INTO ACTION!

Great to hear so many birds singing again, now that Spring is on its way - at least, it is here in the northern hemisphere! - and now, like you perhaps, I'm very much hoping to put my plans for 2026 into action.

So: here's the cover of my forthcoming book that I'd like to share with you. Aimed at 8-14 year olds, this publication features the nine (or so!) times that I have NEARLY (but not quite!) died. It's full of survival tips and tales of daring-do, but also encouragement for those who wish to be explorers in their OWN way.

Actually, though, I hope anyone with an adventurous soul might like to read it - or just anyone who wonders how they might get through hard times.

After the book's publication in June I'll be conducting a tour of children's schools around the UK - let me know if your children's school might like a visit, and I'll see if I can fit them in! No promises, but you never know.

Meanwhile, here's a pic of me last week celebrating World Book Day at Ballard School, near Brockenhurst, with an enthusiastic staff member who came dressed as me!

But before the launch of that book, I'm off to Mongolia.

The winter has proved particularly harsh this year - I've mentioned this in a couple of my weekly Instagram posts (well worth following, by the way!) and so I'll be taking gear suitable for a range of temperatures. I won't arrive till May, but STILL I can expect to need snow goggles and crampons to tackle the remains of the snow and ice.

The objective: to catch up with Gana, a reindeer herder friend, but also the family of Dundoi, a herder of camels, goats, yaks, and more besides, who looked after me in the Altai Mountains on my long trek through his magnificent country, back in 1997. Here's a pic. that I took of some of his extended family, as they celebrated the coming of the summer, all those years ago.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed for them, as Mongolia's long winter at last draws to a close. But also keeping my fingers crossed for YOU, as you set about your own ventures, this year.