Journey So Far!

Uk to Uk around the world Expedition 1.

This is one section of a five year plan to travel the whole world to promote awareness of streetKids international also we set up sustainable youth projects and promote individual freedom. This is the RamblingRat Project

Some facts so far

Complete world circumnavigation: Started June 2008 Dalbeattie Scotland, Ending June 2009,  12 Months on the road, 12 Countries visited, 29,980 road miles covered, 6 Ships totaling 9,360 miles at sea, 7,935 liters of diesel used and 70 liters of oil.

Total Distance Travelled 39,340 miles

The vehicle is to be stored in New York and i will cross the Atlantic by ship without the vehicle.

2009 October RamblingRat Americas Arctic to Antarctic adventure

I am returning to New York to collect the Ratmobile in October to continue the journey south to Ushuaia where i will take a ship to Antarctica, this connects my previous visit to the Arctic sea making a connection from the most Northernly point you can drive to the most southernly point in South America.

I am to launch MAD RamblingRat on this section of my trip where i will show video footage from previous RamblingRat adventures and random musicians and kids that want to put thier message across via YouTube and MySpace.

The vehicle will be showcased at various locations during the journey as local Street Parties to benefit Street Kids where these videos and music will be played and encourage local people to join in to share a unified message to help marginalized youth in thier local community and around the world.

Street Kids International has some of the very best effective solutions with thier youth empowerment programs, so please take a look at the work that they are doing.

Whilst in the Uk i will be updating the website with video footage that i have obtained on the trip of live acoustic bands that have been showing thier support for streetKids international. Also i will be speaking in schools and running a fundraising event in Scotland.

“Individual freedom”

Tim Dennis "Individual freedom is quay to my life"

My Life and Dreams

I thought I should write a little about who I am as a person, many people see my expedition vehicle and website and don’t really know a lot about the person behind the concept.

I was brought up into a farming and road haulage family and from an early age I understood the meaning of nature and community, struggling with dyslexia at school and not fitting into the mainstream system provoked questions in myself about what school was about and what benefits it brought to me, I was very hungry for information visual information like magazines on real life, farming and logistics, later being sent to a boarding school in Shropshire where many of the pupils lived internationally I was able to see the diversity in the world and was offered the opportunity to visit Germany, China, and Hong Kong all before the age of 15.

Continuing my early career working in the logistics of racecourses in South Africa I travelled to Mauritius and other African destinations in aircraft and ships,  this gave me very valuable information into international logistics and veterinary care of traveling animals.

 Achieving things has been very important to me more than financial gain, like attaining my driving licence, motorcycle licence,  heavy goods vehicle licence, and when my granny died investing the money in getting my pilot’s licence was a real major goal of achievement as leaving school with virtually no school qualifications I realised that these didn’t matter, everything that I wanted to learn was not what the school teaches you.

Money should not be a barrier to a young person’s learning for if somebody wants to be an airline pilot a ship’s captain or an engineer they should not be told that they cannot do this because they do not have the money to do it. they should not  be encouraged into debt at an early age to pay back this kind of education, For me I had learning difficulties and I needed to achieve these goals in my own way, we are all very powerful individuals and learning and achieving comes at very different points in their lives, to say that a young person should achieve everything and know what they should do for their whole life by 16 or 18 years of age is ridiculous, I really hope that the education system changes in the future and more people have the time to home School their children or we have schools with very different curricula activities similar to some of the British public schools where you can learn to sail rear animals and more arts.

My brother died at a young age and my father when I was 23, having overcome this it gave me an even stronger sense of the purpose of life to live, and having been successful with my own transport business and making a home I was still not content with the life model that  I had made based on current society ideals.

I find that in life you have to go back to the very basics in life and that is why I chose to sell up everything to get back to the core things that matter like food, shelter and water, I have never fitted in to the current monetary system,  the pettiness and nonsensical things like filing tax returns and government red tape always seemed pointless. I always seem to be flowing in the opposite way in the river and I know I’m not the only one, and what really matters to me is to be true to myself and to start with I thought this was selfish but now I have developed my RamblingRat project and have had the opportunity to share my values and life story to everyone I meet, and importantly kids in education. I know that I am making a difference to everyone I meet.

