Chile: December (13.12.04)

Raleigh International End of Expedition Questionnaire

Can you fill in the following questionnaire?
Who do I ask?
Is it in the timetable?
Do I need a radio?

Which best describes your experience?
Amazing
Intense
Knackering
All of the above

Have you personally developed?
No way

Please expain?
I´ve suffered from what is known as Raleigh Regression. I´m now more judgemental, more intolerant and have more of tendency to rely on first impressions.

What skills have you excelled at?
* Talking about myself
* Bad dancing
* Throwing snowballs
* Soft skills - teaching the venturers that there´s no ´I´ in selfless
* Having campsite saunas
* Doing comedy dutch slash swedish akshenschss all the time
* Touching youth

How have you been de-skilled?
* Ability to think for myself (can I put that?)
* Personal hygiene effectiveness
* Ability to not walk like a constipated penguin

What are your finest achievents?
* Being unofficially voted the most unprofessional member of staff
* Surviving 72 days without alcohol
* Not actually touching any of the youth

On a scale of one to ten how tired are you?
I´m funked

Have there been any negatives about your experience?
* All the moaning and whingeing (when not done by me in a comedic, non-malicious way)
* People who fuss and faff
* Control freaks
* 72 days without alcohol
* Not recognising a cult when I see it

Phase 3
What did you actually do when you went out into the Chilean countryside?
Me, 3 other staff members, 1 photographer, 10 venturers and a couple of Chilean Parkies helped build a section of the Sendero de Chile - a path that will run from the top of Chile to the bottom once its finished.

Did you finish your bit?
Knocked that off in the first few days then concentrated on the main task in hand: messing about and having exaggerated leisure.

What did you get up to?
In no particular order
* Fishing
* Sleeping out under the stars
* Snow sliding
* Climbing mountains
* Sunbathing one day, snowballing the next
* Making the southern hemispheres greatest sauna
* Turning the world´s cackest ingredients into great meals and cakes (not me obviously, I was facillitating others to do it)
* Doing quizzes / campfire games incessantly

What were the people you were with like?
Due to my influence over the admin department of Raleigh I was able to have the staff dream team and the venturers from heaven, hand -picked to amuse me.

On a serious note, one venturer who had had a troubled past said at the end "in my life I´ve hung round with bad people, from now on I´m going to hang out with good people like you guys". It get choked when I repeat this. Thanks to you all (apart from Frank for obvious reasons).

Did you have any influence over any of them?
God no.

One venturer was heard saying "Sonja is the boss, Sally is the medic and Claire is the interpreter, what does Dan actually do again". I was Head of Gossip, Project Manager of Mockery and in charge of the sound of my own voice. Still everyone seemed to enjoy themselves

End Section
What are you going to do now?
I´ve got 10 days left. I´m going walking with my Dad and my unofficial Raleigh parents Jim and Claire. We´re off to the Torres tomorrow, where before we go out into the national park we´ll be having a night out with my Dad and some of the venturers. Should be interesting.

When are you back?
I´m back in Blighty on Christmas Eve and spending time in the Lake District, back to London to sort out some sort of work-related thingy, then off to Brizzle for New Year.

Then what?
Then I´m going to write a book. This is the next thing it says on my to-do list so better get on with it. Available from all good bookshops by Christmas 2005.

And finally?
In the tradition of the season here´s a quiz for you to keep you occupied over the long Christmas nights. I wrote it from memory and we played it over two nights up in the hills huddled round the fire. I only expect my quiz-related friends to try and do it but I expect them to get well over 90%.

Answers on the website //raleighdan.blogspot.com.

Happy Christmas amigos


Connections

What name connects
- an underground station
- a Shakespearean character
- a borough of New York
- statue by Michaelangelo

Victoria, Romeo, Brookyln, David = The Beckhams

What names connects
- a Greek poet
- a London hospital
- George Clooney's British girlfriend
- a Rod Stewart song
- a substitute for butter

Homer, Bart, Lisa, Maggie, Marge = The Simpsons

What connects
- the general who marched on Rome with elephants
- the name of a degree
- the owner of Sky TV
- the front of a clock

Hannibal, BA, Murdoch, Face = The A Team

What connects
- an Irish stout
- Calista Flockhart's boyfriend
- the green cross code man
- When Harry met Sally's best friend
- Industrial Light and Magic Headquarters

Alec Guinness, Harrison Ford, David Prowse (Darth Vader actor), Carrie Fisher, Skywalker Ranch owned by George Lucas = Star Wars

Celebrities

1 Who are Brad Pitt's 3 actress girlfriends?
Juliette Lewis, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Aniston
2 Who won each of the 5 Big Brothers?
Craig, Kate, Brian Cameron, Nadia
3 Who won each of the three I'm a Celebrity Get Me Out Of Here series?
Tony Blackburn, Phil Tufnell, Kerry McFadden
4 What's the connection between
- Shirley McLaine & Warren Beatty = Brother / Sister
- Jon Voight & Angelina Jolie = Father / Daugther
- Martin Sheen & Emilio Estevez = Father / Son
- Francis Ford Coppola & Nicholas Cage = Uncle / Nephew
- Kurt Russell & Kate Hudson = Stepfather / Stepdaughter
- Judy Garland & Lisa Minelli = Mother / Daughter

