Actor and adventurer Brian Blessed was live online on Tuesday 21 August. He is currently president of overseas activities for the charity Scope , which helps people with cerebral palsy, has been on three Everest expeditions, written several books including one on his trek to the Lost World in Venezuela, and is currently the oldest man to reach the north pole. This is an edited transcript of the talk

traveleditor: One to kick off: What led you to work with Scope? What does your role in overseas activities involve?

BrianBlessed: I'm the club president of Scope. Of course, as you know, Scope was the Spastics Society, and came into being in 1952. Its aims are for equality for disabled people. My job is to do everything in my power to help these people realise their dream and fulfill their destiny by inspiring them to take adventures. The next big adventure will take place in Morocco.

I'm currently at the National Theatre, but I finish there on November 17 and will set off the following morning with the RAF for the Falklands, get straight onto a Russian ice-cutter, and head for south Georgia and the Antarctic. When I get back from that I will lead two treks into Nepal, then move from there to Mount Everest itself, to attempt to be the oldest man in the world to climb it. I return from this and lead Scope's expedition to Morocco to climb the highest mountain in North Africa, Mount Toubkal - 13,760ft high. It is a once in a lifetime challenge - a fantastic adventure. Very few people have climbed it. It is a trek climb - no previous experience required - but you need to be fairly fit.

We're trying to get together a group of 70 or 80 people, outside of the climbers who'll be involved, so if you're interested... It's an amazingly beautiful mountain, and it's a gentle ascent, but it's still 2,000ft higher than the Eiger. For an information pack, call 0800 019 1200. Flights, food, accomodation and guides are provided. All you have to do is pay the £100 entry fee and raise the minimum sponsorship. Scope's expert fundraising team will support you with their top tips and a training programme to get you fit for the trek.

I believe that adventure is the key to the millennium - that the greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure. On this expedition, not only will you be fulfilling a great challenge and achievement, but you will be helping people with cerebral palsy achieve theirs. Extend the boundaries of the possible, and go for it! This great Moroccan mountain is the gateway to Africa, and the gateway for you to enter into another realm of adventure and achievement.

Much love and best wishes, Brian.

Mammal: Brian, how have you changed since going on your travels? What drives you to go? Is it the spirit of mighty Vultan?

BrianBlessed: Thanks for your question. Since going to Mount Everest, the Lost World and the magnetic north pole, every cell in my body has changed. I can't get enough of this glorious, beautiful world and its colourful people and animals, I love Britain - it's just a bit too tame for me. Follow your dreams, and don't let the bastards grind you down! Love Brian.

rb496: Hello. What do you prefer: a standing ovation with a full house, or climbing to the summit of a particularly tricky mountain?

Also, whats your favourite Shakespearian role?

BrianBlessed: Climbing to the summit of a tricky mountain. Or reaching the north pole. Or swimming across a river in Venezuela surrounded by piranha fish. Swam across the Amazon with Pemon Indians alongside me, all of us naked, with piranhas nibbling away at us - but you're ok if you don't have any open wounds. But ladies beware - it's not advisable at certain times of the month...

Favourite Shakespearian role: the Bastard in King John. What a great hero.

crystaltips: What's next on your travel wish list?

BrianBlessed: Going to the Antarctic and following in the footsteps of [legendary explorer Sir Ernest] Shackleton.

Recently, I helped train Kenneth Branagh for the role of Shackleton. He's a great actor, and a man of great physical courage. After six weeks' training, pulling great tyres on ropes around his waist, I put a colossal weight onto the tyres on the final day and said, "Pull it up that hill yonder!" He pulled it up four inches at a time, with his face contorted in pain. When he'd finished, I said "That's what Shackleton pulled across the ice every day." I've seen a trailer of the forthcoming television series, and Branagh is perfectly cast - stupendous. As I'd put him through hell, I thought I'd better go and try to do Shackleton's journey myself. Of course, when people say you're mad, you know you're on the right road...

So I'm looking forward to the Antarctic.

Ricem: Have you ever considered shaving your beard off? What would you look like without it?

Oh, and I'm sorry to be a syncophantic fan type - but could you just type in the word "DIVE!" for me?

PS I still think the first series of Blackadder was your best work.

