The Times - UK - 04.12.2021

10 saturday review Saturday December 4 2021 | the times

ALAMY

but as a bit of an escape from endlessly

trying to do things the right way, these

books are the best. I think that is why

I noticed so many soldiers love Flashy.

It’s a little reading respite from their day

job of being brave and honourable.

The book I wish I had written

Hornblower, a legendary series of books

about a fictional Royal Navy officer in

the Napoleonic Wars that show how

skills and confidence can build from

small seeds.

The book I couldn’t finish

Once I begin I never give

up. It’s why I’m careful

what I embark on.

The book I’m

ashamed

I haven’t read

I’m not wired like

that. That’s fear

talking and peer

pressure working.

My favourite author or book

Rhinoceros Success by Scott Alexander.
It’s a simple, short book on how to
get ahead in life and on living boldly.
I read it aged 13 and it totally rewired
my aspirations and attitudes at a key
age. The book basically says that life is
a jungle and sometimes we have to just
go for things and charge at life with total
commitment and positivity.

The book I’m reading

Flashman in the Great Game by George
MacDonald Fraser. Flashy is the
ultimate antihero — a liar, a coward and
a cheat, but a true loveable rogue who is
unashamedly caddish. He’s not a role
model by any stretch of the imagination,

my culture fix

The adventurer lets us into his cultural life

Bear

Grylls

My favourite film

Chariots of Fire. Quiet humility

and burning passion wins over

pride and ambition.

My favourite play

Mamma Mia! I’m a sucker for musicals.

The box set that I’m

hooked on

Any whodunnit. I’m watching Clickbait

with Shara [Cannings Knight, Grylls’s

wife]. We both love a bit of a whodunnit

and argue quite a bit about our various

rationales, and about who we think was

the murderer.

My favourite TV series

The American action-adventure

series MacGyver, obviously. No

explanation needed.

My favourite piece of music

Il Mondo (The World), the Jimmy

Fontana hit. It’s such a beautiful,

poignant piece of music that I’ve listened

to on expeditions. It was used brilliantly

in the rom-com About Time and it makes

me cry every time.

The last film that made me cry

Everest. The movie is heartbreaking,

powerful and beautifully made as well

as realistic to the situation [it’s based

on the real events of the 1996 Mount

Everest disaster, and the survival

attempts of two expedition groups] that

unfolded up there that season.

The lyric I wish I’d written

Bridge Over Troubled Water by Simon

and Garfunkel. “Like a bridge over

troubled water/ I will lay me down.”

The poem that saved me

If by Rudyard Kipling for a perspective

on what matters in life and how to live.

The instrument I play

Guitar and piano.

The music that cheers

me up

Queen’s Love of My Life is such a

beautiful song. As a family we also loved

in his element Turner’s

Snow Storm — Steam-

Boat off a Harbour’s

Mouth. Left: the film

Everest. Below: Freddie

Mercury; Julia Roberts

the film Bohemian Rhapsody, which was

so well made and told.

If I could own one painting it

would be...

Turner’s Snow Storm — Steam-Boat

off a Harbour’s Mouth. It’s such a

powerful work of art; legend has it that

he asked to be tied to the mast of

a boat in a storm to experience its full

force. Then he painted the experience.

Arguably, it took him all his life to be

able to express himself so freely in the

way he sloshes paint everywhere, and

I like that. There is something so

incredible about being in a storm at sea.

I’ve had a few while we were crossing

the Arctic Ocean and those moments

can be life-changing.

The place I feel happiest

Our small island hideaway in north

Wales — it’s where I feel most at home.

We have no mains electricity or water

and run everything totally off-grid, but

our three boys, Shara and I are happier

there than anywhere else.

I’m having a fantasy dinner party,

I’ll invite these famous people...

Tarzan, John the Baptist, Charlie

Mackesy, Emma Raducanu, Julia

Roberts and Shara.

And I’ll put on this music...

Believe by Mumford & Sons.

I wasted an evening watching...

So many trashy romantic movies with

Shara that turn out to be awful.

The performance I walked out of

The musical Anything Goes recently — it

was great but our babysitter had to leave.

Overrated

That’s an unkind one, and I can’t do it!

Underrated

Training outdoors instead of in gyms.

Check out Be Military Fit, our

veterans-run outdoor fitness company

changing communities for the better.

If you’re a veteran you can train with

us for free.

Never Give Up by Bear Grylls is

published by Bantam at £20

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