Outward Bound® Generations eNewsletter: August 2010 The summer is well and truly here and our Generations campaign is going from strength to strength. Since our last newsletter just two months ago we have heard from some very high-achieving and well-known Outward Bound alumni, including the first Briton to climb all 14 of the world’s 8,000m peaks – Alan Hinkes, whose story is included in this update, as well as from Britain’s best-known mountaineer, Sir Chris Bonington. To read why Sir Chris supports The Outward Bound Trust - simply click here.
Pass it on! If you have already shared your insights then please make sure you pass the Generations message on! If you’re still in touch with people from your course then please tell them about our quest to reconnect with the one million people who have been a part of Outward Bound since it began in 1941. If you have a friend, colleague or family member that you know took part on a course then please tell them about Generations and encourage them to post their story. It is our hope that this will raise the profile of The Outward Bound Trust in the UK, and more people than ever before will support our work. We hope you enjoy this update and look forward to being in touch with you again soon. All the best,
Even though these people are in the public eye, their experience and long lasting memory of Outward Bound is exactly the same as everyone else’s. They realised that they were capable of doing more than they ever thought possible – something that is still a focus of our work with young people today. We are also happy to announce the launch of our first podcast, which is available to listen to on our website. The podcast follows a group of students experiencing their first Outward Bound course at our Ullswater centre, and was first broadcast on the BBC's Radio 4 'You and Yours' current affairs programme, earlier this month. To listen to the podcast on our Outward Bound website - click here. If you have participated in an Outward Bound course in the past and haven’t yet shared your memories or experiences with us, then please visit our Generations website – www. outwardboundgenerations.org.uk and tell us your story. Alternatively, if you don’t have online access then please feel free to post your story to the address provided at the end of this newsletter.
Kristina Fitzpatrick The Generations Team
Nicole McIntyre
In this issue: If you can do the high ropes you can do anything: Anna Proctor First Briton to climb all fourteen 8,000m peaks and Outward Bounder: Alan Hinkes OBE My time at sea: Eden S. Mathews
If you can do the high ropes you can do anything: Anna Proctor
Anna Proctor participated in an Outward Bound course in April 1969 at our Towyn centre in Wales, which was located just north of our Aberdovey School on the Welsh coast. Anna has gone on to become an award-winning, landscape photographer and inspires others who like her, suffer from the hair loss condition alopecia. Anna’s story is below. “I was delighted to hear that you were stirring up interest again from Outward Bound alumni. My life has been an ongoing journey of discovery and learning since I attended an Outward Bound course in Towyn in April 1969. I've learned lots by being out of my comfort zone. If I could do the high ropes course I could do anything! Briefly, some highlights of the things I’ve done since completing my Outward Bound course all those years ago: Became a great teacher, making a difference in children’s lives Learned Wing Chun Kung Fu Completed a house, car and job exchange with an Australian teacher in Australia for a year Took part in an outback safari and barefoot rock climbed in the Kakadu National Park, Australia Went scuba diving in the Great Barrier Reef White water rafted on the Tully River, Queensland Hot air ballooned in the Australian outback Camped under the stars Learned T’ai Chi Lived on a Greek island for 18 months and learned the Greek language Snorkelled with loggerhead turtles Made a career change from teaching, to an awardwinning, fine art landscape photographer Supported my elder son back to independence following surgery to remove a brain tumour
At the age of 34 my hair started to fall out. I was very sporty and regularly went for a run or swim while my young children were at school. As I tried to tie my hair up, I noticed it wouldn’t go up in the normal way. With the use of mirrors, I managed to look at the back of my head. Staring back at me was a huge bald patch the size of the palm of my hand. The doctor confirmed that I was suffering from Alopecia – a condition that causes the hair to come and go. It can be triggered by extreme shock, thyroid malfunctions, long term stress, or sometimes for no apparent reason. Shock turned to disbelief, as I lost all of my hair over the following 18 months. I felt ashamed, humiliated and angry that this had happened to me. More so, because significant others in my life at the time were neither able to cope with what had happened to me, nor able to support me. I wanted to hide away until my hair regrew. I even gave up my part time teaching job. After a while I realised there were a lot of people worse off than me and it made me think - I’ve lost my hair, so what? Life goes on. I channelled the anger positively and made a series of major changes in my life. I got divorced, bought my own house, taught full-time instead of part-time and built a network of support through my close friends, while bringing up my sons. I upgraded my qualifications to teach children with special needs in 1995. By 1999, I was on a teacher exchange for a year, in Australia. In 2003, I followed a long-held dream to live on a Greek island to take time out and to redevelop my creativity. I decided to pursue a career in photography rather than teaching when I returned to the UK in 2004. I learned a new set of skills for business. Within 15 months of becoming a professional photographer, I’d won an Award of Excellence, (Landscape and Travel Category) at the British Professional Photography Awards in 2006.
