Bushcraft and survival expert Ray Mears will be sharing stories from over thirty years surviving and teaching in the wilderness as he brings his show An Evening with Ray Mears; the Outdoor Life to the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne on Tuesday 15th October. Following the release of his autobiography ‘My Outdoor Life’ on 12th September, Ray is now touring the UK inspiring audiences and transcending boundaries as he converses in the universal language of bushcraft. Ray will show how Bushcraft is not just about survival, it’s about being practical and resourceful, re-acquainting man with nature and his roots and providing an escape from the shackles of modern life.
Over the past two decades the name Ray Mears has become recognised throughout the world as an authority on the subject of Bushcraft and Survival. He has also become a household name through his various television series, including Tracks, World of Survival, Trips Money Can’t Buy with Ewan McGregor, The Real Heroes of Telemark and many more. These programmes have reached out and touched the hearts of everyone, from small children to grandparents. They are enjoyed by many because of Ray’s down to earth approach, his obvious love for his subject and the empathy and respect he shows for indigenous peoples and their cultures. It is obvious to some, and a surprise to others to discover that Ray has spent his life learning these skills and is truly a master of the subject he calls Wilderness Bushcraft.
Ray grew up in Southern England on the North Downs, where he discovered countryside abundant with wildlife. Developing a unique understanding of his local environment, he learned to track foxes into the forest, never realising that he was embarking on a journey that would become his life’s mission. Wanting to be able to sleep out on the trail yet unable to afford camping equipment, he resorted to a more Robinson Crusoe approach to solving the problem. It was his school judo teacher Kingsley who fired his imagination and encouraged him to look at the world in a different way. Ray found Kingsley to be a wonderful man. He had fought behind enemy lines in Burma during the Second World War, and taught Ray to challenge conventional wisdom and practices. “You don’t need equipment, you need knowledge to survive in the wild”, he would tell him. “Maximum efficiency from minimum effort”, was another of his themes. These simple principles have been enshrined in Ray’s Bushcraft philosophy, in both his writing and his teaching.
Digesting every scrap of information relating to survival that he could find in his local library, Ray soon began to learn skills that had not been employed on the North Downs for perhaps as long as ten thousand years. Since those early days Ray has expanded his horizons, literally travelling the World many times over. Conversing in the universal language of Bushcraft, he has won the friendship of many of the Earth’s first Nations, and has been privileged enough to accompany them while hunting, tracking, and searching for wild plants for food and medicine. Having learnt his unique skills through his work in some of the world’s most uninhabitable and harshest environments Ray founded Woodlore, the school of Wilderness Bushcraft, in 1983 and his ability to adapt his tuition to the needs of his students means he teaches not only civilian students but also military.
Don’t miss this captivating theatre show in which Ray talks about his life, survival techniques, the wilderness and its colourful wildlife and recounts his latest adventures in America and Australia.
An Evening with Ray Mears; My Outdoor Life is at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne on Tuesday 15th October. Tickets £23.50 and £26 available from the box office on 01323 412000 or book online at www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk
