Catching up!
Wow, I’ve just realised it’s been about a month since I wrote anything here, and a busy month it’s been. Catching up after my Jordan trip, in which I had to spend a huge amount of time chasing up airlines and insurance companies after getting caught up in the volcanic ash fiasco, hiking the TGO Challenge, and changing my lifestyle.
First of all the Challenge. It was my first crossing and I enjoyed it. The good weather certainly helped. Along with Gina, we walked with my brother-in-law Raymond Bainbridge, a keen hillwalker who was also on his first Challenge. I think he enjoyed the experience too. I’m not going to write too much about the event here as I’ll be writing something for TGO later in the year, but suffice to say it was a great sign-off as editor of TGO for the past 20 years. I guess the TGO Challenge was my final official duty as editor, and that brings me to my change in lifestyle.
I always said I would step down as editor of TGO when I was 60 and that’s exactly what I’ve done. You can read the details in this month’s TGO Magazine, but rather than leave the mag completely I’ve taken on a role as editor-at-large, which essentially means I can get out and about, climbing hills and mountains, walking trails, testing gear, all for the magazine.
The change also gives me more time to concentrate on other aspects of my so-called career, like television work, DVD’s and books. I’m currently trying to finish my book on the Skye Trail, which will be published later this year and I have quite a lot of TV work scheduled for this year too.
As well as my Wild Walks on the BBC’s Adventure Show I’ll be travelling the length of the Outer Hebrides, from Barra to the Butt of Lewis, for an hour long Christmas documentary, following up previous programmes on the Sutherland Trail and the Skye Trail. I’ll also be part of the commentary team for the BBC’s Big Climb, a several hour long live extravaganza from Stron Ulladale on Harris, featuring Dave MacLeod and Tim Emmett. We tried this type of live climb a couple of years ago in the Cairngorms but it was cancelled because of rain but we’ve been working on a format this time that will allow several hours of programming even if the weather gods turn against us again. Fingers crossed for sun and few midges. I’m told miracles can happen…
I’m also hoping that the new lifestyle will allow me to update this diary a bit more regularly and maybe even run a few gear tests from time to time. Meanwhile, I wish Emily and her new team the very best wishes on TGO and I look forward to contributing to the mag’s ongoing success, albeit from a rather different perspective.