George Michael, was an English singer, songwriter, record producer and philanthropist who rose to fame as a member of the music duo WAM. He was best known for his work in the 1980s and 1990s, including hit singles such as Wake Me Up Before You Go Go and Last Christmas, an album such as Faith, 1987, and Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1-1990. Michael sold more than 100 million records worldwide. His debut solo album, Faith, sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. Michael achieved seven number-one singles in the UK and eight number-one songs on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US, including Careless Whisper and Praying for Time. He ranks among the best-selling British acts of all time, and in 2008 he was ranked 40th on Billboard's list of the greatest Hot 100 artists of all time. Michael won various music awards throughout his 30-year career, including three Brit Awards he won Best British Male twice, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Ivernavello Awards, three American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations. Michael, who came out as gay in 1998, was an active LGBT rights campaigner and Hivades charity fundraiser. In 2004, the Radio Academy named Michael the most-played artist on British radio during the period 1984-2004. The documentary A Different Story, released in 2005, covered his career and personal life. Michael's first tour in 15 years, the Worldwide 25 Live Tour, spanned three tours over the course of three years, 2006, 2007, and 2008. In the early hours of December 25, 2016, Michael, aged 53, was found dead in bed at his Oxfordshire home. Early Life Michael was born in East Finchley on June 25, 1963. His father, Kiriakos Paniyotu, a Greek Cypriot restaurateur, had emigrated to Britain in the 1950s. Michael's mother, Leslie Angold, Nay Harrison, 1937-1997, was an English dancer, and his maternal grandmother was Jewish. Michael spent the majority of his childhood in Kingsbury, London, in the home his parents bought soon after his birth, he attended Kingsbury High School. His older sisters are Yida and Melanie. While he was in his early teens, the family moved to Radlett. There, Michael attended Bushy Meade's school in Bushy, where he befriended his future wham. Partner Andrew Ridgely The two had the same career ambition of being musicians. Michael busked on the London Underground, performing songs such as 39 by Queen. His involvement in the music business began with his working as a DJ, playing at clubs and local schools around Bushy, Stanmore and Watford. This was followed by the formation of a short-lived ska band called The Executive, with Ridgely, Ridgely's brother Paul, Andrew Lever and David Mortimer, later known as David Austin. Musical Career 1981-1986, Wham! Michael formed the duo Wham! With Andrew Ridgely in 1981. The band's first album Fantastic reached number one in the UK in 1983 and produced a series of top ten singles including Young Guns, Wham Rap, and Club Tropicana. Their second album, Make It Big, reached number one on the charts in the US. Singles from that album included Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, number one in the UK and US, Freedom, Everything She Wants, and Careless Whisper which reached number one in nearly 25 countries, including the UK and US, and was Michael's first solo effort as a single. Michael sang on the original Band Aid recording of Do They Know It's Christmas. Which became the UK Christmas number one, and donated the profits from Last Christmas Everything She Wants to Charity. He also contributed background vocals to David Cassidy's 1985 hit The Last Kiss, as well as Elton John's 1985 successes Nikita and Rap Her Up. Michael cited Cassidy as a major career influence and interviewed Cassidy for David Litchfield's Ritz newspaper. Wham! Its tour of China in April 1985, the first visit to China by a western popular music act, generated worldwide media coverage, much of it centered on Michael.Before Wham!'s appearance in China, many kinds of music in the country were forbidden.The audience included members of the Chinese government, and Chinese television presenter, Kinla Jun, who was the on-stage host, spoke of Wham!'s historic performance. No one had ever seen anything like that before. All the young people were amazed and everybody was tapping their feet. Of course the police weren't happy and they were scared there would be riots. The tour was documented by film director Lindsay Anderson and producer Martin Lewis in their film Foreign Skies, Wham! In China. With the success of Michael's solo singles, Careless Whisper, 1984, and A Different Corner, 1986, rumors of an impending breakup of Wham! Intensified. The duo officially separated in 1986, after releasing a farewell single, The Edge of Heaven and a singles compilation, The Final, plus a sell-out concert at Wembley Stadium that included the world premiere of the China film. The Wham! Partnership ended officially with the commercially successful single The Edge of Heaven, which reached number one on the UK chart in June 1986. Solo career. 1987-1989, Faith. The beginning of his solo career, during early 1987, was a duet with Aretha Franklin. I knew you were waiting was a one-off project that helped Michael achieve an ambition by singing with one of his favorite artists, and it scored number one on both the UK singles chart and the US Billboard Hot 100 upon its release. For Michael, it became his third consecutive solo number one in the UK from three releases, after 1984's Careless Whisper, though the single was actually from the Wham! album Make It Big, and 1980's IXS A Different Corner. The single was also the first Michael had recorded as a solo artist which he had not written himself. The CEO writer, Simon Climy, was unknown at the time, he later had success as a performer with the band Climy Fisher in 1988. Michael and Aretha Franklin won a Grammy Award in 1988 for Best R&B Performance Duo or Group with Vocal for the Song. In late 1987, Michael released his debut solo album, Faith. The first single released from the album was I Want Your Sex, in mid-1987. The song was banned by many radio stations in the UK and US, due to its sexually suggestive lyrics. MTV broadcast the video, featuring celebrity makeup artist Kathy Jung in a Bask and Suspenders, only during the late night hours.Michael argued that the act was beautiful if the sex was monogamous, and he recorded a brief prologue for the video in which he said, This song is not about casual sex. One of the racier scenes involved Michael writing the words explore monogamy on his partner's back in lipstick. Some radio stations played a toned down version of the song, I Want Your Love, with the word love replacing sex. When I Want Your Sex reached the US charts, American Top 40 host Casey Kasem refused to say the song's title, referring to it only as the new single by George Michael. In the US, the song was also sometimes listed as I Want Your Sex, from Beverly Hills Cop 2 since the song was featured on the soundtrack of the movie. Despite censorship and radio play problems, I Want Your Sex reached number two on the US Billboard Hot 100 and number three in the UK. The second single, Faith, was released in October 1987, a few weeks before the album. Faith became one of his most popular songs. The song was number one on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US for four consecutive weeks. It also reached number two in the UK singles chart.The video provided some definitive images of the 1980s music industry in the process Michael and Shades, Leather Jacket, Cowboy Boots and Levi's Jeans, playing a guitar near a classic design jukebox. On October 30, Faith was released in the UK and in several markets worldwide Faith topped the UK albums chart, and in the US, the album had 51 non-consecutive weeks in the top 10 of Billboard 200, including 12 weeks at number one. Faith had many successes, with four singles, Faith, father figure, one more try, and monkey, reaching number one in the US. Faith was certified diamond by the RIAA for sales of 10 million copies in the US. To date, global sales of Faith are more than 25 million units. The album was highly acclaimed by music critics, with all music journalist Steve Huey describing it as a superbly crafted mainstream pop rock masterpiece and one of the finest pop albums of the 80s. In a review by Rolling Stone magazine, journalist Mark Coleman commended most of the songs on the album, which he said displays Michael's intuitive understanding of pop music and his increasingly intelligent use of his power to communicate to an ever-growing audience. In 1988, Michael embarked on a world tour. In Los Angeles, Michael was joined on stage by Aretha Franklin for I Knew You Were Waiting. It was the second highest-grossing event of 1988, earning $17.7 million. In February 1989, Faith won the Grammy Award for Album of the Year at the 31st Grammy Awards. At the 1989 MTV Video Music Awards on September 6 in Los Angeles, Michael received the Video Vanguard Award. According to Michael in his film, A Different Story, success did not make him happy and he started to think there was something wrong in being an idol for millions of teenage girls. The whole Faith process, promotion, videos, tour, awards, left him exhausted, lonely and frustrated, and far from his friends and family. In 1990, he told his record company Sony that, for his second album, he did not want to do promotions like the one for Faith. 1990-1992, Listen Without Prejudice Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 was released in September 1990. For this album, Michael tried to create a new reputation as a serious-minded artist, the title is an indication of his desire to be taken more seriously as a songwriter. Michael refused to do any promotion for this album, including no music videos for the singles released.The first single, Praying for Time, with lyrics concerning social ills and injustice, was released in August 1990. James Hunter of Rolling Stone magazine described the song as a distraught look at the world's astounding woundedness. Michael offers the healing passage of time as the only bomb for physical and emotional hunger, poverty, hypocrisy and hatred. The song was an instant success, reaching No. 1 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and No. 6 in the UKA video was released shortly thereafter, consisting of the lyrics on a dark background. Michael did not appear in this video or any subsequent videos for the album. The second single waiting for that day was an acoustic heavy single, released as an immediate follow-up to Praying for Time. It reached No. 23 in the UKand No. 27 in the US.In October 1990. The album was released in Europe on September 3, 1990, and one week later in the US. It reached No. 1 in the UK albums cartand peaked at No. 2 on the US Billboard 200.It spent a total of 88 weeks on the UK albums chart and was certified four times platinum by the BPI. The album produced five UK singles, which were released quickly, within an at-eight-month period, Praying for Time, Waiting for that Day, Freedom, 90, Heal the Pain, and Cowboys and Angels, the latter being his only single not to chart in the UK Top 40. Freedom 90 was the second of only two of its singles to be supported by a music video, the other being the Michael Les Praying for Time.The song alludes to his struggles with his artistic identity, and prophesied his efforts shortly thereafter to end his recording contract