Basil is actually the English name for Ho-Yun. I first met him when he was brought in to design Monty Python’s Life of Brian book way back in the late 1970s. Having lived in America and done all sorts of naughty things, Basil married, settled down (a bit) and went back to live in his birthplace, Hong Kong. As Phileas Fogg’s route in Around the World took me through Hong Kong, Clem Vallance asked if I knew anyone who could show me around. Basil was the obvious choice. He not only became my on-screen guide to China, he and his wife obligingly had a daughter who was born on the day I left the Reform Club. Sonia, now 14, is exactly the same age as my telly-travelling life.
In addition to showing me round Basil displayed two, no sorry, three advantages that have made him indispensable on all my journeys since then. He loves good food and drink, takes lots of amazing photographs and wears straw hats everywhere, ensuring that I never lose sight of the film crew.
Action for Stammering Children
Based in the Michael Palin Centre for Stammering Children (MPC), a key partner of the Charity, we commission the MPC to deliver specialist assessments and therapies that change the lives of children and young people who stammer. We also coordinate various projects across the country aimed at boosting the confidence of young people who stammer, and allowing them to have a voice in the direction of the Charity.
At the charity Action for Stammering Children, we understand how confusing it can be for parent’s when discovering your child has a stammer. It may have just appeared overnight, or it may have become worse gradually over time. One minute it’s there, and the next it’s not. You don’t know what could have caused it and you don’t know where to get help. That’s where we come in.
As a UK registered charity, we aim for a society where children and young people who stammer have the same opportunities and quality of life as their peers. Our goal is to ensure that every child and young person across the UK who stammers has access to effective services and support to help them meet the challenges they face.
From the Amazon to the Kalahari, from the jungles of India to the Congo rainforest, we work in partnership with tribal peoples to protect their lives and land. They suffer racism, land theft, forced development and genocidal violence just because they live differently. It must stop.
We work in partnership with tribal peoples to campaign, lobby and protest for their land rights. We investigate, expose and confront atrocities committed by governments and big business. We are here to amplify the tribal voice and make sure it is heard.
Survival movement is a movement of people from over 100 countries. Our vision is a world where tribal peoples are respected as contemporary societies and their human rights protected.
We reject government funding so we can guarantee our absolute independence and integrity. We rely on you.
Royal Geographical Society
The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers) is the UK’s learned society and professional body for geography. We advance geography and support geographers in the UK and across the world.
The Society was founded in 1830 to advance geographical science. Today, we achieve this by supporting geographical research, education, and fieldwork and expeditions, as well as by advocating on behalf of the discipline and promoting geography to public audiences. The Society holds over two million items, including maps, photographs, books, documents, paintings and artefacts, in its historical Collections.
The Society values its independence and the breadth of its activities to promote and support the discovery and understanding of the world’s people, places and environments. We welcome professional geographers, geography graduates and all those with an enthusiasm for geography, travel and exploration as members.
Save Britain’s Heritage
Historical Buildings Campaign Organisation
SAVE has been campaigning for historic buildings since its formation in 1975 by a group of architectural historians, journalists and planners.
SAVE is a strong, independent voice in conservation that has been fighting for threatened historic buildings and sustainable reuses since 1975. Free to respond rapidly to emergencies and to speak out loud for the historic environment.
We are at the forefront of national heritage conservation. We intervene to help historic buildings and places in serious danger of demolition or decay. We stand apart from other organisations by bringing together architects, engineers, planners and investors to offer viable alternative proposals.
Where necessary, and with expert advice, we take legal action to prevent major and needless losses.
Over a billion people in the world today have some form of disability. 80% of these people live in the developing world. We believe in helping to create a world where all disabled people are included and fully participate in every aspect of life.
At the moment, this is just a vision. The reality is that millions of disabled people don’t have access to the equipment, services or healthcare they need. They can’t leave their homes, go to school or find employment. They feel isolated from their friends and family. Many lose their lives to preventable complications. Most live in extreme poverty. But it doesn’t have to be this way.