by Bonnie Friend
Learning to walk again
Once a talented event rider, a freak accident at the Osberton Horse Trials in May 2007 left Claire Lomas paralysed from the chest down and suffering from a punctured lung, pneumonia and in need of a tracheotomy. But this has by no means halted her sporting achievements.
After her accident Claire has walked the London marathon and learned to ski
Breaking records from the outset, Claire left hospital after eight weeks; the shortest amount of time anyone has ever spent in Northern General Hospital for her type of injury. Since then she hasn’t stopped in her determination to get better, and has been tirelessly fundraising for the Nicholls Spinal Injury Foundation, building awareness about spinal injury, and crucially, never giving up.
From her epic feat walking the London Marathon in a bionic suit in 2012 to cycling around the UK in 2013 she even found herself lighting the ceremonial cauldron in Trafalgar Square with Boris Johnson and David Cameron to celebrate the start of the London Paralympic Games. Oh, and in her spare time she also taught herself to ski.
Journey around the world
It isn’t the first thing that a 39-year-old mother of one usually thinks of doing, but in March this year, Steph Jeavons headed off on a round-the-world journey with her Honda CRF 250L motorcycle, dubbed Rhonda.
Steph has already travelled more than 16,500 miles this year
A journey that will take her more than two years in total, she has already travelled more than 16,500 miles and still has South America, Canada, North America and Antarctica to go.
Modestly describing herself as ‘potterer’ when it comes to her previous motorcycling experience, Steph seems to be completing the ultimate fantasy and living a dream. What could be more admirable than that?
Message in a bottle
Have you ever noticed that whatever else you may struggle to find access to in remote parts of the world, you can usually get your hands on Coca-Cola? It is arguably more prevalent than Google.
Cola Life delivers life-saving products to hard-to-reach places
Well, entrepreneur Simon Berry thought it was time that kind of accessibility was put to work in aid of social good, so he started filling the empty space in Coca-Cola delivery crates destined for developing countries, with ‘social products’ such as oral rehydration salts and zinc supplements to combat problems such as dehydration and diarrhoea, which are responsible for the deaths of thousands of children.
Since starting the initiative, Cola Life, Simon has received a £10,000 donation from Honda which was used to purchase a secondhand project vehicle, and he has extended its work to include a range of innovations to challenge the status quo and, in the process, he appears to be doing his bit to save the world.
Making sense of fame
Most of us know her as the girl who brought curly-haired Hermione Granger to life in the Harry Potter films, but this year actor Emma Watson proved herself to be a multi-talented and multi-faceted woman when she gave her gender equality speech at the UN Summit to launch their HeForShe campaign.
Emma Watson and the UN Secretary General at the launch of the HeforShe campaign
Having confessed that she was worried she would be ‘eaten for lunch’ by spectators and press alike, the elfin actress delivered a heart-warming and compassionate speech with an endearing tremor in her voice, on the importance of men and women uniting in the universal fight for gender equality.
In turn she went from on-screen darling to the nation’s favourite equal rights campaigner overnight. Talk about using your powers for good!
The unlikely No.1 album(s)
After his sister died at the age of 22, New Zealander Geoff Sewell decided he had to spend his life doing something that he loved. So he made a list of things that he wanted to achieve in the next five years, including a No.1 music album, which given that he was a chartered accountant at the time, seemed pretty unlikely.
Geoff Sewell takes performance to a whole new level with the help of West End stars
After a pivotal holiday, the budding tenor kicked off his fresh start by resigning from his job and moving to the US to enrol at the Boston Conservatory of Music – a change that cost him his life savings. Numerous knockdowns, one big idea and some serious determination later, and Geoff is now the proud founder of London-based entertainment company Incognito Artists, which brings the most innovative performances from West End stars to birthdays, conferences, and even tennis tournaments such as the Honda Challenge Tennis.
You have to see them to believe them, but suffice to say his fans include Elton John and HRH Prince William… and yes, he did achieve that number one album. In fact, he had two!