Freedom is at the very core of my being like a dove that flies freely, if I maintain this freedom I am able to be productive and this inspires others in a very powerful way, I cannot tell you enough about the way I felt once I had shared all the things I once owned, it was a huge weight off my back, throughout life we put down all these chains and connections to worthless things and it’s these things that hold us back from our real life course, having travelled around the world and meeting communities from very different sections of society I am seeing the same themes of basic needs, on travelling above Mongolia many people live with resources and when I mean resources they do not live with money, in the West we share the stories by saying they have nothing but we are completely missing the point. They are very rich with the land, animals, and the way their communities interact, this is very inspiring to see having come from a very different system in the West. This provokes more questions about society and how we can change in the future.

 I am very keen to continue my expedition for a long time to come, I am aware of how this should be self-sustaining I am aware of the costs of such an expedition and its environmental impact having used several thousands of liters of diesel and expensive shipping has led me to consider other ways to travel, I feel that the most sustainable way to live and travel would be on a ship or yacht, using the natural resource of the wind and desalinating the sea water for drinking, developing electricity from wind, solar and Hydro so this is something I’m looking into, an idea may be a traveling community at sea where people could come and go on their free will bringing to the expedition in their own knowledge and ideas.

 Something else I am working on is to promote the use of electric cars in the future, is to circumnavigate the world in a production electric car, this would be a world’s first and would guide people into a new era of positive thinking.

 I will continue to promote individuality in the media through my travel experiences, promoting the work of StreetKids International and other organizations that I would like to partner with, I am very keen to hear from other people about their stories and ideas for a better future.

From Tim Dennis

Tilley Endurables

Tim's Tilley hemp hat meet its maker Alex Tilley

 Travel the World because of a Hat?

Some of you will already know that the key factor for working with StreetKids International was the fact that I found a Tilley hemp hat in a clothing shop called footprints in Glasgow www.footprintsglasgow.com inside this Hat Alex Tilley states his support for StreetKids, I was so impressed with the work of StreetKids International that I decided to drive around in support of them.

I first met Alex Tilley at the ultimate travel show in Toronto, it was evident on meeting him at what an individual person he is and very down to earth, we chatted a lot about my adventure as he loves to hear unusual travel stories especially when they involve Tilley hats, he has been very supportive with providing me clothing for my expedition and has expressed an interest in meeting me in South America whilst I visit StreetKids projects in Bolivia, Alex and his wife Hillary made a similar visit to Peru last year.

I have now visited several of the Tilley stores around Canada and I am very impressed in the way they do business especially in the fact that 99% of their products are Canadian and all their products are made in Canada this is quite incredible, the new store in Montréal is a great example of clearly reaching into the future for the company.

There is no doubt that Tilley clothing is really good, the basis of this is the quality I now am the proud owner of three hats underwear, socks, trousers, and even a blazer and smart trousers which will be used on the duration of my sea passage to Southampton in May, I have to admit I was very surprised at the full range of clothes they carry.

Alex and Hilary allowed me to visit them at their home in Lake Muskoka and what a great place this is all so earthy with emphasis on living, Alex taught me how to tie knots and also offered me the chance to learn to sail which I am very keen to do at some point, I would like to thank Alex Tilley and all the staff at Tilley and durables for supporting my expedition I have included below some words from them.

What Tilley Say!

Tilley is proud to support Street Kids International (SKI) through the sale of our Hemp Hats and we are thrilled at the opportunity to work with Tim Dennis in his worldwide journey. Tim serendipitously became aware of SKI after buying a Tilley Hat in Glasgow and has been a true supporter of SKI and Tilley ever since. It is his spirit of adventure and quest to raise awareness of and for others that encourages us in our sponsorship/partnership. Tim has taken Tilley Hats and travel clothing to the extreme and is a very valuable gear test resource. We are happy to provide clothing that keeps him looking sharp and Hats that keep him protected from the elements of Mother Nature, while in turn garnering exposure on his website, in the media and around the world through word-of-mouth. We look forward to the ongoing updates from Tim and wish him the best for the next leg of his journey… whichever route and transportation mode he decides to take, we are happy to be a part of it!

