Guest interview: "My hobby is doing special effects make-up!"

This time I talk to Nicole, 14, as she gets to work on us... 

How did you first get into special effects make-up?

I started doing it last summer after I met a girl at my mum's friend's wedding who did it. We became friends on Facebook and I saw her special effects photos and thought, "Ooh, I could try that".

Some people would say it's a very gruesome hobby! What would you say to them?

It's fun! It's artistic! It's creative! I want to be a paramedic and it's made me much less squeamish. Before, whenever I saw something bloody and horrible, I would have gone, "Oh woh woh", but now I'm like, "Oh...okay". It's good being able to watch a film or programmes like Casualty and think, "Ooh, that's fake". You can spot things straight away. I'd love to do make-up for TV. 

So how did you start?

I just got 99p fake blood and researched what I could make myself, like fake flesh out of flour and water with a bit of vaseline. But the blood was BRIGHT red and it was difficult to blend the edges of the flesh, so it looked a bit like having a dollop of cookie dough on your skin! 

But I did a cut and a bullet hole in my brother's cheek with that. Then I experimented with eye shadow, like browns and blues for wounds and bruises, and then I got this box for my birthday with face paints and latex and lots of sponges and brushes and that changed things quite a bit. *Look away now if you're squeamish!*

How hard is it to learn?

It takes time to work out what works and what doesn't and what colour combinations look realistic. I struggled with the very first ones. Even now, it often goes wrong. There's a lot of of wiping bits away, doing it again, wiping it away, doing it again. It definitely develops skills like perseverance and patience!

Where do you get your ideas?

I google YouTube all the time for inspiration. Sometimes you see something and you want to do it but you haven't got the right products, but you've got to be able to improvise, find something that will get the same effect. And you have to be confident – it won't work if you think it won't work!

How long does it take?

Bruises only take about two minutes. The longest I've ever spent doing something was three hours but that was a full half a face. On myself!

How often do you do it?

It's the thing I look forward to doing the most once I've got studying and stuff out the way. It's quite often what I do in the evenings. I just sit there experimenting on myself! I did my friend for Halloween – I did two bloody holes in her neck – and I did my brother's girlfriend the other day.

So, you've finished doing us now. Can we see the results...?
First, my daughter, who would only allow the merest hint of a bruise to be done on her...

Then me, with a right shiner...

And finally, my daughter's friend...

If you like this (or hate it and want a much lighter and fluffier make-up project!), you might like Unbratting the Bratz: Give a doll a makeunder.

Guest interview: "We ran away from crocodiles!"

This time, brothers Quinn (6), Aiden (9) and Luca (7) tell me all about their trip to Crocodiles of the World in Oxfordshire, run by Shaun Fogget of the Channel 5 series The Croc Man.

What did you think when your mum told you she was taking you to Crocodiles of the World?

Aiden: It was MY idea, actually. I went to my friend’s birthday party there a couple of years ago, so I said to mum let’s all go there and she said yes!

Luca: [can’t hold back any longer!]: Me and Aiden were running so fast because there was a crocodile coming near us! There were two of them!

Aiden: [annoyed with brother for jumping ahead] Can I tell you the unexpected bit?

Yes, go ahead.

Aiden: Well, when I was in the crocodile house we went to see the Siamese crocodiles, and we looked at them and when we turned our back they jumped at us – both of them – and we ran away because we were so scared!

But they couldn’t actually get at you, could they?!

Quinn: No, the glass was there.

But it was still scarey?

Aiden: Yes, and after that, we went over to the saltwater crocodiles and we noticed their teeth and we were like NOPE! So we ran away again.

Luca: One of them was really really hooooge. It was so hooooge.

Aiden: The biggest one was about 15 foot.

So these crocodiles can actually kill people in real life, right?

Aiden: Yes. They do something called a crocodile death roll. They grab onto their prey or person and spin it around and drag whatever they’ve got under water to drown it.

Luca [just to clarify]: And kill it.

Quinn: And then it’s gonna die and die and die until it’s put to sleep.

Did you get to hold a crocodile?

Aiden: No, just touch them. You CAN hold them but we weren’t there at the right time.

Quinn: I stroked a baby crocodile. It felt so weird. Kind of like really soft, and like a fish, but it was a crocodile.

Luca: Yes, it was so slimy. And when I was touching its tail, it tickled.

