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Jo Bradshaw: Everest Summiter and Tesco Driver, Interview

30/7/2021

Jo and one of her dogs. Photo credit: Jo's website (with permission).

I spoke to someone who has actually climbed Mount Everest! And not only Everest but nearly all of the highest mountains on each continent. Mountain leader Jo Bradshaw, like all of us, has had an unexpected year and a half: working for Tesco and running a marathon for her 50th were both extremely surprising events. We chatted about the pandemic, sexism and she gave me some great tips too!

“Sorry, I’d been out with the dogs.” was the first thing Jo said to me, we’d not decided whether to use video or not so Jo had thought to take my call whilst out and about. But I was quite excited to actually SEE someone who had actually climbed Everest! There are few greater mountaineering achievements, although Jo has her eye on the next one: she is one peak away from completing the Seven Summits - climbing the highest mountain on every continent. But back to that later.

Is pulling a sledge easier than carrying a backpack? Photo credit: Jo's website (with permission).

I would have gone bonkers if I’d been stuck inside during the lockdown. During my three weeks of UK quarantine before heading to France in April 2020, I had to run a half marathon in the garden (read about that here) in to use up some energy. Jo felt the same.

“I applied to Tesco on the Thursday, hours later I had an interview, and at 6am on Monday morning I was sat at the checkout.” We both laughed at the absurdity of going from Everest climbing, semi-celebrity to the most indoor job you can think of. “Luckily it wasn’t long before I transferred to driving, which is what I wanted to do. The extent of the interview was “Can you drive?” and I said “yes”.”

I hadn’t really thought about the practicalities of supermarket delivery driving before, but it sounds like really hard work. Jo explained the system of loading and unloading: “You end up lifting a ton and a half of groceries during each 10 hour shift!”. Being busy, and earning money weren’t the only benefits - Jo told me about the other employees she met, some of whom were also Covid temps, and everyone had really interesting lives. “I did miss my dogs though. There was no way I could look after them well doing 10 hours shifts, so I left them with my Mum.”

So close! Photo credit: Jo's website (with permission).

Another bonus of the Tesco job was exploring locally. “I got to get to know parts of my local area that I hadn’t visited before. If you’re going to get a driving job, Wiltshire is a great plac to do it, with lots of beautiful little villages.” And driving wasn’t the only way Jo ended up adventuring during the lockdown.

“If you’d told me last year that I would run 30 miles on my 50th birthday, I’d say you were nuts!”

Inspired by Beau Miles’ A Mile an Hour (watch his adventure here) Jo ran a mile (actually some times more!) each hour for 24 hours, including overnight. And she enjoyed it! “I don’t for a minute class myself as a runner, rather a shuffler.” Jo proclaims in her blog post, but this shuffler raised over £1,600 for charity Place2Be.

Part way into Jo's 50th birthday A Mile and Hour challenge. Photo credit: Jo's website (with permission).

There is absolutely no denying Jo's achievements, summiting Kilimanjaro dozens of times, along with numerous other treks, and of course six of the Seven Summits. These achievements stand regardless of the fact that Jo happens to be female. She told me, “I have had sexist comments from male clients. I can choose how to respond. I can be angry in reply, or I can move on from it.” And it’s not about pleasing everyone all of the time. Mountain leaders have to make difficult decisions that won’t be popular with the whole group.

“I want to be seen as a good leader, not as a good female leader.”

Jo is absolutely right to want to be seen equally beside her male colleagues, and times are changing. “It’s oldschool gender thinking: women can’t do something because they are the weaker sex." Jo told me, after explaining that she always carried the same load as anyone else in a group. "But maybe we come up with different solutions, lateral thinking.” and we both agreed that positively lifting women up is more helpful than putting men down. “Some men will only climb with me and others refuse because they’re intimidated, but that’s on them.”

With international travel still unplannable, Jo’s schedule is looking very UK focused for the moment. Until next year that is. Who wouldn't want to do an ultra marathon in Lapland?! “I’ve signed up for the Montane Lapland Arctic Ultra in Sweden next year” Jo explains, “so I’ll be getting Dave the tyre back out and getting stuck into training.” (Dave is a tractor tyre that Jo drags around the New Forest to build strength for pulling a sledge!). What an adventure! Not forgetting the final summit. Mount Carstensz in Indonesia is waiting.

Beautiful surrounds. Photo credit: Jo's website (with permission).