 Alex Tilley    www.tilley.com

“Toronto”

RamblingRat bridges the gap between the UK and Canadian StreetKids

My time in the city of Toronto

It’s been a long time since I have written a blog, in fact my plan has been to create video blogs and I think this will be a better medium in the future,  I am on a huge learning curve to do with media and given time I will have this sorted, the truth is I keep having problems using my laptop and travelling meeting so many interesting people I have to do a juggling act with the information I collect, and Toronto has given me many new ideas for the website.

So I have bridged the gap between the United Kingdom StreetKids offices and the Canadian offices this has been a milestone achievement from me way back from when I was in the middle of Russia, it has lived up to every expectation StreetKids International is a fantastic organisation with a great staff well run and innovative, I am very proud to be working with them, Kristy Vanderplas has been coordinating me to speak in schools and this has been to great success I have really enjoyed talking to school kids and this has shown its worth in Toronto, I’m hoping this will be expanded in the future as I travel through America later in the year to Mexico, I can now see the benefits of talking to kids in mainstream education, about the importance of food, shelter and water especially when using the interactive campsite and showing them pictures of my expedition in the classroom which gives them a great idea of cultural diversity and the world as a whole.

I have made really good connections whilst being in Toronto, first off I have been using the website www.coachsurfing.com it has been an essential tool for finding accommodation in Toronto also you meet up with the right kind of people, like John Board who used to be an assistant film director for many Hollywood feature films just Google his name and many Cronenberg films will come up under his name, but it is his passion for homoeopathic medicine that I admire the most for the last 10 years he has been making homoeopathic medicine more accessible for people, he has a really funny video on his website that you should watch where he is rapping like a teenager, and given the fact he is in his 70s is great, please check out his website www.hollywoodsurvivalkit.com I have to thank John for letting me stay for a whole month in his home.

  Toronto is where I met Gregory Green, he is a documentary maker and environmentalist and has become a friend, these documentaries which focus on the depletion of oil and the end of suburbia.

He is really interesting and I would also encourage you to look at his website he has an up-and-coming documentary next year where he interviews thin new environmental Minister to the American government.

www.endofsuburbia.com

 Toronto is an incredibly diverse city,  this is evident when driving into Toronto I felt comforted by seeing Portuguese communities and the whole city is intertwined with different cultural areas it’s just wonderful, cities are not my favorite places and I think this comes from a fear I think, they are usually places which are more risky to take the vehicle into and the other reason is I am more at one with the countryside, but once I’m in the city’s and I need to be there to hook up with the people that can help me to promote my cause.

Meeting Jay Mandarino from the CJ skate park in school has also been a highlight, you can read more about this skateboarding project on the blog below this, I am very impressed and happy of his support for the idea on setting up more skateboarding projects in Third World countries and we will have to see how this develops in South America.  Jay Mandarino also suffered with dyslexia and now  From this is just a gift, I think this has been a common bond between us and I really hope we can continue to work with each other.

www.jaymandarino.com

Skateboard Project “Toronto”

Timothy Dennis – Creating WORLD-WIDE buzz for local Toronto CJ Skateboard Park

British lad Timothy Dennis travels the world and sets the stage to raise awareness for streetKids international utilizing local skateboarding park

Tim Dennis “RamblingRat” creator

Timothy Dennis of the popular and innovative expedition concept “RamblingRat” has partnered with CJ Skateboard Park and School in Toronto Canada owner/organizer Jay Mandarino.

Timothy Dennis has driven across land and shipped across sea on an “around the world” journey to raise awareness for Toronto established, and world-wide organization, streetKids international www.streetkids.org along the way. In doing so he collaborates with local youth shelters and skateboarding parks to connect with kids all around the world.

“I’ve travelled over 41000km on this journey, connecting with youth from around the world..they want and need places like CJ Skateboarding Park to socialize, exercise and have fun”, said expedition and Rambling Rat creator, Timothy Dennis.