The man told us that if you put your hand near a baby crocodile or you swim near a baby crocodile, the mum or the dad keep chasing you and if it’s a Nile one it’s gonna be really speedy.

Did you see them being fed?

Aiden: Yeah. Dead birds. Chicken.

Did you learn the difference between a crocodile and an alligator?

Aiden: Yes, one of them has a small snout, and the other one I think is a different colour. They had both there. They had like a 100 crocodiles and alligators and caimans.

Luca: There were load and loads and loads. 

Did they have any other types of animals there?

Luca: Yes, parrots and...and...and...what else Aiden?

Quinn: Meerkats, and there was a hole you can go through and there was glass...

Aiden: ...like a glass dome...

Luca: ...and you put your head up in it and everyone can see you and the meerkat come and they’re running around your head.

What was your favourite animal there?

Luca: Meerkat.

Aiden: Black caiman.

Quinn: Black caiman.

Aiden: Cause it’s camouflaged.

Quinn: Cause it looks so awesome.

Aiden: Cause if I was a crocodile I would probably BE a black caiman.

Well maybe you’ll be a black caiman in your next life!

Aiden [stops, looks at me]: Do we actually HAVE a next life?

I don’t know, but some people believe we do.

Aiden: [making his mind up]: I think we do.

Would you like to have a pet crocodile?

Aiden: No!

Luca and Quinn: Yes!

Luca: Can you even GET a pet crocodile?

Quinn: [getting excited]: We can put it into a cage and we need some meat for it.

Luca: And it needs water. That would be MY BEST PET. And I’m gonna have that crocodile. It gonna be MINE.

What name would you give it?

Quinn: Nuke

Luca: No, Bobby.

Quinn: No, Duke.

Luca: Duke of Marlborough! [laughs]

Finally, what do you give Crocodiles of the World out of 10?

Aiden: 10

Quinn: 100.

Luca: 159 out of 10.

Visit Crocodiles of the World's website here. They are holding their first CrocFest UK on Saturday 15th October 2016.

Guest interview: “I learnt to drive when I was 11!”

This time I talk to Laura, now 18, who started driving when she was only eleven years old at the Under 17 Car Club!

I can’t believe you started driving when you were still at primary school!

You can join the club the year you’re going to turn 12, so I was in Year 6. I was quite a small Year 6 too, driving this powerful machine! It thought it was the coolest thing ever, especially being able to go back to my class on Monday and say, “This weekend I drove a car!” – and show them the pictures and videos to prove it! 

But how did you even reach the pedals?!

At first I could barely see over the windscreen! I tried sitting on a cushion but that wasn’t quite right, so for several years it was a case of moving the seat as far forward as it would go and having the wing-mirrors pushed right in.

You have to drive your parent’s car at the club, right?

Yes, it’s your parent who actually teaches you to drive. But there are lots of instructors who hop in and out of the cars and sit in the back and give you advice.

So was it a bonding thing for you or your dad – or did you argue?!

It was definitely a ‘me and dad’ thing. It was really nice. But of course there was frustration. There were bits where he was like, “Why are you still not getting that right?” or he'd say, “That’s it! I need a break!” You know that thing when you get out the car and both go your separate ways...!

Was driving harder or easier than you thought?

Harder! As a kid you sit in the car and you see your parents driving but you don’t really think about it. I remember at first I just couldn’t comprehend why you had to put your foot on the accelerator and take your foot off the clutch at the same time. I was like, “Why can’t I just do one after the other?”

Tell me about the different levels and tests you take at the club.

You usually take the Grade 5 test on your first day – it’s the absolute basics – how to move forward, stop, reverse, simple turning skills. I got Grade 2 when I’d just turned 13, and then it took me another two years to get Grade 1. After that, you can drive solo without a parent and you can drive with your friends and go out in each other’s cars. But they expect very high standards at Grade 1 – I failed two or three times. There were tears of happiness the day I passed!

 

The club’s every Sunday, isn’t it?

There’s a meeting at a different venue every Sunday, but you choose which ones you go – you can just go to the ones nearest you or can go to them all. It starts around 9.30 or 10 and you drive for 2 ½ hours in the morning, then stop for lunch, then drive again until 3.

What are the venues like? Is it like driving on real roads?

