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Mary-Ann Ochota

Anthropologist, broadcaster, author

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About
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Category Archives: TV

an aerial shot of a snow-clad Helvellyn in the Lake District. with the BBC Four icon

Spot me in Life of a Mountain: Helvellyn on BBC4

‘Life of a Mountain: Helvellyn’ – featuring all those who live, work, care for and play…

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Jaunts at the @britishmuseum talking Spooky and we

Jaunts at the @britishmuseum talking Spooky and weird and obviously wonderful Secret Britain introduced by the lovely @tornandpolished
Featuring everyone's favourite historical and prehistorical activities incl. Cannibalism, mummification, trading an eye in exchange for wisdom and getting your bits out #sheelanagig
#oldstuffiscool

Well this wasn't part of the plan. Broken wrist, g

Well this wasn't part of the plan. Broken wrist, grumpy Mary-Ann. What it's definitely done is Unearth plenty of ableism I didn't even know I was carrying. About whether your handwriting indicates anything about your intellectual capacity, About whether your value should be measured in stamina and number of hours you can work before you need a rest. About whether doing things quickly is inherently better.
#ableism

Crikey. Bombshell tell-all about all the sh🌲🦠 that's been going down at the @johnmuirtrust . I resigned my trusteeship and my membership some time ago, and am one of the former trustees who has made formal submissions to the Scottish Charity regulator, OSCR. So I won't be at the AGM on Saturday. But if you're a member, you might like to join and ask some pertinent questions about where your money is going, why staff are losing hope, and how this death spiral can be blocked.

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People on bikes are people, not furniture, not obs

People on bikes are people, not furniture, not obstacles.
Killing or seriously injuring a cyclist isn't going to make you less late
Drive safe

And if you're with someone who says rude things about cyclists, drives too close too fast or dangerously, please call them out. We need a culture shift

What a brilliant end of hols. We headed up to the

What a brilliant end of hols. We headed up to the North Pennines near Penrith to @wanderlustsgypsycaravans to meet horses Meg & Biddie and spend four days trundling between off grid camps in a bow top wagon. Drinking filtered rainwater, cooking on the fire, sleeping under the stars. And amazing produce delivered by local regen @renisons_farm thst we cooked into a venison stew. Delicious.
Not much washing, lots of joy.
Barny Maurice - owner of Wanderlusts - is the most phenomenal host, to welcome us, to tack up the horses, and with us all the way when the wagon was rolling. And then checking we were happy before leaving us in the wilds. Kind, genuine, and went out of his way to help us out.
It's quite full on - you need the right clothes to keep you warm & dry in all weathers (layers, full waterproof jackets and trousers, warm hats etc - even in summer) . And maybe do a couple of camping trips before this to work out what you need (and what you dont!), practise cooking on a stove or fire, and check you don't mind not having a shower every day.
But if you like horses, camping and adventures....then this is your notice to book.

*you don't need to know anything about horses - Barny does it all but you can help if you like

** he also has two camps where you can do the off grid back to nature thing but without the horses and wagon

***not an ad - we paid full price for this as regular punters. I just think it was great so want to share the recommendation

Off to the @greenalliance reception in the London.

Off to the @greenalliance reception in the London. I brushed my hair and everything

There's pretty much always a tap in a churchyard.

There's pretty much always a tap in a churchyard. No-one will be bothered if you splash your face and fill up your bottles, so explore the church buildings, the churchyard (usually pretty amazing for wildlife and cultural history) and get some cool fresh watter while you're at it.

**PLEASE NOTE: make your own judgement on whether the water is a safe source - is the tap rusty, does it look regularly used, is the water running clear, does it smell or taste strange? if you are not sure, then you need to decide for yourself whether to drink from it direct, whether to filter it first or use a chemical steriliser tablet, or to give it a miss. if you are really desperate for water and may be unwell without drinking, knock on anyone's door and chances are they will rush to help you. Most strangers are very kind.
AND: If there is a local pub, shop, cafe then if you can afford to, go buy something. Spending a bit of cash keeps local rural economies going.

#hikingtips

How to navigate a 'leg' - ie, a section of your wa

How to navigate a 'leg' - ie, a section of your walk. Pick a thing you're not going to miss (like a fence). Estimate how long it'll take you to get there - then keep an eye on the time and mark when the 'thing' should appear on your route. If it doesnt- you've gone wrong. If it does, pat yourself on the back and proceed to plan the next 'leg'

Many folk feeling overwhelmed and scared today. Wh

Many folk feeling overwhelmed and scared today. Which I get. But don't feed the fear and scaremongering - otherwise we're doing their job for them. Instead, share joy and good news and moments of connection. Or, stay off social media. It's not good for your mental health

From @earthlyeducation - and a decent explanation

From @earthlyeducation - and a decent explanation of what's going down in UK at the moment. Is it someone who's fled torture and murder who's making your food expensive? Is it the person who cleans your house that's put up your energy bills? The person who cooks in your local cafe? Or delivers your takeaway? Does your nails? Is it the nurse in A&E? Is it me?
Give over.
You're being played for a fool.
Don't play.

And if you condemn the violence but think, 'yeah they've got a point though, it's gone too far', do your homework. This is an island. We're all immigrants.

There's a lot of bad stuff happening around the co

There's a lot of bad stuff happening around the country atm. Stay united. In the meantime, here's me getting stressed out by an alpaca #livestock
#publicfootpath
#walkingthecountryside

Getting back into UK scuba diving - by way of a fl

Getting back into UK scuba diving - by way of a flooded clay pit 😅
Shout out to @midhertsdivers who are brilliant, the absolute epitome of what a @bsacdivers club is about - helping each other further their skills, supporting new folk & having adventures
#scubadiver

A pleasure to talk MANY THINGS with @mattpycroft f

A pleasure to talk MANY THINGS with @mattpycroft for a future episode of @theadventurepodcast
Coming soon....

This lil announcement is mostly for @buteblackbird

This lil announcement is mostly for @buteblackbird & @lucy_lapwing who've inspired me to learn more about birds

I have some fun news incoming....stay tuned 🚵‍♂️🐄🌳🍃🏞🪵🏗🌇🚜🚞🚲🌦🥩🥦🐏🐞🌿🙂
@cpre the countryside charity

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Signed Books

.Signed copy of Secret Britain: paperback £18.99
Signed copy of Secret Britain: Hardback £20.00
Signed copy of Hidden Histories £19.99
Signed copy of Britain's Secret Treasures £20.00

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