It was hard not to be inspired whilst researching and talking to Jo. She’s climbed Everest, (did I mention that?!) and done so many other amazing things. I was feeling especially motivated to do an at-home challenge like she had, so I’d decided on a 100km bike ride, not something I’ve ever done before. I asked for some training tips which Jo was all too happy to give.

“Go commando. I’m serious!" I was giggling, "that’s the only way to avoid chafing. Then set a date and build up gradually. You want to get your muscles used to the kind of activity you will be doing, but you don’t need to complete the whole distance before the big day. And when the day comes, plan your hydration and nutrition, eat and drink before you think you need to, and focus on smaller sections. The next hour or until the next water stop.”

Great advice! I’m so pleased that Jo agreed to talk to me, and I’m excited to continue stalking her achievements and getting ideas for my own adventures. Jo’s blog is definitely worth a read, and check out her Instagram too.

Have you got any questions for Jo? Or any tips for my 100km bike ride? Comment below. (Go on, be the first, I love getting comments!)

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Zoe Mitchell and the John Muir Way: Hiking in Scotland

18/7/2021

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Zoe at the start of the John Muir Way, Scotland.

Zoe Mitchell did much more than just have an adventure. She spent 11 days in July hiking on her own to raise money for No Name Kitchen and the John Muir Trust, she learnt about herself and she recharged. Here’s more about Zoe and her challenge.

The John Muir Way is a walking path in Scotland. For 215 km it wends its way through towns, across mountains, leading towards the finish point - the town of Dunbar on the East coast. It’s permitted to wild camp in Scotland, so Zoe was carrying everything she needed with her and slept outside in nature.

It was while staying at a Workaway in Kent that Zoe heard about No Name Kitchen. “I already had a plan to do a long walk, and thought I might be able to raise a bit of money too. My workaway hosts told me about No Name Kitchen.” Zoe wanted to find a small organisation who would really benefit from her contribution.

“I became self-employed during the lockdown, so I have the time and flexibility to do a long hike like this.” Zoe makes reusable sanitary pads out of hemp, take a look at her shop here. “I’d done plenty of camping before but never combined with so much walking.” And the increase in walking quickly made itself known. Zoe had to visit a minor injuries unit when her Achilles tendon became inflamed, fortunately she was reassured that it wasn’t anything more serious and she could carry on. “I was really worried that my journey would be over when I’d only just begun! I knew that people had put trust in me to complete the whole route and had donated money, so it would have been really tough to give up.”

What a view! From the John Muir Way in Scotland. Photo: Zoe Mitchell.

Lockdown has changed how people see the outside. For those in urban areas, prevented from travelling far, the lack of time in green places and nature has taken a toll. Zoe explained to me how important being in nature is for her mental health. “It was an opportunity to unplug and to engage in nature. There were things I noticed, like a bird near my camp, that I would have missed if I’d been staring at my phone.” That’s why Zoe was supporting the John Muir Trust too. Their aim is “protecting and repairing wild places” to ensure that green and are there for nature and people in the future.

Time in nature wasn’t the only benefit either. Spending that much time on your own could be daunting, you have to deal with anything that crops up without the support of another person. “I feel that I gained confidence. I had to look after myself, make decisions and ask for help and the confidence boost means I would tackle another long hike like this in the future.”

Nearly there, the coast of Scotland. Photo: Zoe Mitchell.

Our conversation circled back to No Name Kitchen. Refugees end up walking many hundreds of miles on their journeys to safer places. Zoe was impressed though, that NNK helps not only with health care and life essentials, but also the advocacy side of things. Denouncing the illegal actions of the authorities and highlighting the inequalities faced by people-on-the-move. “It was on my rest-day, I was camping in a park when the police woke me up. It was the friendliest encounter - they wanted to check I was ok as there had been a fight reported in the park. Yet it was still intimidating. I can’t imagine what it’s like for all the people who are treated badly by the police.”

Thank you Zoe, for raising much needed funds for No Name Kitchen. You can donate to Zoe’s fund-raising here, or directly to NNK here.

Have you thought about a long distance hike? What would be your concerns? Have you got a challenge planned that you could ask for sponsorship for? Comment below.

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ASYLUM DENIED: A Friend's Story - Bosnia

9/7/2021

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The River Una. The crystal clear waters flow beside the now closed family camp in Bosnia. Photo: Zac.

"A sad story that flows like a river all over the world, a story that all human beings are familiar with, a story that has no end, migration.

Migration is done by birds, fish, wolves, etc.

Migration has always been a good option for a better life, an option that costs a lot but is not for everyone and only for the better of us. We ?!? We are the population of human beings who are trying to find a safe place, human beings who behave like human beings and live a normal life.