They vary a lot but the aim is to make it as life-like as possible with roundabouts, junctions, traffic lights and things like parallel parking bays and reverse slaloms to practice maneouvres. There’s one venue called Bovington which is miles and miles of roads and there used to be a venue that was genuinely like a small town, with pavements, kerbs, trees and really crazy hill starts!

So what’s the speed limit?

Generally it’s 60 miles an hour. But the Castle Combe venue is a race circuit so sometimes the cones are taken away and you can do 70.

You got to drive lorries and buses too, right?

Yes, I drove a 7 ½ ton articulated lorry when I was 13 and I’ve driven coaches and buses. Plus some people at Car Club have very nice cars, so I’ve driven Lamborghinis and Porsches, and some proper old cars too.

What was your favourite?

My grandad’s Bentley! I thought “I can imagine escorting the Queen in this!” I went to my Year 11 prom in it actually.

What’s the funnest thing you did at Car Club?

Skid Pan sessions is top of the list! That’s where they put oil and water on the road, as if it was icy, and you learn how to handle a car in those conditions. It’s really fun!

Are there ever any crashes?

No! It’s a very safe environment. There’s no insurance you see – it’s at your own risk. Perhaps a few close shaves with the Grade 5s sometimes!

Did you make a lot of friends at Car Club?

Amazing friends! And there’s lots of social events like BBQs and things.

And how much did it help you when you took your real driving test at age 17?

Unbelievably! I only had two driving lessons and some of my friends didn’t even bother having lessons and they passed. But I think the greater impact is that it’s made me a generally safer driver ... it’s just ingrained in you when you do it for a few years rather than a couple of months. 

The next Under 17 Car Club's Open Day is this Sunday 25th September. Visit the club's website here.

Guest interview: “I went trampolining in an underground cave!”

*Plus WIN a family voucher for this attraction worth £100!* 
(see end of post)

This time I talk to Isla, 8, who went to Bounce Below, a series of giant bouncy nets connected by walkways and chutes in a huge underground slate cavern in Snowdonia, North Wales.

What did you think when your mum and dad told you where you were going?

I was really excited. But I didn't know exactly what it was...they said it was a "jumparound place".

What was it like when you first walked in?
Well, first you have to go through this tunnel to get into the cave. But then it’s really big...like the size of...HALF OF A WHOLE SCHOOL! It’s quite cold in there – I felt a drip on my head – but it’s really cool because there's lots of different colour lights shining on the walls.


















So can you explain to me what’s actually inside the cave?

There's lots of trampolines on different levels and tunnels in the nets and there's these chutes and when you go down them you have to put your hands like this [crosses hands over chest] so your arms don’t get caught. The way you get up to the top is really curly wurly and when you get up there and look down you don’t know how you got there.

Was it scary?
I was a bit scared on the first trampoline because there are holes in the net like this [holds fingers in a square] and you can see people underneath through the holes. Everyone said “Don’t look down!” The first time I went down a chute it was really scary because the first bit you just drop – it's like going down a black hole. My mum and dad went first!


Did your parents enjoy it?
They thought it was cool but daddy got a bit stuck in one of the chutes because it had a small opening. 

What were the staff like?

They were really kind. But you’re not allowed to do flips.

Was there lots of Health and Safety?!

Well, you have to put a hair net and a helmet on and if your legs are bare you have to wear a jumpsuit (but mine weren’t). My dad had to put nets over his shoes too...I think it was to stop him breaking the trampolines because he’s got big feet. When the dads jumped, everyone fell over!

Have you got any advice or tips for anyone who is going there?

Try and get a trampoline all by yourself or with your family because it’s much funner.

Can you describe it in just three words.
Fun. Exciting. And...umm...bouncy!

What score do you give it out of 10?
10.

WIN A FAMILY VOUCHER FOR BOUNCE BELOW WORTH £100!
(Four people age 7+).  All you have to do is:

1. Be a 'Liker' of the The Quirky Parent Facebook page - so click the Facebook button here if you're not already!

2. Then email the word 'BOING!' to quirkyparent@gmail.com.


Ends Friday 8th July 2pm. The winner will be chosen using random.org and announced here and on The Quirky Parent Facebook page.

This competition is now closed. The winner was Hari Vaudrey.

Guest interview: “I went to stand-up comedy!”

I talk to William, 9, who went to Comedy Club 4 Kids, a stand-up comedy show for children – without the beer or the rude bits.

What did you think when your mum and dad said you were going to see it?