with Sony Music. As if to prove the song's sentiment, Michael refused to appear in the video, directed by David Fincher, and instead recruited supermodels Naomi Campbell, Linda Evangelista, Kristi Tirlington, Tajina Patties, and Cindy Crawford to appear in and lip-sync in his stead. It also featured the reduction of his sex symbol status. It had a No. 8 success on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US and No. 28 on the UK singles chart. Mother's Pride gained significant radio play in the US during the First Persian Gulf War during 1991, often with radio stations mixing in callers' tributes to soldiers with the music. It reached No. 46 on Billboard Hot 100 with only airplay.In the end, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 sold approximately 8 million copies. At the 1991 Brit Awards, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1 won the award for Best British Album. Later in 1991, Michael embarked on the cover-to-cover tour in Japan, England, the US, and Brazil, where he performed at Rock in Rio. In the audience in Rio, he saw and later met Anselmo Felipa, who later became his partner.The tour was not a proper promotion for Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 1. Rather, it was more about Michael singing his favourite cover songs.Among his favourites was Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me, a 1974 song by Elton John, Michael and John had performed the song together at the Live Aid concert in 1985, and again for Michael's concert at London's Wembley Arena on March 25, 1991, where the duet was recorded. The single was released at the end of 1991 and reached No. 1 in both the UK and US. In the meantime, the expected follow-up album, Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2 was scrapped due to Michael's lawsuit with Sony. Michael complained that Sony had not completely supported the release of his second album, resulting in its poor performance in the US as compared to faith. Sony responded that Michael's refusal to appear in promotional videos had caused the bad response. Michael ended the idea for Listen Without Prejudice Vol. 2 and donated three songs to the charity project Red Hot and Dance, for the Red Hot organization which raised money for AIDS awareness, a fourth track Craze I'm in Dance was the b-side of 1992's Two Funky. Michael donated the royalties from Two Funky to the same cause. Two Funky reached No. 4 on the UK Singles Cartand No. 10 on the US Billboard Hot 100.It did not appear on any George Michael studio album, but was included on his solo collections Ladies and Gentlemen, the Best of George Michael in 1998 and 2005 in 2006. The video featured Michael, sporadically, as a director filming supermodels Linda Evangelista, Beverly Peel, Tyra Banks, Estelle Lefebure and Nadia Ourman at a fashion show. 1993, 5 Live. Michael performed at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert on April 20, 1992 at London's Wembley Stadium. The concert was a tribute to the life of the late Queen frontman, Freddie Mercury, with the proceeds going to AIDS research. In his last ever radio interview Mercury had praised Michael adding that he loved his track Faith.Michael performed 39, these are the days of our lives with Lisa Stansfield and Somebody to Love. The performance of the latter was released on the 5 Live EP. 5 Live, released in 1993 for Parlo Phone in the UK and Hollywood Records in the US, features five and in some countries, six tracks performed by Michael, Queen and Lisa Stansfield. Somebody to Love and these are the days of our lives were recorded at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert. Killer, Papa was a Rollin' Stone, and Calling You were all live performances recorded during his cover to cover tour from 1991. Michael's performance of Somebody to Love was hailed as one of the best performances of the tribute concert. All proceeds from the sale of the EP benefited the Mercury Phoenix Trust. Sales of the EP were very strong through Europe, where it debuted at number one in the UK and several European countries.Chart success in the US was less spectacular, where it reached number 40 on the Billboard 200, Somebody to Love reached number 30 on the US Billboard Hot 100. 1994-1997, Older During November 1994, after a long period of seclusion, Michael appeared at the first MTV Europe Music Awards show, where he gave a performance of a brand new song, Jesus to a Child. The song was a melancholy tribute to his lover, Anselmo Felipa, who had died in March 1993. The song entered the UK Singles Chart at number one and number seven on Billboard in the same month of release.T was Michael's longest UK top 40 single, at almost seven minutes long. The exact identity of the song's subject and the nature of Michael's relationship with Felipa was shrouded in innuendo and speculation, as Michael had not confirmed he was homosexual and did not do so until 1998. The video for Jesus to a Child was a picture of images recalling loss, pain and suffering. Michael consistently dedicated the song to Felipa before performing It Live. The second single, released in April 1996, was Fast Love, an energetic tune about wanting gratification and fulfillment without commitment. The song did not have a chorus and the single version was nearly five minutes long. Fast Love was supported by a futuristic virtual reality related video. It reached number one in the UK Singles Chart, spending three weeks at the top spot.In the US, Fast Love peaked at number eight, his most recent single to reach the top ten on the US charts.Following Fast Love, Michael released older, his first studio album in six years and only the third in his ten-year solo career. The album's US and Canada release was the first album released by David Jeffins, now defunct, Dreamworks Records. Older was particularly notable for the release of its six singles. Each of them reached the UK top three, a record for the most singles in the British top three released from a single album. At the time of release of the album's fifth single, Star People 97, chart specialist James Masterton noted Michael's success on the singles charts, writing, George Michael nonetheless makes an impressive top three entry with this single. The older album has now proved itself to be far and away his most commercially successful recording ever. Five singles now lifted and every single one has been a top three hit. Compare this with the two top three hits produced by Faith and Listen Without Prejudice as scant total of one top tenor and one single which missed the top 40 altogether. This sustained single success has been achieved with a little help from marketing tricks such as remixes or in this case a new recording of the album track which gives it a much needed transformation into a deserved commercial smash. In 1996, Michael was voted best British male, at the MTV Europe Music Awards and the Brit Awards, and at the British Academy's Ivernavello Awards, he was awarded the title of songwriter of the year for the third time.Michael performed a concert at Three Mills Studios, London, for MTV Unplugged. It was his first long performance in years, and in the audience was Michael's mother. The next year, she died of cancer. 1998, Ladies and Gentlemen, The Best of George Michael Ladies and gentlemen, The Best of George Michael was Michael's first solo greatest hits collection released in 1998. The collection of 28 songs, 29 songs are included on the European and Australian release, are separated into two halves, with each containing a particular theme and mood. The first CD, titled For the Heart, predominantly contains ballads, the second CD, For the Feet, consists mainly of dance tunes. It was released through Sony Music Entertainment as a condition of severing contractual ties with the label. Ladies and gentlemen was a success, peaking at number one on the UK albums chart for eight weeks.It has spent over 200 weeks in the UK charts, and is the 38th best-selling album of all time in the UK. It is certified seven times platinum in the United Kingdom and multi-platinum in the United States, and is Michael's most commercially successful album in his homeland having sold more than 2.8 million copies. To date, the album has reached worldwide sales of approximately 15 million copies. The first single of the album, Outside was a humorous song making a reference to his arrest for soliciting a policeman in a public toilet. As, his duet with Mary J. Bleige, was released as the second single in many territories around the world. Both singles reached the top five in the UK singles chart. 1999, Songs from the Last Century Songs from the Last Century is a studio album of cover tracks. It was released in 1999 and was Michael's penultimate album released through Virgin Records. To date, the album has peaked the lowest of his solo effort. The album debuted at number 157 on the American Billboard 200 albums chart, which was also the album's peak position.It was also his lowest charting album in the UK, becoming his only solo effort not to reach number one. It peaked at number two in the UK albums chart.Each of the eleven tracks was co-produced by Phil Ramone and Michael. 2000, 2005, Patience In 2000, Michael worked on the hit single If I Told You That with Whitney Houston, a song which was meant to feature Michael Jackson, initially. Michael C.O. produced on the single along with American producer Rodney Jerkins. Michael began working on what became his fifth studio album, spending two years in the recording studio. His first single Freak, taken from the new album, was successful in Europe going to number one in Italy, Portugal, Spain and Denmark in 2002 and reaching the top ten in the UK and the top five in Australia. It made 22 charts around the world. However, his next single Shoot the Dog proved to be highly controversial when released in July 2002. It was highly critical of George W. Bush and Tony Blair in the lead-up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. It reached number one in Denmark and made the top five in most European charts. However, in Britain it peaked at only number twelve in the UK singles chart. In February 2003, Michael unexpectedly recorded another song in protest against the looming Iraq war, Don McLean's The Grave. The original was written by McLean in 1971 and was a protest against the Vietnam War. Michael performed the song on numerous TV shows including Top of the Pops and So Graham Norton. His performance of the song on Top of the Pops on March 7, 2003 was his first studio appearance on the programme since 1986. He ran into conflict with the show's producers for an anti-war, anti-blair T-shirt worn by some members of his band. In response, Don McLean issued a statement, through his website, praising Michael's recording, I am proud of George Michael for standing up for life and sanity. I am delighted that he chose a song of mine to express these feelings. We must remember that the wizard is really a cowardly old man hiding behind a curtain with a loud microphone. It takes courage and a song to pull the curtain open and expose him. Good luck George. On November 17, 2003, Michael re-signed with Sony Music, the company he had left in 1995 after a legal battle. When Michael's fifth studio album, Patience, was released in 2004, it was critically acclaimed and went straight to number one on the UK albums chart and became one of the fastest-selling albums in the UK, selling over 200,000 copies in the first week alone. In Australia it reached number two on March 22. It reached the top five on most European charts, and peaked at number twelve in the United States, selling over 500,000 copies to earn a gold certification from the RIAA. Amazing, the third single from the album, became a number one hit in Europe. When Michael appeared on the Oprah Winfrey show on May 26, 2004, to promote the album, he performed amazing, along with his classic songs Father Figure and Faith. On the show Michael spoke of his arrest, revealing his homosexuality, and his resumption of public performances. He allowed Oprah's crew inside his home outside London. The fourth single taken off the album was Flawless, which used the sample of the one's original dance hit Flawless. It was a dance hit in Europe as well as North America, reaching number one on the Billboard Hot Dance Club play and became Michael's last number one single on the United States dance chart. In November 2004, Sony released the fifth single round here. It was the least successful single taken from patients when it stalled the UK charts at No 32.In 2005, John and Elvis Are Dead was released as the sixth and final single from the album, it was released as a download single and was therefore unable to chart in the United Kingdom. Michael told BBC Radio One on March 10, 2004 that future music that he puts out would be available for download, with fans encouraged to make a donation to charity. 