There are now lots of exciting things happening with my photography career. I was invited to exhibit at the Senedd building in Cardiff Bay in March 2010, which resulted in three large canvases from the exhibition (part of my ongoing project on the Glamorgan Heritage Coast), being sold to a London-based international company. I have an exhibition 'Beside the Sea', at the St Donats Arts Centre, near Llantwit Major running until 25 August 2010.
To find out more about Anna’s photography work, please visit www.annaproctorphotography.co.uk. More information on Anna’s “Beside the Sea” exhibition can be found at www.stdonats.com/exhibitions.asp.
In autumn 2009, after a very challenging year, I took part in a fantastic bush craft course, which ignited the same passion that I felt on my Outward Bound course – having a boost of self-esteem, fun and being part of a team..... it’s taken me a long time to get where I am now, but I’m finally in the driving seat in my life and I feel empowered. I’ve accepted I have no hair and I have strategies in place to deal with that. My favourite inspirational quote is by Goethe:
Whatever you can do, or dream that you can do, Begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it NOW.
© Images courtesy of the Western Mail and The Bristol Evening Post
What’s your Outward Bound story? Tell us your story online at www.outwardboundgenerations.org.uk Email: generations@outwardbound.org.uk Call: 0207 610 4218 Post to: The Outward Bound Trust, Generations, 4th Floor, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8XD
First Briton to climb all fourteen 8000m peaks and Outward Bounder: Alan Hinkes OBE
Alan Hinkes, OBE, is the first Briton to climb the world's highest mountains. These are the fourteen 8,000m peaks, all of which are in the ‘death zone,’ where the human survival rate is measured in hours. They are the most dangerous mountains on the planet. Alan is part of an exclusive club of only 12 people alive who have achieved this feat, which is the same number of people who have stood on the moon.
mainly because I wanted my Mountain Leader Award so much. As luck would have it, the day before the course started I sprained my ankle really badly. It was painful and swollen and I was lucky not to have broken it, but I strapped it up and hobbled into the centre anyway. They took one look at me and told me to rest up and said I could defer my place for a week, so I started with another group the following weekend, feeling much more comfortable! I have memories of having to lay out my kit on my bunk for inspection. One lad in my dorm didn’t have any kit at all, so was trying to borrow bits from me in order to pass his inspection. I don’t think he got away with it at all and he didn’t pass the course in the end – he got us really lost on one of the expeditions! We carried out overnight expeditions in the area near the centre - Scafell Pike and Helvellyn, and I remember it was truly the most perfect weather for hill walking and climbing the whole time I was there. We also
Alan began his mountaineering career whilst at Northallerton Grammar School, North Yorkshire. After completing an Outward Bound Mountain Leader course at our Ullswater centre in the 1970s, he progressed to the Alps with ascents of many difficult mountains, including the notorious north face of the Eiger, eventually graduating to the Himalayas. He currently works as an outdoor equipment technical consultant, writes for magazines such as Trail and lectures on his exploits. He is an accomplished cameraman - having filmed 11 documentaries - as well as a photographer, motivational speaker, environmentalist and mountain guide. Below, he describes his memories and experiences of participating in an Outward Bound course: “I carried out my Mountain Leadership Certificate at the Outward Bound Ullswater centre in July 1975. I remember that I was really looking forward to the course and was so excited, as I had heard stories of Outward Bound Ullswater and wanted to get stuck in as soon as I could! I felt confident,
carried out stretcher lowering practices on Gouder Cragg using just a rope and just got on with it. Now there would be a lot more health and safety procedures and everything would be backed up. One task we did was ‘safety on steep ground’ where we used thin rope to protect people whilst hill walking. One of the lads jumped down 2m to practise and the rope just snapped - obviously we weren’t too high so he wasn’t injured, but it was a bit of an eye-opener nonetheless. I haven’t had a rope snap since, so this has always stuck in my mind.
I enjoyed every moment of the course and nothing phased me whilst I was doing it, it was fabulous and was everything that I loved doing so it felt like a holiday! It allowed me to go on and do other things – be an outdoor education teacher, be a mountain guide and ultimately climb the highest peaks in the world. I have been back to Ullswater many times and been involved with The Outward Bound Trust ever since, as I think that the work they do with young people, showing them the wild and unlocking their potential through discovery and adventure is marvellous.� Alan lives in North Yorkshire and enjoys being in the hills, rock climbing and fell walking. You will regularly see him in the Lake District and Yorkshire tramping the fells and moors or clinging to a rock face.