Meeting in Toronto, Timothy Dennis and Jay Mandarino hit it off immediately. Besides both having overcome the challenges of dyslexia, Tim and Jay are also committed to helping youth. Timothy and Jay will be collaborating to help supply the use of free skateboards and facilities to youth to that can’t afford such fun activities. Further, Jay will incorporate the Rambling Rat character logo, Dylan, in his upcoming book that will teach kids to skateboard.

Their efforts will not only be felt here in Canada but will also be evident along Tim’s journey as he continues on from Canada through the US, Central and South America, onto New Zealand, Australia, Malaysia, Indonesia and India and Africa.

This is no small feat but with the help of local groups like CJ Skateboarding, they can impact the world.

Kenny Thomas “RamblingRat” youth representative with Chris Buton

The RamblingRat skateboarding projects were initiated by Kenny Thomas 15 of Smithers British Columbia, Kenny met Tim in December last year when Kenny came up with the idea, following its success in his home town Kenny traveled with Tim as youth representative and set up a similar project in Prince George, this has inspired Tim and Jay to carry this further. 
“I don’t think Kenny realized how many people his idea could reach when we first hooked up” said Tim Denis

Tim Dennis interviewed by Global TV Canada

About Tim Dennis 
Launching from Dalbeattie, Scotland, in May of 2008, Tim set out in a custom designed Toyota LandCruiser and has been circumnavigating the globe to apply his expedition principles of: Endurance, Education and Awareness. His journey has captured media attention in Japan, Russia and most recently throughout western Canada.

Jay Mandarino teaching at CJ Skatepark

About Jay Mandarino and CJ Skateboard Park and School

A highly successful entrepreneur(and skateboard champion in the mid 70′s), Jay Mandarino dedicates much of his time to educate and inspire all youth which also includes those living with learning disabilities. Mr. Mandarino was also the feature in Canada’s Profit magazine which was entitled “Entrepreneur overcomes Dyslexia” 
He also has been interviewed by many other publications, news papers and 
live broadcasts. His theme is always spreading the word that any one can 
be successful and empowering youth and adults not to give up and try!

The co-owner of 13 companies, Jay’s latest’s not-for-profit business is The C.J. Skateboard Park & School Inc in Etobicoke.Their mission statement is to serve all kids and youth in the community including special needs kids who are learning disabled, Autistic, ADHD and or challenged in some way. Check out his personal website www.jaymandarino.com

C.J. Skateboard Park & School Inc (A -Not-For-Profit-Company) 60 Horner Avenue
Etobicoke, Canada ON M8Z 4X3 www.cjskateboardpark.com

For more information and Media inquires, contact: 
Publicist, Joey Gill ph. 416.929.9397 c. 416.556.0675joeygill@hiconcept.ca 
www.hiconcept.ca

 

Route so Far!

Route so Far!

The Route So Far!

Ok red is where i have traveled with the expedition vehicle and the blue denotes where i have been on ships with the vehicle. I have always travelled with my car even when i am at sea, if i can’t travel with the truck then i find another route. How i do this is to find a Roll on Roll off ferry first and if that is not possible use a container line that also accepts passengers.

Route 1.  Connect streetKids UK to streetKids Canada 

Section One. “World Circumnavigation”   Hurray i have achieved my first goal!!

Scotland UK , England UK, ship to France, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Czech, Poland, Ukraine, Russia,

over Kazakhstan, Mongolia, and China to Vladivostock Russia, ship to Japan two days at sea, Ship container ship to Vancouver Canada, drive to Prudhoe Bay Alaska, then to Toronto Canada.

This has taken 42 weeks to cover 41,000 klm’s using 7500 liters of diesel using 3 ships, i have only ever paid for 11 nights accommodation thanks to my roof tent and the website www.couchsurfing.com and very friendly people. I ran out of money in Alaska and have been assisted by the local Toyota dealer network with the odd tank of gas and servicing. The kindness of people who have supported this Project is amazing.

I have never been happier, living my dream and sharing all i have with others. 

Section Two Canada to South America then foot passenger to Antarctica then Brazil

Section Three TBC Possibly Africa.

Electric Car Project   Make big things happen!

I am looking for support to continue with an exciting project to drive a production electric car around the world. This will be a continuation of the “RamblingRat benefiting streetKids International Expedition.