Well, I didn't really know what stand-up comedy meant. Now I know it means they stand up a lot and you laugh a lot.

But it’s just one man on an empty stage with a microphone. Isn’t that a bit boring?

No, it’s the funniest thing you’ve ever seen. There’s less to look at than normal, but it’s not about the things that are on the stage. It’s what they’re saying.

by Isabelle Adam

So what kind of things did they talk about?

Like about SATS tests, the bit on the first page where it says Don’t write on this page but they’ve already written on it and broken the rules ... and about his cat accidentally sending emails ... and his mum being deaf ... and there was a bit where the man asked a kid his name and he thought he said “Jellygo” ... and yeah, things like that.

Do you know what 'heckle' means?
No.

It's when the audience shout out things to the comedian. Did that happen?

Yes, a LOT. My dad told me not to shout so loud because it was going in the boy’s ears in front of me but I really wanted the man to overhear me because then I could tell him my name and he might make up something funny about it.

by Isabelle Adam

Do you think the comedians minded kids shouting out?

No, because it made it funny. You’d get told off if you did that in school though. You have to put your hand up.

In stand-up comedy for grown-ups, the comedians often use a lot of rude words. What was the rudest word you heard at this show?

I didn’t hear ANY ... Oh, except “bumberry”. The boy said “Banbury” but the man didn’t hear it right and it became “bumberry” and then that became another word for a No.2.

by Isabelle Adam

What was the funniest bit?

When the man pulled your finger and it made a fart sound and he said he could tell your future from it.

What did he say your future was?

“Every time you fart, you’ll make a weird face.”

How could they make the show even better?

Get more acts and make it longer. I could have stayed till … I don’t know … 4 o’ clock. [= another half hour!]

by Isabelle Adam

Which would you rather do: Watch a funny film or go to stand-up comedy?

Well, my favourite funny film is Funnymores but I’d rather go to stand-up comedy.

Which would you rather do: Go to a pantomime or go to stand-up comedy? 

Stand-up comedy. Definitely. Oh, but …

What is it?

At a pantomime, they throw sweets out.

Comedy Club 4 Kids do shows at various venues around the country. They also run comedy workshops where children can learn the art of stand-up themselves! Visit their website here.

Guest interview: “I saw the tiniest art in the world!”

This time I talk to MyVeryOwnDaughter, age 8, who went to see the art of Willard Wigan who makes micro-sculptures inside the eye of a needle that can only be seen through a microscope! The exhibition was at the Library of Birmingham.

First of all, what did you think of the new library in Birmingham?

It’s funky and wacky and amazing. I thought it would just be a normal library with books. I didn’t know it would be so big and have moving platforms like in airports. I liked everything, the round shelves and the chairs, and the terrace was epic. I wish we'd had more time. I wanted to explore it all, like go up to the top to the Secret Garden.

What was the art gallery like?

It looked quite plain because it was just a room with microscopes dotted around. The microscopes were too high for me but then I noticed they had these stools, the white ones with the grippy bits you get in a bathroom, like when you're little and you can’t reach the sink or the toilet. 

What did you think when you saw his art down the microscope?

I thought it’s just like HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE because you can’t get your hands to do such tiny things. 

When you looked at the actual needle – I mean not through the microscope –  the eye was just like a little slit and you couldn’t see ANYTHING in it. It’s hard for me to even thread a needle and the needles he does it in are much smaller than the ones I’ve got. [Goes to get needle.]

Do you think he’s a superhuman?

No, he’s just a person. He has something special about him that makes him be able to concentrate hard to do tiny movements. You can’t put him in any category. He’s in his own category.

by Toybot Studios/CC BY-NC 2.0

Do you think it’s a strange thing to do?

I think it’s like he’s born to do it. If that’s his passion to do art inside a needle, then it’s a good choice. Some of the art was on his eyelashes. That's a bit weird. I wouldn’t pull out one of my eyelashes to do art. I’d use a fake eyelash.

You met him, didn’t you? What did you think?

I couldn’t believe he was actually there! I thought his hands would be less big, like more delicate and nimbly. He said it all started with ants, making houses and shoes and hats for ants when he was 5. Then his mum said, “Go smaller, go smaller. What about the bacteria? Make stuff for them.” It got him into a fantasy world. He used to sneak down to the shed in his garden where the ants were instead of going to school. His naughtiness kind of helped him to grow up into this artist.

What else did you find out about him?

