Kathryn Thomas: I can't wait for Ellie to have the experience of a play date with all of her friends
Kathryn Thomas, campaign ambassador pictured at the replanting of Glenisk Wood in Co. Offaly. Picture: Marc O'Sullivan
"Listen. Last weekend I jumped in the car without the husband or the child and I drove out to Dalkey to see my sister who lives out there. I went for a sea swim, walked Killiney Head. It was so nice to see the sea and see her and just get out of the four walls."
Kathryn Thomas is telling me about how she escaped her 5k on Saturday, and she is still excited about it. "It's so simple, isn't it? It's that one place we were all pining for, found. I asked people on my Instagram where they were dreaming of going, and the reactions were gorgeous. It was people who were dying to get to a certain forest or a certain beach or dying to see their mom or their sister or their best friend."
The simplicity of our desires having been cooped up for so long resonated deeply with the television presenter and entrepreneur.
"My friend took her parents to Howth and just to have the two of them sitting on Howth pier, eating a '99 - it would almost bring a tear to the eye."
This week, Thomas has escaped not just her 5k, but her county. We are chatting on the day of a photocall in Offaly for a new initiative she is fronting on behalf of Glenisk and Self Help Africa. One Million Trees aims to plant 1m native trees in sub-Saharan Africa and a further 100,000 native trees in Ireland, driven by public donations as well as funding and in-store promotions from Glenisk.
Getting involved in the project was a no-brainer for Thomas. "I've been involved with Self Help Africa for years," she says. "I've been to Africa with them and I just absolutely love what they do. I originally got involved when they were starting a campaign to give women in Sub Saharan Africa access to finance, to start their own businesses because so many women out there do 90% of the work but can't get access to money. I love that what they do is very much grassroots level. Nothing is ever about giving anyone a handout, it's about giving people a hand up."
Teddies immune to #covid19
— Kathryn Thomas (@gokathrynthomas) March 23, 2020
Happy birthday Ellie ❤️❤️❤️ #stayhome #teddybearspicnic https://t.co/QpJwYfKObW
Since the arrival of her daughter Ellie three years ago, Thomas says she has become much more aware of the environment and the impact of climate change. "The idea of this campaign is right up my street. The concept is looking at how to combat climate change and what we can do to help. What can be done on a local level, on an individual level."
A hands-on person, being present as the process of the planting of 100,000 trees began had a huge impact on her. "It's over 100 acres owned by Glenisk in Offaly and when you see the sheer size of the land and think about what is going to happen there, it's amazing.
She says that rethinking how she shopped over the last 12 months has had a lasting change in her family life. "In terms of fashion, I've always loved my thrift, I've always loved my vintage. I think I've realised the amount that I was buying that I didn't need. I buy food without packaging now where possible, I use reusable bottles when I can. I think everybody now is more aware of the small changes that they can make which actually make a big difference."
The family now enjoys three meat-free days a week, and Ellie is a big fan of vegetarian food, thanks in no small part to her Mauritian childminder. "They eat lots of vegetarian meals in Mauritius, so I'll pick her up and she'll have had lentils or curries and that really spurred me on to include more meat-free meals in our weekly meals."
Thomas found the latest round of restrictions the most difficult to deal with and says that during the darker days of lockdown, Ellie provided the sunshine for Thomas and her husband Padraig McLoughlin. "She was with us so much and by God, she could make us laugh our arses off day in and day out. She has been our therapy, for sure. She hasn't got a rashers about what is going on, and that's great."
Having had two lockdown birthdays, Thomas's wish for her daughter is some pre-pandemic normality. "I can't wait for her to have the experience of a play date with all of her friends and staying over in her Granny's house for the night. Laughing, I've said to my mother to prepare for getting to know Ellie over a ten-day summer holiday - but I think it's really important for kids too. They need to see people other than their immediate families."
In business, Thomas has proved time and time again that she's a grafter, and in true form, she has pivoted her business Pure Results to an entirely online platform (for now) and a new website pureresults.ie.
When I tell her that I would never have gone to one of her boot camps in real life for fear of being the most unfit person ever to stand in front of Kathryn Thomas, she roars laughing. "Right now we have 400 women signed up to the website," she says. "We have gotten to know each other over the last year, I tell you. I have had conversations with women - right across the country - where we have divulged everything, from relationship issues to child issues to mental health issues, everything and anything. A lot of these people never would have come to a bootcamp because they would have been terrified, and now they'll sign up as soon as we can do them in real life again."
Speaking of real life, like most of us, Thomas is dreaming of that post-pandemic holiday. Having fallen down an Internet rabbit hole looking at destinations recently, she found herself daydreaming about the Maldives. "I really want that kind of 'Robinson Crusoe desert island' feel. Soneva Fushi is a place that is leading the way in terms of sustainability and it's promoting itself as one of the top sustainable retreats in the world right now. Of course, you'd want to win that feckin' €11m lottery to go!"
In a year when the world turned upside down, Thomas learned that she is stronger than she previously believed. "I learned that I take everything in my stride, in a way that kind of surprised me at times."
With a commitment to cherish family and friends, Thomas says that one thing has stood out to her more than anything else over the last 12 months.
"Freedom of movement is something that we took for granted here, before Covid. I think I've learned that for me being free is one of the greatest gifts in the world and when it's taken away from you you realise how crucial it is for your mental and physical wellbeing."
- For further information on the Self Help Africa campaign visit selfhelpafrica.org/onemilliontrees or to donate €5 to plant ONE tree in Ireland and TEN trees in Africa.
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