Scirocco 2 Morocco 10 years on. Scarlett Mk3...The new chapter begins :-)

Obviously anyone who has been following my blog over the last 10 years must be aware of the disaster which befell my Mk2 Scirocco Scala "Scarlett".

After my brilliant car was fatally damaged by a 42 ton lorry on the A17 in 2014 I was left, after a messy and financially crippling court case, with not only no car, but with a £2000 legal bill and permanent Tinnitus. The other driver had a much better legal team than me and on the day the judge decided to award fault to both parties....although the 3 versions of the other drivers statement should have made him question what ACTUALLY happened on that cold February morning !!

Anyway. I digress.

This post is to let you know that I AM BACK !

Gone is the Ford Focus ST which i owned for around 2 and a half years primarily due to my long term good friend David who, Observing my predicament and being a very kind fella, offered to sell me the ST for a bargain price......a very welcome and generous gesture being as i had spent the last 2 years feeling incredibly stressed and ultimately humiliated and financially ruined by a system that appears to hold such things as the truth as being incidental to the facts !.....i'm off   again aren't I lol :-)

So. Ladies and Gentlemen. Can i now then present to you Scarlett Mk3 (She's a Mk3 Scirocco so hence the label!)

This cracking motor is an October 2008 Scirocco 2.0ltr TSI GT which is finished in Salsa Red, which is not such a dissimilar colour to my previous Mk2 (Paprika Red)....which is a nod to the old girl of course :-)

Of course this year (September) marks 10 years since I and my excellent friend Glen Place set off on our Scirocco 2 Morocco adventure.....and on our return to the UK we were invited to attend the launch of the New Scirocco Mk3 at Heron VW in Newark upon Trent. If i remember correctly Glen was unable to make it up to my neck of the woods but myself and my son attended with Scarlett and her half Roc trailer.....so the fact i now own a Scirocco from that particular moment in time seems somehow fitting as a continuation of my love of these cars.


So....here she is.

Scarlett Mk3......

Of course the Registration is quite poignant as this is actually my 6th Scirocco (S6) (6 and a half if you count the trailer!) and its a Volks Wagen Scirocco (VWS)... nice :-)

So far the car has been fantastic, and i hope to be showing her at the Scirocco Register National Meeting in August 2018.....alongside Glens newly refurbished 1988 Scala.....should be EPIC :-)

Scarlett the VW Scirocco now on Forza for Xbox One :-)

"Scarlett" the 1987 VW Scirocco was utilised many times to promote the work of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research and was expected to be doing so for many more years.

Sadly, as mentioned in previous posts, in April this year my poor car was written off by a rather large HGV which rear ended it causing significant and sadly, unrepairable damage.

Luckily, my brilliant friend Glen Place, has resurrected the old girl into a virtual life in the Forza Motorsport game on the Xbox One console 

And here she is 

Any rich people out there who want to save a Scirocco ?

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I guess that it's not a surprising fact that due to increases in the cost of...well everything really !I have had to take the decision to retire the old Scirocco to the driveway whilst I consider my options.

Running 3 cars in the UK is not a very good way of saving money, and sadly there is no real recognition for some bloke who runs a car to promote a charity......not being an MP I can't claim "expenses" for such an extravagance! :-)

Insuring the Golf TD has just cost me £500. The wife's Skoda Roomster cost almost £300 and the Scirocco (limited to 3000 miles per year) cost £150 .So having to choose which car I was going to use as my daily came down not to preference, but economy, so the Golf TD which returns a good 55mpg has now stepped into the Scirocco's shoes as my daily commuting vehicle (the Scirocco was costing me £13 per day in fuel as it could ,at best,manage approx 35-37 per gallon.

To add insult to injury I now have the Scirocco on the drive without MOT or Road Tax as they both expired in December. And to add injury to insult and injury...she has developed something of a swimming pool in her rear footwell's which has resulted in me having to remove the seats and strip back the carpets!.....and the battery keeps going flat!.......

If anyone reading this post fancies helping me keep the old girl (25 in March) on the road to continue her work with Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, please make yourself known :-)

In my experience an unused car is so much more likely to have a major breakdown than a daily drive, and i would hate that to happen to a car that has become something of a minor celebrity in the VW world.