He has to do his art in between his heartbeats. That’d be really frustrating because my heart’s beating really fast. Feel it. [I put my hand on her chest.] You’d be like “Oh, I really want to finish that bit now but I can’t”. And he has to be careful not to breathe in his art. That’d be hard because sometimes I take really big breaths.

by Toybot Studios/CC BY-NC 2.0

Did you have a favourite piece?

Not really because they were all different. Each one was better than the last one. But if I HAD to choose one, I'd probably choose The Four Seasons where he'd lined up four trees, summer, autumn, winter and spring, in four needles.

What else would you like to see him make into a miniature?

He could do a solar system with all the planets and stars and the Milky Way.

Did it make you want to go home and make miniature stuff?

No! It’s too fiddly. If I was going to choose an animal to make hats and shoes for, I wouldn’t choose ants! So for inspirationalness, it gets 0 out of 10, but for amazingness it gets AT LEAST 9 out of 10.

Find out more about Willard Wigan and announcements of his future exhibitions here.

Find out more about the Library of Birmingham and their full programme of family events here. 

Guest interview: “A fairy lives in our house!”

I talk to Jasper, 8, about the little being that has taken up residence in his house. His big brother and sister – Isaac, 12, and Daisy, 16 – joined us too.

So how did it all start? I mean, how do you get a fairy to move into your house?

Jasper: My mum ordered a little door and it arrived in the post with a tiny key and fairy dust and you stick it on the wall and put the key there and pour out the fairy dust in front of it – it’s like gold and silver glitter – and if the fairy dust and key are gone in the morning, it means a fairy has moved in.

Isaac: I didn’t think it would work.

Jasper: But it did, didn’t it? [looks at Isaac, grinning and triumphant].

Did you choose the door?
Jasper: Yes, we got an orange one because we wanted to call our fairy Pumpkin.

Why Pumpkin?
Jasper: Because it was just after Halloween. Daisy had the idea.

Where did you put the door?
Isaac: We decided to put it at the top of the landing because we could check it every time we went up and down.
Daisy: But the fairy's worried about the avalanche of dirty washing there, isn't she?

How long was it before the fairy took the key and moved in?

Jasper: When I came out of my bedroom the next morning, about seven o’ clock, the fairy dust and key weren’t there!

Wow ... then what happened?

Jasper: After a few days we got a letter from her.
Daisy: She wrote us a really long one, didn’t she?
Jasper: Yes. On orange paper with swirly patterns all over it.

And we’d already had a tiny note before that with just “Thank you” on it.

Thank you for what?

Jasper: I’d made her breakfast. Tiny bits of toast and marmite and a cup of tea in a tiny lego helmet with playdough all around to stop it spilling out.

And what did she say in her letter?

Jasper: She said her name is [enunciates clearly] Pumpkin Nixie Fireglow. And she’s a Red Knot fairy.

What’s that?

Jasper: I think it’s a fairy with red hair … she said she had flaming red hair. And she said “Nobody likes a fairy with dreadlocks”.

Has she got dreadlocks then?

Jasper: No, but she said she lost her comb and you have to comb your hair, don't you? She asked us to look for it, but we can’t find it ‘cause it’s so tiny.

Do you know how old she is?

Jasper: 16.

That’s pretty young to leave home, isn't it?

Jasper: She said she’s 16 in human years, but in fairy years she’s 620. It’s the age fairies have to leave home. She’s got a place at tooth fairy training college.

Daisy: She said she’s going to practise on you, didn’t she, Jasp?

Jasper: Yes, [slightly concerned] but I haven’t got any wobbly teeth, have I? She said her mum collected Roald Dahl’s son’s teeth!

Have you written back to her?

Jasper: I’ve written about 15 letters. We have to communicate in letters. I usually write one and she writes back or she writes one and I reply. Like on the 1^st of December she wrote, “Time for you humanlings to eat some chocolate!”

Have you made or given her anything ?

Jasper: She asked me to ask Daisy to knit her a blanket for the winter. But she does have a fire in her house. And I put two lego figures for guards by her door and a flower – not a real one. 

Daisy: You can get stuff on the website too, like stepping stones and things, but we haven’t.

Do you think the fairy’s most interested in you, maybe because you’re the youngest?

Jasper: [Thinks] Maybe, ‘cause she says things like “What’s your sister’s name again?”. And she spelt Isaac’s name wrong.