This is the way we refugees have to go to any destination and work to reach our destination, home, safe house, and this work always continues.

The truth that there is no denying leads us to unfamiliar countries because of security, injustice, and thousands of other reasons. Countries that block our way, countries that take our property, countries that wait like wolves in the skin of a lamb.

But when it comes to the name of a refugee, everyone thinks of borders, and the problem is that they are not just borders, the camps and the whole country are problematic, all those people and their living conditions are problematic, until the justice that happens.

People who have no place in the camps and the police do not leave them outside the camps, parents who make shelter for their children under the trees on the street corners, young men who due to the lack of family members with them, they are not allowed to enter the camps, the problems of the refugees cannot be imagined to be over, but one can expect organization and order in their problems."

Bosnia Herzegovina isn’t a bad country. I’m sure my friends that have had to pass through will have nightmares about the way they were treated. It’s a poor country, which struggles to take care of its own citizens, let alone the thousands of others now trapped there, but the beauty and kindness of people does exist.

I first met Zac* (not his real name) in February 2021. He was 17 then. He speaks excellent English and Bosnian as well as Persian and is a keen photographer. It's his words that start this post.

We met in a cafe and chatted about how No Name Kitchen could use some of his photos. It was then that he told me about the boys living outside near the camp. The camp was for families and underage and unaccompanied boys. When the boys turn 18 then they are no longer allowed to stay inside the camp. So they had found a derelict house to sleep in.

Zac met us and introduced us to the group of boys that needed some help and gave us an overview of the situation in the camp. It was then that I learnt more about him. He and his parents and little sister had left Iran more than four years ago. They had lived in Sarajevo - the Bosnian capital - and the kids had gone to school. They applied for asylum in Bosnia. The glacially slow process took months and then their initial claim was rejected. This isn't at all surprising considering the number of successful asylum applications in Bosnia Herzegovina.

NO-ONE is granted asylum.

Compare this with the number of successful asylum claims in Germany and it’s clear that the majority of people from Iran are considered to be deserving of asylum in Germany. They were rejected because literally everyone is.

https://www.worlddata.info/europe/bosnia-and-herzegovina/asylum.php

https://www.worlddata.info/europe/germany/asylum.php

The day that Zac told me about the rejection, he was crushed. He’s lived the most important years of his life in Bosnia, it wasn’t an option to return to Iran and he knew from other people what it’s like to try and cross into the EU.

He’d just had his 18th birthday - it should have been a time of celebration. In a western European country he would celebrate being an adult, deciding on where to study at university or which job to apply for after school. Instead he was rejected and defeated by politics and nationality.

During that time, Zac continued to help us with translation, connections, photos and the stories of his friends. The last time I saw him, before I left Bosnia, he told me that their appeal against the asylum decision had been rejected and now they had to decide what to do.

On 5th June I had a message. He and his family, along with some friends, had crossed the border into Croatia and been illegally deported. His phone had been taken by the police but he managed to borrow one later to call me and give the details for this report for the Border Violence Monitoring Network.

“[The officers] behaviour, it was f**king bad with us. I was telling him – why do you take our phone, our money? He said to me “my sh*t is better than anyone here.” I said, whatever you want to do, do it.”

Needless to say, Zac was angry and frustrated. The small children in the group had witnessed the actions of police that they never should have had to face. Zac couldn’t understand how it was possible for humans to treat other humans in this way.

Around 10 days later he called me again. This time had been even worse. Not only had the group endured days on end of walking, but the police had mocked them, stolen their belongings and denied their human rights. Zac sounded even more hopeless, but was determined to do something against this unjust treatment. He was so motivated to provide detailed evidence for the report that he injured himself by scratching the numbers of the cars into his skin. Read the next report here.

"The officers asked if the group wanted to claim asylum. The group members replied that they did. The respondent described how the officers first of all said “Ok come with us,” then as the group were getting to their feet, the officers laughed at them and said “what are you doing? Sit down. No one wants to give you asylum.”"

I spoke to him again this week. Another pushback and another report in the making. This time they had reached the city centre of Zagreb. They were at the bus station.

They were in the centre of a European Union capital city and yet still their human right to claim asylum was denied.

Whilst we were chatting, I asked after Zac’s family. “What can I say?” was the only answer he was able to give. I can’t imagine how he or his family are feeling right now. They are stuck in a camp in Bosnia - living in a shipping container.

Zac takes a lot of the responsibility with his language skills and competence, he’s young and fit and has to watch his little sister and parents endure the physical challenges of walking day after day. And that’s without the emotional drain of expecting to be caught at any moment, of knowing what will happen if they are caught but also with the knowledge that they were so close to being safe before.