BrianBlessed: If I shave off my beard, I look 20 years younger. I have the skin of a baby. I get it from my father (who is still alive at 95). I can honestly say that Flash Gordon for me was the most enjoyable film I've ever been in. Vultan is my favourite part. I used to pretend to be Vultan when I was a little boy, aged six or seven, after I saw Flash Gordon at the local cinema in black and white. I seemed destined to play the part.

I was in Chicago a year ago, and I walked onto a stage in front of 3,000 people and said "Gordon's alive?!" and received a bloody standing ovation. The following day, I said "Squadron 40 - DIIIIIIIVE!!" (which I might say I invented on the spot on the film) and got another standing ovation! The guy playing Biro - the one with the broken nose - used to play fly-half for England at rugby, and he was nervous about saying lines, so I gave him confidence. When he was being shot at on the rocket, and Flash Gordon said "Biro - are you alright?" I told him to say "Yes - he just winged me".

Loved Blackadder - was going to be in the second series. The part will surprise you - I was going to pay the Queen! But I wasn't free to do it. I would have done it with the same voice and personality as the king in the first one, but instead of ignoring him, I would have fancied him like mad...

naomi2: I read Anthony Sher's Year of the King ages ago, but what I remember most from it is laughing so much at his description of you on and offstage during that Richard III. What are your memories of that production?

BrianBlessed: I thought Antony Sher almost broke the bubble of the universe with his performance. We became great friends during the production. I think he's the only modern actor who ranks with Olivier, Redgrave, Richardson, Wolfit and Gielgud.

Meleke: What are the chances of finding you on a beach in the Med?

BrianBlessed: I am going on an expedition to Troy in late June 2002, after I've climbed Mount Toubkal for Scope (call 0800 019 1200 if you're interested). Does that count? Best wishes, Brian

Mammal: Brian, what is the most interesting animal you have come across in your travels? Ever had any close scrapes with dangerous creatures? What myths have you found to be true/untrue?

BrianBlessed: Bull mountain gorillas in Rwanda. No close scrapes with animals, but I did survive a crash in the Amazonian rainforests after completing an expedition to the Lost World. We escaped from the plane and walked through the jungle for 11 days, until I saw a little Jack Russell on a footpath. The Invisible People told me their shaman had bought it in Caracas. It led us back to safety.

Mammal: That's fantastically bizarre Brian - I bet you laughed.

RobertJones25: My brother has cerebral palsy and Scope has really helped him. What made you get involved with the charity in the first place? And as president of overseas activities, what do you get up to?

PS Thanks for Flash Gordon - it carried me through my pre-teen years. Was it fun to be involved in?

BrianBlessed: Yes, hello. Two of my friends have cerebral palsy - two old schoolfriends - one of them got a bronze medal in the Paralympics. His achievement left me shattered by its enormity, and I realised that the word "impossible" does not apply in life, that there is nothing you cannot achieve if you set your mind to it. Working with people with cerebral palsy and working with Scope is a gateway to God for me - it gives me the opportunity to say thankyou to the creator by being inspired by and helping such brave people. Their courage dwarfs their illness.

BeckyLewis: Hey Brian -

You were going great guns at the acting thing - what led you to start exploring? Do you think the warmth from your beard contributed to you managing to make it to the north pole?

BrianBlessed: Hello. Acting is a great art. Being an explorer as well as an actor, I can be objective about it. In acting, your eyes, face, voice, body, mind, imagination, heart and soul are judged, and 99% of the time you are shot down and criticised and have to find the courage to appear again. It takes great courage to be an actor - and I'm speaking as an explorer. But as Shakespeare said, acting is holding the mirror up to life, and adventure IS life. Everest is life. There is a huge difference. Even a first night at Stratford-on-Avon or the National Theatre cannot compare to the immense experience of ascending the flanks of Everest or reaching the north pole. Actors are very boring when they talk about acting - if you're an actor, good, bad or indifferent, you must do it, you feel you have no choice. It is a must. But I love adventure more. Best wishes, Brian.

nina793: How much climbing - as opposed to mountaineering - skill is required for an assault on Everest? Do you go climbing as well?

