About me:
I’m Chris. 28. I think it’s fair to say I have an adventurous spirit: The year I have planned ahead of me will come as no surprise to family and friends.

I’m originally from the Midlands, but now consider myself a Londoner…  I’ve spent most of my working life in Retail IT. Something which has provided countless challenges, lots of opportunities and many frustrations. Most who know me were probably surprised that I lasted 8 years with one company.
Around 3 years ago I moved from London to live in Freiburg, Germany, where I lived happily with a wonderful woman for a fantastic 18 months, until on cue those inevitable itchy feet kicked in… I moved back to the UK, where after just 6 months, I again felt the need to do something completely different.
My logic for leaving a stable well paid job with great prospects is simple, at the moment I have no Mortgage, no children (that I know of), and no firm ties to the UK (family and friends excluded – well most of you anyway).

Having no ties may not always be the case – after selling my crystal ball for a good bottle of single malt back in 1999 I now have to follow my instincts, which to date have never failed me. I’ll be nearly 30 years old by the time I return, my finances will be drained if not exhausted, I’ll have no home, apart from my Land Rover or perhaps a bed at my parents house (for a short time)! Far from being a prospect that concerns me, I thrive on knowing that when I return from my journey I’ll have absolutely nothing to tie me to one particular place.

I strongly believe that you make your own luck in life. If you have drive, passion, vision and are not adverse to a lot of hard work: anything is possible.

I think we’re all a little bit too concerned about the future, our personal (mostly financial) future that is. I think we’re all remarkably nonchalant about our communal global future, and are all too focused on things like interest rates, cars, AER etc… It’s quite clear (to anybody with even just a few brain cells), that if we don’t look after our global responsibilities, personal financial concerns become totally irrelevant. Still it seems most of us do the bare minimum to satisfy our conscience, and diligently work away finding ways to maximise our returns, finding the most profitable investments, or most lucrative career choices, regardless of what industries or values our investments support.

I’ve had a fairly defeatist attitude for at least the last 4 or 5 years and I’m sad to say I’ve been as guilty of not doing enough as the next person… It’s something I’m hoping to spend a great deal of time working on over the duration of my trip.
I’m looking forward to meeting on my journey the many selfless workers throughout Africa who devote their lives for the African and global good. Maybe, just maybe some of their selfless sprit will rub off on me!

 As for the rest of my companions - well, I'm meeting them at various points along my trip... Some will join me for a few weeks, others for a few months - you'll get to know them all as you follow the blog.