Some days you're the bug, some days you're the windshield

It was over half a year ago that Beardshaw the Dangerous and Nick 'Stamford ain't no bridge' Hawkins had very kindly asked me whether I'd be able to join them on the rally. At this point, however, I had been unceremoniously shown the investment banking door after the whole financial house of cards had imploded. Not knowing where next month's rent was going to come from was suddenly and unavoidably top priority. Following several months of jumping through hoops (many directly in front of brick walls), the full horror of which is beyond the scope or relevance of this blog, I was overjoyed to finally secure gainful employment and moreover sign on the dotted line for the Douglas Car.

Sly even had the good grace to welcome me by attempting to engage in some good old fashioned trash-talk. I feel this is a good point to emphasise the 'attempting', as through a mixture of typos and inability to properly reference his ebonics lexicon, he succeeded only in that rarest of feats, the 'auto-sledge'. My best retaliatory tactic was pacifism, as I watched him metaphorically dig his own way to Mongolia.

In way of an introduction, I know the current team members from our time together at St. Chad's College, Durham University. Dave and Sly had extensive exposure to my (lack of) rowing prowess at countless 6am outings on the river. We even reached the heights of being in a boat of eight that went down to the Head of the River Race on the Thames in March 2004. It was only Hawaiian size waves that prevented us from helping Sly complete an homage to Cool Runnings and become the first African-Worcestershirian to compete in the prestigious event. I also enjoyed a brief yet lucrative football career, during which I interacted unwillingly with Nicksi. It was actually his presence that forced my hand in early retirement, as I was asked to sacrifice my widely acknowledged and prodigious talent to help further the progression of those lacking footballing and/or motor skills. We didn't have the heart to tell him that the 'Cannavaro' on the back of his shirt was actually italian for 'Billy Madison'. Apt nonetheless. I know Matty mainly from inebriated chit chat at several university balls and events, which over 3 years probably number in their hundreds. It's a little known fact that inspite an apparently modest sailing hobby he's made countless millions as an Ellen MacArthur impersonator at working men's clubs.

If any of the above makes it past the edit I'll eat my hat, but by then I'll be only a few thousand complaints away from my own Radio 2 show.

On a more serious note, the reason I had held this endeavour with such high regard was the mixture of the cause we were fundraising for, and the experience we stand to gain by the actual driving phase. Having read about the unique care that Helen and Douglas House provide, I'd be tremendously proud to be part of a team looking to raise such a substantial amount to aid them in their efforts. In addition to this, the fact that we can leave our trusty chariot at the other end for some real benefit is definitely an added advantage. I actually had a fair amount of interaction with Mongolians when I was trekking across the Great Wall in China, and their general plight is in itself something that requires highlighting. The country is heavily geared towards subsistence farming and with a huge export of resources leading to a tremendous trade deficit, a large percentage of the population are below the poverty line. The healthcare system is very much that of a developing nation, and the gift of an ambulance to one of the country's many understaffed and struggling hospitals will be truly invaluable. Thanks at this point need to go to Barbara Doyle and her nursing team at St. Peter's Hospital in Chertsey, who have very kindly agreed to stockpile as many surplus medical supplies as possible for us to take on board and leave with the ambulance at our destination.

There's not a doubt in anyone's mind be they team member or onlooker about the magnitude of the task ahead, but we've all been through more than our fair share of travelling and life experience challenges. Driving an ambulance from London to Mongolia across untold expanses of Asia is going to be a bumpy ride at best, but it'd be no fun if we had smooth tarmac laid out from start to finish.

Besides, in the words of the great Doc Emmet Brown, where we're going, we don't need roads.

Helen House on Telly!

Now then, now then.... There's a certain amount of info on our charity, Douglas House on our website, but you can't beat a proper account of the great work they get up to over there in Oxford. It is truly groundbreaking. Take a look at this...

As a follow up to the award winning BBC series "Children of Helen House" shown in 2007, a programme is being broadcast on Thursday 2nd April at 9pm on BBC2 which revisits some of the people documented in the original series. Entitled "Children of Helen House - Revisited", the program mainly looks at Helen House, the UK's first Children's Hospice and sister organisation to Douglas House, however we're hoping that it will also touch on the similarly groundbreaking work for young adults that is carried out at Douglas House today.

Cancel that pilates class, forget about staying late at work and set that video recorder - if you're serious about understanding about what we're up to, this can't be missed!

Keep a look out for some more exciting news coming soon!

Lots of Douglas car love x

Douglas Car Update...

So, we've now spent a bit of time behind the wheel of the ambulance (well, most of us - unlucky Sly!) and we love it! It drives like a peach. I hope this isn't tempting fate, but considering its age, it has been truly well looked after by Jim Vincent and the guys at SCAS's workshops, and surprisingly, it sits quite happily at 85 on the motorway - just perfect for the German autobahns. George is thinking of taking on the modifications to it, and will hopefully be fashioning some armour plating for its underbelly and doing some more tinkering. We have also managed to sort our parking problem thanks to the very kind Paul Chaston at Paul Chaston Commercial Property, who was all too keen to let us store it at one of the properties he is advertising. Cheers Paul!

To keep you all updated on our fundraising progress, we hit £1,000 from donations on our JustGiving site recently, and currently have another £700 or so on its way from various sources including St. Chad's College JCR Charities Committee where we all spent an awesome 3 or 4 years at University, and Dave's School, Hymers College. We are really thankful to everyone that has donated so far, and you can rest assured that it means a huge amount to the staff and everyone that stays at Douglas House. It means a lot to us that so many people are showing their support for us.

On the team sponsorship front, we've also had a considerable donation from Nick's school, Radley, which will help to cover some of our costs such as fuel (it costs £80 to fill up the ambulance's tank!), and are looking for more team sponsors to advertise on the side of the ambulance - a great opportunity to get seen on the road, and in our ongoing media coverage!

Watch out here for further news, including fundraising events, improvements to the van and details of a one-hour documentary about Helen & Douglas House to be shown on the BBC, so stay tuned!