We've chatted a lot this we about how best to make this blog post and about people we both know. Zac wants to continue providing content for No Name Kitchen. We want to shout about these injustices. The repeated failings of the European Union to show compassion to people that need help.

I'm very proud to know Zac, to benefit from his help while we were in Bosnia, to share creative ideas and to have as a friend. The injustices he has already faced and those yet to come are not acceptable.

It seems really hard to know what to do about this. I know that I and others have felt angry without knowing how to channel that into action. One way to help is by making a donation to No Name Kitchen who are part of Border Violence Monitoring Network and provide volunteers on the ground who collect testimonies.

Like and share my posts on Facebook and Instagram and comment below with messages of support. It really means a lot to me and to Zac.

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Ceuta and Melilla - People-on-the-move on the African continent

2/7/2021

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Border Defences, Ceuta. Photo: Irina Samy and No Name Kitchen

I hear about the situation in France, Serbia and Bosnia, as well as in Greece via different organisations and from friends. But the situation for displaced people on the African continent is something I knew less about.

No Name Kitchen are helping in Ceuta and Melilla. Both are Spanish-controlled ports on the shore of Africa.

map photo CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=1471958

As with so much global history - the Europeans made claims on the land long, long ago, and the Spanish have controlled Ceuta since the 1600s. The location of both cities meant that it was possible to monitor and control the sea traffic and that the land was easily defended from invasion or attack.

Today, Ceuta and Melilla are part of the European Union.

Neighbouring Morocco, itself a destination country for refugees and asylum seekers from further south, has a complex history. Oppression and economic problems, lack of women’s and LGBTQ rights. Around 4 million Moroccans live in poverty today.

Covid, of course, hasn’t helped. Previously, some movement between the Spanish areas and Morocco was common. This article by No Name Kitchen explains well what has happened during the pandemic and says:

“Since March 2020, when Morocco closed the borders due to Covid-19 restrictions, people from neighboring cities who previously had the right to come to Ceuta freely, have been separated from their family and friends for more than a year.

The leader of the Polisario Front of Western Sahara is in a hospital in Spain. For several weeks, the Moroccan authorities have been threatening Madrid with a political response. This relative opening of borders (forcing people to risk their lives at the sea) could be the answer. Once again, this would be a tragic use of people in order to achieve political interests.”

Vulnerable people were used as political pawns once again.

This Facebook post by No Name Kitchen from November 2020 gives a window into the situation in Melilla:

This week four young Moroccans died, trying to enter Melilla using a sewage drain. No matter how high the fences are, no matter how much control there is in the water, the struggle to achieve a more dignified life does not rest, even if it involves carrying out increasingly dangerous maneuvers.

The mourning and sadness over the death of these four young people reach the streets of Melilla, where the kids relive their own journeys.

One boy relives it even more intensely, a year ago he used the same route to enter Melilla.

"There were five of us, I was leading, guiding my companions as I knew the route of previous attempts. We were crouched, on all fours and sometimes with our chests on the ground. Everything was dark, we could only see half a meter ahead thanks to the small flashlights that we carried in our mouths. The air could not be breathed, it smelled of fecal water, bleach and there was little oxygen. We spent five hours through the darkness, accompanied by garbage, mud, rats, cockroaches, chemicals and broken glass bottles that ripped our skin. We stopped every fifteen minutes to try to breathe a little better. I fainted, I was unconscious with my whole body under the mud, I was lucky that my companions found me in time. I saw death up close, I thought I would not come out alive from that labyrinth. But my companions encouraged me, their lives depended on me who had to guide them, so I continued. Until we finally managed to enter Melilla. I have never explained this to my family, maybe I will do it when I already have my life settled, I don't know. But on that journey I died, died and was born again. "

The problems in the world are so complex, I certainly don’t pretend to understand them all, let alone to know what the answers are. But I do know that so much of the inequality that exists is avoidable. If there were fair trade deals, ethical investing, safe routes for refugees, no racism or discrimination. If people were treated with dignity and kindness instead of otherness and scorn.

Follow No Name Kitchen on Facebook and Instagram and make a donation towards their work here.

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Jo Bradshaw: Everest Summiter and Tesco Driver, Interview

Zoe Mitchell and the John Muir Way: Hiking in Scotland

ASYLUM DENIED: A Friend's Story - Bosnia

Ceuta and Melilla - People-on-the-move on the African continent

Hannah the traveller

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