Now.....when is the lottery being drawn again?

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Merry Christmas to all :-)

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I have not been posting quite so often as I once did on the old S2M blog. These days I just don't seem to have the time to spend on it. I have considered closing it down as, after almost 4 years, it has served it's purpose to promote the trip that myself and Glen did back in 2008, and more recently to spread the word in relation to Leukaemia and Lymphoma news from around the world.

I am not sure that there will ever be an opportunity to undertake a Scirocco2Morocco2 (the sequel) in the future,that would depend a lot on my health, Glens health and the health of my bank balance (it's not a cheap undertaking!). Lets just say that I would love to have another go at getting Scarlett into Africa, just to be able to  close the book on that ambition :-).

Can I just now take a second to wish all of my readers a very merry Christmas and a peaceful and happy new year. Lets hope its a good one, without any fear......hang on.....was I just slipping into a John Lennon song?

Anyway folks, please keep sending your comments in to this blog, it's always nice to know that my ramblings get read at least a few times!.

Ho,ho ho......MERRY CHRISTMAS :-)

Andy

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As Fuel Prices increase, I need my fuel bill to go way down!

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Using a classic car as a daily driver is great fun but my 1987 VW Scirocco cannot be described as being the most frugal car on the road!.

I decided recently that I should make an attempt to optimize the MPG for the old girl by implementing a series of measures aimed at making her 24 year old 1.8 Litre Carb engine as economical as is reasonably possible.

My first action was to replace all of the "consumable" ignition and filtration parts, so I replaced the following items:

4 new Bosch Spark Plugs

full set of ignition leads (including coil lead)

Air and fuel filters

A new rotor arm and distributor cap

After these items where replaced I then made a call to a chap named Lester who owns a mobile Crypton tuning business in Mansfield. Lester came over the the Hospital on Wednesday morning and spent around 1 and a half hours "tweeking" the idle speed,the mixture and the timing. Afterwards there was a noticeable increase in power, the engine started more easily and the idle speed was set down to approx 900 RPM, down from it's original 1200 RPM which it had run at previously.

Once Lester had done his stuff I then unloaded any unnecessary "cargo" from the boot/car and checked the tyre pressures to ensure the correct inflation pressure was present.

The next action was that from now on I will only fill the fuel tank up to 1/4 full. This is to avoid carrying around any "dead weight" in the form of excess petrol which yet again would effect the overall MPG figures.

Just to give you an idea of the effect carrying a full fuel load has upon the cars "all up weight", let me explain the figures.

My Scirocco has a 12 gallon fuel tank.

Each Gallon of fuel weighs approx 3KG

If I fuel up with 1/4 tank of unleaded (3 gallons) it weighs approx 9KG.

If I fill up the fuel tank that is 12 x 3 which equals 36KG.

My journey to work in Mansfield (which has a petrol station close by) is 86 miles

The Scirocco will (before the tune up!) do approx 33-35 MPG which is 33+ x 3 (gallons) = 100+ mile range so I have a 13+ mile "emergency" reserve of fuel.

If I fill up the fuel tank on Monday I will be carrying 27KG of "dead" fuel for that first return trip! The second day I will be carrying 18KG of "dead" fuel.......you get the idea?

Just so you can "visualize" how much weight that is, next time you go to the supermarket stick 27 bags of sugar in your trolley and notice how much effort you need to then push it!.

It's a tried and tested principle that pilots use to maximise their flying range.They calculate the amount of fuel they require for the flight + a little extra for "unforeseen" diversions. I imagine though that they would have a larger margin of "reserve" fuel in their calculations as they can't just pop into the local Texaco if they run out!.

I will let you know how I get on over the next few weeks :-)

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Stanford Hall VW Show on Sunday.

On Sunday myself and "mini me" will be driving over (and down!) to Stanford Hall to display Scarlett at the annual Volkswagen Show. We will be in area "C" so if you fancy popping along and seeing the car on the day, do say hello and let me know what you think about it, and this blog :-).

For details about the Stanford Hall Show click HERE.