2005-2010, 25 and Concert Tours. 25 was Michael's second greatest hits album, celebrating the 25th anniversary of his music career. Released in November 2006 by Sony BMG, it debuted at number one in the UK. The album contains songs chiefly from Michael's solo career but also from his earlier days in WAM. It comes in two formats, two CDs or a limited edition 3 CD set. The two CD set contain 26 tracks, including four recorded with WAM. And three new songs, an easier affair, This Is Not Real Love, a duet with Mute Ibuena, formerly of Sugar Babes, which peaked at number 15 in the UK charts, and a new version of Heal the Pain recorded with Paul McCartney. The limited edition 3 CD version contains an additional 14 lesser known tracks including one from WAM. And another completely new song, Understand. 25 was released in North America on April 1, 2008 as a 29 song, two CD set featuring several new songs, including duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J. Bleach in a song from the short-lived TV series Eli Stone, in addition to many of Michael's successful songs from both his solo and WAM. Career To commemorate the 25 album, Michael toured North America for the first time in 17 years, playing large venues in major cities including New York, Los Angeles, St. Paul Minneapolis, Tampa ST, Pete, Chicago and Dallas. The DVD version of 25 contains 40 videos on two discs, including seven with WAM. During the 2005 Live 8 concert at Hyde Park London, Michael joined Paul McCartney on stage, harmonizing on the Beatles classic Drive My Car. In 2006, Michael started his first tour in 15 years, 25 live. The tour began in Barcelona, Spain on September 23 and finished in December at Wembley Arena in England. According to his website, the 80 show tour was seen by 1.3 million fans. On May 12, 2007 in Quimbra, Portugal, he began the European 25 live stadium tour 2007, including London and Athens, and ending on August 4, 2007 in Belfast, Northern Ireland. There were 29 tour dates, as of April 21, 2007, across Europe. On June 9, 2007 Michael became the first artist to perform live at the newly renovated Wembley Stadium in London, where he was later fined £130,000 for overrunning the programme for 13 minutes. On March 25, 2008, a third part of the 25 live tour was announced for North America. This part included 21 dates in the United States and Canada. This was Michael's first tour of North America in 17 years. Following news of Michael's North American tour, 25 was released in North America on April 1, 2008 as a 29 song, two CDs set featuring several new songs, including duets with Paul McCartney and Mary J. Bleach and a song from the short-lived TV series, Eli Stone, in addition to many of Michael's successful songs from both his solo and wham. Career Michael made his American acting debut by playing a guardian angel to Johnny Lee Miller's character on Eli Stone, a US TV series. In addition to performing on the show as himself and as Visions, each episode of the show's first season was named after a song of his. Michael appeared on the 2008 finale show of American Idol on May 21 singing Praying for Time. When asked what he thought Simon Cowell would say of his performance, he replied I think he'll probably tell me I shouldn't have done a George Michael song. He's told plenty of people that in the past, so I think that'd be quite funny. On December 1, Michael performed in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, as part of the 37th National Day celebrations. On December 25, 2008, Michael released a new track December Song on his website for free. It was hoped that fans who downloaded the song would donate money to charity. Though the song is not available anymore on his website, it remains available on file-sharing networks and a remastered version of December Song went on sale on December 13. The popularity of the single was boosted by a promotional appearance that Michael made on The X Factor. In early 2010, Michael performed his first concerts in Australia since 1988. On February 20, 2010, Michael performed his first show in Perth at the Burswood Dome to an audience of 15,000. On March 2, 2011, Michael announced the release of his cover version of New Order's 1987 hit True Faith in aid of the UK charity Telethon Comic Relief. Michael also appeared on Comic Relief itself, featuring in the first carpool karaoke sketch of James Corden, with the pair singing songs while Corden drove around London. On April 15, 2011, Michael released a cover of Stevie Wonder's 1972 song, You and I, as an MP3 gift to Prince William and Catherine Middleton on the occasion of their wedding on April 29, 2011. Although the MP3 was released for free download, Michael appealed to those who downloaded the track to make a contribution to the Prince William and Miss Catherine Middleton Charitable Gift Fund. 2011-2016, Symphonica and Concert Tours, Freedom Documentary The Symphonica tour began at the Prague State Opera House on August 22, 2011. In October 2011, Michael was announced as one of the final nominees for the Songwriters Hall of Fame. In November, he had to cancel the remainder of the tour as he became severely ill with pneumonia in Vienna, Austria. In February 2012, two months after leaving hospital, Michael made a surprise appearance at the 2012 Brit Awards at London's O2 Arena, where he received a standing ovation, and presented Adele the award for Best British Album. Symphonica was released on March 17, 2014, and became Michael's seventh solo number-one album in the UK, and ninth overall including his WAM. Charitoppers The album was produced by Phil Ramone, his last production credit, and Michael. On November 2, 2016, Michael's management team announced that a second documentary on his life, entitled Freedom, was set to be released in March 2017. A month after, English songwriter Naughty Boy confirmed plans to collaborate with Michael. However, because of interference with the announcement of Michael's death just a few weeks after it is unknown where the project stands today. Personal Life Sexuality Michael stated that his early fantasies were about women, which led me to believe I was on the path to heterosexuality, but at puberty he started to fantasize about men, which he later said had something to do with my environment. At the age of 19, Michael told Andrew Ridgely and close friends that he was bisexual. Michael also told one of his two sisters, but he was advised by friends not to tell his parents about his sexuality.In a 1999 interview with the advocate, Michael told the editor-in-chief, Judy Weeder, that it was falling in love with a man that ended his conflict over bisexuality. I never had a moral problem with being gay, Michael told her. I thought I had fallen in love with a woman a couple of times. Then I fell in love with a man, and realized that none of those things had been love. In 2004 Michael said I used to sleep with women quite a lot in the wham. Days but never felt it could develop into a relationship because I knew that, emotionally, I was a gay man. I didn't want to commit to them but I was attracted to them. Then I became ashamed that I might be using them. I decided I had to stop, which I did when I began to worry about AIDS, which was becoming prevalent in Britain. Although I had always had safe sex, I didn't want to sleep with a woman without telling her I was bisexual. I felt that would be irresponsible. Basically, I didn't want to have that uncomfortable conversation that might ruin the moment, so I stopped sleeping with them.  He said he believed that the formation of his sexuality was a nurture thing, via the absence of my father who was always busy working. It meant I was exceptionally close to my mother, though he stated that there are definitely those who have a predisposition to being gay in which the environment is irrelevant.  In 2009 Michael said, My depression at the end of Wham! was because I was beginning to realize I was gay, not bisexual. Relationships During the late 1980s, Michael had a relationship with Chinese-American makeup artist Cathy Zhang, who was regarded for a time as his artistic muse and who appeared in the I Want Your Sex video. Michael later said that she had been his only bona fide girlfriend, and that she knew of his bisexuality.In 2016, Zhang reacted to Michael's death by calling him a true friend with whom she had spent some of the best time of her life. In 1993 he established a relationship with Ancelmo Felipa, a Brazilian dress designer, whom he had met at the 1991 concert Rock in Rio. Six months into their relationship, Felipa discovered that he was HIV positive. Michael later said, It was terrifying news. I thought I could have the disease too. I couldn't go through it with my family because I didn't know how to share it with them they didn't even know I was gay. In 1993, Felipa died of an AIDS-related brain hemorrhage. Michael's single, Jesus to a Child, is a tribute to Felipa, Michael consistently dedicated it to him before performing It Live, as is his album Older, 1996. In 2008, speaking about the loss of his partner Felipa, Michael said, It was a terribly depressing time. It took about three years to grieve, then after that I lost my mother. I felt almost like I was cursed. In 1996, Michael entered into a long-term relationship with Kenny Goss, a former flight attendant, cheerleader coach, and sportswear executive from Dallas. They had homes in Dallas, a 16th-century house in Goring on Thames, Oxfordshire, and an £8 million mansion in Highgate, north London.In late November 2005, it was reported that Michael and Goss planned to register their relationship as a civil partnership in the UK, but because of negative publicity in his upcoming tour, they postponed it. On August 22, 2011, the opening night of his Symphonica World tour, Michael announced that he and Goss had split two years earlier. Since 2012, Michael had been in a relationship with Fadi Fawaz, an Australian celebrity hairstylist and a freelance photographer of Lebanese descent based in London. It was Fawaz who found Michael's body on Christmas morning 2016. Arrests Questions