For those people who never asked me if I was related to Bear Grylls, except for the girl working in Cole’s Bookstore in Pembroke, who literally screeched, “Are you related to Bear Grylls” when she saw my name, I am. When I said yes to her, she literally swooned.
She watches Bear’s television programs, has posters of him and even has some of the products he markets. She is a real fan.
It’s absolutely true. We are of the same genealogy, going way back of course, something like a 30th cousin. Still, we do share a couple genes. It doesn’t mean we act like brothers or can communicate psychically though.
Edward Michael Grylls, nicknamed “Bear”, born in 1974, is a British adventurer, writer and television presenter. His television series “Man vs. Wild” made him very popular in the adventure genre. He is also on the Discovery Channel where he defies the odds every week and survives yet another calamity.
He can climb. In fact, he is the youngest Briton to climb Mount Everest at the age of 23. I can climb too. I made it up to the Lookout near Westmeath more than twice, although in the most recent attempt I had a loss of breath and had to rest on the way up.
Grylls was appointed the youngest-ever Chief Scout at the age of 35. I got him beat there. I was in the Beachburg Boy Scouts by the age of 13, the Crow Patrol if I recall. The whole Troop managed to survive some rugged camping trips like true adventurers and at such a young age.
Bear’s military career was cut short in 1996 after an accident left him with a broken spine. During his time in the Special Forces, he received training in a variety of disciplines, among them desert and winter warfare, parachuting, climbing, explosives technology, and combat survival. The skills that Bear developed during this time helped to prepare him for his later work. After spending 12 months in rehabilitation, Grylls launched a career as a celebrated adventurer. I didn’t break my spine but one time I was walking the dog and tripped on the sidewalk. I fell and couldn’t get up until two teenagers gave a hoist. I found out in the morning at the doctor’s office that I had a broken rib. I can relate to how my cousin felt.
In 2005, Grylls led the first team ever to attempt to para-motor over the remote jungle plateau of the Angel Falls in Venezuela, the world’s highest waterfall. I did an interview about a man and his para-motor for the Cobden Sun a few years ago. That must count for something. Maybe he has an advantage because he is younger than I am and so more fearless.
Grylls created a world record for the highest open-air formal dinner party, which was done under a hot-air balloon at 25,000 feet, dressed in full mess dress and oxygen masks. To train for the event, he made over 200 parachute jumps. This was in aid of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award. In a way, we are competitive on this one. About 15 years ago, I booked a hot-air balloon ride that was airborne north of Toronto. A stiff breeze made take-off iffy but it got permission to proceed. Sure enough, the pilot couldn’t keep the balloon on course and we drifted miles off-line. That wasn’t the worst. The balloon was on target to land in an unfriendly farmer’s field but when we did, the cage toppled over throwing us all out of the basket No one was hurt.
Well, turns out that Bear is quite the watch enthusiast and now has a watch brand to promote, and that brand is Bremont. A new company out of the UK, Bremont focuses on Aviation watches built to highly exacting standards. The cases are the hardiest of any production watch on the market. Production is limited to 1,000 of each model. I’ve had my Seiko watch for nearly 40 years. It had been in good condition until last week. Now the estimate for cleaning and repair will be $140. I wonder if cousin Bear could get me one of those Bremont’s.
I have a Swiss army knife, well something similar to a Swiss army knife, I have kept in my car for years in case I ended up in the wrong neighbourhood and was in grave danger. The new Bear Grylls survival knife has two new features, a section of interrupted blade and an improved handle grip. Big deal! Mine had more than one blade and a number of gadgets to do almost anything, even pop a beer cap.
A camera almost did him in on the mountainside in the Canadian Rockies. Grylls needed to be airlifted with a badly damaged leg after a camera on a sled slammed into him, the most heart-stopping moment in seven new episodes of the latest adventure series. The enthusiastic survivalist had glissaded down a mountain, zipping down the snow on his backside, and stopped himself suddenly by using an ice pick. The camera following him didn’t stop, missing Grylls’ head and shoulder by inches before hitting him in the leg. It didn’t break a bone, but came awfully close. Then the tears came. It had been a stressful stretch of filming, and the emotion of it all came rushing out. The tough guy is only so tough. At least I didn’t cry when I took days’ worth of pictures for my editor at the Cobden Sun one time with the lens on the wrong setting. I sure felt like it though.
Bear and I have a lot in common. I am sure, at the next family reunion in England, and I introduce myself, telling him just how much alike we are, he will be very pleased.
