Lust For Life

There’s no better month than January for contemplating future travels.

As Arctic conditions seem set to continue, it might be tempting to swap that trip to the ski slopes for a toboggan ride down our local slopes.

But as well as holidays, of course, there’s also the idea of adventuring and mounting an expedition. It was great to hear recently from Steve Bull who wrote to us from Bull Expeditions, a business creating bespoke expeditions for would-be adventurers. Steve e-mailed to say “Just got some of your gear. Reckon it’s great”. Following up his website, it put us in mind of our own fascination with expeditions, one nurtured in childhood, reading accounts of historic explorers and their extreme.


Drift at Camp, Greenland courtesy of Bull Expeditions

If truth be told, we’re more armchair explorers ourselves nowadays. Millican isn’t a hard-pumping, adrenalin-fuelled business – we’re too soft (or too lazy) for that. But we love to cheer on others who are pushing themselves to the limit and breaking new ground. The great thing about an expedition is that it can be as gentle or extreme as you like. We’re each unique in how we perceive our limits, based on our outlook and life experience to date.


Northern lights, Greenland
Photo courtesy of nick_russill

Steve and one of his colleagues are Winston Churchill Fellows, beneficiaries of a Trust that offers grants to people who want to travel for a purpose that will benefit their careers and, subsequently, the lives of others. Churchill, of course, was another great traveller and adventurer. Just as we’ve been influenced by the pioneering spirit and values of local Lakes legend, Millican Dalton (from whom we take our name), many travellers have been inspired by the character and spirit of Winston Churchill.

Whatever we think of his politics (and the British people certainly gave one reaction at the General Election immediately after the Second World War), Churchill is an iconic figure. Known, of course, for his bulldog spirit, love of cigars, and eccentric dress sense, Churchill was also a man with an incredible zest and curiosity for life. A suitably inspiring figure as we contemplate fresh adventures and expeditions in this New Year.

Consider – he played polo in India at the highest level, learned to fly, painted, wrote, designed the ground and gardens of his family home, and in later life bred racehorses. When he was kicking his heels as a would-be politician in waiting, he learned how to lay brick walls on his estate. And he overcame a childhood stammer to master the gifts of oratory. He gave his shortest and most memorable address at his alma mater during World War Two: “Never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never, never give up”. Something we like to remember as entrepreneurs on our bad days.

Another welcome communication over the New Year break came from another adventurer, Helen Spencer. She wrote:
“Hi there,

I bought one of your bags at Burghley Horse Trials in September and have travelled all over the world with it since. I absolutely love it and am pleased to say it’s now part of my travelling essentials. It fits in a huge amount of things: SLR camera, lenses, books, water, etc – much more than you’d ever think to look at it – bit like a Tardis! I’m a vet surgeon and it doubles up as a kit bag for when I am out in the field treating donkeys in developing countries.

Many thanks for making such great bags, with such care and attention to detail, and it was great to meet you back in September. Your business is really inspiring”.

Helen in Esfahan, Iran

As Helen says, we met her at Burghley but it turns out that she’s a vet, working abroad in countries like Iran for the charity,SPANA. SPANA runs projects treating working horses, donkeys and mules all over the developing world. Many New Year’s revellers are only just starting to plan their next adventure but Helen’s living it already. As we wrote recently in an article posted at the great website, From Briefcase to Backpack , our own travels and expeditions in the past have hugely impacted us, leading directly to the adventure of setting up and running Millican.

So why not get planning your next expedition or adventure? At Millican, one of our aims is to help people “to get out there”, whether that’s the British wide blue yonder or further beyond. For us, being out in nature has impacted us far more than just on a recreational basis. With nature a firm fixture in our lives, we’ve found that we reflect more on the connections between things and make better, more conscious decisions about our daily lives. If we can continue to help others discover that in 2010, we’ll be well pleased with the continuing Millican adventure.