of Michael's sexual orientation persisted until April 7, 1998, when he was arrested for engaging in a lewd act in a public restroom of the Will Rogers Memorial Park, in Beverly Hills, California. In 2007, Michael said that hiding his sexuality made him feel fraudulent, and his eventual outing, when he was arrested, in 1998, was a subconsciously deliberate act. Michael was arrested by an undercover policeman named Marcelo Rodriguez, in a sting operation using so-called Pretty Police. In an MTV interview, Michael stated, I got followed into the restroom and then this cop I didn't know it was a cop, obviously he started playing this game, which I think is called, I'll show you mine, you show me yours, and then when you show me yours, I'm going to Nick arrest you. After pleading no contest to the charge, Michael was fined $810 U.S. dollars and sentenced to 80 hours of community service. Soon afterwards, Michael made a video for his single Outside, which satirised the public toilet incident and featured men dressed as policeman kissing. Rodriguez claimed that this video mocked him, and that Michael had slandered him in interviews. In 1999, he brought a $10 million U.S. dollar court case in California against the singer. The court dismissed the case, but an appellate court reinstated it on December 3, 2002. The court then ruled Rodriguez, as a public official, could not legally recover damages for emotional distress. On July 23, 2006, Michael was again accused of engaging in anonymous public sex, this time at London's Hampstead Heath. The anonymous partner was incorrectly stated to be a 58-year-old unemployed van driver. Michael stated that he cruised for anonymous sex and that this was not an issue in his relationship with partner Kenny Goss. Drugs In February 2006 Michael was arrested for possession of Class C drugs, an incident that he described as �my own stupid fault, as usual.� He was cautioned by the police and released. In 2007 Michael pleaded guilty to drug-impaired driving after obstructing the road at traffic lights in Cricklewood, in northwest London and was subsequently banned from driving for two years and sentenced to community service. During September 2007, on Desert Island Discs, he said that his cannabis use was a problem, he wished he could smoke less of it and was constantly trying to do so. On September 19, 2008, Michael was arrested in a public toilet in the Hampstead Heath area of London for possession of Class A and C drugs. He was taken to the police station and cautioned for controlled substance possession. On December 5, 2009, in an interview with The Guardian, Michael explained he had cut back on cannabis and now smoked only 7 or 8 spliffs per day instead of the 25 he used to smoke. In the early hours of Sunday July 4, 2010 Michael was returning from the Gay Pride Parade. The singer was spotted on CCTV crashing his car into the front of a Snappy Snaps store in Hampstead, North London and was arrested on suspicion of being unfit to drive. On August 12, London's Metropolitan Police said he was charged with possession of cannabis and with driving while unfit through drink or drugs. It was reported that Michael had also been taking the prescription medication Amitriptyline. On August 24, 2010, the singer pleaded guilty at Highbury Corner Magistrates Court in London after admitting driving under the influence of drugs and on September 14, 2010 at the same court, was sentenced to eight weeks in prison, a fine, and a five-year ban from driving. Michael was released from Highpoint Prison in Suffolk on October 11, 2010, after serving four weeks. Politics During the time of Margaret Thatcher as the conservative prime minister of the United Kingdom throughout the 1980s, Michael voted Labour.In 2000, Michael joined Melissa Etheridge, Garth Brooks, Queen Latifa, the Pet Shop Boys, and K. D. Lang, to perform in Washington, D.C. as part of Equality Rocks, a concert to benefit the Human Rights Campaign, an American LGBT rights group. His 2002 single shoot The Dog was critical of the friendly relationship between the British and American governments, in particular Tony Blair and George W. Bush, with their involvement in the Iraq war.Michael voiced his concern about the lack of public consultation in the UK regarding the war on terror, on an issue as enormous as the possible bombing of Iraq, how can you represent us when you haven't asked us what we think. In 2006, Michael performed a free concert for NHS nurses in London to thank the nurses who had cared for his late mother.He told the audience, Thank you for everything you do some people appreciate it. Now if we can only get the government to do the same thing. In 2007, Michael sent the £1.45 million piano that John Lennon used to write Imagine Around the US on a peace tour, displaying at places where violence had taken place, such as Dallas's Dealey Plaza, where US President John F. Kennedy was shot. He devoted his 2007 concert in Sofia, from his 25 tour to the Bulgarian nurses prosecuted in the HIV trial in Libya. On June 17, 2008, Michael said he was thrilled by California's legalization of same-sex marriage, calling the move way overdue. Philanthropy. In November 1984, Michael joined other British and Irish pop stars of the era and formed Band Aid, singing on the charity song Do They Know It's Christmas, for famine relief in Ethiopia. This single became the UK Christmas number one in December 1984, holding Michael's own song, Last Christmas by Wham, at No 2. Do They Know It's Christmas, sold 3.75 million copies in the UK and became the biggest-selling single in UK chart history, a title it held until 1997 when it was overtaken by Elton John's Candle in the Wind 1997, released in tribute to Princess Diana following her death, Michael attended Diana's funeral with Elton John. Michael donated the royalties from Last Christmas to Band Aid and subsequently sang with Elton John at Live Aid, the Band Aid charity concert, in 1985. In 1986, Michael took part in the Princess Trust charity concert held at Wembley Arena, performing every time you go away alongside Paul Young. In 1988, Michael participated in the Nelson Mandela 70th birthday tribute at Wembley Stadium in London together with many other singers, such as Annie Lennox and Sting, performing sexual healing. ALGBT rights campaigner and Hivades charity fundraiser, the proceeds from the 1991 single Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Me were divided among ten different charities for children, AIDS and education. He was also a patron of the Elton John AIDS Foundation. Michael wore a red ribbon at the Freddie Mercury tribute concert at Wembley Stadium in 1992. In 2003, he paired up with Ronan Keating on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, and won £32,000, after having their original £64,000 winnings halved by missing the £125,000 question. The same year, Michael joined other celebrities to support a campaign to help raise £20 million for terminally ill children run by the Rainbow Trust children's charity of which he was a patron. He said, �Loss is such an incredibly difficult thing. I bow down to people who actually have to deal with the loss of a child.� Following his death, many charities revealed that Michael had privately been a supporter of them for many years. Dame Esther Ranson, the founder and president of Childline, said he had given them millions over the years and said that he had given the royalties from his 1996 number one single Jesus to a child to the charity. He had supported the Terence Higgins Trust for many years as well as Macmillan Cancer Support.Michael also donated to individuals, he reportedly called the production team of the quiz show �Deal or No Deal� after a contestant had revealed that she needed £15,000 to fund IVF treatment. An anonymously paid for the treatment personally and once tipped a student nurse working as a barmaid £5,000, $6,121, because she was in debt. On January 3, 2017 another woman came forward and, with the permission of Michael's family, revealed he had anonymously paid for her IVF treatment after seeing her talk about her problems conceiving on an episode of This Morning in 2010. The woman gave birth to a girl in 2012. Assets Between 2006 and 2008, according to reports, Michael earned £48.5 million, $97 million, from the 25 live tour alone. In July 2014, he was reported to have been a celebrity investor in a tax avoidance scheme called Liberty. According to the Sunday Times-Rich List 2015 of the wealthiest British musicians, Michael was worth £105 million. Memoirs In 1991, Michael released an autobiography through Penguin Books titled Bear, co-written with Tony Parsons. Health Problems On October 26, 2011, Michael cancelled a performance at London's Royal Albert Hall due to a viral infection. On November 21, Vienna General Hospital admitted Michael after he complained of chest pains while at a hotel two hours before his performance at a venue there for his symphonic attour. Michael appeared to be in good spirits and responded well to treatment following his admittance, but on November 25 hospital officials said that his condition had worsened overnight. This development led to cancellations and postponements of Michael's remaining 2011 performances, which had been scheduled mainly for the United Kingdom. The singer was later confirmed to have suffered from pneumonia and, until December 1, was in an intensive care unit. On December 21 the hospital discharged him. Michael told the press that the staff at the hospital had saved his life and that he would perform a free concert for them. While making the speech, he became emotional and breathless. During the speech, he also mentioned that he had undergone a tracheotomy. After waking from the coma, Michael had a temporary West Country accent, and there was concern he had developed foreign accent syndrome. On May 16, 2013, Michael sustained a head injury when he fell from his moving car on the M1 motorway, near St. Albans in Hertfordshire, and was airlifted to hospital. DEATH Michael died at his home in Goring on Thames, aged 53. He was found dead, lying in bed, by his partner Fadi Fawaz on Christmas morning, December 25, 2016. Cause of death was immediately determined, his manager Michael Lippmann conjectured that heart failure was the cause of death, and that Michael passed away peacefully. Fawaz described, in an interview with The Daily Telegraph, finding the performer on Christmas morning, �I went round there to wake him up and he was just gone, lying peacefully in bed. We don�t know what happened yet.� Everything had been very complicated recently, but George was looking forward to Christmas, and so was I. On December 29 the postmortem was undertaken to determine the exact cause of death, but was inconclusive. Thames Valley police said that further tests would be carried out, but the results were unlikely to be known for several weeks. In its obituary of Michael, the BBC described him as �a pop superstar� and wrote, �Blessed with good looks and a fine singing voice, his stage presence made him a favorite on the live concert circuit as he matured from teen idol to long-term stardom. In addition to his partner Fadi Fawaz, he is survived by his father and two sisters. Awards and nominations Michael won numerous music awards throughout his 30-year career, including three Brit Awards winning Best British Male twice, four MTV Video Music Awards, four Iver Novello Awards, three American Music Awards, and two Grammy Awards from eight nominations.