Isaac: With two s’s instead of two a’s.

And have you ever seen her, Jasper?
Jasper: Well, she does come out but you can’t see her because she said it’s really only between night and morning ... like when the sun’s just come up ... you can get just a glimpse ... like a dot in the air.

And have you?
Jasper: No.

I hear you might get a neighbour for her?

Jasper: Not a neighbour, but we might get a green door and put it in our grandparent’s lodge in Cornwall. It’d be a Cornish pixie and we’d call it Jem.

Why Jem?

Daisy: Jem from Jamaica Inn, the book and the film, because it was filmed in Bodmin.

Have you told your friends at school about her?

Jasper: Yes, I told everybody but everyone else doesn’t believe it.
Isaac: [looking at Jasper]: It’s kind of like Santa. You have to believe in it for it to be true.

Do you believe in it, Daisy and Isaac?

Daisy: [Nods]

Isaac: Well, I wrote one letter and she wrote back to me, so I’m just gonna go with the magic!

Would your children like their own resident fairy? Jasper’s mum got the idea from My Own Fairy website and then bought a fairy door and a tiny key from ebay. See her insightful and wryly written blog Daisysmum.

Guest interview: “I ate a worm!”

I talk to Charlie, 14, who did a 24-hour survival course at Bear Gryll's Academy in the Brecon Beacons, with his dad.

So, let’s get this straight. Did you really eat a worm?

Yes. I ate a mealworm. I didn’t want to but everyone else did it and the instructor said, “Go on, it’s protein,” and stuff. You had to crunch it between your teeth to kill it – then I just swallowed it really quickly. I refused to eat an earthworm though. They showed us how to prepare it, like how to squeeze out the black gunk inside first. My dad ate one.

How many people were there in the group?

Eight. Four parents, four kids – two Year 6 boys, one Year 10 girl and me.

What were the instructors like?

They were very approachable. Two of them had worked in the army so they were like, “Come on, do this, do that ...” They kept saying at the start, “This weekend isn’t going to be easy.”

You didn’t just get worms to eat though, right?

No. We had chicken and vegetable stew for our main meal. I usually wouldn’t eat that either! I’m not a big fan of stew – but when you’re really hungry, anything tastes good.

Did you kill the chicken first?!

No, but we learnt how to set traps and snares to catch animals like rabbits and foxes, using sticks and rope and brass wire. One type was made by bending a branch down from a tree – it hangs the animal.

Another type used a stone as a weight – the stone comes down on the animal.

Did it seem cruel?

I did think about that ... We didn’t go back the next day and see if we’d caught anything.

Where did you sleep?

We built two 4-man shelters with sticks and leaves and rope and one waterproof sheet. It was hard to get the design right because there was a slope and rocks in the ground. They gave us a self-inflating mattress and a sleeping bag so I was warm. And we were lucky – it didn’t rain. I woke up on and off though. I suppose I got about 6 hours sleep – they woke us up at 6.30.

Did you learn how to make fire?

Yes, all the different ways you can do it. They gave us a bunch of stuff: flint and steel, chemicals, batteries – you rub the positive and negative sides together and rub with wire wool. Then we walked up to the top of the hill where it was wet and boggy. Our challenge was to make a distress fire in these conditions.

So you never got cold and wet and miserable?

I did! One of the last things we had to do was walk through a waterfall so we could walk behind it – it was really strong, pounding down on me, and freezing. Then we had to jump into the pool below and swim across it in all our stuff – jeans, socks, jumper, backpack. It was about 3 degrees.

What other survival skills did you cover over the 24 hours?

Rope-crossings, abseiling (without a safety harness – just a rope connected to a tree at the top), knot-tying, foraging for plants you can eat or use as antiseptics, like there’s this type of clover with heart-shaped leaves that tasted like apple skin, and a mushroom – you can’t eat it but you can use its skin as a plaster and it helps the wound heal. And we learnt how to make a stretcher out of long sticks and jumpers and carried someone about 100 metres to a place where a helicopter could land.

What did you like the best?

Actually, the star-watching – like how to find the north star, and other groups of stars.

And what was the worst bit?

Swimming in freezing water at 9.30 in the morning! I hate being cold and wet. But that’s what the whole experience was about. Life and death. You might have to do this stuff in a survival situation.

There are five Bear Gryll's Survival Academies in the UK and four in the U.S. Visit the website here.