Hello everyone interested in my sponsored climb up Mont Blanc. I'm sat here writing this at exactly the same time I should have reached the top. I have been here for a week, training and aclimatising and getting ready for the ascent. I've climbed peaks near to Mont Blanc, crossed huge glaciers in the dark and slept in remote refuge huts in the process....however, the weather has turned against me over the last days and the Mountain Guides will not allow an ascent due to the real dangers: Nearly a metre of fresh snow (above 3000 metres...Mont Blanc is 4810m) threatening [View Full Entry]

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The intrepid Birdman (aka James Everson-Crane) has set his sights on Mont Blanc - at 4810m, the highest mountain in the Alps and all of Western Europe. On August 30th 2008, James will begin his ascent of Mont Blanc raising money for LifeStart Foundation who are changing lives in Vietnam. 100% of sponsorship money will be spent helping children, the poor and disabled in Hoi An. If you can sponsor James please leave a comment below. Many thanks, James, Rachel, Jake, Helena and Sam x [View Full Entry]

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Thank you for my Birthday Messages. They were a big surprise to me. We went to Movie World. It was fantastic. There were not many people so we could go on the rides again and again! i liked the Scooby Doo ride but Mum was scared. We all got wet on the water ride. Jake won me a big Scooby Doo by scoring basketball hoops. It was one of my best birthdays ever. From Sam PS Congratulations Twycross on your singing win! [View Full Entry]

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At the end of May, Samuel will be celebrating his 8th Birthday in Australia! If you have a minute, please leave him a private birthday message or public comment below! Its very easy to do! We'll show him this Surprise Birthday Blog on his Birthday morning and we know he'd love to get a message from you!! Many thanks Love from Rachel, James, Jake, and Helenaxxxx [View Full Entry]

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For our two week Easter holiday we decided to revisit New Zealand. Five years ago we spent 8 weeks touring the North and South Island in a campervan. Our favourite place was Queenstown in the South Island and that’s where we headed! First though we spent a few days in a small, coastal town called Akaroa. The drive from Christchurch was fantastic - green, quiet and only just over an hour! Rather like the Lake District but without any caravans or queues!! Akaroa is a delightful French town full of waterfront cafes, sailing boats and boutiques. Why aren’t there any crowds? [View Full Entry]

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So did James (aka Birdman!) manage to fly across the River Yarra? Well not quite! But he did manage a magnificent leap of 7.5 metres which earned him huge cheers from thousands in the crowd! He also managed to make a big splash for charity - appearing in newspapers here and in Vietnam. Rather angelic in his flowing, white gown; expanding lacy wings and Vietnamese hat; James added an aerodynamic, racy ruffle of "Big Red Bird Feathers" just days before the event. Sam had designed James' costume in the UK and last week James visited Sam's class at school where he [View Full Entry]

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On March 9th, James is going to enter the famous Birdman Competition in Melbourne, Australia. This involves leaping off a ridiculously high platform and flying gracefully across the Yarra River! Last year we watched this event as part of the Moomba festival and James was a little critical of many of the aircraft/ flying machines. Convinced he could do better, James rashly promised that if ever we were in Melbourne in March he'd enter!!! Well March is fast approaching! We're here in Melbourne and James has no excuse but to take part! Sam's designs have been approved by the [View Full Entry]

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Merry Christmas & All our Best Wishes for a Happy 2008! love from, Rachel, James, Jake, Helena and Samuel XXXXX [View Full Entry]

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An ENORMOUS THANK YOU to Twycross House School, friends and family who made very generous donations in order that we could help more people when we returned to Vietnam. This was on top of Hanh’s scarf money - I hope all kind scarf purchasers out there have read our previous thank you blog - Hanh Made Scarves from Hoi An! by Rachel & Helena (click on here if not!) This blog is a BIG THANK YOU to everyone who gave a donation. Firstly our heartfelt thanks go to: * Twycross House School, Warwickshire - who with the help [View Full Entry]

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It's been more then 6 months now since the Everson-Crane family of five started our world trip. In just a couple of weeks we will be back in the UK and we've been reflecting on what we've done: * Been around the world twice (once going East & once going West) * Travelled on 35 flights * Spent over 180 hours (or more than a week!) in the air. (Yawn!) * Slept in 42 very different hotels, houses and homes - hence 42 different beds each around the world! * Produced over 40 travel blogs (Which have been looked at [View Full Entry]

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