Shopping: If I Win The Lottery Tonight... Ranulph Fiennes, Explorer
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Your support makes all the difference.I'd give the money to a charity called the Transglobe Expedition Trust which my wife and about four other members of our expedition team set up about 15 years ago to give money to people to do worthwhile expeditions. We look for expeditions which have a definite outcome - to help others, or to discover something new.
We'd also like to fund expeditions for people who have never gone outside their home town. The Transglobe Expedition Trust grew out of the success of our Transglobe Expedition - the first surface journey around the world's polar axis - which took about three years to do and seven years to plan.
But not all the money would go into this pot. Some would go into more personal schemes. Charities, which I have already raised money for through expeditions, are The Multiple Sclerosis Society (pounds 4.2m) and Breakthrough Breast Cancer (pounds 1.7m).
I'd also like to set up a situation which alerts people who are probably unaware of the effect of their actions if they leave litter in the country.
I would treat myself to a Range Rover with all sort of ancillary equipment such as extra fuel and water carriers. I'd like to travel across The Empty Quarter [of Saudi Arabia]. The actual distance is about 1200 nautical miles, but because you can't go in straight lines it's probably about 2500 miles.
We'd go on a two-week ski-ing holiday to a different place each year such as South Africa or Lebanon. In the summer we would find out who the best people were for taking you into the remote and wildly attractive spots; that is, holidays with a difference, but not organised by us. If I'm paying, I get fussy.
I'd definitely carry on playing the lottery as the Transglobe Expedition Trust could never have a limit to the amount of capital it could take. My lucky number is 24. It was my tank troop number in the army. I kept it as my radio call sign for my expeditions.
Sir Ranulph Twisleton-Wykeham-Fiennes is in Morocco as a member of the British team in the 10-day Eco-Challenge, the world's toughest endurance race. His book, `Fit for Life', published on 22 October (Little, Brown, pounds 16.99) describes his fitness and food regime honed over 30 years.
DIONA GREGORY
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