5 Name
- J Lo's husband = Marc Anthony
- WIll Smith's wife = Jada Pinkett-Smith
- Madonna's two husbands = Sean Penn, Guy Ritchie
- Bill Clinton's daughter = Chelsea
- David Beckham's mistress = Rebecca Loos
- Chris Martin's kid = Apple
- Leo DiCaprio's girlfriend = Giselle Bunchen
- Johnny Depp's kids' mother = Vanessa Paradis
- Matthew Vaughan's wife = Claudia Schiffer
- Jude Law's girlfriend = Sienna Miller
- Dennis Lawson's nephew = Ewan McGregor

SPORT
1 Which English football team has the most league titles, most European Cups, most UEFA cups, most Coca-Cola equivalents?
Liverpool, of course
2 What's unusual about the British Lions opponents coach this summer? Graham Henry coached the Lions last time
3 Which two clubs did Thierry Henry play for before Arsenal?
Monaco, Juventus
4 Which two clubs did Patrick Viera play for before Arsenal?
Cannes, AC Milan
5 Name the 3 althetic events we won gold in in Athens?
Women´s 800, 1500, Mens 4x100
6 Who just won the World Series?
Boston Red Sox
7 Name Ellen MacArthur's most famous boat?
Kingfisher
8 What's the connection between the 1966 World Cup football win and 2003 Rugby World Cup win?
George Cohen & Ben Cohen are Uncle & Nephew
9 Who are the reigning Wimbledon singles champions?
Federer & Sharapova
10 Name 2 Chilean footballers?
Zamarano, Salas, Margas, Acuna

FILMS
1 Who directed Moulin Rouge?
Baz Luhrman
2 Who wom Oscars for Silence of the Lambs?
Anthony Hopkins, Jodie Foster, Jonathan Demme
3 Who won this year's best female actress Oscar?
Charlize Theron
4 Name 5 Coen Brothers films?
Fargo, Raising Arizona, Hudsucker Proxy, Millers Crossing, The Man Who Wasnt There, Barton Fink, The Big Liebowski etc
5 Who was the director of American Beauty?
Sam Mendes
6 What's the only sequel to win an Oscar for Best Film?
Godfather 2
7 Where did they Find Nemo?
Sydney
8 What's the song from Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid?
Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head
9 What's the name of the family in The Sound of Music?
Von Trapp
10 What's the name of Hugh Grants character in the two Bridget Jones films?
Daniel Cleaver
11 Which city is the Italian job set in?
Turin
12 What are the names of Angelina Jolie's two husband and her kid? Johnny Lee Miller, Billy Bob Thornton, Maddox

MUSIC
1 Where are these bands/singers from?
- Massive Attack = Bristol
- Damon Albarn = Colchester
- The Darkness = Lowestoft
- Echo & the Bunnymen = Liverpool
- Franz Ferdinand = Glasgow
2 Who played the legendary concert on Spike Island?
The Stone Roses
3 Who were the two headliners of this year's Glastonbury?
Paul McCartney & Oasis
4 Which musician did Johnny Depp base his Jack Sparrow character in Pirates of the Caribbean on?
Keith Richards
5 What was the original name of the Beatles?
The Quarrymen / The Silver Beatles
6 Who are RZA and Old Dirty B*stard part of?
The Wu Tang Clan
7 What's Puff Daddy's real name?
Sean Coombs
8 What's the biggest selling album of all time?
The Best of the Eagles
9 Which group was Kerry McFadden in?
Atomic Kitten
10 What's the name of Radiohead's first album?
Pablos Honey
11 Which University did Coldplay go to?
UCL

Geography
1 Name the highest mountains on the following continents
- North America = Mt McKinley
- South America = Aconcagua
- Africa = Kilimanjaro
- Europe = Mt Elbrus
- Asia = Mt Everest
2 What's the length of Chile?
About 4000k
3 What's the capital of New Zealand?
Wellington
4 What river is Rome on?
The Tiber
5 When did Columbus discover America?
1492
6 What are the 5 boroughs of New York?
Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, Staten Island, The Bronx
7 Who's the parton saint of Catalunya?
St George
8 What are the highest peaks in England, Scotland and Wales?
Sca Fell Pike, Ben Nevis, Snowdon
9 What are the three names for Turkey's capital?
Byzantium, Constantinople, Istanbul
10 What are the 3 resorts of the 3 valley's called?
Meribel, Courchevel, Val Thorens

GENERAL KNOWLEDGE
1 Who invented the TV?
John Logie Baird
2 What colour is the Queen's blotting paper?
Black
3 What does the W in George W Bush stand for?
Walker
4 What is Tony Blair constituency?
Sedgefield
5 What 4 papers does Rupert Murdoch own?
Sun, News of the World, Times, Sunday Times
6 What does SCUBA stand for?
Self Contained Underwater Breathing Apparatus
7 Which architect designed the Millennium Dome?
Richard Rogers
8 What's the exact date of the Chilean overthrow of the Allende Government?
Sept 11, 1973
9 What's the only male in the animal kingdom that gives birth to young? Seahorses
10 What is Elvis' middle name?
Aaron

TV
1 What does OC stand for?
Orange County
2 Who voices Sideshow Bob?
Kelsey Grammer
3 Who are the stars of Little Britain?
Matt Lucas & David Walliams
4 Where is the Office set?
Slough
5 What are the names of the two families in Dynasty?
Colbys & Carringtons
6 Which teams to Skinner & Baddiel support?
WBA, Chelsea
7 Where does He-man live?
Castle Greyskull
8 What's the name of the bald guy who works in Central Perk?
Gunther
9 What does MASH stand for?
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
10 What was the name of Den Watts' dog?
Roly