All graphics now fitted...now to see if we can get into Stanford Hall!

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On Thursday morning I dropped the trailer into Biff's for it's final graphics fit, then on the way back home later in the day I stopped to pick it up and allow him to fit the last couple of sections to the car also. By 6:20pm the last piece of the puzzle was fitted and after thanking Biff for his excellent work (free of charge!) I made my way back home.

Biff is based in Newark and works from his home.This guy is not only one of the hardest working people I have ever met, but also one of the most genuine and generous also. Without the help and dedication of this guy, the design would have just remained as it was, a drawing done by Benn on a computer, but with Biff in charge of things the concept is now reality, and the car is now going to be seen by hundreds if not thousands of people, and I will help to spread the word about the wonderful work that the Leukaemia and Lymphoma charity do :-)

As I type this blog entry I am also sending a request to the organisers of the Stanford Hall Volkswagen Show which is being held on the 2nd May, asking them to allow me a pitch. It may not happen as it is quite late in the day regarding allocation of space, but you never know!. Fingers crossed that I will be lucky and get the car (and trailer) on display at this popular venue.

Went to GTI Spring Festival 2009 at Santa Pod on Sunday

What is Santa Pod ? Well, for those of you who have never heard of it, it is NOT a new device that apple are releasing this Christmas (Although there is still time!).Santa Pod is in fact a drag racing strip in the UK just outside of the village of Poddington (Northamptonshire) which each year hosts (Amongst other things), the GTI Spring Festival, or to put it more broadly, it is home for the day to thousands of VW mad people who come together to to look at,talk and drive...well Volkswagen's of any sort...but mostly water cooled (Golf's,Scirocco's etc,etc).
This year I was yet again accompanied to the event by "Mini Me", AKA Andy Junior, who of course wasn't too fussed about what the day had to offer in the way of auto jumbles, drag racing and picture opportunities.....just as long as there was a steady flow of ice cream, candy floss and sweets...and drinks, and ...you get the idea !.
After taking around 1 and a half hours to drive the 65 miles down to the venue, we had a quick look around the stands, then Andy announced that he was "Starving", so we went over to a catering van and after a wait for a couple of Min's whilst they cooked it, we tucked into his chosen snack...fish and chips!....at 09:12 in the morning!, oh well, kids know what they want, and once this one has his mind set there is not much chance of changing it!.
After our fishy breakfast, we then had a great time watching some of the members of the public thrashing their motors down the track, and occasionally blowing up their transmissions and engines! (one of the drawbacks of having a go at the "run what you brung" event!).We spoke to a few of the lads from the Scirocco Register, Gave Glen his new(ish) tripod to replace the one he lost in the Pyrenees mountains!, then popped over to the grandstand to watch the highlight of the day, the awesome "Jet car", which is basically a piece of fibreglass, with 4 wheels and to this is strapped a jet engine this = very fast 0-60...sorry 0-250, and LOTS of noise to boot !.I have some vid on my mobile of its run, so i will post this once i get organised...eventually !.
Anyway, got home just after 3PM, cooked dinner (roast beef and Yorkshire puds!), then settled down to watch Andy play on the XBox with his newly acquired game "King Kong" which he got with the £5 grandad gave him for the day out. Nice :-)

Of course, one thing that i do think about around this time of the year, is what happened in 2008, when, just after our 2008 visit to the Pod, we had our slight accident which resulted in the car being almost written off!. Better luck this year we hope!. Take care :-)

Chuggaboom....my "temporary" Scirocco

Imagine my delight after the disaster of the recent accident, when a member of the Scirocco Register offered to "give" me a car so that I could stay on the road whilst Scarlet is in the repair shop.

You know the old saying "you don't get anything for nowt", well i can categorically dispute that now...and with some degree of qualification, such as.......

No dashboard !

No headlining

No heater

No door panels

No stereo

No Petrol gauge 8-0

No temperature gauge

No centre console

and No sun visors !

Yes, you can certainly get a lot of Nowt for...well nowt really :-)

On the upside i can honestly say that i have not driven a car for a long time that makes me smile quite as much as this one.....and the looks on peoples faces as they stroll past..have a quick look...walk back..have a better look...comment to either themselves or anyone nearby (content of comments is currently unknown but probably includes several expletives !) then smile/laugh/point and go merrily on their way, is worth a million..erm..things !.

