Arrange a meeting of minds!!

[Paul_B]

A strange idea came into my head last night and I thought I would post it here (don't worry, it's a nice idea).

I was updating my phone (android of course) apps and after updating Amazon Kindle I went into it.Among the recommended books were several bushcraft books. Scanning through them (a mixture of management/business books and bushcraft/outdoors) I spotted two books side by side. One was Bear Grylls newer books on "Living Wild" and next to it (well the other side of JRR Tolkiens children of Hurin and applying the 8 disciplines) was Ray Mears "Outdoors Living".

My idea was how it would be interesting to get those two to meet on a couple of trips to the outdoors. One trip would be doing something Ray Mears wanted to do, the other something Bear Grylls would want to do. What I mean is a trip that summed up their attitude, activities and interests in the outdoors. During these trips they would be discussing their views on what they see as important. In my idea it was a kind of me either eavesdropping on that trip or being part of it (perhaps as some weird website competition win). More likely a TV documentary programme might work better.

I just don't know what would come out of that but I think it would be interesting. Not least because of how a lot of people discuss the differences between them. I wonder how different they really are if you got down to the heart of what the outdoors means to them.

That lead on to my idea expansion that might be an interesting discussion on here...

 

[mountainm]

Or..

We heli drop them both on an island with only enough resources for one. They only have their wits to survive.

Two may enter, one must leave...

No?

 

[Paul_B]

If you could arrange a meeting of minds between two people in the most appropriate place(s) for it who would they be and where?

For my suggestions it would be Ray Mears in his home turf (isn't it down south somewhere like Sussex?) with a return leg to Bear Gryll's turf (I think I heard that he had an island off Wales, perhaps that). Of course for the TV programme perhaps a trip to the Kalahari with the Bushmen for Mears and perhaps a return to was it Copper Canyon with Grylls for a scramble around with minimal kit. Or some such more interesting environment.

 

[Paul_B]

Hehehe! Like your thinkingMM. Although wasn't Bear Grylls in the army, briefly in the SAS or other more elite regiment? If he still has his old skills it could be a shorter trip if the premise was last man standing, no questions asked!!!!

 

[mountainm]

If you could arrange a meeting of minds between two people in the most appropriate place(s) for it who would they be and where?

For my suggestions it would be Ray Mears in his home turf (isn't it down south somewhere like Sussex?) with a return leg to Bear Gryll's turf (I think I heard that he had an island off Wales, perhaps that). Of course for the TV programme perhaps a trip to the Kalahari with the Bushmen for Mears and perhaps a return to was it Copper Canyon with Grylls for a scramble around with minimal kit. Or some such more interesting environment.

Seriously - I'd drop them homeless in a foreign city where they can't speak the language and won't be recognised, with no cash. I'd like to see how they adapt there skills to unfamiliar situations.

 

[Goatboy]

I must admit that a lot of the "differences of opinion" that there are supposed to be between them are very probably stirred up by the media.
At the Ray Mears lectures I've been to someone invariably asks him about Bear Grylls and he invariably refuses to be drawn or at least isn't derogatory about the chap. And from reading his autobiography I can see that they're coming from things in different ways.
I haven't read that much about BG, but he seems a descent chap, not my cup of tea, I feel we should try to be more in tune with our surroundings rather than trying to conquer them. But he seems to have raised his game in as role as Chief Scout. Again he doesn't spend his time slagging of RM which is good.
On that point Lofty Wiseman though he wrote an excellent tome and teaches great skills kind of turned me off of him due to his attitude to the two others and more importantly how he put it across. Very negative and was detrimental to himself in my eyes.
A program would be interesting, though I don't think they'd agree to it. Though it may end the incessant carping and flamewars that you see on some forums on the subject of them both.

 

[mountainm]

Hehehe! Like your thinkingMM. Although wasn't Bear Grylls in the army, briefly in the SAS or other more elite regiment? If he still has his old skills it could be a shorter trip if the premise was last man standing, no questions asked!!!!

Nooo - Bear would spend his time looking for a hotel to stay in and Ray would be busy wondering why the local porters carrying his 3 ton of Dutch ovens and associated cast iron cooking kit hadn't showed up...

 

[oldtimer]

A meeting on home turf? That would be a luxury hotel for both of these millionaire businessmen.

