by Ian | Dec 17, 2016 | Cambodia 2016
During HSX’s time in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The team has been working at the Children Development Organisation (CDO). This is an organisation that accommodates, feeds and educates Cambodian children, many of which have lost both their parents, from the ages of 3-16.
The HSX team has been working improving the standard of the current site. This was tricky at first as a strong language barrier is put in front of us. Matt, Kenneth, Ed and Bradley made easy work of a path that need care and attention. Claire, Becky, Anna, Cerys were on paint fences duty. Whilst Liam and Rosemary started planning their biology lesson focusing on body parts for Liam and the organ systems was Rosemary’s topic.
A major task was given to us late on the second day of constructing a drainage system from the Kitchen area to the roadside, 
approximately 100 metres. Matt was chief conductor of Team Dig. With his background in Engineering, Construction work and Product Management the Team was in safe hands and in good spirits.
The tools we were using were basic, inefficient and low in abundance. As a lasting donation we have donated a new shovel and pick axe. Operation Trench was working well, then the rain came down. Matt’s face when he walks into the compound seeing the high level of water in the trench was one to be framed. However, this did soften the ground and progress increased and Mr Prince was smiling again. Over time Team Dig dug further, deeper and modified their master piece to an impressive feit of engineering which will hopefully improve conditions for the children during times of heavy rain.
Another task included cutting and bending metal rods into squares. These are used to make the internal frame of walls for the 
new site. This is hard work made easy by 8-year-old boys, however the HSX team struggled at first in the heat but soon reached the high level of competence the production line needed. Liam and Cerys setting the record of metal squares at a grand total of 16 in 5mins.
Painting the wooden framing of the kitchen area was task 3 on the ever growing and never ending list of jobs that need to be completed. Over here pain is mixed with gasoline to thin the paint making it last longer. This was completed in good time.
The project is hoping to move to new land in the next year. The Dry season is needed before any foundations can be laid and as we have some fairly heavy 
showers this construction has been delayed.
Sunday is our final day at the CDO. To finish we will be running different sports for the children to play in. Football is a huge interest here with all the boys having big aspersions of being as good as their hero’s Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar.
The HSX team has really enjoyed our time with the CDO and hopes we have made a lasting difference.
Ed.
by Ian | Dec 12, 2016 | Cambodia 2016
After the longest journey in the world; complete with 2 flights, 3 buses, and 3 foreign countries, we are finally at our destination.
We’ve fallen in love with the food here (it’s good food compared to the plane meals), especially the great rice. Cerys in particular is in love with the hotel orange juice, which she describes as “like drinking gold”. 
We spent yesterday in Thailand, stepping off the plane into 33oC heat which is apparently “very mild weather.” Bangkok was incredible; the city was the perfect blend of urban glory melded with nature. Some of the businesses advertised their clients on the windows, including Cheryl Cole, David Beckham, Zac Efron, and the entire Chelsea football team. We’re sure they’re regulars. Our evening meal was great, finished off with magical entertainment by Max the Magician who assured us was better than dynamo – to his credit, he was. To end the day, we went for an evening swim in the hotel pool under a beautiful purple sky. The water was colder than expected, but the warm air and breath-holding-competitions more than made up for it.
Despite the 2am awakening and jet lag, we set off at 9:30 in good spirits. (Becky got her fix of coffee that she’d been craving 
since England. For lunch, just before the Cambodian border, we stopped at the (surprisingly amazing) Tesco food court and had great meals despite the language barrier and squat toilets.
Crossing into Cambodia was as hectic as playing chicken run blindfolded – “an experience and a half”. Nothing beats carrying a heavy bag across busy streets in midday heat!! We all got across happily and safely; we could finally celebrate being in Cambodia! The remaining bus journey was complete with a culture talk from our host – he taught us about the religion, as well as some key phrases that I won’t even try to spell here.
This evening we walked around the Siem Reap Night Market, and now have the urge to buy all of the cool and colourful things. We can’t wait to go back there this week. Tomorrow, we start the community project – building the orphanage nearby.
We hope you’re all good back home, even if your weather is worse than ours (we’re writing this from a hammock under a perfect breeze).
