Dyson sponsors Sir Fiennes’ trip to Antarctica

The world’s greatest living explorer, Sir Ranulph Fiennes (pictured above), was sent out by his wife to buy a vacuum cleaner.

Sir Ranulph wandered into his local supplier and was enchanted by James Dyson’s range. He bought one, read the accompanying leaflets and suspected Dyson might be the kind of man who’d want to be involved in his plan to cross Antarctica solo and raise over 3m for the Breakthrough breast cancer charity.

Little did he know that both Dyson’s parents died of cancer. Dyson decided to donate a massive 1.44m to the charity. His team also designed a special compass and provided advice on everything from boot fastenings to cooking pots. The trip has been named the Dyson Antartica Solo.

Top marks to the two prominent chaps for making such an effort to help a woman’s cause. And good luck to Sir Ranulph, who sets off on 1 November.