Bristol2Beijing

Josh Day cycled from Bristol to Beijing between 2017 and 2019, an odyssey that saw him cross the Pamir highway in winter and later cycle through Siberia in -25C conditions.

In this podcast we go beyond our shared physical journey, discussing self-reliance, our mindsets during difficult periods and the purpose of goals.

We also discuss what led Josh to leave his grad scheme for Beijing and how he's adjusted to life back in the UK.

See below for Josh's favourite:

Place: Kamchatka, Russia

Piece of Music: Zvezda Po Imeni (A Star Called the Sun) by Kino

Book: A Short Walk in the Hindu Kush by Eric Newby

"When the ideal is not available the available becomes ideal"

Until recently there were only two centres in Ghana that could treat children with cancer. This meant that children from the Central and Western regions of Ghana had to make a journey of up to ten hours to receive treatment;

In November 2019, Ella was able to use her expertise to set up a childhood cancer satellite unit at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital, as part of World Child Cancer’s shared care programme.

Yet Ella is still training as a paediatric oncologist. What difficulties did she encounter in creating a new treatment centre with minimal resources and staffing?

To find out more about World Child Cancer, click here

When in Moldova I visited Taproom 27 - a craft beer bar - and the Smokehouse in the centre of Chișinău and talked with David Smith about his innovative way of challenging corruption through business.

We discussed how corruption manifests itself in Moldova, how his bar and restaurant have defended themselves and what kept Dave going through the darkest moments.

See below for Dave's favourite:

Place: The Moldovan countryside

Piece of music: Teo Torriatte (Let Us Cling Together) by Queen

Book: East of Eden by John Steinbeck

‘The hardest thing I’ve ever done.’ 

Lucy Palmer describes with honesty the moment she climbed the stairs to be with her husband at the time of his death, the physical pain of his loss, navigating her way through a death-denying culture with three small children, the array of emotions she felt and the courage it takes to stand in that space of pain.

‘It is very easy to numb out and avoid the things that we don’t want to think about, the things we don’t want to face… When I was brave enough to face those things and to digest and understand those experiences, they were truly the most exhilarating experiences of my life’.

See below for Lucy's favourite:

Place: Mount Hagen, Papua New Guinea

Piece of music: Afternoon in Paris by Stephane Grappelli

Book: Middlemarch by George Eliot

“It was about the person I wanted to be, not so much about the person I actually was”

Lucy tells the story of how she escaped from a difficult childhood in the UK to work in Papua New Guinea, how she fell in love and married her unexpected sweetheart and then faced the challenge of becoming stepmother to four teenage boys themselves grieving the death of their mother. She speaks candidly about the difficulties of forming relationships with her stepsons only to then face a double tragedy in the family.

Rory Stewart talks about what he learnt from the 500 villages he walked through across Asia, how he stayed calm when his compound in Iraq was shelled and why being an MP was the hardest job he‘s done.

He also shares his perspective for what is important for a divided America and his words of advice for Joe Biden.

We also delve into society's last taboo, how to balance achievement with contentment and Rory’s favourite fruit!

See below for Rory's favourite:

Place: Afghanistan

Piece of music: Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan

Book: Anna Karenina by LeoTolstoy

"You have to fully embrace yourself before you can fully love someone else. Hard things take time."

Meet Zoe Davison, an Olympic hopeful in modern pentathlon, who has already proven herself in junior championships. Talent spotted at just 18 years of age she found herself training with women ten years her senior. Yet her attempts to match their performance and physique led her down a dark path towards eating disorder and depression.

Her therapist encouraged her to acquire a dog whose unconditional positive regard was instrumental in her road to self acceptance. Zoe also talks frankly about her own experience of sexual assault, the dangers of making assumptions in relationships and the importance of open conversation around consent.

TW: contains references to suicide, sexual assault and eating disorders

See below for Zoe's favourite:

Place: Font-Remeu, France

Piece of music: Half a man by Dean Lewis

Book: The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey

"We were young. The last thing we were thinking in our minds was cancer."

John Sloan discusses the challenges of a cancer diagnosis at 24, the importance of support from loved ones, how his life was turned upside down again just as things seemed to be getting back to normal and how he found redemption in physical exercise and living in the moment.

"Challenge accepted. Now I’m going to hit this with everything I’ve got...The more I exercised, the more the anxiety would go away…the feel-good endorphins totally overrode everything else that was going on."

See below for John's favourite:

Place: The Amalfi Coast, Italy

Piece of music: The Sharpest Lives by My Chemical Romance

Book: Endurance: Shackleton's incredible voyage to the Antarctic by Alfred Lansing

Arctic explorer & ocean conservationist, Pen Hadow, reveals what it took to become the first person to trek solo from Canada to the North Pole, on his third attempt.

“This is what the whole challenge is about, it’s not about the easy stuff, it’s about how you deal with the really hard stuff … We are all different … Have confidence in who you are and what you can do and bring to the table, and resist the herd mentality and the need to be like everyone else”

See below for Pen's favourite:

Place: Pentire Cove, north of Polzeath, Cornwall

Music: Brahms Piano concerto no. 2 in B flat major

or Loaded by Primal Scream

Book: Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh

“I just kept talking calmly and pretending not to understand...I’m very happy to be robbed.”

Oli started his adventures at a young age, sleeping in a tent in the garden when he was six. Growing up in Cornwall gave ample opportunity to explore the outdoors and this passion has led him to travel to remote parts of the world, including a walk across South India living on just a dollar a day and trekking through Sumatra.

In this conversation Oli shares his tips with me on staying cheerful, how he survived an attempted mugging, the challenge of getting started on each expedition, and how he coped with lockdown.

To find out more about Oli, check out http://www.olibroadhead.com/

See below for Oli's favourite:

Place: Looe Island, Cornwall, UK

Piece of music: "Tales Of Girls, Boys & Marsupials" by The Wombats

Book: An Empire of the East by Norman Lewis