Love from Team Cambodia
by Ian | Nov 2, 2016 | Cambodia 2016
After meeting at our usual haunts, we headed north towards Birmingham in traffic which was steady for a Friday evening. Excited about what the weekend in Snowdonia would entail and enjoying catching up with each other, we settled down for the long journey ahead, refueling at a motorway MacDonalds along the way.
Team Cambodia was excited for a weekend of team building, scrambling and navigation in the National Park of Snowdonia. Meanwhile, the weekend in North Wales was a great opportunity for Team Patagonia to get to acquaint themselves with the new members of the team and meet a few more members of HSX. Arriving close to midnight, Team Patagonia and Liam, who had to sleep outside due to a lack of beds, set up their tents and headed to bed, whilst the rest of the contingent moved into the comfort of the bunk houses, equipped with heating!
Breakfast was to be ready at 7:30am and Team Patagonia, who had endured a windy night outside in the tents, knocked up some delicious sausage sandwiches. Unfortunately, there was no ketchup!! Liam was unlucky to have a small leak in his tent which resulted in some of his kit getting wet, but the group still needed to get ready for an 8:00am departure for the day’s activities.
Team Cambodia, led by Matt and Steve traveled a short car journey to the base of Tryfan where they would walk and scramble most of the way to the summit up the East Face. We navigated along the Heather Terrace until we found Nor’ Nor’ Gully, which Ed, Becky, Tom and Steve would scramble up. Meanwhile, Cerys, Bradley and myself were led by Matt and we used the Little and North Gullies to ascend the mountain. The routes provided some challenges and were very useful in teaching us how to spot each other as we made our way up the gullies, but Steve still had to use his rope to help Tom in Nor’ Nor’ Gully when he couldn’t quite get to the next part of the scramble. We met at the top for lunch and began the descent as a group with both care and some pace, because Steve wanted to go shopping at Betws-Y-Coed.
Team Cambodia cooked dinner Saturday night, which was chilli con carne with rice and cheesecake for pudding which everybody enjoyed. The choice of the evening’s entertainment was either a talk in Betws-Y-Coed about a canoeing trip in Canada or some night navigation with Liam to help him with his mountain leader assessment in a few weekends time. Whilst many preferred to not go on the night navigation, those who did said they had an enjoyable experience using the bright reflection of the moon.
On the Sunday after a slightly wetter night’s sleep, Team Cambodia cooked bacon sandwiches for breakfast at 7:30am as the group slowly woke up for a day of activities in the rain and wind. We were going to do some navigation around 
Tryfan and set off at 8:00am as the rain began to pour down. Fortunately, as the day progressed the sky began to clear as we manoeuvred ourselves across the damp terrain which was slippery underfoot. As a group our navigation was working well, until Ed navigated his right foot into hole causing him to hurt his ankle. As Ed needed to use walking poles to be able to walk, we decided it would be best to head back down the path towards the van. Although Ed had hurt himself, I think we were all glad to be getting out of the wind and heading back to the bunk houses to pack up and head home.
The drive back to Hampshire was an opportunity for some members of the weekend to fall asleep in the car after a busy two days of scrambling, walking and navigating, but the drivers had to battle fatigue and tiredness all the way home. Rosemary found some relief in popcorn chicken at a KFC when we stopped at a service station to refuel ourselves, before continuing until we reached the car park of Tesco in Winnal.
This was Team Cambodia’s last training weekend prior to the final packing and information day before our departure. It is hard to believe that thirteen months ago we all met for the first time at Ferny Crofts in the New Forest. In this time we have been to Wales three times, the Lake District, Swanage and Ferny Crofts twice, whilst fundraising £3500 each. We have learn’t lots of technical skills, developed as individuals, increased our knowledge of fundraising, but most importantly created a strong and highly motivated expedition team who are now ready to take on 4 weeks in Cambodia. We know that we speak on behalf of everyone else, and would like to say a huge thank you not just to our expedition leaders, but to all those in HSX who have helped throughout our thirteen months of training. It is not long now until the 9th of December, the day we leave, and the next few weeks we are sure will fly by. We are all really looking forward to the relief of getting on the plane knowing we are on our way, although alongside the excitement there will certainly be some nerves.
