Ross Kemp

Ross Kemp Amazon adventure to be screened on SKY TV in April. The 2x1-hour project Ross Kemp: In the Amazon (working title) will look at the socio-economic and environmental pressures facing the Amazon regions in Brazil and Ecuador. The doc is set to air in April and features Kemp looking at the legacy of devastation created by a burgeoning global desire for energy, food and mineral resources.
Both projects form part of a lineup of programs commissioned by Sky1 and Sky1 HD, among other channels, to highlight the plight of the rainforests to be aired throughout April. In October 2009, Sky joined forces with its customers and WWF to launch Sky Rainforest Rescue, a three-year project to help save one billion trees in the state of Acre in northwest Brazil.

Stene Jones Sky TV Programme

Sky1 Spotlights Amazon Rainforest
By Kristin Brzoznowski
Published: February 25, 2010
LONDON: Sky1 HD and Sky1 have commissioned a one-hour documentary that features presenter Steve Jones and his two brothers on a trip to the Peruvian Amazon.

Tentatively titled Steve Jones and his Brothers: Great Amazon Adventure, the one-off special will air on April 21. Produced by Ginger Productions, the film will follow Jones and his brothers Jonathan and Chris as they embark on many adventurous activities in the rainforest.

Blanket of snow

Wow, woke up to another blanket of snow on the ground, I cannot remember a winter like this. It is not ideal training for running through the Amazon.

Really enjoyed 'Dancing for Sports relief' last night well done to all taking part I must say it does make me feel proud to be British.

I am amazed. I have just gone on to the Sports relief web site and after planning my run last year and coming back to the UK and finding out about Eddie Izzard running a marathon a day, I have just discovered Helen Skelton is right at this moment kayaking down the Amazon River, Go Girl Go!!! She has broke two world records so far, I have no plans to break world records I just hope I can first of all get the opportunity to take up this challenge, secondly complete it and thirdly raise as much money and awareness about that lovely important part of the world.

1st Full weeks training

Well many thanks to Nye Bevan swimming baths in Skelmersdale for helping me with my first full weeks training, the freezing cold weather is playing havoc with my training runs but fortunately I can now train on all the cardiovascular equipment at the baths, I am managing 2 hours training a day. I just need to sort out the headphones so I can listen to my music or listen to the TV.

‘Where we you when…’ or ‘I remember when…’

11th February 1990 was one of those classic days we all in the future ask ‘Where we you when…’ or ‘I remember when…’ That was the glorious day Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was finally released from prison after 27 years behind bars.


One of the remarkable stories of the last century, a man who fought to change one of the most embarrassing injustices of that era apartheid and ended up in jail and despite being offered conditional freedom after 22 years in jail he refused and stuck by his principles and spent a further 5 years incarcerated and at his age another truly example of a ‘Great Man and inspirational human being’ and someone who has motivated me to take up this challenge of running through the Amazon Rainforest.


On his release he became Leader of the ANC and eventually president of a new South Africa giving hope to millions of people all over the world and then a joint Nobel peace prize winner with F. W. de Klerk (whose part in this amazing story should not be forgotten) and both men on retirement still doing charity work and trying to help their fellow man to make the world a better, safer and fairer world for all black and white, rich and poor.


20 years ago today I was glued to the TV all day singing the chorus line ‘Free Nelson Mandela’ by the Specials, and in somber moments remembering Martin Luther King’s quote ‘Free at last, free at last’ A remarkable day for us all. I never got fed up of watching Nelson and Winnie together and realizing that we can make a change and ‘If You Wanna Make The World A Better Place’ as the late great Michael Jackson sang later.


Nelson Mandela is arguably one of the most iconic politicians and statesmen of the last 50 years. His remarkable ability to show no malice towards his former enemies is something many could learn from. He is a man who had a vision for his country and lived to see his dream of a free South Africa realised.


I’m no great Politician or singer (although I do like to dance) I’m just an ordinary Joe trying to do something unique and raise money and awareness for something I feel is as important as the anti-apartheid movement, stopping de-forestation by Greedy Bastards and please pardon me for using profanity, those of you that know me know I do not like swearing but when I am passion about something I get quite emotional and that is what those people in the Amazon rainforest are, selfishly destroying a true wonder of our planet and murdering innocent people including a 72 year old nun ‘Sister Dot’ whose crime was to try and help the local and indigenous people.

Bruce Parry - Amazon Tribe

The postman has just delivered my Bruce Parry - Amazon Tribe - Songs for Survival CD, I can't wait to listen to it at last. Well Done Bruce for an very initiative idea to use indigenous groups and legends from the pop world.

Bruce Parry, star of the BBC series ‘Tribe’ and ‘Amazon’, has teamed up with some of the music world’s brightest stars to create a fundraising album for Survival International, entitled "Amazon/Tribe – Songs for Survival".

Bruce has worked with producer Martin Terefe on the album that includes KT Tunstall, will.i.am (Black Eyed Peas), Johnny Borrell (Razorlight), Tom Baxter, Mystery Jets, Jason Mraz, Yusuf Islam, Hot Chip, the Go! Team and Mike Oldfield.

In addition, Guy Berryman, Jonas Bjerre (MEW) and Magne F. (A-ha) have formed a new band specially for the CD called Apparatjik, and recorded a track that will also be used for the end credits of ‘Amazon’. Every track on the album is exclusive, and has been written especially for the project.

