FIRST IMPRESSIONS: RAY MEARS
What are you working on?
I’ve just finished filming a series for BBC Four about the Wild West, which will air some time next year.
When are you at your happiest?
I’m at my happiest when I’m in a wild place in a canoe with my telephone turned off.
What is your greatest fear?
I don’t have one.
What is your earliest memory?
I can remember being an infant in Nigeria. I remember sitting on my dad’s lap while he was driving the car out of the drive and there were chickens and things. I was very young; I must have been less than one.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
Oh, I don’t know. That’s a very difficult question. I don’t really think that way… it’s a destructive way of thinking, and I’m not into beating myself up psychologically.
Who has been your greatest influence?
There have been lots of people along the way. My judo instructor; my parents… but that must be true of everybody.
What is your most treasured possession?
The knowledge I’ve acquired over the years. I can’t lose that.
What trait do you deplore in others?
Racism.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I try not to look in mirrors.
What is your all-time favourite book?
I’ve read so many, it’s hard to choose one. A book I very much enjoyed was The Education Of Little Tree by Forrest Carter.
Your favourite film?
The Day Of The Jackal, the original. I think it is perfection in film-making. The story is gripping and the pace is perfect. The moment you start watching, you become engrossed, and you have to see it through to the end. It’s not too long. It has a very good beginning, a very good middle and a superb ending. A lesson in film-making that Hollywood should pay more regard to.
Your favourite music?
I have so many favourites. I really like Nina Simone’s Feeling Good.
Your favourite meal?
A Sunday roast: the greatest meal on the planet and the most celebrated.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
I’d have a bevy of explorers, Indian chiefs and people of that ilk. It would be interesting to sit down with Horatio Nelson, Robert Rogers, a soldier in the 1750s, Geronimo, Samuel Hearne, the explorer, and Dr John Ray. For entertainment value, I would invite Sir John Franklin, to see how I get on with a real bushman. A pretty obscure bunch.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
I don’t know. I ignore people who say nasty things; they’re not worth listening to.
Do you believe in aliens?
If you ask me if I think there are other life forms in the universe, the answer is yes. Do I think that aliens are to be found here? The answer is no. I don’t think we’ve been visited by them.
What is your secret vice?
I don’t have one.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
Of course.
What would improve the quality of your life?
More time.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘He was a good woodsman.’
Ray Mears will appear across the UK this autumn in his new stage show, An Evening With Ray Mears: The Outdoor Life. For the full details, go to www.raymears.com – Ray Mears’s autobiography, My Outdoor Life, is published by Hodder & Stoughton on 12 September, priced £20.
I’ve just finished filming a series for BBC Four about the Wild West, which will air some time next year.
When are you at your happiest?
I’m at my happiest when I’m in a wild place in a canoe with my telephone turned off.
What is your greatest fear?
I don’t have one.
What is your earliest memory?
I can remember being an infant in Nigeria. I remember sitting on my dad’s lap while he was driving the car out of the drive and there were chickens and things. I was very young; I must have been less than one.
What do you most dislike about yourself?
Oh, I don’t know. That’s a very difficult question. I don’t really think that way… it’s a destructive way of thinking, and I’m not into beating myself up psychologically.
Who has been your greatest influence?
There have been lots of people along the way. My judo instructor; my parents… but that must be true of everybody.
What is your most treasured possession?
The knowledge I’ve acquired over the years. I can’t lose that.
What trait do you deplore in others?
Racism.
What do you most dislike about your appearance?
I try not to look in mirrors.
What is your all-time favourite book?
I’ve read so many, it’s hard to choose one. A book I very much enjoyed was The Education Of Little Tree by Forrest Carter.
Your favourite film?
The Day Of The Jackal, the original. I think it is perfection in film-making. The story is gripping and the pace is perfect. The moment you start watching, you become engrossed, and you have to see it through to the end. It’s not too long. It has a very good beginning, a very good middle and a superb ending. A lesson in film-making that Hollywood should pay more regard to.
I have so many favourites. I really like Nina Simone’s Feeling Good.
Your favourite meal?
A Sunday roast: the greatest meal on the planet and the most celebrated.
Who would you most like to come to dinner?
I’d have a bevy of explorers, Indian chiefs and people of that ilk. It would be interesting to sit down with Horatio Nelson, Robert Rogers, a soldier in the 1750s, Geronimo, Samuel Hearne, the explorer, and Dr John Ray. For entertainment value, I would invite Sir John Franklin, to see how I get on with a real bushman. A pretty obscure bunch.
What is the nastiest thing anyone has ever said to you?
I don’t know. I ignore people who say nasty things; they’re not worth listening to.
Do you believe in aliens?
If you ask me if I think there are other life forms in the universe, the answer is yes. Do I think that aliens are to be found here? The answer is no. I don’t think we’ve been visited by them.
What is your secret vice?
I don’t have one.
Do you write thank-you notes?
Yes.
Which phrase do you most overuse?
Of course.
What would improve the quality of your life?
More time.
What would you like your epitaph to read?
‘He was a good woodsman.’
Ray Mears will appear across the UK this autumn in his new stage show, An Evening With Ray Mears: The Outdoor Life. For the full details, go to www.raymears.com – Ray Mears’s autobiography, My Outdoor Life, is published by Hodder & Stoughton on 12 September, priced £20.