Ignore the Fear - A look back at our first event.
28th January 2020 by Kathryn
'Ignore the Fear' - a talk by Fiona Quinn
On Wednesday 19th February 2020 we welcomed adventurer, speaker and author, Fiona Quinn, into our store for our first ever event!
We transformed the ground floor of our shop into a seating area, rearranging display stands, borrowing chairs from the local church hall and installing a projector and screen for the presentation. We welcomed 45 people to the sell out event with drinks and some rather excellent cakes from our neighbours down the road - The Rattle Ghyll.
We all then settled down to listen to Fiona’s incredible story. In 2018 she set out to stand up paddle board (SUP) the 800 miles from Land’s End to John O’Groats and in doing so she set 3 world records: the first woman to SUP across the Irish Sea, the first person to SUP the length of Britain on an inflatable board (SUP LEJOG) and the first woman in history to complete a length of Britain Triathlon (having walked and cycled Land’s End to John O’Groats the year before).
Fiona started her expedition as a complete beginner paddle boarder with a self-confessed fear of the sea. But this didn’t stop her in pursuing her dreams. Instead, she lives by the philosophy that ‘If you believe in something, anything is possible’ – the inspiration behind her talk, ‘Ignore the fear’.
Throughout her journey she battled severe weather, giant whirlpools and the 40 mile stretch of open water that was the Irish Sea as well as logistical issues in purchasing a support boat and finding a skipper to Captain the boat. Fiona wants to inspire people to begin an adventure before they’re ready, to ignore the fear and what if’s and go for it anyway.
A Q&A session afterwards allowed everyone to delve deeper into Fiona’s journey and get some tips on how we can each overcome our own fears and barriers to adventure.
We all left thoroughly inspired to pursue our own dreams, no matter how big or small.
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