We want just to go out and do our work, like going to supermarket, going to hospital, our right. So you support then the women who want to disobey the driving ban? Yes, I support them. I will do with them, inshallah, by tomorrow. Are you planning to drive tomorrow? Yes, inshallah. Do you know how to drive? Have you had driver training? A little bit. I'd rather he learned me before, but I will try to remember what he learned. And are you afraid of getting in trouble or some kind of consequences? Always when we're doing something in the first time, we're getting in trouble. Especially if that's not allowed from our country. Something happened before in America. I saw some women do like this before in some film, but I'm not remembering about what. I heard a story this morning that said that the first time that women defied the ban on female drivers was back in 1990. So I don't know how many times it's happened since. I believe that my grandma and the old lady in Saudi Arabia, before they drove, they drove the car before. When I saw my grandma, she drove the car and she liked them and no problem about it. But I don't know what happened after that. And so you're planning tomorrow to drive in this protest? Do you have any plans of where you're going to drive to? No, I'm just, I want to take my car and have a round.  Yes, excited. And I want to do that. Do you think that the ban, again in the story I heard this morning, this is not actually a law. Is that correct that there's no law against female drivers, but the religious authorities have basically banned it? You know, Saudi Arabia is a new country, not like America. They have history, like America or like the UK. They didn't have a law about this. They didn't have a law about it's allowed or not allowed. About the culture, not about the law, about the culture. Do you think that things will change in the next few years? I mean, do you think that this ban will be eased perhaps? It's a change, it's a change, yes. I would think. I would leave it a change. Here in Egypt there is a difference in opinion between acceptance and refusing to what's happening. And some people disagree with the army. And I'm one of these people who disagree. You're saying you're one of the people who disagree with the army having removed the president. Is that what you're saying? You yourself are one of the people who disagree or not? I'm one of these people who disagree with the army. I want Dr. Morsi to be the president of our country because he has the right to. And we give him our voice and we wanted him. What do you think will happen next? Being there, reading the news, seeing the events going on. What do you think is going to be happening? I think that Dr. Morsi will come back. How so? You mean back to the presidency, you think? Yes, maybe with some conditions or some changes. I think everything will be okay and go in the right way or the logical way. Your prime minister Nawaz Sharif was here. Have you been watching the news about that? Yes, I followed that news because of my interest in politics. There is a lot of reaction and thoughts about this meeting with US president. This meeting with US Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. Yes, there were lots of hopes with that meeting, for instance about drone strikes. This is a serious issue in Pakistan, drone strikes. People are very hostile to it because they think that a country should not have the right to intervene in a country's border. If America has the intel of terrorism or the intel of terrorism, there are some terrorists residing in this place. This information should be given to the Pak Army and the ISI. After that, the action against terrorism should be taken by the local forces, not by any foreign forces. What about what critics have said over the years that the Pakistanis, that the local forces have not been doing enough to go after the terrorists. What about those criticisms? Looking at the fact that most of the sacrifice is paid by Pakistan forces. This saying blatantly that Pakistan forces are not going after terrorists and not making the world a safe place to live. I don't think this is a serious comment on Pakistan forces' sacrifices. There are lots of martyrs and survivors of this war and they all belong to Pakistan forces. They take pride of this, that we have fought against terrorism and we have tried to make our country a safer place. I don't know if you are following Pakistan media or not, but there are a lot of negative comments and issues they are highlighting. For example, they don't see release. There has been much progress over drone strikes by the United States in certain areas in Pakistan. There are a lot of different opinions. There were some people of opinion that these meetings actually produce nothing. There are wasted time and resources and most things are decided beforehand. There are other people who are actually pretty optimists and they were saying that actually something is going to come out. Prime Minister went there and spent a lot of time there. As soon as he comes back, he will probably take the whole nation into confidence and let them know what he has achieved. Are you one of the optimists or are you one of the people thinking nothing is going to come out of it? I am somewhere in between. I know there are a lot of diplomacies there. I know these guys are really not telling the exact story to Pakistani people. But at the same time, I know that the meeting was just not for the sake of meeting. There was something they wanted to achieve, but unfortunately we don't know exactly what they discussed. Besides what they shared with the media, we don't know exactly what went on, what they were trying to achieve. If you read Indian media, apparently Obama raised all the issues the Indian government has been asking them to help them with Pakistan. For example, beating the Pakistan has been involved in Crossbar, Arizona. So according to them, it was their victory. According to Pakistani media, it was not either their victory or our victory. It was something like just an envelope or whatever type of diplomatic meeting. In Afghanistan, all the news is about the elections and about the candidates that they want to be a president of Afghanistan. There is a problem under some of them. So the government of Afghanistan don't let them be a candidate of the president because of some problem that they have, like some of them have a bilingual citizenship like an American. So the government say that you should be just Afghan or American. You cannot be both of them at the same time. What do you think about what's going on with the elections? Do you see any candidates that have impressed you so far to replace President Karza? I think that there is no best man between them. But the choice is, in effect, the choice is between bad and better. Bad and worse? Yeah, between bad and worse. We should choose a bad, not worse. Because they have bad backgrounds, all of them. They killed many people about 20 or 50 years ago and all the people of Afghanistan know. But some of them have a good policy. They are educated person. I think I chose one of that that educated and have a good policy.