On an earlier training weekend to Wales we climbed Cadair Idris, which if you read the blog post for the trip, it made reference to Led Zeppelin gaining inspiration for their classic song Stairway To Heaven. We all agree that these two lines from this song sum up how we feel now ‘There’s a feeling I get when I look to the west, and my spirit is crying for leaving’.
by Ian | Sep 22, 2016 | Cambodia 2016
September weekend this year, as always, proved to be a very interesting one. Not only as it marked that we are near the end of our training with now just two weekends left before departure, but for the first time since joining HSX, team Cambodia wasn’t the new expedition team!! With Chris Slater and his team launching the Patagonia Expedition a few months earlier, we were eager to befriend them (who were great) and share all our experiences and knowledge from our training with them.
We started the weekend at the small climbing wall at Ferny Crofts Scout Activity Centre, and were taught a selection 
of new climbing skills. For me, this was the highlight of the weekend, building on our knowledge from other weekends but now progressing our development into now teaching other people…! First of all we had to set up a climb without any idea or instruction of what to do, which went surprisingly well; following some slight cheating by looking at one that was already set up (Cough Cough). After climbing on our ground anchor set-ups, we went abseiling, learning how to lower someone down and then how to ascend ropes. Next was lunch and homemade Pizza’s, I’m not sure Rosemary had anticipated our level of excitement or potential mess when she planned this…. But it was great fun and some were more successful than others to say the least.
The afternoon was spent doing a selection of admin task. The team had our first aid training, we’re now thoroughly prepared for any situation, having run through muggings, emergencies, end of the world type scenarios, and of course, the runs. It was really nice to go through every part of the trip, looking at our hotels and flight times, because it made the whole thing more real. Less than 3 months to go!
It turns out that perseverance pays off, because in the evening we got out of a climbing film (to Matt’s disappointment!) in favor of watching Magic Mike. Despite the dodgy camera angles and obvious small budget, it was a good film (made better by Cerys’ immense knowledge), possibly highlighted by several older HSX members re-enacting certain scenes throughout the film.
To make up for our film choice, the older members of HSX did get us back with a brisk session of PT first thing on the Sunday morning; great fun if you feel like dying and being dead. We ran until we reached the river at Ipley Bridge, along the way doing a mixture of sprint intervals and 50% effort intervals. Once at the river (I’m sure you can guess whats next) we all went in; some needed more encouragement than others, to do squats and then under the bridge. Running back up the road it was just a case of surviving, our team was the image of perfect health; I was wheezing, Anna pushed herself enough to almost puke, and Cerys was half dead from a chest infection.
As well as Daniel Heatons Birthday (he loved the Frozen themed cake) on the Sunday it was also Happy Birthday to HSX, celebrating the 30th anniversary. Joined by members past and present, it was inspiring for us to see how it all started and the journey it has been on to become the HSX that we have known over the last year. We had a BBQ expertly cooked by Kenneth and Ed, which was greatly enjoyed by everyone, and after an emotional speech by the man that started it all; Russ Parke, we had the biggest birthday cake for everyone. It was a perfect end to a great weekend.
by Tilly | Sep 8, 2016 | Cambodia 2016, Event Report, Expeditions, Media, News, Patagonia 2017, Patagonia 2017, Team HSX, Training, Trip Report
” I am looking for someone to share in an adventure that I am arranging, and it’s very difficult to find anyone.”
“I should think so- in these parts! We are plain quiet folk and have no use for adventures. Nasty, disturbing, uncomfortable things! Make you later for dinner, I can’t think what anybody sees in them.”
Unlike Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, who is dead set against any kind of exploration or adventure, it is clear that HSX members have adventure running through their core.
Last weekend HSX celebrated the 30 year milestone,
That’s 30 years of leading, participating, and developing life changing adventures all around the world.
30 Spectacular years.
The weekend followed our normal September plan, a training weekend at Ferny Crofts, this year we had two current expedition teams in attendance, Cambodia, which are heading off this winter 2016 for 4 weeks, and Patagonia, a team heading off next winter 2017 to Chile. The expedition teams took part in their own programmes, some PT, first aid training and continuous team building were all on the cards. Those who were left also took part training, on how to lead expeditions, running events, learn about budgets etc…All of that exciting stuff.
On Sunday we had a classic big BBQ and were joined by HSX members from the past, who with them bought an exchange of stories and photos that have not seen the light for many, many years.
