RMG PR & Events
2015, October
- Fortnum & Mason, London
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In the name of adventure! On October 1st we joined some of the world’s most celebrated adventurers and explorers at the iconic London store Fortnum & Mason with Avaunt, a magazine dedicated to adventure "in the broadest possible sense - featuring acts of endeavour and endurance from the wildest, highest, deepest, coldest and hottest corners on Earth". Launched in April 2015, Ghurka USA was keen to showcase an exclusive preview of the second issue, and invited Polar Explorer and Avaunt Editor Ben Saunders to host a conversation with Major Andrew Todd, second-in-command of the 2nd Battalion of The Royal Gurkha Rifles. They both recounted some of their most intrepid and dangerous experiences, with Major Todd's account proving him to be not just a survivor, but a hero and a witness to one of the world’s most jaw-dropping experiences - the Nepal earthquakes.
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Gurkhas are famous for their fighting skills and operational prowess but what has been overlooked is their significant contribution to British military mountaineering. This year out sees the United Kingdom’s Brigade of Gurkhas celebrate 200 years of serving the British Crown and what better way to commemorate such an achievement than with an expedition called The G200E Expedition up Everest.
The G200E saw the Brigade of Gurkhas plan to put a team of serving soldiers on the summit of Mount Everest. The duration of the expedition was to be from March until May 2015.
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After extensive and hard-core training, the Gurkha team taking part in the G200E set out on what was to be an unexpectedly harrowing journey. On April 25th 2015, a day that will now forever be one of the darkest moments in the history of mountaineering, the first of many spates of earthquakes occurred. Affecting mainly Nepal, but also India, China and Bangladesh, the earthquakes and resulting aftershocks caused over $5 billion in damages and accounted for the loss of more than 8,000 lives.
The beauty and challenge of Everest has inspired many throughout the years, but Major Andrew Todd’s explicit recounting of his experience definitely conveyed the brutality of the expedition and the fear that he and his team felt whilst on the mountain.
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To welcome all, Jo Newton, Head Buyer for Fortnum’s Home and Fashion, opened the floor and handed over to Pam Bristow, Ghurka USA's Vice President of Marketing and Brand Strategy, followed by Ben Saunders and Major Todd. Amongst the assembled we also saw was the nameless Ghurka style-guru #MrDerby on his passage across Europe.
Fellow adventurers and explorers such as Levison Wood and Tobias Mews, and photographer James Carnegie joined the line up as did Luxury travel and opinion leader Lisa Grainger, just back from Will Bolsover's African safari.
Film director Howard Webster and film producer Thomas Hedman called in to raise a glass of Ghurka Welfare Trust-trademarked G200 champagnes before joining their film premier: Meet Pursuit Delange.
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As the Gurkha Regiment celebrates its bicentenary, the Gurkha Welfare Trust is continuing its efforts to help those affected by the devastations in Nepal. As part of Ghurka USA’s launch in May 2015 at Fortnum & Mason, actress and activist Joanna Lumley joined both the launch of the Ghurka G200 Collection, which sees 25% of the profits go to the GWT, and the limited edition Officer's Field Sets, where all profits are donated to the Trust.
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RMG PR & Events x Ghurka USA x Avaunt Magazine
at Fortnum & Mason
For more information about Ghurka USA
please contact Samantha Gabriel at RMG PR & Events
samantha@rmgandco.com | +44 (0) 207 731 6155
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Ghurka USA x Avaunt Magazine
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