What's going on everybody got Kyle and Shawn here relating sports cards, and we are ripping this one is gonna be two boxes of 2023 Prison football can be a personal for mr. Jeffrey H Good luck Jeffrey. Let's see what we got sir Box one good luck here Jeffrey ice to 99 portals hanging hooker rookie and blue ice tonight nine is gonna be the bus Jerome bettis steelus Segon and Charbonnet rookies Get Steven by one down to eight guys down eight break that right after this. We'll break it right after this Just got to type in some names real quick. It won't be ready to go Portals silver is gonna be briefs the beast and so on 25 hutch lions to 125 Hutch and a baker knock me friends this week He's gonna find Baker. I have a feeling you might find them once or twice You might find them once or twice There is nice tank big speed rookie to 249 rookie for the Jags Thank You Jeremy taking one and a CJ Stroud base CJ Stroud You Jeremy taking a hockey spot Down to just seven guys down to seven. We'll break it right after this Small hockey going first auto here got Jerome Ford. It's gonna be a Zach Harrison rookie Silverado Falcons Edge rusher for the Falcons schoonmaker and Nolan Smith. Well, let's see a colorblast a manga. I'm a pool of manga yet out of this actually there's some 199 blue wave Rodriguez C rod Doreen Williams jaren Hall. Thank you. Uh, Kirsten Kirsten taking one down to six Six Let's rip it get that going next Silver Eric Dickerson. There's the 175 Jeremy shocky Darius Davis I appreciate you appreciate you. Uh, okay Gibbs appreciate that Yeah, so I'll do what you saw how it works We'll do a random before right before the break and then we'll see which teams we get and you'll get every card for that team All purpose and Tyson Campbell the 125. I appreciate you joining in my man appreciate that Marie tall Silver almond raw Thumbnail today and rookie Silverado is going to be Jake Hainer for the Saints Saints Jake Hainer will lev a space Irene young. Yeah, I appreciate you guys grabbing spots in that and moving really nicely Just six to go and we'll get on rivet purple ice to 225 Daburro, it's gonna be Hunter Renfro. Oh, wait, that's actually purple power to 49 not purple ice To 225 So we're safe when we got to 249 Chase Claypool. Don't mind us. Don't mind us Jordan Addison on the rookie Maisie Smith Don't mind us It's getting late Good luck here Jeffrey purple ice is gonna be cave-on tibidote The tibidome to 225 to 225 Oh It's a silver rookie don't bring Williams and it's a 199 is Tyler boy Tyler boy bangles Roger Jones and AR on the back. Alrighty, Mr. Jeffrey. Yeah, one more. Yes, sir Yeah, hopefully we've certainly had some beginners luck around here. No doubt Certainly definitely done that in the past Do it again Alrighty, Mr. Jeffrey. Good luck box to silver Luke schoonmaker on the rookie and Tyler Scott blue wave to 199 rookie Cam Smith and DTR Yeah, let's do it boots. We have both a couple nice CJ so far. I'm down to hit a even lower number I think the lowest I've seen so far was a Blue ice to 99 there's a Gabe Davis to 175 Trey Tucker and Miles Murphy. I Would love to see a gold or something and that would be I would be incredible That would be incredible. All righty guys just six to go and hockey. We can do that right after this right after this There's a TJ Watts to 99 emergent Steelers and Zach Charbonnet to 125 rookie for the Seahawks Julia Sprens Paris Johnson Yeah, yeah, that was fire. There's a Josh Allen Josh Allen to 99 on the blue ice Come here Gibbs rookie Derek Hall Open that I was open that green Kaboom was CJ. They're not gonna lie. Oh my god. Not gonna lie I was hoping that green Kaboom was CJ Silver Tony Pollock and Robert Jones on the silver rookie auto for the Steelers Offensive offense tackle. Yeah, I didn't see it. I was the only one didn't get a ticket. I was always green Oh boy. Oh boy Stop it Crosby will work. Yeah There's the 249 Jason Kelsey retired for the Eagles Yeah, we might a Vaughn might have a My loss Vaughn there That would have been something Christian Wilkins silver and a 2225 is Chad Johnson Ocho Cinco Yeah, mom your mom would have tripped spring in the camera in you were so yelling so much Man, it would have been a mess. There's a nice Jermior Gibbs to 175 rookie for the Lions Hopefully he doesn't run all over my bucks this weekend and a Bijan Bijan Thank You Robert taking one Robert. Oh that a five down to five. Let's do it right after this guys five to go on it Get some more hockey going small hockey Silver J. Love and auto is gonna be Tanner and Keith Silver rookie auto for the birds Eagles Weatherspoon and son Harrison Pollard and some 99 juju Kendra Miller and La Porta Also a guy. I do not want to run all over my bucks this weekend That's dangerous offense man. I'll show it up on the rock to your Gibbs Montgomery There's the 60 little Jordan Humphrey for the Broncos Kansy and Chase Brown purple ice the 225 on the back is Panacea Lions Anaconda and Lucas Van Ness Alrighty there, mr. Jeffrey that will do it sir that will do it for your two boxes of prism Appreciate you as always my man. We will get those right out to you sir


Much of the discussion around climate change focuses on greenhouse gas emissions. To understand how we're changing the climate, we must first understand the role greenhouse gas emissions play. The greenhouse effect is a well-understood phenomenon which makes the earth uniquely suited for life as we know it. Our atmosphere creates a warm blanket of sorts around our planet. It allows us to hang on to some of the sun's radiation long enough to keep us warm enough to live, produce food, and now, unfortunately, mess with the planet's natural balance of greenhouse gases. The greenhouse effect is a very good example of when too much of a good thing is anything but great. So let's take a look at how the greenhouse effect functions properly, and then we'll take a closer look at what's happening to it now and how that's changing our climate. The sun produces very intense shortwave radiation, most of which passes rather easily through our atmosphere. Once it enters the atmosphere, there are several different ways it behaves. Some of it is absorbed and re-emitted in all directions by greenhouse gas molecules in the air before it ever even reaches the surface of the earth. This helps warm both the surface of the earth and our lower atmosphere. About half of that intense shortwave radiation coming from the sun is absorbed by the ground, clouds, and other surfaces. These surfaces absorb that energy and then release it back toward the atmosphere in the form of longer wave radiation, which is less intense. These less intense wavelengths are less likely to penetrate back out through the atmosphere and therefore end up being absorbed by greenhouse gas molecules, helping keep things at that nice, temperate, suitable for life climate we all need. The problem arises, though, when the balance of greenhouse gas molecules in our atmosphere is altered. Human activities like fossil fuel combustion and deforestation upset this balance by increasing the amount of these heat-trapping gases. And the more of those gases there are in the atmosphere, the more opportunity they have to warm things up. This is where the concerns about climate change begin. Ice core data helps us reconstruct gas concentrations throughout history. For the last 400,000 years until the Industrial Revolution, CO2 concentrations ranged from about 200 to 280 parts per million. That rapid increase in human combustion of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution, though, has increased carbon that has otherwise been locked up underground for thousands, if not millions of years. This throws the natural greenhouse effect out of kilter. Recognizing the role greenhouse gases play in our global climate system helps us understand the actions we must take to address climate change.


The Tour of the Lake District is a 96 mile circuit starting and finishing in the popular tourist town of Ambleside. The trail takes in each of the main Lake District valleys along lakes shores through woodland and other remote mountain passes. Join me as I take on this winter late-land adventure with a mix of freezing wild camps and cosy country pubs. Woo, sun shining, hello we're back, welcome to day four of the Tour of the Lake District. In the distance there is Keswick and I'm just, I've got back on the trail where I left it if you remember last week. I had to jump off the trail to sort of Reventchains, so I'll do in a bit. I had to jump off the trail to get to the airport to pick Fern up and then I had to see some family and do some bits and pieces which I've done and I've come back up and joined the trail. I'm really looking forward to this. Yes, we're back. Look at this mate, welcome back. Forecast a bit of snow as well the next few days so that summer I'll be wild camping as well. Now mate, you alright? Sounds like you're happy with your surroundings.   I know that would be less happy wouldn't it, if I got plowed down. I'm off to Ambleside. A bit of a long one. Busy up here isn't it? Are you walking mate? You got a bit? Are you going to walk Ambleside? Yeah. How long will that take you? Three days I reckon, over to Grassmeer, then Patadale and other red screes and other tops. Hey, you having it? Good lad, you. What's your luggage then? Wild camping obviously. Yeah, I've got all of me, you've got me house on me back, yeah. But I started off in Ambleside, it's a big loop. Right. The two of the Lake District it's called. So I wild camped first night and it all got frosty in tent, it was like an igloo. So then I slept in an ale house on second night just to get a bit warm and have a few pints. It's supposed to be minus five or six tonight mate. I know, it's going to be nippy. It's going to be nippy mate. All I can say, good luck to you lad. All the best. Yeah, cheers mate. See ya. There you go. All the best from my mate. Ah, you heard it here first. Minus five or six and that's down here. So it's going to be very, very cold. And even colds are up tops. And I don't know where I'm going to end up or where I'm camping, it's just one of them where wherever I am at end of day, that's where they'll rest me head. I'm going to try and camp a little bit lower down just to keep out of them frosty, frosty conditions. Don't need to mate. I believe it's a chaff inch. Right, what have we got here? Ah yes, it's one of these. Look with counterweight on. That's how we like it. What have we got around to the side? Ah yeah, pretty basic. Let it go. Look, you can't manually close it. You've got to let the counterweight do what it was put there to do. Stunning. Hey up Robin. Ah, lovely stuff mate. Good sash on that mate. Oh, it's beautiful. Look at that. Castle Rig Stone Circle is one of Britain's earliest stone circles dating back to the Neolithic period four and a half thousand years ago. The original purpose of the site is unknown. Three stone axes have been discovered inside the circle. In the Neolithic period axes were made from volcanic stone quarried from the fells. Other possible uses are a meeting place for social gatherings, a site for religious ceremonies and rituals, or even an astronomical observatory with the stones being aligned to the sun, moon and stars. What have we got here? Have we got a counterweight on this one? Of course we do. It's not as heavy though. What is it? A drilled. That's light. Light as well. It's not going to do job, is it? Go on lad, I believe in you. Absolutely.  Only because, only because I've seen a bin. You can't. I've talked about this on my videos before, but it's only because there's one here.  