It was a great afternoon, where the newer members and current expeditions could see where HSX started and came from, and the older members from previous expeditions could see that the sense of adventure is still as strong as it ever was.
Even though we are 30 years old, we feel like we are just getting started, we have a fantastic future ahead, with more adventures, more expeditions and more exciting plans on the horizon.
Somewhere in the story, Bilbo decides that actually, an adventure can be quite exciting, he wishes to see the great mountains, smell the pine trees and hear the waterfalls, ultimately his sense of adventure is overpowered so sets of on a journey.
We still have a journey to complete, and a story to tell.
Thank you to everyone who has ever played any part in our adventures.
Here’s to another, spectacular 30 years.
by Ian | May 16, 2016 | Cambodia 2016
Craghoppers state that “A polo is always a smart choice for a travel bag”. This seems suiting giving our polo shirts will be coming on a near 3000mile journey to Cambodia in December 2016. The HSX Cambodia Expedition is supported by Craghoppers who have donated team uniform to the Expedition.
We kicked off our recent training weekend in the Lake District handing out this highly anticipated kit to cheers from the expedition team and overwhelming exciting. One member will not be allowed to forget his opening statement upon receiving his polo shirt “I’m never going to take this off”. Although they feature moisture control technology, I doubt they will stand up to never being taken off or washed!
We choose kit from the NosiLife Range which has built in Insect repellent and UV protection, perfect for the hot humid days in Cambodia but also the wild nights filled with insects and creepy crawlies during our Jungle Trek.
Men will be sporting the Gilles Short Sleeved Polo whilst women will be wearing the Keisha II Short sleeved Polo.
Men’s Gilles Short Sleeved Polo.
One of the first things I noticed about the polo’s is the light weight approach Craghoppers have taken. The shirt is stripped back, no unnecessary pockets; in fact the two pockets on the polo are together; the left hand chest button pocket hiding a zip pocket. The Zip is perfect for security; money, keys, passport, making your travel even safer and leaving you worrying less about your important belongings.
Although the Lake District was not is normal sunny self over Easter, I did get a glimpse at what was to come. The moisture control does exactly what it says on the tin. It’s like having built in climate control, I never felt hot or sticky like I have in similar tops. The light weight, thin fabric is loose enough on your skin but not so baggy that you have to order a smaller size.
The Polo comes with a sunglasses hanger loop – although our team is ‘too cool for school’, it’s a nifty little feature if you want to use it and again, is nice and discreet contained within the pocket.
It comes in three colours, Brick Calico, Light Dusk Blue & Light Grey Marl. We went for Light Dusk Blue and my only thought on that is it kind of has the look of a pyjama top.
Women’s Keisha II Short sleeved Polo.
This Polo has to be put on to be fully appreciated, first off the colour it’s so nice to have a women’s outdoor top in a practical colour. The moisture control and dark colour will hold a multitude of sins that wearing for a few days without washing in a humid Cambodia acquire.
The design itself is smart and basic exactly what you want from a polo. The fit is what makes the top stand out from others; it has a small amount of gathering on the front and the top of the sleeves it also comes in slightly at the waist. This small detail makes a massive difference to how it looks, I can’t believe I’m saying this about an outdoor polo but it’s actually flattering on the figure.
The final thing I noticed after walking in the top for a day is the lack of label in the neck and the same can be said about the Men’s Polo. There is nothing worse in my opinion than a label scratching on the back of your neck when you’re hot and sticky especially when you’ve got a 70ltr bag on and its then end of a long day.
Craghoppers have really thought about every detail on this basic polo which makes it a pleasure to
wear.
*Men’s review written by Matthew Prince & Women’s review written by Rosemary Harrison.
During HSX’s time in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The team has been working at the Children Development Organisation (CDO). This is an organisation that accommodates, feeds and educates Cambodian children, many of which have lost both their parents, from the ages of 3-16. 
approximately 100 metres. Matt was chief conductor of Team Dig. With his background in Engineering, Construction work and Product Management the Team was in safe hands and in good spirits. 
new site. This is hard work made easy by 8-year-old boys, however the HSX team struggled at first in the heat but soon reached the high level of competence the production line needed. Liam and Cerys setting the record of metal squares at a grand total of 16 in 5mins. 
showers this construction has been delayed. 