To give you a better idea i thought it pertinent to post a few piccies, as they say, a picture speaks a thousand words...most of them far to rude to post :-)...enjoy !

Of course the plus side is that if anything goes wrong on the inside of the car it's not very difficult to find, and you don't have to remove panels to work on them. To be honest most of the missing panels are safe and sound...in the garage or the "half Roc" trailer !

On a serious note though, can i just say a great big thank you to Rick for getting me out of a tight spot regarding transport after the accident by letting me have the car and delivering to me so quickly.....cheers mate ;-).

P.S. If anyone would like to buy Chuggaboom over the next week or so, she will be for sale as soon as Scarlet comes back from AW's.MOT only until 6th June,tax until September.£100 donated to one of our charities and she's yours ! :-)

First the good news....

At this moment in time I am at a loss as to what to write about!Don't get me wrong, there is plenty of news to report about the progress of our challenge...but unfortunately not all good I’m afraid :-(.

I suppose it would make sense to start (As they say) at the beginning, and in this case that would be a week ago,the location is AW Body Repairs in Sleaford and I have just been driven down to their premises by Teresa to see for the first time the newly resprayed Scirocco a la Trailer combination.
The guys at AW's have done something that many fail to do every day of the week...shut me up!, I am pretty much speechless at the sight of a "straight from the showroom" Scirocco and matching trailer...absolutely gob smacked is the phrase that springs to mind....absolutely speechless and, I wont deny it, almost shedding a tear in admiration of the transformation to this 21 year old "Vintage car" that only a few months earlier was destined for the breakers.
Andy Grinned (he's very good at that!), and asked if I was happy with the result? Of course the answer was pretty much written all over my face and the huge smile that I was wearing was hard to disguise :-) "That is bloody fantastic mate" I mumbled, "absolutely bloody brilliant".
Shortly after having a good look at the car I went over to the trailer and yet again I was (initially) speechless, it too was just as we had envisaged it, just as the "virtual" trailer that Glen had made looked so many months ago, and this looked 110% better than the image because now it was the real thing.
After my delight had subsided again It suddenly occurred to me that even though I now had an immaculate Scirocco, I currently had no way of towing the equally immaculate Trailer home as I had forgotten one small detail....I had yet to fit the tow bar !....what a plonker !, so after arranging with Mick (the manager) that I would get the tow bar fitted the next day, and then to return to the compound for the trailer I went back home and planned for the next days (hectic) proceedings !.
Saturday morning arrived and I was up with the lark (or perhaps the sparrows!) and was soon busily drilling holes to fit the tow bar. All went well, but then I got to the point of wiring the electrics and realised that I had absolutely no wiring diagrams at all.....this was going to be fun!
A few emails and posts on the owners club website prompted several replies, amongst them was a very useful "idiots guide" which even I could understand. Well most of it anyway.
The afternoon saw me driving over to Lee Ballands home to let him fit our new (improved?) logos, and on the way I stopped of at a very nice fella’s house in Walcott to pick up free plug and extension lead for the trailer electrics (Cheers Dave!).
Lee spent around 1 and half hours fitting the logos, and at around 6.25 PM I headed back to Sleaford to get some tea and do a little blogging.
On Sunday I was up at 5.35 AM and by 06.05 was busy completing the install of the tow bar electrics on the car. At 08.20 myself and Andy Jr (Mini Me!) set of to navigate our way to Santa Pod drag strip and our first "official" fixture for 2008 which was the GTI Spring Festival were thousands of VW enthusiasts congregate to drive their cars down the 1/4 mile (if it's not wet), buy parts for their cars and get mugged by villains masquerading as chip and milkshake sellers!.
After a very wet but interesting few hours of chatting, eating chips (£2.00 for a tray the size of a very small flip-flop !) and chasing my mad al 5 year old son around, it was time to say our fond farewells to the other Scirocco register members, and drive the 80 miles back to sunny Sleaford.