Picking everything up and that, so a lot of it you just got to let it go, but occasionally, chucking a bit, look at that. There was a bin right next to where Chris Packett was, and I've run over there. He's already out, are you? To tell me I'm going to have a good time. Everything's going to be okay. Good lad. He's doing it like when we come on mate. I'll get you a chest pouch. Here we are. Got a squealer. That is, I mean, and it's missed the mark as well though. So not only do we have that horrific squeal, looking as well. Tuck, tuck, tuck. Luckily it's kind of frozen up a little bit underfoot, so, not as boggy. Oh, that's good. Keep these trotters dry as long as I can today. It's a losing battle, but so far so good. Regarde A. So right, here's my thing that I, my conundrum that I had. If you'll hear me out guys. And it was a genuine, you know, I mulled over this for a good couple of days because I didn't know what the right thing to do was, right? So, as we know, I left the trail in Keswick, went and did the bits and pieces that I had to do. My conundrum was this. When I first set off, I packed my bag for the weather as it was when I set off. So I knew it was going to be mixed bag, bit rainy, bit whatever, packed accordingly. Now, despite what it looks like now, the temperatures have dropped dramatically. And when I've checked the forecasts, we're due minus, way, minus five, and snowfall. And so my conundrum was, do I pack accordingly for that? And you might be thinking, well, yeah, of course you do.  It's, yeah, of course you pack for the snow. It's a no brainer, but let me just take you through this gate guys, because look, it's spring loaded. The views, you can't look at it. If this is good, this is going on very nice. And I know you appreciate it. Look at how the light bounces off this beautiful patina. It's good. It's good, and that spring is, oh my, there's a lot in that spring. Let's let go. Oh yeah, look at it. And then you've got your views. Hold that thought. I'll be back to chat. I'm just going to do a, I'm going to do something for latch and locks. Go over to latch and locks if you want to see the live one of these. So where was I? Yeah, you might be thinking, right? Yeah, of course. Take you, take your snow spikes, take your snow axe, take extra clothes and prep for it. But I was thinking, well, that's not it's not really fair because I set out with this backpack packed up as I was going to do the tour of the Lake District. I did a what's in my bag video for it and I packed accordingly knowing that the weather is very changeable in the Lake District and it could have just turned on me at any point and I've had to have had what I've got. And so with that mindset, I thought I'm not going to bring extra clothes and warmth. I'm not going to bring me snow gear even though I know it's going to be snowing and you can see snow up tops because I want to stay true to the original kit that I set off with and that's what I've got. I've got everything that I set off with on me again with the addition of, this is the only thing, my gloves. I had them to bring and I forgot them and I was going to buy some in Kezi Kenneway because my fingers were hurting so I just thought, save me sell a few pennies, bring me gloves and that's it and I was just chewing on it and I was like if I bring me spikes and everything that's cheating in a way, isn't it? Because I've not set off with it. What's to say that any of the long distance hike I do, I can't just jump off trail and just resupply with all my new gear and it's just I'm not saying there's anything wrong with doing that. That's fine, you tailor it to your own adventure but for me, it's just I would rather get to end knowing that I've got the stuff that I originally set off with because that was the plan to begin with. Why am I justifying it to you? I don't know, have I lost sleep over this? Yes. Is there something wrong with me? Possibly. Oh look at it, that is Trubsy FC in it, right? We're going to go around I mean day three I'll be going through that like with wet feet don't care but I want to preserve my dry tutsies, please don't stack it please don't stack it. Right, here we go, yes. Another, I mean it's a bit, it's copy and paste off the other one but more, that's more worn is it, oh that's not as nice you see how that's got more of a that's not as oh no, do you see there's a lesson here look two gates oh it's not even fully clunk clicked all the way through and there you go, two gates to the untrained eye identical, you might walk through these two gates and not bat an eyelid but to an aficionado and someone who cares passionately about particularly this section of a gate you can see it's night and day guys, it's night and day. I think Gaffer's done this one over here, the good one and then Apprentice has been like well I'll do this one mate, you've seen me do it thousands of times lad, I will trust you and you can do this one, he's done it but Gaffer had been like, I'm not quite right but I'm not going to make you do it again because time is money and we've got others to do so I'll let you off but and he's like no he's going to know, they're only just ramblers out there, we know a guy and I'm starting to raise awareness and put eyes on work, shoddy work like this and soon you'll know where to hide that's just it truth, it's just spitting bars are you having that do you know what I'm going to milk this because I know that it's going to get worse mate when we get up tops because I'm off at tops as well it's going to snow, it could rain so I'm just appreciating this while it's like this, what a glorious way to start the second half please just remember this, how happy I am at this beginning bit because I can tell you this there are going to be times where I'm going to have to dip into this well that I'm feeling now as a source of happiness later on down the line so I'll best do my best to fill well up oh no, what is this guys my dick I can't even look at this look rusted up nice shine on there look nice smooth, that's stunning actually look at that, that's just being that's you it's a shame mate you still, I can see you were once glorious I mean you do job, no you don't actually look, all sheep that have gone through there oh well, titnackers yard for you lad, you see I've come down here and this looks really like the times where I've gone in and done my little naked ritual around stone circle and I've come back and instead of going down here I've carried on and I'm currently off this track here and then I'll meet up there just a little bit of map time there for you nice nice and peaceful good acoustics I was always going down there I saw a sign that said teas, coffees, toilets and everything under jabs this way so I was just going to double back on myself and go and get a brew because even though I started a little bit late today you've got to have a brew, aren't you you've got to have a brew I have somewhere I could be getting back from mate, I've got a bit best man at my mate's wedding and they're having a wine tasting thing around at his house like wine's for wedding which should be fun but my priorities is this hike and things have changed it's no longer about getting to the start line because I've conquered that I feel very strongly now, I've changed my mind don't I? Now it's gold destination he's getting back to Ambleside and completing the loop is it the journey? Who knows I think we'll it's a mixed bag in it because obviously it's sort of like two halves this hike I've never really done it before like that so I guess at the very end of the series if I get to the end we'll have a final thought so we'll see what I've learned and whether you can vicariously learn through me that's closed that was a waste of time I've had to deploy these it's getting quite steep so I've deployed the old hiking poles and some beautiful views walking but as people watch me they must think I've off me nut alright so I'm following this down here and in my path, there's a path that goes up here that's not me, I'm going to cut along and round here and there is Derwent water in the distance the end of Derwent water and it's lovely, I love this stuff I've said it before it's just when it's not boggy but it's kind of soft underfoot I'm happy it's perfect hiking Derwent water here, Basthwaite the next one along it's still glorious just enjoying it I've just had a good section there where I just mean noodle hiking as I like it and I'm back, I'm back slow down my pace I'm not so giddy now that giddy beginning bit man it's like speaking of bottling it I didn't go for swimming there, did I last time because bottled it but there's no way on God's greener am I missing out the chance of a wild swim on this one it's good to be alive it is good to be alive just got a little art shot of this puddle look here we go puddle film maker film maker at your award on that note if you're watching this the great outdoors magazine in fact my email I don't want to be running next year for it I just don't want it it was amazing to win it and it was amazing that it was voted for by you but I don't want to be in it next year because I don't want to have to think about it it becomes like a popularity contest doesn't it where you're just going online being like please can you vote for me and I don't want to do it I don't want to do it so if you're watching TGO outdoors magazine please kindly remove me from the nominations let other people have a go because I'm happy with one win out in and out I've retired I've retired undefeated that's better ain't it there's no wind at all I hope it's like this tonight when I camp up you can see steam, smoke pretty much rising vertically so you can tell there's no no breeze at all stunning man, stun sized bar's bar that's heavy that the log that is a proper counterweight just what I like to see right smooth the views are there see if we get a good acoustic clunk click stupendous big up robin udd see that rustle this is a real beautiful bit man just cutting up by the side of this stream through the woods beautiful little bridge I got chatting with some old folks back there and one of the blokes is like oh you've got it in for you I told him I was going to be wild camping for the next couple of nights and he did say, he's another one that said about the cold spells coming and snows coming with it so as I said before let's just make the best of this this one this one this one i'll gear the other one because look what we've got oh yeah gravity ah quite got the minerals beautiful bridge worth it but never mind. At least I got enough to walk over this nice bridge and it's this nice bridge that sent me the wrong way because I thought that's a lovely little bridge it's got to be that way. No, wrong way it's this way.  