The first CD of the album is titled ‘Amazon’ and features songs inspired by Bruce Parry’s new series of the same name, to be shown on BBC2 in the UK from 15 September. The second CD, entitled ‘Tribe’, is a collection of dance/experimental songs which all use samples of music Bruce recorded when living with indigenous people during the making of his hugely popular BBC show.

Bruce Parry has spent years immersing himself in some of the world’s most remote tribal cultures. His first hand experience of the threats so many tribal people face to their very survival lay behind his determination to help them. He says, ‘I’ve got so much from my time with tribal people that I really wanted to do something for them in return. Being able to bring together this fantastic group of musicians seemed like a brilliant way of doing that – and it’s been wonderful to see how they’ve been inspired, in turn, by some of the incredible tribal music we’ve recorded.’

The importance of the Amazon Rainforest to us all

I know I do not need to inform you of the importance of the Amazon Rainforest, but other people need to be made aware why it is so important to the whole world as it contains more than half of the planet's remaining tropical rainforest, one-fifth of our global freshwater, and as much as one-third of the world's biodiversity and we need to do everything we can to stop de-forestation now, not in 20 or 30 years time after the forest has been devastated and to use the huge benefits the forest has to over mankind especially in medical terms.


I totally support ideas to use and replace the fruits, nuts, plants and even trees as long as we take only what can easily be replaced and stop the greed humans suffer from. Living as I have done in Brasil for 5 years and seeing the vast empty space in NE Brasil, I am saddened to think the only reason deforestation on the scale is happening in the Amazon is because it is easier to get away with it there and it must be cheaper to use the fertile land there instead of concentrating on turning the land we have here into grazing land, when I see what man can achieve around the world, why does everything have to revolve around more profit.

I often think of the quotation from the film ‘The Matrix’ - ‘I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species. I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment, but you humans do not. You move to an area, and you multiply, and multiply, until every natural resource is consumed. The only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet, you are a plague, and we are the cure'.


When I was about 10 or 11 years old I bought my first two books from the school book club, I cannot tell you what one of the books was about but I still remember to this day, 40 years later, the first one I read and re-read many times was about the ‘Amazon Rainforest’. As someone who was brought up on the ‘legend of Tarzan’ to discover this other land not in Africa but with exotic animals such as flesh eating piranha fish (I now know most piranha fish are actually fruit eating and there has never been a recorded human death by a piranha fish) anaconda snakes which could get you in the water as well as on land, jaguars both black and spotty, massive caiman (jacaré as the Brasilians call them) related to my old favourite the crocodile (How many times had I watched Tarzan kill one to save innocent people), electric eels (Puraque), Stingray fish, vampire bats, soldier ants, poisonous frogs and killer bees, of course over the years I learned about the not so scary or dangerous animals and insects the region was home too, pink dolphins, manatee, sloths, toucans, the harpy eagle, large colourful butterflies, and Tamarind the smallest monkey.

The aim of the run

The purpose of this run is to try and keep the spotlight on the destruction of probably the most important area of OUR planet. I have lived in NE Brasil for 5 years and have a permanent visa to live there but more importantly a Brasilian partner, Vanessa and a 3 year old Brasilian daughter, Isabella and I have many friends and family in Brasil, So I love Brasil and its people and want to help the people of Brasil not only appreciate what they have (as most of the Amazon rainforest is in Brasil) I personally consider the Amazon Rainforest to be a ‘True wonder of the world’.

Spirit of the Forest Run

The spirit of ‘Forest’ road runs

I would like to share this opportunity to tell you about a challenge I am undertaking this year. It is my intention to run through the Amazonia area in Brasil, Starting from the Atlantic Ocean in the state Maranhão all the way through to R. E. Chico Mendes in the state of Acre.

I plan to run the equivalent of a marathon a day. This is approximately a total 0f 3,200 km about 1,990 miles. I expect the journey to take between 12 and 13 weeks. I plan to run 6 days a week.

People have been amazed how someone of my age (I am 50) can possibly consider such a challenge and whilst I totally agree it is the challenge of a lifetime, I remember people saying the same thing about a single marathon and I trained and completed 8 of those 25 years ago.

I first got the idea to try to undertake this challenge when doing research on the Amazon rainforest for a tourism project I am undertaking, whilst learning more and more about the struggle and joining support and pressure groups I came across the story of a German cyclist Micha, who had cycled across the region in 1999 and an idea was born, later when trying to find the story again I came across the story of Martin Strel, a Slovakian swimmer who had just completed swimming the main river, Martin Strel 52 years of age swam 5,265 kilometers (3,272 miles) in 66 days and of course that finalized it for me as it seemed somebody needed to run it to complete the old triathlon scenario.

Whilst continuing my research into the area and in particular de-forestation and planning the run and the events in Copenhagen another idea struck me, one of my favourite films of all time is ‘Forest Gump’ starring Tom Hanks as you will probably remember if you have seen the film, one of the many things ‘Forest’ does is one day just sets off running for no apparent reason and ends up running across the USA and of course the media catch on to the idea and many people just join in.

Utilizing this idea I have decided to invite people to join me on parts of the run, I am sure it will be hard for people for many reasons to join me for the whole trip but hopefully people may want to join me even for just one ‘Marathon’ or possible for a week or more.

I aim to promote this for the next 3 months and see the response and then we shall see what decision to make depending on interest, logistics and administration. If this idea is successful I hope people will be able to raise sponsorship for the ‘Sky save a billion trees project’.