My Favourite Photograph
“THIS photo was taken when I led a fundraising walk on the Great Wall of China last April. We covered 228 kilometres in three weeks, and I was joined by athletes, cancer survivors and entertainers like Cliff Richard and Joan Rivers along the way. It was incredibly challenging and I liken it to the cancer journey because it was about facing the unknown and when we got through it there was a real sense of achievement.
The weather was so changeable — we had snow. rain and incredible heat. The Wall was dangerous when it was wet and a lot of us got the flu. I had a raging fever and a cough but I had to Keep going because I was the leader. We walked for around five or six hours a day, but at least we had sherpas to carry food for us. There was also a toilet tent: you’d spot the red tent way up ahead and know that was where you could stop. We stayed in hotels en route but I wasn’t worried about luxuries — as long as they had hot water and a bed I was fine.
We’d fortify ourselves with big breakfasts of vegetables. rice. bread and jam and eggs to give us fuel for the next leg. Joan Rivers was there for a day or two and she was so funny. She arrived in heels but had to change into trainers and she said to me: “Olivia. I thought you said we were going to the Great Mall of China”. She was so quick-witted and she had us all in hysterics.
Cliff has been a dear friend for many years and when I asked him to come along he didn’t hesitate. In the evening he’d get out his guitar and sing to everyone which was wonderful. Dannii Minogue also came along, as did Didi Conn, who played Frenchie in Grease and has remained a good friend.
It took four years to get permission to do the walk but it was worth the effort because of the money it raised to help build my Cancer and Wellness Centre in Melbourne. Australia. The centre is important to me because it’s about helping cancer sufferers’ bodies, minds and spirits rather than just coping with the physical effects.
I found out I had breast cancer in 1992. I was forced to announce it publicly because a newspaper was about to run a story saying I was dying and I didn’t want my family to be alarmed. In retrospect it was probably the best thing that could have happened because it made me talk about it. Now I feel so lucky I’ve survived that I want to help other women, which is why I launched the Liv Aid breast self-examination kit. why I do fundraising walks and why I’m donating some of the proceeds from my new album to the centre.
On my new album I got to work with John Farrar, who wrote Hopelessly Devoted to You for Grease all those years ago. I’m still proud of the film. It’s great to have been part of something that people are still so fond of 30 years on.”
The album Olivia Newton-John and Friends, A Celebration In Song is out now. For more information about Liv Aid visit olivianewton-john.com