Inspire a new generation Give the gift of an unforgettable Outward Bound adventure To find out more call or visit our website: 0207 610 4218 www.outwardbound.org.uk
My time at sea: Eden S. Matthews
Eden S. Mathews (aka Tony) participated in an Outward Bound course at our Aberdovey Sea School in October 1953, after he had carried out his cadet training on the HMS Conway, in the Menai Strait in Wales – the famous naval training school. Below are some of the memories of his time at the school, which are extracts from his recently published book – “My Time at Sea.”
My journey took me through London on to Paddington and then up to Shrewsbury. It was a dull, grey, drizzly afternoon. The platform was very busy, and when the train drew in we were smothered in steam. The carriages were antique. No corridor, no ventilation and poor lighting. We arrived at Penhelig Halt at about 6pm – it was a small platform built for the school and by now it was very dark. We disembarked and were told to leave our luggage at the roadside and proceed up a winding, steep and dark driveway to the school. We were very tired and it was a cold night there was no heating. Our normal daily routine involved getting up at 6.30am, changing into shorts and going for a run, topped off with a cold shower! The supervisors were of course wrapped up, and they made sure that everybody got under and were well soaked. Other pre-breakfast duties involved cleaning our huts and taking the ‘pig swill’ bins to the farm! There were courses, lectures and practical sessions on map reading, first aid, artificial respiration, sailing and tacking, lifeboat instruction, rowing, ropes and knots, as well as an ongoing athletics programme and expeditions. I remember an evening of sea shanties led by Mr Hugeot, one of the petty officers. He was much older than the rest of the staff and had served in sailing ships. He had a national reputation and the night was thoroughly enjoyable. In 2008 I visited the Tall Ships gathering in Liverpool and there was a group singing sea shanties – it turned out they were fans of Mr Hugeot and had been inspired by him!
“The Outward Bound Sea School, or Aberdovey as we shortened it to, was held in awe and respect by Conway cadets. Tales of 5am reveilles, early morning runs, cold showers, treks into the mist and distant mountains and impossible projects, had all been lovingly embellished. The school was of course run by The Outward Bound Trust, and was designed to foster fellowship, team spirit, and to cope with challenges that one hadn’t faced before. It was all about character building. The courses ran for three to four weeks, and were under the supervision of Captain Fuller, a famous Olympic oarsman. Many shipping companies insisted that their cadets attended, including the Blue Funnel Line, despite completing two years at Conway. A number of employers also sent budding trainees for some practical and challenging experiences. In my case I had left Conway at the end of July, but because of my age, was not appointed until December. So a course at the School in October was fine, although perhaps it was a chilly time of the year to be going off to Cardigan Bay!
Other memories include a big bonfire for Guy Fawkes night and an impressive firework display, as well as four days on the Warspite - a sailing ketch with two masts and big sails. We upped anchor and set sail for Abersoch, a few hours away. We anchored off the lifeboat house and the captain wanted a trip ashore, which took place in a skiff – a small rowing boat of which I was part of the crew. It was good to have a wander ashore and the captain went off and had a pint – sorry, attended to his master’s business! I thoroughly enjoyed the course and made some good friends. It was noticeable that many of those that had joined with an attitude problem and reputation had become very enthusiastic and keen members of the course. It was great to be with them, and all in all was a terrific experience that I will never forget.”
To read Tony’s memories of his time at Outward Bound in their entirety, his book - “My Time at Sea”- is published by Appin Press, and can be purchased by contacting Tony directly by email - edenmathews@live. co.uk or by phone +44 (0) 01743 872405. Books cost £12.50 + £2.00 postage and packaging (£3.00 Europe, £6.00 rest of the world).
Tell us your story Tell us your story online at www.outwardboundgenerations.org.uk Email: generations@outwardbound.org.uk or call 0207 610 4218 Alternatively please complete the form below and we’ll get in touch. Post to: The Outward Bound Trust, Generations, 4th Floor, Waterloo Road, London SE1 8XD Name: Address: Home Phone: Mobile No: E-mail Address: Date of course attended: Tick this box if you do not want The Outward Bound Trust to stay in touch with relevant news and information about Outward Bound Generations. Your personal information will not be shared with any other organisations.
Through The Outward Bound Trust, thousands of young people have benefitted, and continue to benefit, from the incredible experiences that well planned and expertly run outdoor adventures can deliver. Sir Chris Bonington, Deputy Patron of The Outward Bound Trust
The Outward Bound Trust Generations Team
4th Floor Waterloo Road London SE1 8XD Tel: 020 7610 4218 Email: generations@outwardbound.org.uk
The Outward Bound Trust Head Office
Hackthorpe Hall, Hackthorpe Penrith, Cumbria CA10 2HX Tel: 01931 740000 Email: enquiries@outwardbound.org.uk
The Outward Bound Trust Centres
Aberdovey, Snowdonia, Wales Eskdale, The Lake District, England Howtown, The Lake District, England Loch Eil, The Highlands, Scotland Outward Bound Metro, Scotland Ullswater, The Lake District, England
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