as i lay in my tent with the afternoon sun beating down on the yellow canvas, surrounded by the tallest mountains on the planet, this was everest base camp 2014, and i remember hearing the first few bars of bruce springsteens ‘cadillac ranch’ come from the tent next to mine.
“yes” i shouted, “go on bruce”.
big tim medvetz, my base camp neighbour was a huge springsteen fan, and a huge man generally.
i had seen tim on a documentary about everest, where he failed in his attempt to summit, nearly dying in the process.
but he returned the following year, stronger, more focused, and he got the job done.
this year he was with charlie a single leg amputee, and an army veteran that tim was trying to get to the top of the world, to inspire other wounded soldiers as part of his charity https://theheroesproject.org/based in los angeles.
unfortunately our fated attempt to climb mount everest was halted mid expedition, when a serac, the size of a two storey building fell and killed 16 sherpa climbers, and we watched the horror unfold, as helicopter after helicopter returned from the accident higher up the mountain, with dead bodies attached to long lines from the helicopter, an image i will never forget.
tim and the rest of our team trekked back to lukla, and he told me more about his charity, and he told me about a fundraising event he holds annually on santa monica pier, with 300 spin bikes, raising nearly $300,000 in a three hour spin session.
i was fascinated.
he told me the nuances of the event, but i needed to see it in operation.
his 2014 event was imminent, so i booked a three day trip to l.a.
my other fellow everest buddy carly, also an angelino, lent me her bright yellow ragtop jeep to drive, and i rocked up to santa monica pier to witness tim’s gig full baywatch.
it was amazing, he really knows how to put on a show.
and he allowed me full access to his playbook, all the critical information to run this event.
i returned home enthused.
but it has taken me eleven years to execute the dream.
eleven!
but a fortnight ago we did it.
with a herculean effort, as a small team of 7, without our powerhouse chloe to play her normal role, we managed to deliver a 24 hour event, with lots and lots of moving parts.
it was a spectacular event, raising nearly £320,000 which will fund nearly 800 people through their own therapy journey, with no cost to them as a barrier, and the quickest service in the uk.
so, thank you tim for inspiring me, thank you russell brice for encouraging me to climb everest, and telling me it would change my life, it has, and in turn has resulted in bigmoose changing thousands of lives for good.
and thank you to our bigmoose team of girls, who worked so hard for the last six months on this event, and on game day put in a 32 hour shift, with some pain along the journey, but together hopefully we have learnt that pain is temporary, and victory is forever.
have a wonderful holiday season, i’m gonna take a blog break, it’s been a challenging year, navigating watching chloe and crawford go through the psychological and physical challenges of donating, and receiving a kidney, and subsequent recovery process, has been very tough at times, and not what, as a parent you can ever truly prepare for, but they are both extremely resilient, and i have no doubt this experience will only strengthen their resolve for whatever life presents them with, and i am very proud of them both.
but before i go, a quick story.
as i drove back last sunday from seeing my grandchildren betty and otto, and eldest daughter tiffany for the day with my wife, the rain beat down on the car windscreen, the cold wet december night feeling very wintery, and as my wife turned up the radio, the first few bars of the flying pickets ‘only you’ played out.
brian hibbard who sang the lead in the song that was a christmas number one in 1983, used to be a customer in an electrical shop my now ex partner and i owned, and one christmas came into an extremely busy shop to buy some christmas lights, and as he reached the counter to pay, i asked him if he would sing for us, and once i had hushed the fifty plus customers in a packed shop, he sang the most amazing solo version of this beautiful song, and the whole shop sang the chorus in what was to be a seminal moment, which i will remember forever.
the impact that moment made on my wife who was there to witness the song was to see her use the track as a soundbed to a montage of images we played when her father passed some 8 christmases ago, and as it played in the car i asked if she was ok?
she was, but it made me think about how so many people must have lost people during this time of year, and how it must be such a juxtaposition of external influences of joy and happiness, and the memories of loved ones no longer here, so during this holiday season, if you know anybody that has lost someone, however long ago, maybe drop them a message, i feel sure this act of kindness will be received with the love it is sent with.
r.i.p. dave, miss you mate.
blue skies,
jeff
p.s. i did my 50k run last wednesday, and next wednesday i will do my 26th talk in london for the foreign office.
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