It's very nice I'm going up this steep beast here. Nice little scent out of there to get the old blood pumping yeah it's pretty flat for a while by that stream river whatever you want to call it so it's nice to get a bit of firing legs I won't be saying that in a day or two but for now let's have you hand them back up but we're definitely out here up to feel it feel the chill in the air and it is a chilly one there's ice on the floor I'll show you just well you know what guys you ever see this stuff look when water becomes almost like glass and slippy ice that shit bans because because I just walked up that big hill and it's knocked the bans out of me I'm gonna try and keep it low try and keep my wild camps a bit lower than on tops because it's not I've only got Lanshan too it's not like I'm in a you know a four season tent it's on it Lanshan too and if winds get up and snow comes Lanshan too might Lanshat itself too it's just these little valleys that have been farmed and the grass that has been like the pastures is just such a brighter more vivid green than everything else and it just leads your eye up through that little valley beautiful composition guys chuffed mate chuffed as a third with two teeth that is I've gone too far that's it that's just it can't be doing that on hills mate come on rust wait it means the clearing in the can we'll go see what the delights of rust wait have got to offer and then we'll see what happens from there I am definitely wild camping tonight though you're not gonna be cutting to me little granny room well guys the thing is guys I needed to charge my my GPS things so a little good guy but there's four days left for four more sections so four days hiking which I'm optimistically gonna do in like two and a half days two nights basically and then back to Rivers and Anna's house for a little a little wine taste that's extra information that you didn't need to know because you might be coming on here just to check out the hike the tour of the lakes hike not knowing that I'm off to go drink wine at my friend's house over sharing his carrying that's what they say I'll tell you what they're so far today let's talk about hiking shall we it is being glorious the weather has been perfect the scenery has been delightful there's been such a contrast of like woodland and moorland and we've been up tops we've been next to water and it's still not over there's been plenty of gates right on kill up come on I mean I did say there's plenty get there's sometimes I don't want to show I'm like don't look at it because I don't want that I don't want to upset you but it's sad times man I must put a bit of sherbet on it as well to get it up into oh wow not even not even a little bit of sherbet look at that I can't look at it mate stick it in review mirror man I'm thirsty because I know I'm thirsty because I'm looking at that water down there and been like what's this I'm bringing Hazel Bank you my country house hotel oh that's beautiful mate and all you know on a different sliding doors on a different day in a different way I might have got into Hazel Bank excuse me can I have a room and a pint of whatever you're having now that is gin clear looks like Roy looks cacti Roy looks cacti let's see if scarf hello tells got out going on Riverside bar hello just to reiterate guys I am not staying I'm well camping no matter what I'm not going in here getting on the swill and then staying in on your own sweet with a bottle of prosecco and that there it's not what I'm doing I've just there's a sign I don't think it's open but we'll see what I'm doing is just wetting whistle just cutting the dust you know what I mean cutting the dust because as patch lad parched cutting the dust and we'll see what happens come on killer pint crisps they do a homemade sausage roll perfect look guys I was low on electrolytes this has got electrolytes in it this sausage roll riddled with electrolytes this a good grill a 100% electrolytes absent friends that's smooth that's so smooth and also it's a good time for me to just reflect on guidebook and have a little look about and that and maybe tell you some Norse words Keswick where we left in old English means the cheese or dairy farm oh black sale remember another black sale black sale pass in old English Norse the dark stream or bog now they call it a sausage roll look at it it's like a sausage Wellington he's done a good job there he's done a good job on survival sausage roll it's bit big now to get gobbled around it and watch me like a mukbang nice enough had open fire going Robin just landed there it's a sign John some seeds come back oh my god can I get him to eat up man watch this I give him a little selection look some seeds off the sausage roll little bit of meat and a bit of crisps you hear him come back Robert come on you don't trust me like my Robert it's a trust game I'm eating it robins have been following me all day and if you don't follow me on Instagram and you want to see my Robin you can follow me there I post every now and again because in fact five mile away to just be all dedicated to Robin I might set him up his own Instagram page just a quick stop had me pint the sausage roll and bag of crisps what's he got here this is what our life makeshift there we are somewhat a bit different jobs are good I've joined the coast to coast path now so I remember this slightly going up here I'm gonna be going up here to the left of Eagle Crag open round we're trying to get on tops getting chilly now I know for a fact it is extreme well the guidebook says it but I can also remember it is very boggy and there's lots of different routes to go if it's poor visibility it can be a nightmare up there a bit of nostalgia for me because this is where I camped on my second night of the coast to coast in the igloo the land shan won just by side at path mate because I was janked and it was late on this tablet was affixed by Douglas and Michael Boyle in enduring memory of their friend and companion Gordon Halworth who died in peace under the shelter of this rock in the early hours of Sunday 8th of January 1939 how's this resting peace Gordon lovely dry bit stick or twist no stick or twist twist climbing this thing here up the side of it there and from what I remember from coast to coast it's a swine let's get up tops and roll dice no deal no let's do one of these whoo that was a tough tough old slug look at it the snow cat mountains look like it's beautiful in it oh my word that was ruthless and everything was icy as well so I really had to be mindful of where I was putting me my feet and so now it's over this way which looks bad and steep but it ain't not I think it plateaus out and that's the boggy bit though so how much light do I have I'm just gambling in it I've weighed it up temperatures are dropping and I know for a fact because I've been that way before it's just a load of bogs and sods you know them big big sods of earth not good for pitching tent on I know that so rather than get caught out that way I'm gonna stick in all grounds frozen so it's not boggy I'll take it I want path like look this little can it's path where I've come up no one's gonna be up here now and I'm awake cracker dawn anyway also what they're gonna do people who just like it on this path that's gonna be like he's gives you the tip of him off and everyone's pretty sensible out there I think for the most part but we're on showy there she is decent pitch in it look I've got the Delta pegs in all four corners and then again just doubling up with with pegs on guidelines just to be safe it's winter things can change at the drop of a hat I've not really moved in yet I've just got sleeping bag out so it can fluff it sell up and then I'll pump my bed up and whatnot but for now I've got to go collect some water from somewhere might have to go back down there which is bands this little trickle shit everything's frozen no even I'm gonna have to miss out a drill but water is a good thing I might just even have a hot water got no bruise that we're me are out but hot water is good stuff shout out Fern they're putting me on to hot water this is arduous and painful home sweet home oh that old boy was right it's getting cold so I'm gonna have a cup of hot water hot water did did did did did did did did it man alleluia sing it sing alleluia get a fish away come on come on man you can't seem to I'm smiling like don't you worry about that yeah come on it's bloody beautiful my little scarf's not playing up he's playing up a little bit isn't it is they not entertained I mean it's good clobber in it it's a very good clobber look at that man it gives it such texture the dusting of snow it really makes it pop just filtered me water and then it's literally freezing as it's coming out and a drink of it and shards of ice I mean I'm sat on my sleeping bag but I don't want any of me touching the ground because that just sucks all the heat out of me and I'm gonna put all my layers on now so that it stops the cold and I'm probably gonna even am I gonna get else let's have a look is there out to be had there's a little shiner there look but I can't do any nightlapses or anything because obviously batteries are I've made my batteries to make this amazing documentary so what I do is just probably batten down the hatches blow a bed up and then and just chill I do some little I can't even do map time for you because I've created this map time where I've got these huge you know this because you've watched them this is episode four in it or whatever and I can't do map time because I do map time when I get back we've got out kick off didn't bring the Turks Cup even I love it even more let's see what this doesn't call those eyebrows nearly gone water keeps freezing batteries are going phones dead but I'm gonna have this meal and just use it to warm my hands up even that walk off it squash and sweet corn casserole just gonna have a couple of drops of CBD oil which just helps me sleep and just eases my bones and my muscles and stuff is a sound bloke who does this he's been kind enough to give us a discount code whack it on the screen now there's a link below if you want to go and check it out and get yourself a bit of a discount then please do I find too cold to even charge it I mean it's cold like really cold says it was gonna be like minus five minus six down bottom so who knows that the moment but it's freezing I've got my meal my warm meal under here against me organs and it's doing a grand job of warming me up so these meals they say eight minutes till it's done I'm using it as a hot water bottle for let's say 20 minutes I'm just gonna keep going till it's like lukewarm and get the most out of the heat from it top tip and then I'll eat it top tip is top tip eat your meals get this in me looks like shit yeah pointless that's nice warm food hopefully will keep me warm through night I guess it's not a great deal to report I'm just gonna eat that and then egg just exist for hours on end as now I can do right I'm gonna chew this down and let's go to our fit everyone's favorite time map time and here we are welcome back to map time so we started in Keswick and off we went following the road nice views back over Keswick from up here keep going now this is the way that the guidebook tells you to go but you can do a little detour if you want just to check out these stone circles which I did and then instead of going down this road I cut through these fields here just to stay off the tarmac a little bit and then double back on the main road and left the track again castle rig farm that's why I went to try and grab me sell a brew but it was closed and off I carried on up here again it starts to open out here and get some lovely views across over here some lovely hiking to be done through here and lovely views again of Derwent water and off into the distance to Bastway Lake carried on coming down here across this little bridge which was in the guidebook bit of road work to be out of here but not too much and then you enter this woodland which was really nice and it was just a glorious day's hiking the Sun was shining and it was ever-changing so it just kept my mind occupied and we hit this this was a beautiful stretch by the side of this river plenty gates to be had all the way along to get to here this is where I goofed a little bit here because there was a little bridge and I fancied look of it so I went over it and started going this way and then was like odd on a bit it double back and a bit of a thigh pumper up here back on to the tops and back to some lovely views again I was so lucky with the weather it was glorious now we get to here and you're supposed to just cut straight across here and keep going but many people will want to stay in Ross the way or grab a pint or whatever sausage roll and that's exactly what I did nipped in there add me dog roll bag of crisps and pint and then I joined on to the coast to coast so familiar territory up through stonethwaite past where I camped on the coast to coast I mean it is uphill but it is gradual as well until you get to here and as you can see these contour lines on linen crag are pretty steep so the final leg pumper of the day up onto a flat spot here that's where I camped with some amazing vistas ready for a cold night in the Lanshan too if you're not subscribed already consider subscribing hit the bell notification to be notified of the next upload and I'll see you all soon