Now we get to the not so good news section of this weeks update....and boy is this BAD NEWS>

I took the car to work on Tuesday without drama, she ran great (as usual) and was attracting a lot of interest from other drivers on my way to Mansfield and also folk who saw it parked up at the hospital. Now for Wednesday...black Wednesday.

I had arranged to take my 2 girls to my parents on Wednesday, and as usual we were running a little late after leaving home at around 07.20.The trip was uneventful really, and we arrived in Mansfield Woodhouse at approx 08.17...then the world went bang...or rather it made a sort of screeching, mettalic screaming sound as we had an almost head on with another car after stalling the car whilst turning right at a crossroads...

I remember seeing the car coming straight at us, I was already executing the turn but at that moment the engine revs dropped and it stalled so i dipped the clutch to start the engine and all I could do then was to wait for the impact. That came violently in that weird sort of slow motion way that these things do....slow and deliberate, and there was nothing I could do but brace and wait. There was a sound of breaking glass, twisting metal and then silence...except for my heart which was now well and truly lodged in my mouth.
I remember trying to open the door and finding it was almost seized shut checked the girls were alright and then stumbled and squeezed my way though the door which was now the size of a letterbox slot, then I remember telling the other driver how sorry I was and then my legs buckled. I knelt on the road in the middle of the crossroads for what seemed like an eternity, contemplating what had just taken place, the emotion was raw, my mind was spinning and I felt faint, but somehow I got back up and after apologising again to the other driver I squeezed back into my Scirocco shaped post-box and with another screech of metal I reversed her back then parked her on the side of the road. I looked again at the damage and felt sick, the front appeared to me to be almost gone and the beautiful resprayed Scirocco 2 Morocco vehicle looked shattered and destroyed.

The next couple of hours were spent making the obligatory calls to my insurers, my wife and work to explain why I was late. The most difficult call was the one I felt compelled to make to Andy Walsh (AW Body Repairs), when I had to inform him that the fantastic job he had completed on the car only a few days earlier was now looking as though it had been hit by an express train....to say I was gutted was possibly the understatement of 2008.

Andy was incredibly upbeat about the whole thing, and, after ensuring that myself and the children were ok, he arranged for the collection of the Scirocco and afterwards to explore the possibility of repairing her. The insurance had all but said that based on the age of the car it was "almost certainly a right off", but with a little luck, a lot of help from Andy and his staff the Scirocco 2 Morocco challenge will be back on the road once more.

Update: The car is now being repaired by AW body Repairs in Sleaford, and will be back on the road in the next few weeks. In the meantime I may be seen driving another Scirocco around, rather an interesting Blue one that a member of the owners club has donated to me whilst Scarlet is in the workshop....to say it is rather "lightweight" would be something of an understatement, mostly due to the fact that almost all of the interior fittings are in the boot....if you see the car around have a look...if you want a laugh :-)

Note: Anyone or any business that would like to help us out with our challenge, please feel free to contact us and we will be glad to link to your websites,stick a few logo's on and mention you in our dispatches :-).

Remember that from perseverance comes character,from character comes hope, from hope comes faith and with faith anything is possible.....take care :-)

S2M @ Waddington Air Show July 2008

I spoke to one of the organisers of the RAF Waddington International Air Show today, and we have been given the green light to attend this fantastic event on the weekend of the 5th and 6th July this year :-).

In years gone by the number of people attending what is probably now the UK's leading Air Show has frequently topped 400,000 over the 2 days it is staged, and therefore it goes without saying that a stand there will hopefully help us to swell the coffers for our 3 nominated charities as well as enabling us to highten the profile of the event amongst the general public....and that will be a great help in securing sponsorship of our challenge.

I have been an avid attendee (is that a real word ?) of the Waddington air show for around 8 or 9 years now, and always find it an excellent day out for all members of the family having not only a shed load of aeroplanes both flying and static, but also a wide veriety of stalls, funfairs and exhibitions that will keep you occupied for many hours.

Apparently we are to be allocated a pitch within the "Vintage vehicle" area (!), and Glen and I will be asking people to donate towards any of our charities, but especially the Lincolnshire and Nottinghamshire Air Ambulance as the helicopter itself is actually stationed at RAF Waddington.

