Over the last fortnight, I have spent a number of days filming Series Two of the Hollow Crown: The War of the Roses. In it, I kill a bunch of people, get killed a bunch of times and general hack my way through swathes of Yorkshire soldiers. I am dressed as a French solider: you can tell because I...
Continue reading ...
I know, I know; I have been a bad blogger. Hitherto, I have posted thrice a week on average for a few years in a row. Recently, however, I have barely posted at all. "WHY, GODS, WHY?" I hear you type into the comments box. Normally adventure-silence is caused by me not getting up to much of i...
Continue reading ...
For my final morning of the first phase of my screen combat training, I was given a spear. This was the culmination of many a childhood (and adult) dream and not an opportunity I was about to approach with anything less than full enthusiasm. My body, on the other hand, had different ideas. 9 hour...
Continue reading ...
Today was the start of my armed screen combat training. I was so excited that I arrived at the training centre so early that even the breakfast café wasn't open! Luckily, I had a spacious Citroen C1 in which I could nap... Physically, I wasn't feeling too bad. The previous day had been tough, bu...
Continue reading ...
Today was my first day of training in screen combat with the British Action Academy. I booked the course months ago and have been ridiculously excited ever since. On the way to the venue, however, the exhaust fell off my car. Eventually, I managed to lash it back on using the cable that connects ...
Continue reading ...
After appearing on House Hunters International a few weeks ago, I have received lots of very kind messages from people who saw the show. This rocks! I can't express how grateful I am for the show of support; it's hard to stay convinced I'm doing anything worthwhile, so hearing that some peop...
Continue reading ...
Alongside the deadlift, there can be no argument that the squat is the King of Exercises (in weight lifting, anyway). Some even rate the squat higher than the deadlift, but that's a matter of much discussion. Simply put, squats rock. They ravage the majority of muscles in your entire body, burn...
Continue reading ...
Everybody knows that we Guildsmen honour the Full Moon and, in return, are blessed with twice our normal strength beneath its glow (when it bothers coming out from behind the clouds). I am not a man prone to 'freaking', but when I discovered that January-2014's Full Moon (the Wolf Moon) lands exa...
Continue reading ...
24 years ago this very day, the Great Smith in the Sky forged my own Brother in Thunder, Emperor Matthias Bunn of Murderbeers. With him, I have feasted, reveled and lifted for time immemorial. Together with my Brother in Blood, William Billiam, we carved our path through the cities of Europe and...
Continue reading ...
Today, I have come to Muscle and Fitenss in Townsville to meet Joel, the mastermind behind Adventurethon. In fact, it was his infectious enthusiasm for the event that got me to upgrade from simply volunteering to help out, to taking part in the Enduro race, being filmed for two TV shows and expan...
Continue reading ...
Today was my first off-road run of 2013 and my first since a traumatic body-building workout with Robser Le Monster. I decided to try a 10km route my dad showed me before I ran the Wycombe Half Marathon in 2011. So, to the sounds of Apocalyptic Love by Slash, I headed out into the chilly February e...
Continue reading ...
When it comes to exercise (and indeed life in general), I believe people can push themselves far harder than they think they can. I believe people - myself included - set their personal expectations too low, rarely try as hard as they think they are trying, and give up too easily. I believe pe...
Continue reading ...
Today, I decided that running 6km at a time was going to get me nowhere fast. Or rather, it would get me exactly 6km...and rather slowly. Useless. The only thing within a 3km radius of my house is Tesco Express and, if I want to go there, I'll drive. For one thing, it is a petrol station and, fo...
Continue reading ...