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Blog of Jack and Jude
explorers, authors, photographers & videographers
 
The Devil’s Plan to Ruin the Next Generation  [Audio Podcast here]

Earlier this year, a question went viral by asking ChatGPT: If you were the devil, how would you destroy the next generation, without them even knowing it?

Chat’s response was unsettling, stopping many in their tracks: “I wouldn’t come with violence. I’d come with convenience. I’d keep them busy — always distracted. I’d watch their minds rot slowly, silently. And the best part is, they’d never know it was me. They’d call it freedom.”

Jack and Jude’s response to young people is not an argument, but an example — to step away from the distractions and discover the natural world — and be mesmerised by the simple beauty of the creation and become thirsty for real-life experiences. The best part is that it costs very little. Walk, ride a bicycle, or take a bus to a place where Nature still holds sway, away from the hubbub of human activity. Take a packed lunch and linger. Sit quietly among the wonders of Earth and listen.

With patience, life appears. Birds and animals go about their business. Insects — so often ignored — display extraordinary organisation and ingenuity. Predators wait with stealth and restraint, whether hidden in forest undergrowth or coral reef shadows. Nature does not hurry, yet nothing is wasted. Those who linger are rewarded with understanding, and understanding breeds respect — and curiosity for more. This might lead you on a quest, as it did Jack and Jude.

Many of you have followed our journey across decades and continents — by boat, car, and on foot through forests, deserts, along rivers, and across oceans. Whether anchored in a quiet bay or camped far from roads under the silent stars, we learned the same lesson: to live surrounded by Earth’s natural wonders without destroying them.

To achieve that, humanity must learn restraint. A world with balanced population growth places less strain on wild places, slows the extraction of Earth’s resources, and protects what sustains all life: its freshwater, its clean air, and its stable climate. The question is no longer whether we can dominate the Earth — we already know the answer to that. The question is whether we can rediscover that we are not separate from Nature, but part of it…

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Four months ago in August, Jack noticed a bump on his neck, a bit like an insect bite. In two weeks, it grew into a hard lump. And that set in motion a whirlwind of running around to various doctors and specialists, who after a month of tests, declared the lump now bulging out his neck from ear to adams apple, an inoperable cancerous growth. And that led to seven weeks of chemo/radiation therapy treatment at the Tweed Valley Hospital. He survived that, suffering various side-effects. It’s been four weeks since his last treatment and Jack is recovering well.

TREATMENT and CURE WEEKLY UPDATES HERE
 

 

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Jane Goodall –  3 April 1934 – 1 October 2025

In his remarks at the Washington National Cathedral service, Leonardo DiCaprio said, “May we all honour her by carrying forward that same fierce belief that we can do better, that we must do better, and that we have a responsibility to protect this beautiful natural world we all share.” 

Dr Goodall could be clear-eyed and blunt “about the greed and relentless consumption of our species”, the Hollywood star said of his late friend.

“But beneath that fierce honesty was an unwavering faith that every voice matters, that we are all connected to the living world, and that each of us can make a difference,” DiCaprio said.

In 1991, she launched Roots & Shoots, a youth-led environmental program that today operates in more than 60 countries.

Dr Goodall wrote dozens of books, appeared in documentaries and earned numerous honours, among them being made a Dame Commander by Britain and receiving the US Presidential Medal of Freedom from Joe Biden.

“She constantly reminded us that life was full of wonders — an interconnected tapestry of diverse creatures,” her grandson Merlin van Lawick said during his eulogy.

“We promise to carry forth your light.”

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Around the World in a Homemade Boat – PODCASTS

Here is a collection of our most gripping adventures. Some introduce unforgettable characters; others uncover Earth’s wonders; and many reveal the raw truth of our life afloat—its joys, its teamwork, and the perils, like the gale that drove us onto Madagascar’s reef-strewn shores, nearly costing us our lives.

1/ The Beginning ~ Failed Again

 

 

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2/ The Vessel ~ Banyandah

 

 

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3/ The Dangers ~ MADAGASCAR

 

 

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4/ The Adventures ~ Malpelo ~ climbing a mid-ocean rock monolith

 

 

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5/ The Faraway ~ Rapa Nui – Easter Island

 

 

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6/ The Enchanting ~ Vanesa, the butterfly

 

 

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7/ The Unique ~ Ol’Joe ~ found only on two islands of the world

 

 

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8/ The Remarkable ~ Maybe the world is getting smaller

 

 

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9/ The Individuals ~ The People You Meet

 

 

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Our Amateur Radio DX Expeditions are now online
Stories and images of our 5 expeditions around the world aboard the SY BANYANDAH

1/ 1978 Mellish Reef – Coral Sea VK9ZR
2/ 1979 Spartly Islands – South China Sea 1S1DX
3/ 1981 Kingman Reef – Pacific Ocean AD0S/KH5K
4/ 1981 Tokelau Reef – South Pacific ZM7ZR
5/ 1982 Mellish Reef – Coral Sea VK9ZR

 

1982 Mellish Reef – Coral Sea

 

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