We will also be holding a prize draw to win the fantastic Simulator prize mentioned in an earlier post that was donated by Real Simulation based in Yorkshire.This prize is for a 1 hour flight in either an F4 Phantom or a Boeing 737 airliner and it's worth £279 !

For more info about the event just click on the link that is under the S2M Sponsors heading.

Old Vs New......the facts.

The number of people commenting on the reasons for our choice of vehicle that we have chosen to use for this challenge is growing,so I will now endevour to explain that there is indeed method behind our madness...honest !.

Just for a moment then would you take time to ponder this Jeremy Clarkson style question.....

In aerial combat which of these machines would win a dogfight, the cutting edge of technology Eurofighter (AKA the Typhoon) which we love loads, but for(an earth bound comparison) will put in the same league as...oh I don't know...erm....how about a Bugatti Veyron supercar. OR.....the world renowned icon of British aviation genius......the Supermarine Spitfire, which again for the purpose of comparison we will align with an older style of motor car...such as...erm.....how about a 1987 VW Scirocco Scala ?

Now of course many of the purists out there will immediately point out to me the fact that if i am drawing a comparison between an old (German)VW and an aeroplane, then surely it should be a Messerschmitt BF109 and not a Spitfire.......so to those of you who have indeed let these thoughts cross your minds let me just say one thing ..............."I don't care !"...ok, that was three words and a smattering of punctuation, but as Neil, the long haired hippy character from that wonderfull 80's comedy "The young ones" famously said..."Alright, so most metaphors don't bear close examination".........so there !....anyway......the evidence for the comparison now follows:

A) The Spitfire (Scirocco)has proved it's worth in real combat,being able to take immense punishment and still come back for more (Roc Around the Clock charity drive,24 hours,672 miles,35 hospitals).....The Eurofighter (AKA Veyron) has not.

B) The spitfire (Scirocco) was (in the nicest possible sense) simple, and due to that fact if the jockey (pilot) found himself stranded in the middle of a field having been "bagged" during some aerial combat sometime after lunch, but perilously close to tea, there was an outside chance that with a little basic mechanical knowledge (such a rudimentary bicycle repair) he would be able to fashion a repair to the stricken craft and arrive back to the airfield just as the main course was about to be served !...the Eurofighter (Veyron)would be emedded in the field and it's unfortunate pilot would not be home in time for lunch ever again...unless he had time to bang out (eject) , in which case his spine will have shrunk by several inches resulting in a short stay in the local hospital and a terrble ringing in his lug holes which are both classic symptoms of having been shot out of a moving aeroplane atop a seat shaped firework !....and he would be far to late to even catch an after dinner mint !

C)Fuel....As we are all so painfully aware this is in rather short supply, and having to carry lots of the stuff has a relative effect on your aeroplanes performance.Let me explain:

The Spitfire carried 85-90 gallons of liquid gold and had a range of approx 1135 miles

The Eurofighter has a fuel capacity of 880 Gallons of Avtur and a range of 750-800 miles

Result ? Well you would not get any were near as far with a full tank of GoGo juice in a Typhoon as you would in a Spitfire which would be still turning cartwheels whilst the Typhoon heads for the nearest service station.............although the upside to this of course is that the Typhoon pilot would earn a shed load of points on his Tesco club card and be able to keep his Sqn mates in biscuits for many years :-).

I suppose the key point that I am trying to make in this rant is pretty straight forward really.............newer is not always better, and that, in a nutshell is why we are taking a 21 year old Volkswagen Scirocco and not a Bugatti Veyron.......well that and the fact that no one would let us get our hands on one, never mind drive it to Africa !

Is it me or is it getting hot in here ?

I had a taste of what to expect when we go to Morocco in September this week after i managed to not only break off, but then loose the heater control lever !.As luck would have it the lever is not so much broken as detatched, and so once i manage to find the ruddy thing (it's gone missing...looked everywhere and nowt !) i will be able to turn the heater off...because at the mo it's like driving a sauna to work once the engine is warmed up :-).

