According to today's Independent newspaper, the psychiatrist Anthony Clare once spent 45 minutes trying to get to the botton of Ran Fiennes for a radio programme and concluded that probing the explorer's psyche was "like stirring a void with a tea-spoon".Sir Ran won't remember, but our paths cross many years ago. I had to interview him on a book tour and he had to endure yet another interviewer. I suspect we both left with a low opinion of one another.
Tomorrow, he's off to attempt the Eiger north face and is blogging and podcasting on his MySpace site, from which I've used the photo. He's also attempting to raise money for Marie Curie Cancer Care, the illness which killed his wife Ginny aged just 56.
He reckons there's nothing left to be done in polar exploration and he has already got to withing 300ft of Everest's summit, so once he's ticked the Eiger from his to-do list perhaps he should attempt an epic sea-kayak voyage?
I've invited him paddling. I'll bring the tea-spoon.