In 2001, with a new management consultant in place and after two years of reorganisation, Crawford returned to the LAB. At the crucial meeting the King's Head was given an approving clean bill of management fitness but refused the restoration of its grant - Crawford was told by the LAB's chief executive: "Oh, you always say you're going to close but you never do" - leading to its London Borough grant being also withdrawn on the back of the LAB's decision. Ironically, during most of the crunch time for the King's Head, the Culture Secretary, one more than usually ineffective in that post, was the local Islington MP Chris Smith. Only the generosity of supporters such as Cameron Mackintosh and of many of its associated actors - including Victoria Wood (who never forgot that Crawford once had hitchhiked to Sheffield to woo her for an early London appearance) donating the takings from a sold-out Royal Albert Hall show or Maureen Lipman's gesture with a benefit performance of her Joyce Grenfell evening - helped keep the theatre afloat through what became an almost week-by-week operation. In addition to his continuing role as impresario - the King's Head current show based on The Spectator's amatory dramas is a happy instance of Crawford's taste for fun (and publicity) - Crawford occasionally directed productions, usually at his home base. In truth, his directorial talent did not match his entrepreneurial flair; his well-intentioned but over-reaching revival of Coward's epic Cavalcade (Sadler's Wells and tour, 1995) was not his finest hour, although he steered a touching revival of Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come! (1992) and an appealing version of Enid Blyton's Famous Five (1997), co-adapted by his fourth wife Stephanie, a production infused by an expatriate's loving appreciation of its quintessentially English idiom and slang. I have just finished Thor Heyerdahl's The Kon-Tiki Expedition and I always take a Lonely Planet.Where has seduced you?Verbier in the Swiss Alps.
I have skied a lot and Verbier has it all, from fantastic skiing to great nightlife; no other resort can offer such extensive skiing Kyrgyzstan is also absolutely stunning. When I was there five years ago, we climbed nine mountains that nobody had scaled before, which was amazing.Better to travel or arrive?Arriving, definitely.Worst travel experience?Falling into the Arctic Ocean about 100 miles from the North Pole during my last expedition Luckily, I only got my legs wet. I have just been to Sardinia for some R&R, though, which was lovely.Holiday reading?I tend to read travel and expedition literature. They really pushed themselves for us.Greatest travel luxury?A Leatherman pen knife, which has all sorts of gadgets on it.
It's incredibly useful for fixing anything from skis to sleds, but can be a bit difficult to get through airports these days.Beach bum, culture vulture or adrenalin junkie?I'm probably an adrenalin junkie, because I'm not very good with culture and I don't like lying around on beaches. There are less than 400 of them left in the world and they are amazing; loyal, strong and incredibly friendly. There were old fuel cans and sled runners, which gave us a real shot of adrenalin.Favourite place in the British Isles?The Scottish Highlands in February when they're covered in snow; it's a real adventure playground. Unfortunately, I don't get up there nearly as often as I'd like.What have you learnt from your travels?When I travel to polar regions, I always take an eye mask, because the 24-hour sunlight can make it difficult to sleep.Ideal travelling companion?When I travel it's mostly for expeditions My last companions were a pack of Canadian Inuit dogs. While we were there, we came across his old base camp, which nobody had found before. First holiday memory? Making sandcastles on the beach in Cornwall with my family. We used to go each summer, which was always fantastic. Best holiday?My last expedition; we were trying to determine the first person to reach the North Pole.