BrianBlessed: You need to climb something like Aconcagua in South America - 23,000ft. Then Mackinley in Alaska. Have a couple of seasons in the Alps, developing your ice techniques. Then attempt one of the easier 8,000m climbs, like Shisha Pangma. Climbing Everest requires a lot of skill, contrary to what people and the press tell you. The north and south sides have several ice fields. I urge you to go for it! Follow your dream - and don't let the bastards grind you down! Best wishes, Brian

WilliamGoldberg: You've done big things in both the acting and exploring worlds - which of your achievements are you proudest of? And if you had to give up one or the other tomorrow, which would it be?

BrianBlessed: Proudest achievement to date - reaching 28,000ft on Everest without oxygen. I'm going back next year for the summit - at 65 years of age. There is nothing you cannot achieve in this life if you put your mind to it. I cannot stand people who make a pact with old age. I keep saying the greatest danger in life is not taking the adventure. If I had to give up one or the other tomorrow, it would be acting. Very difficult, though, because we all act all the time.

no1travelfan: What about this whole Star Wars thing, then? I gather you're not in favour - are your objections purely environmental?

BrianBlessed: On the subject of Star Wars: it is a mad world, but one mustn't be a prophet of doom. We're going to make it. I love adventure, I love people, I love this marvellous blue planet. I am now president of the National Parks, a position which frightens me more than climbing Mount Everest. Recently, I've been all over Yorkshire and the South Downs, meeting farmers, vets, and army personnel. I am green to the job, and spent the time listening and learning. I'm pleased to say over the course of the few weeks I've had the farmers laughing, and teased the military out of their tiny skulls. In 1957 to 1959, I was AC22744376 in the RAF, doing my national service, so when I went to Fylingdale in Yorkshire to meet the RAF wing commander Romany, I found him and his staff delightful and inspirational.

Bush is not yet decided on a Star Wars system for Fylingdale. Contrary to what you've heard, I am rather in favour of a defence system, for the simple reason that countries like Iran have a fleet of Russian typhoon nuclear submarines. We are well within their strike range. If they attacked us, our beautiful Britain would be vaporised. Therefore we need a defence system until the world matures and grows wise - which it will. Incidentally, I like the people of Iran - they're fabulous people. It's politicians and governments who drive me out of my skull and bore the arse off me.

At Fylingdale, the valley leading to Whitby is one of the most awesome and beautiful sites in Britain, and the gigantic pyramid of the RAF is appalling and ugly. Its presence invades what it's defending. Quite simply, it can be dismantled like lego and put somewhere else. All of this needs to be gone into very carefully, for the radar station employs most of the people in Whitby. They must not suffer. I intend to fulfill my job as president with love and kindness. I wish no one to suffer. As Buddha said, when two people argue, both are wrong. Love and best wishes - Brian.

eviltom: As an actor you've had to wave your hands a lot; as an explorer you've had to walk long distances. So which do you like more, your hands or your feet?

BrianBlessed: My hands and arms! I love using them on Everest instead of my feet. I have very powerful arms, and hate just plodding on my flat feet. I prefer the steep ice fields - I love snow and ice. When I was at 26,000ft on Mount Everest on the South Col, the wind stopped and the evening became still. I heard a high-pitched hum - an American climber called David Breasheas said it was the sound of the earth spinning on its axis. Go for it! Lots of love Brian.

jimmynutmeg: When you went to Venezuela, how did you find the Lost World?

BrianBlessed:It was mindblowing. Britain is 300m years old, the Alps 100m, Everest a baby - 50m and still growing. The Lost World of Venezuela is three and a half billion years old. 80% of the Gran Sabena is unexplored - an area about the size of France. Mountains called tepuis - 9,000ft high - have ecosystems of their own, completely unknown. Animals, butterflies - you name it. Arthur Conan Doyle's Lost World exists. I climbed Roiraima and explored its northern labyrinth, where many people have died. Auyan tapui is the size of Wales. Angel Falls is there. Yet 90% of it is unexplored. In 1955 Alexander Laime, a naturalist of high repute, claimed he saw half a dozen pleaseeasaurs, which were supposedly extinct 50m years ago. Go there. You'll love it.

BrianBlessed: I've found this inspirational - being on the internet. I'm going to set up my own website. Thankyou for all your marvellous questions - sorry about the ones I haven't answered. I have to rush off to feed all my animals - I have over 2000 of them - and help my wife. Lots of love, follow your dreams, and don't let the bastards grind you down! Brian.