Contact me if you would like to get involved.   tim@ramblingrat.com

Launch Alternative Education “Concord”

Tim Dennis meets Launch "Concord"

Tim Dennis meets up with Launch Youth “Concord”

Superb day today the sun was out and everyone was happy, this meant that the kids at Launch got to see how i live when i’m in romote parts the world without access to food, water, or shelter, i set up an interactive campsite and they loved climbing inside the roof tent, who wouldn’t its a great space to be in.

Great bunch of kids very lively and talkative from the start asking my loads of questions like “have i killed a crocodile” the answer is no! I took the guitar inside to for the presentation to show them what i have learnt in the last 3 months which is only a few chords really but it always inspires them and within minutes they want to show me what they can do too.

So thanks to all the Kids and staff you are so kind giving me a gift voucher for www.chapter.indigo.ca

Thank you to Lucie Puzzo for setting this up.

LAUNCH west

545 North Rivermede Rd., #102

Concord L4K 4H1

905-760-9169

For more information follow the link below.

www.ycdsb.ca

LAUNCH “east” Toronto

Launch "Toronto" Alternative School

The RamblingRat project benefiting streetKids International met up with Launch today.

Launch east is an alternative school on the outskirts of Toronto, the school is one of a few alternative schools that are run by The York Catholic District School Board.

This is the first time that i have visited a school with a representative from streetKids International, Kristy Vanderplas of streetKids runs a project called “Street world” which consists of lesson plans that complement the Ontario Ministry of Education curriculum.  We were invited by Launch’s Nicky Di Ritto. 

We had a great time meeting all the kids, i’d like to thank all of you for been such good listeners and interacting, so many of you asked me questions and it is really good to have some feed back. I was amazed at the knowledge that the youth at this school had, very diverse class with a few of the pupils speaking more than one language too. 

I can clearly see what a great school this is and how it benefits the young people in the local community, i wish i had been able to go to a school like yours when i was struggling in mainstream education with learning disability.

So thank you all very much for allowing Kristy and myself to speak at your school. “You are great” Remember! be true to your self.

Thanks to Nicky Di Ritto, Frank Carriero, and Lance Merraro for setting the visit up with streetKids International.

What Launch Say 

The program is designed for students “at risk” who, for various reasons, are unable to cope in a regular school setting. Students may be affected by any of the following factors:

lack of self-confidence

gaps in basic knowledge

dropped out of school

need individualized instruction

poor self-image

exert minimal academic effort

seem unable to concentrate

Goal

The programs provide a structured, encouraging environment where students have the opportunity to:

develop and apply positive patterns of behaviour

claim their self-esteem

identify, set and meet their personal and academic goals

appreciate the value of learning

gain a sense of accomplishment by meeting personal, family, school and community expectations

LAUNCH east 

10 West Pearce Street, Unit #7

Richmond Hill L4B 1B6

905-907-7913

www.ycdsb.ca

Pauline’s Place Youth Shelter “Sault Ste Marie”

Tim speaks to Mason Falls and Justin lambert, they share their expiernce of staying in the youth shelter “Pauline’s Place and how they have found creativity and a way to express themselves through music, they hope to communicate this to other youth by starting a Street Youth band called “Invisible People” which they say best describes how they are looked upon by society.

The Shelter
Pauline’s Place Youth Shelter has 8 beds available for homeless youth (16-21 years old), until they find more permanent housing. The shelter is designed to be as muchlike a family enviroment as possible. The house is set up like a home with bedrooms, kitchen, family room and back yard. Youth may have to share a room depending upon the number of residents. The shelter is located in a central residential neighbourhood where bus routes are accessible.

Thank you to all the youth at Pauline’s House for inviting me and to Anne Penney for setting up the visit, your home is so friendly and what great young people and a modern outlook on life you all live by.

Contact Anne Penney: annepenney@paulinesplace.ca

Pauline’s Place Youth Shelter
267 Pim Street
Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario
P6B 2T4

Phone: 705-759-HOME (4663)
Fax: 705-759-4924
Email: paulinesplace@shaw.ca
Web: www.paulinesplace.ca