Richard's Blog - May 2012

#askrichard live Hangout

We’ve been doing #askrichard videos for a while now, where I answer a selection of your best questions from each month and post as  video blogs.It’s great fun and always interesting to hear all your queries, but I think it’s time we freshened it up. We’re going to start doing live Hangouts on Google+, where I will still answer your questions – but they will all be asked by one of my followers.First up is Sherilynn Macale from Identified who will be as…

Surprising Sam at Cycle Slam

I got on my bike yesterday to surprise Sam as he completed an incredible cycling challenge in France. Sam has been raising money for charity by riding in the Dallaglio Flintoff Cycle Slam 2012 with Virgin Media. Joan and I couldn't resist going over to support him. We're always very proud of Sam, he’s been working really hard to complete this brilliant challenge. Well, I commandeered a bike and rode out to meet Sam on the final stretch of his 160km cycle. He said he didn't recognise me…

Weekend in Morocco

In Morocco at Kasbah Tamadot. It’s wonderful that Morocco has survived all the problems of North Africa and the Middle East by King Mohammed VI being well ahead of the times in bringing in reforms for his country. He is seemingly loved by the vast majority of the population for all the changes he has brought in since becoming king. A few years ago when we were trying to balloon around the world from Morocco, my parents found a beautiful kasbah up in the mountains called Kasbah Tamadot whi…

President Carter

Was privileged to spend three days with The Elders this week discussing how they can help various conflicts around the world. One of the remarkable Elders is US President Carter, who always seems to be ahead of the times in his thinking.When he was President he put solar panels on the roof of the White House, he tried to decriminalise drugs, and he’s the only President in the last 50 years who hasn’t presided over a war. Since leaving office he’s tackled diseases in Africa, con…

My shepherd's pie recipe

What’s your favourite dish? On Food Revolution Day I’ll be cooking up my personal favourite, shepherd’s pie.On May 19th, people are hosting dinner parties and local food events around the globe in support of food education. I’m delighted to be involved in such an important – and fun – cause.Next week we’re holding an event with Virgin Unite at Jamie Oliver’s Fifteen restaurant. I hope my own culinary creation matches up to Jamie’s cuisine!H…

The Elders' words of wisdom

Spent the past few days at an Elders meeting and as ever have been inspired by the wisdom of Arch, Lahkdar Brahimi and the rest of The Elders. Wanted to share some of their insights.From Arch: “If there are oppressors I will always speak against them.”“We do not want our chains more comfortable, we want them removed.”“I weep for the oppressors as they are destroying themselves as well as others.”“If we can’t speak out against the bombings – w…

From Norway to Romania to Barcelona

In Romania at the moment, after spending time meeting with The Elders in Oslo. After communism Romania was well-known for its terrible problems such as a huge number of neglected orphans. It is great to see the country growing so well now, and wonderful to meet so many delightful people. Everybody here has got a new entrepreneurial idea. One particularly insistent young lad jumped in the car to the airport with me to pitch his idea!He was 22-years-old and had written his autobiography already. H…

How entrepreneurship can change the world

Still reflecting on last week’s Leadership Gathering on Necker that was all about how entrepreneurship can change the world. Together with Virgin Unite and my good friends, Jane Tewson, who founded Igniting Change, and Suzi Carp, we heard from some truly remarkable individuals.   Ben & Jerry kicked it off with the advice they received along the way “If you don’t like the system, why don’t you change it?” Lisa Lake, the Director of the Branson Centre of Ent…

I'll swap Larry!

"Richard has got an incredible 300 companies and we’ve only got one”, said Google’s Larry Page. "I’ll swap," said I. “Quick as a flash!" Image by loiclemeur on Flickr

Presenting the Virgin Trophy

Huge congratulations to Claire Lomas for completing the Virgin London Marathon!It was a real honour to be at the finishing line to present Claire with the Virgin Trophy to recognise her monumental achievement.The Virgin Trophy is given to people who complete superhuman feats of endurance - and they don't come any more inspiring than Claire's. The support of so many people along the way was an inspiration too, and it was great to see the Pearly King and Queen, members of the Household Cavalry, M…

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