A winter series of public lectures in Bristol the theme of which is world-wide adventure.
Our lecturers are well known explorers, mountaineers, travel writers, TV personalities, adventure sports personalities or anyone who has an epic story to tell and can enthral our audience with a rattling good yarn. The talks are invariably illustrated with slides and/or film.
Tickets are available from Stanfords' Bristol shop and their online store. Click our ticket office link
Featured Speaker
David Lewis and Anthon Jackson
David is studying for a BA in Geography at St. Hilda's College, Oxford. He led the successful 2010 Roof of the World Expedition with the OUEC and has trekked in Afghanistan, Kyrgyztan, Iran, Kashmir and Pakistan. Anthon is a traveling freelance photographer and writer. Born in Ogden, Utah, he has since spent over 19 years abroad, visiting more than 50 countries. He holds a BA in Middle East Studies. His photographic work has been featured by GEO, Adventure Journey, Gulf Life, Lonely Planet and National Geographic Traveler. (Anthon replaces India Bourke who, unfortunately, had to drop out of the trip for personal reasons).
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Download a full list of our past speakers
Among the Afar
David Lewis and Anthon Jackson - 08/02/2012 19:30
After graduating from Magdalen College, Oxford, in 1933 Sir Wilfred Thesiger set out to trace the course of the Awash River to its terminus. He overcame many difficulties and risked much, becoming the first European to return alive from the treacherous lands of the Danakil people. The material achievement of reaching Lake Abbe in 1934, into which the River Awash drains, was somewhat marginal. Instead, Thesiger sought 'colour and savagery, hardship and adventure' among crocodiles, hippos and, most importantly, the hostility of the Danakil – a tribe upholding the credo 'It's better to die than live without killing' – in the hottest place in the world.
Over the course of 6 weeks, David Lewis, Anthon Jackson and interpreter, Goobo Mohammed, will attempt to retrace the Aussa leg of Thesiger's 1933-4 Awash River Expedition. The three students,from Oxford, Utah and Addis Ababa, will be accompanied by 3 Danakil tribesmen to facilitate the passage of the team through the Aussa Sultanate. The expedition was set up through the Oxford University Exploration Club, whose Chairman in 1933, John Buchan, advised Thesiger on his pre-Danakil preparations. With 3 camels, the party of 6 will travel by foot from Assaita to Lake Abbe, documenting their journey and encounters as they travel. Upon arrival at the river terminus, the team will set up base camp at an Afar encampment on the lake's shores to spend a number of weeks observing and recording the daily practices and customs of the Afar in one of the world's most inhospitable environments. Thereafter, the expedition is considering journeying east to the Djiboutian port of Tajura, where the camels will be sold and the great Danakil adventure concluded.
Rock Athlete
Ron Fawcett - 22/02/2012 19:30
Ron's talk tells an extraordinary story of how his love of nature and the outdoors developed into a passion for climbing that took him to the top – and almost consumed him. Starting from an early humble family life in the Yorkshire Dales, Ron eventually emerged to make a pioneering visit to Yosemite in America. This was a time when most British climbers had never heard of Yosemite. The lecture moves through Ron's travels, adventures and relates anecdotes and experiences from the life as one of the world's best ever climbers.
Summits, Saints and Sinners
Matt Dickinson - 07/03/2012 19:30
During a twenty year career filming for National Geographic, the BBC and Discovery Channel Matt Dickinson has joined some of the world's most notable adventurers on their often perilous journeys: to the summit of Everest with Al Hinkes; to Antarctica with controversial French climber Chantal Mauduit; shooting Judy Leden's world record hang gliding exploits from Cotopaxi and in the Middle East, to name but a few.
In this illustrated talk he shows spectacular highlights of those expeditions and takes a hard , humorous and candid look at the motivating forces that drive such 'hard core' adventurers to their goals. What is it that drives explorers to risk their lives in this way and why are so many of the highest profile adventurers seen as 'flawed' characters? A roller coaster ride through twenty years of adventure film making! The talk also touches on the increasing commercialization of adventure films and looks at the rise of adventure ‘brands' which are set to dominate the television screens of the future. Is this a genre that has lost its way? An insider's look at the world of extreme adventure, warts and all!
