chat about at the moment really, but I'll keep you all updated in due course.
Mike
Reader Comments
Dan near Toronto :
Thanks for the update Mike. You Brits have more bloody snow than we have near Toronto..lol..and me sitting here with my snowplow truck and nothing to do. Great to hear about more school program stuff..please post more as it happens with that..maybe links to news articles etc.
10/01/2010 18:39:01
johnboi :
Hi mike, 6inchs of snow, lucky. Only got an inch here so far, but saying that, there is plenty of ice. Times like this I wish I was back at school, those kids you visit are very lucky. Enjoy the snow! john
10/01/2010 19:05:18
Jim :
So, Mike - how did you enjoy your first experiences driving in snow? Or did you drive in it? We have ice and a bit of snow here in the Atlanta,USA area and I found out that even experienced drivers in the stuff can go sledding using the car as the vehicle : ) Not recommended. I was on the way to a store to buy something to create a 'surprise' for Timothy and the car just developed a life of its own. Glad you were able to get out and enjoy the snow you had. Hope your talks go well next week.
11/01/2010 02:34:05
Sunday, 3 January 2010
Happy New Year - 2nd January 2010
| Hi everyone, Happy New Year! What an amazing year its been and wow do I have many incredible memories of it. From surfing 50ft waves in the southern ocean to exploring the back roads of Latin America finding deserted and beautiful tropical beaches. I've met some incredible people too, which has by far been one of the best bits of the year. I'm getting very excited about the up and coming training in Sydney for the Bounty Boat expedition. It should be great fun and I'm sure we will bond as a crew really well. The Bounty Boat is now well on it's way to Sydney packaged up nice and safely in a container. I'm looking forward to seeing her again when I fly into Sydney in the first week of February. I'm sure Don is too! He's currently down in Antarctica with Margie leading an expedition down there which sounds good fun. Its been fantastic to watch Jessica Watson's progress through the southern ocean go so smoothly and I'm really super pleased for her. I speak to her on the phone every now and again and I'm always very impressed by her high spirits. Fingers crossed, she'll have a smooth rounding of the Horn soon enough. Well happy New Year everyone once again Mike |
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Merry Christmas - 25th December 2009
| Hi everyone, Happy Christmas! It's a nice white-ish Christmas here in Potters Bar with some snow still on the ground and our drive is totally iced over which makes for some fun times. It's fantastic to be at home this year for Christmas and to be with the family is such good fun. I wish everyone a very happy and enjoyable Christmas. Mike |
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Driving, talking, mingling - 18th December 2009
| Hi everyone, It's snowing here in Potters Bar as I look out the window in front of me right now! I missed last years snow fall so I'm really excited to see snow this year. Plus as it's snowing before Christmas, maybe we will be in for a treat and get a white Christmas? The last couple of weeks have been good fun as I've been talking at a couple more primary schools. Its always such a fantastic feeling seeing children's faces light up as I describe to them what the southern ocean can be like in a blow. Washing machine mode basically! I've also visited a couple of senior schools, a scout group, a fire station, a church and a synagogue. It was with a great bubbly feeling that I passed my Driving test the other day! YEAHH FREEDOM! I've been learning with BSM. All the credit has got to go to them for passing me first time, and to my instructor Michael too! Without his very professional help I would still have my 'L' plates. I've been doing a lot of tv work recently which has taken up a lot of time, and its been great fun! Not long ago I went to the BBC Sports Personality Of The Year Awards which was really excellent. There were 11,000 people there. Mine and my sisters seats were just 4 rows from the front of the stage! It was great seeing Jenson Button and Michael Schumacher only a few metres away, Dame Kelly Homes a few metres the other and all sorts of other sporting heroes so close by! I've now broken up for the Christmas holidays so let the fun begin! Mike |
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Poetry and Smiles - 22 November 2009
| Hi everyone, The fun never stops here, and as I look at my diary for the next week I'm somewhat gawping at it's business! It's sure as packed a week as I've ever seen. But you know. Work hard play hard. Recently I attended and spoke at a lovely poetic dinner organised by Libby Purves. It was such a nice evening and I met some really great people. It was held at the Trafalga Tavern, a fantastic location with a gorgeous view over the Thames and as I looked out the window during the clear night I wished that I could treasure that moment for times to come. I've also been talking at schools recently and last week I had a throughly good time visiting a school in South London, going into classes and talking to all the pupils. This is all thanks to the Vocalink/ChallengeMike schools program we have jointly developed, which I'm really enjoying doing. There isn't much that can beat the smile of a child with a grin full of expression wanting to hear more. I've been visiting some uni's around and about recently and I've been really impressed with some of the courses out there that I'd like to do. This is really opening my eyes to future options. I'm still getting loads of emails saying how much people have enjoyed watching the documentary. Thanks, it means a lot. Mike |
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Fireworks - 9th November 2009
| Hi everyone, The last week has been a good laugh. The documentary came out on Thursday which was a great success and this weekend it was fireworks night which was a great fun. Also Don McIntyre is back over from Australia staying with us and this coming weekend we're going to be having some fun with Bounty Boat, which is actually sitting patiently on my drive just dying to go sailing. The documentary, 'Schoolboy who sailed the world', aired on Thursday on Channel 4 and there was quite a bit of advertising for it in the week previous so we were all getting excited about seeing it on TV. When it came out we were immediately inundated with emails flooding in from all over the UK saying how fantastic it was which put a big smile on my face. A lot of credit must go to the guys over at Blink Productions who have put the whole project together and of course Channel 4. Over a million TV's were watching it which was exciting news to hear on Friday. You can still catch it on 4OD if you want to watch it, http://www.channel4.com/programmes/schoolboy-who-sailed-the-world/4od#3008360 This weekend the sky lit up with firework displays which was really great to see. I went to a display in Watford with a load of college friends and we had a ball which was great fun. I'm always smiling when those guys are around as they're such a fun lot! So yes, Don is back in town to have some fun with Bounty Boat. It's great to have Don back here as he's such a laugh to have around and we're always joking about the things ahead! Anyway, things to do and people to see… Mike |
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College, documentary & driving - 3rd November 2009
| Hi Everyone, Its been a good fun last 2 weeks here in land locked potters bar. You certainly wouldn't think that I'm a sailor! I've been ploughing into my college work recently and starting to catch up on what I missed last year and I've also been looking at a couple of university options as I like to keep my options open. I'm not currently sure whether I I want to head off to uni for 3 years or not. We shall see what the future holds... Excitingly, the documentary comes out this thursday! I've seen it and its looks really really fantastic. A big well done to everyone who has put it together. A special mention must go to Adam who has spent the best part of the last 8 weeks sitting in a edit studio going over and over it! Its showing at 9pm on channel 4 so if you're around, grab a couch and have a look. I've had a few more driving lessons recently and I'm absolutely loving driving with my BSM instructor Michael. I've been doing hand break turns, skidding round corners, dodging speed cameras and rally driving. Only kidding! Mike |
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| Ch 4 Cutting Edge Documentary - 23rd Oct 2009 |
| Channel 4 are going to show the documentary about my voyage called "The schoolboy who sailed around the world" on 5th November at 9pm. I have seen it almost finished and I think Adam the Director has done a great job. |
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