On 20th November, Birkenhead School was delighted to host another Linghams Booksellers’ Event, which saw television presenter and narrator, Kate Humble, visit the School to talk about her new book, ‘Thinking on My Feet’.
Kate’s book focusses on how enjoying a daily walk with her dog, Teg, from her Wye Valley home has given her the opportunity to settle at the start of each morning, before the to-do lists and the onslaught of the day.
Kate explained how the walks enable her to notice little changes in the environment that can help then to connect her with the landscape, as well as to the time of year; as Kate put it, the book is a “celebration of putting one foot in front of the other”.
The clear passion and exuberance for nature and the world we live in shone from Kate’s incredible tales, from embarking on an amazing adventure in South Africa when she was “a rebellious teenager”, to visiting a bamboo forest in The Democratic Republic of Congo to help raise awareness for the critically endangered eastern lowland gorillas on behalf of The Pole Pole Foundation.
Since the start of Kate’s adventures, she said she soon realised two things, the first was that the people with the least in life will give you the most; that even those living in desperate poverty will offer you everything they have, as well as having an astonishing joy and human spirit and the second was what an incredible natural world it is – with so much to discover.
Kate expressed how lucky she felt, that her career had allowed her to build on this passion for “how endlessly fascinating the world is” and how she wanted children today to explore the outside, so that, hopefully, they too will gain this love that will encourage a generation to take care of its natural surroundings and to strive to create a sustainable future.
It was a wonderful evening, with Kate’s warmth and excitement drawing in the audience who left the event with their signed books, relishing the thought of continuing with the fascinating stories at home.