Richard's Blog - March 2012

Close shave with a Sailfish sword

Richard Branson - Sailfish Outtake from Blue Sphere Media on Vimeo. While in the water off Mexico recently, as well as Manta Rays and Whale Sharks we also ended up swimming with Sailfish.As you can see the food they were trying to eat (sardines) swarmed around my head and the sword of one of the Sailfish came to less than a centimetre from my face.The last time swimming with a whale shark was less eventful! Might need to start a Save Richard campaign!It is amazing to be able to swim with thes…

Latin America leading the way in drugs debate

It has become very clear in the past few months and years that there’s a growing desire for a change in the way that our governments tackle the problem of drugs, no more so than in Latin America, where influential voices are currently recognising this appetite for change. As Ethan Nadelmann, the Executive Director at the Drug Policy Alliance, detailed in his article last week, something incredible is taking place there. It’s no longer just the public, political commentators or ex-pr…

Manta Ray coming straight for me

Richard Branson - Manta Outtake from Blue Sphere Media on Vimeo. I was making an advertorial off Mexico to help protect the Manta Rays when the following happened.As you can see the Manta Ray was coming straight for me. I left it too late to go left or right of it and ended up going straight over its back.From July Virgin Atlantic will be able to fly people to Mexico to see them from the UK. We already do with Virgin America from the USA. It’s a truly incredible experience.…

Brand vs. Hitchens

At last week's Google+ debate there was a lot of very positive discussion about bringing an end to the war on drugs, although at one point during the proceedings it was another war that was at the forefront of everyone's minds - Russell Brand vs. Peter Hitchens! Luckily it was Brand, who joined me on the side arguing in favour of ending the war on drugs, who had the last laugh. With the number of global respondents in agreement that it’s time to end the war on drugs increasing from…

Our 500th astronaut - Ashton Kutcher!

Great news today news from our Astronaut Relations team at Virgin Galactic: our 500th future astronaut customer has just signed up! Even better news is that number 500 is Ashton Kutcher. I gave Ashton a quick call to congratulate and welcome him. He is as thrilled as we are at the prospect of being among the first to cross the final frontier (and back!) with us and to experience the magic of space for himself. As you can see from the video, our spaceships are not only very beautiful but are buil…

Stuck in the middle with Khan and Peterson

Whilst on my Virgin Atlantic flight to Washington this week for the state dinner at the White House, I happened to chance upon another coming together of American and English relations at the Upper Class bar. Amir Khan and Lamont Peterson were sharing a drink together. The pair seem to have put aside their differences following their controversial world title fight, for the time being at least! Although to be sure I stayed in between the two of them, just in case a stand-in referee was called f…

Necker animals - Scarlet Ibis

Scarlet Ibis were once abundant throughout the Caribbean and in the British Virgin Islands. There's no doubt that they have to be one of the most beautiful birds in the world. The reason they disappeared on some islands was due to over-hunting for their feathers, eggs and habitat destruction. Obviously it is impossible for them to hide!Like the flamingos, we have re-established a flock on Necker and we are hoping to have offspring within the next 12-18 months. Pictured here are two young adults…

Where are my cards?

I’ve lost all of my cards in Australia – what on earth am I going to do?There are five cards, in five locations in Australia with lots of money on each of them - get hunting!If you’re in Australia, help us out by going to Virgin Money Australia’s Facebook page. Now where did I put my passport……

Debate shows desire to change outdated drug laws

Fascinating taking part in the first ever live global debate on the war on drugs last night. Versus - It’s Time To End The War On Drugs saw the likes of Russell Brand, Julian Assange and former President of Brazil Fernando Henrique Cardoso join me on a team in favour of ending the war on drugs.We spent over two hours debating with those against ending the war on drugs, led by the remarkably erudite former governor of New York Eliot Spitzer (who I have a sneaking suspicion was playing devil…

The war on drugs has failed

More than 91% of people surveyed globally are in agreement that the war on drugs has failed. Ahead of today’s live Google + Versus Debate on the war on drugs, we asked the public their opinion on this crucial issue. We’ve carried out two surveys in the last two weeks, one where we asked Twitter, Facebook and Google+ users globally whether they thought the war on drugs had failed, and one UK-specific survey through YouGov. In the global online poll, 91% agreed that the war on drugs …

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