 

[Paul_B]

I must admit that a lot of the "differences of opinion" that there are supposed to be between them are very probably stirred up by the media.
At the Ray Mears lectures I've been to someone invariably asks him about Bear Grylls and he invariably refuses to be drawn or at least isn't derogatory about the chap. And from reading his autobiography I can see that they're coming from things in different ways.
I haven't read that much about BG, but he seems a descent chap, not my cup of tea, I feel we should try to be more in tune with our surroundings rather than trying to conquer them. But he seems to have raised his game in as role as Chief Scout. Again he doesn't spend his time slagging of RM which is good.
On that point Lofty Wiseman though he wrote an excellent tome and teaches great skills kind of turned me off of him due to his attitude to the two others and more importantly how he put it across. Very negative and was detrimental to himself in my eyes.
A program would be interesting, though I don't think they'd agree to it. Though it may end the incessant carping and flamewars that you see on some forums on the subject of them both.

+1 on that excellent post.

When it came into my head it was purely for my interest. the first thought was how I would actually like to meet them together in the outdoors and learn from them both. Indeed my view was that we'd all learn something (me more than them). Then it mutated into the TV idea of a fly on the wall documentary of them, in turn, taking the other to somewhere special to them or to do something special to them. When there and doing what they want to take the other to do there's some kind of open discussion on the outdoors. IMHO such a show would be about "philosophies" as much as what is being done. However for those for whom philosophy is a big word not understood you still have the activity going on for the lighter side of things.

Now they are different people and the perception of them is as much about the views of the perciever I think. That is why I would just like to know. Put them in a place or doing something they are totally at home in and just let them drop their guard together. Might not become friendship but this sort of activity leads to understanding. That journey is interesting. Well it is in my mind.

Another way of looking at it is that Bear Grylls show where he took celebrities into the outdoors. I watched the one with Stephen Fry. Without being derogatory about them, they are totally different people in what they like. It is my perception that when Stephen Fry was sent to get the kit he needed for this show, the walk up one of those wooden slopes with the cobbles on them in Cotswolds boot section was the closest he had got to climbing an Alpine peak!!! However I truly liked that show. Fry was totally erudite and a real enlightenment happened I thought. Grylls ws truly patient and supportive/encouraging in how he coaxed Fry around the route. I'd like to have seen the unused footage or seen what they were like when the cameras had gone and it was the two of them chatting.

No matter what others say I have always thought that Grylls and Mears are both good ambassadors for the outdoors. Both are interesting people with valid things to say about the outdoors. They take different approaches and in Grylls case has taken a lot of stick for things outside of his control (the hotel thing and playing up to the show format, etc.). Having said that some of Mears TV work comes across at times like a compulsory course of lectures for a degree course in bushcraft!

At the end of the day this meeting of minds would be entertaining.

Anyway, that was my meeting of minds. Who would you have meeting and in what circumstances?? Hopefully we can move this back to the idea of two people having a meeting of minds and learning in the process (us learning too). This fictional TV format idea of mine, perhaps we could work out a full series of interesting meetings.

 

[Paul_B]

A meeting on home turf? That would be a luxury hotel for both of these millionaire businessmen.

Didn't Grylls once say his escape from it all is his private island? Some chat show he said something about it. IIRC one of them on the show made a comment about him running around on his island, getting back to nature and all that (possibly the phrase naked got in the conversation too but rather not go there).

 

[Macaroon]

Or..

We heli drop them both on an island with only enough resources for one. They only have their wits to survive.

Two may enter, one must leave...

No?

If those two men went side by side to survive on wits alone, I don't think there's much doubt of the outcome; one of them got the other one's share when it came to giving out the wits. I wonder if you can guess which way 'round?

 

[Paul_B]

Aren't you confusing knowledge with intelligence when you mention wits? I have no doubt Mears knows more about bushcraft and survival, but if they go to this island knowing one won't come off alive pure bushcraft knowledge might not be enough.
Only from interviews I'd say both of them are actually reasonably intelligent and creative people. I'd not want to put my money on any of them as I'm really not sure who's most likely to survive, especially if you put no rules on on the trial and make out truly a case of one dies and one lives.

 

[Tengu]

Id say no. They have both been on telly enough

 

[Countryman]

As a Dad I can't say this would appeal. Reason for this would be my 8 year old boy.

There's nothing worse having slung your hammock, made your fire, knocked up a pot hanger, kettles boiling merrily so you kick back under a mossy tree and pull your hat down over your eyes for a self satisfied doze in the sun and the boy wants to go climb trees, swing on a rope, swim in the stream or some such adventure. "can we Dad, can we Dad, are you awake yet Dad?"

There, that's just the same dynamic as a Ray Mears TV show with Bear Grylls. Frankly it's too close to home.

Both have their styles. Chill in the woods vs go have an adventure. It's not even "control the wild" vs "work with nature" like Duel Survivor was.

I genuinely like both BG an RM (Heck I'm sitting not 10 feet from stashes of both guys kit). RM appeals to the older me while BG I'm grateful to for getting my kids off their electronic entertainment and into the green.

As a TV show it would be a suckfest.




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