On a slightly cooler note Leukaemia Research have managed to get details and web links on their site, so hopefully the traffic (it's net slang for viewers !) to this blog will increase a little.

Can I please ask people who read these blogs to make a comment on them if possible ? I don't really care if they are good,bad or indifferent...just let me know that you are out there...please !.

Changing tack (yet again!) I took Scarlet to the Sleaford branch of AW body repairs this morning and had a chat with Mike down there.He took some piccies and we had a good old chat as to the merits...and pitfalls of attempting to drive a 21 year old car with no air conditioning,sunroof or opening rear windows to North Africa, but agreed on one major point and that it is all for a good cause, and (to paraphrase)as John F Kennedy,the then president of the USA said about the NASA Apollo space programme “We choose to go...not because [driving to Morocco] easy, but because [driving to Morocco] is hard, because that goal will serve to measure and organize the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win......and possibly pick up a few duty free's on the way !”.......oh,and to raise lots of money for the charities that we are helping !

One more thing.If by any miracle/act of God/total breakdown of reality I win the Euro Lottery this evening (£95 Million !) please take this post as notice that i intend to keep just a measly £5 Mill, and donate the rest to friends,family and Charity.......I don't care if i do regret saying that, cos i will have £5 million reasons to be happy anyway :-).Don't forget to leave your comments !.

Jeremy Beadle Dies aged 59

I heard last night that Jeremy Beadle had died....and i felt strangely sad because since his first outing into the public eye on the show "Game for a Laugh" in 1981, he has, up until quite recently been one of the "bread and butter" entertainers of my generation.His shows are known to millions, and he was sometimes cruely lampooned although i haven't found out why this is for myself...and most people who used to greet his name with a wry look can't either !.
Then i found out something that made me feel even more sad, the fact that the fella had been diagnosed with Leukaemia and Kidney cancer in 2004/5, but had (unknown to me ) been heavily engaged in raising money for childrens cancer charities for many years,even throughout his own battle with the disease.
You know it's a also sad fact that those who quitely go about doing good,worthwhile work for others and don't seek publicity for their actions, are the ones that we appreciate least...and, worst of all,are able to thank least for their contribution.It's easy to be a pop star and appear on "comic relief" or the likes simply to promote your latest single....that's using charity as a vehicle to ultimately line your own pocket by keeping your face in the public domain.Jeremy was not really creditied with the part he played in helping hundreds and possibly thousands of youngsters to fight cancer, but in the end when the truth is out and all those people who had a good old pop at Jezza discover just what a great fella he was, it will be them that feel ashamed, and Jeremy ?...well i guess he gets "the last laugh" !

Scirocco...now with build in swimming pool !

I noticed recently that the floor of the car appeared to be...erm...rather moist !.Have made a few enquiries and come to the conclusion that it is being caused by the windscreen seal leaking.....somewhere !.I suppose that with it being a 21 year old car (well it will be on the 31st March) i should expect these sort of "glitches".
It was about this time that i started to read my latest Jezza Clarkson book titled "I Know You Got Soul".I have read most of his others,"On Cars","The World According to" and "Motorworld", and apart from the blasphamy in one of these where he refers to the Roc as "A Ford Scirocco" ! i find his babblings quite entertaining.
Anyway...getting back to my latest read, in which Jeremy makes quite a poingniant and true statement relating to the significance of faults in machines.......such as my leaky window... In the introductionj to the book he says...
"But some machines do have soul.Sometimes,as is the case with Concorde and the AK47,it's because they possess that most of human qualities,a flaw".
Maybe then it's no accident that the Scirocco model was given the type number "53" when it was first being developed....what's significant about 53 i hear you ask !, to which I will refer you to the worlds most famous Volkswagen...Herbie...remember the bonnet number ? And you know what fun and games the drivers of that particular car had don't we :-).

Real Simulation supply "Sky high" prize

Many thanks are also due to Kevin and Adrian at Real Simulation for supplying us with an absolutely superb prize to be won in our planned prizedraw.

Just to elaborate, real Simulation are based at a place called Arkendale in Yorkshire, and are a company that specialises in offering flight simulations for anyone who wants to experience the feeling of flying without ever leaving the ground !.

They have 2 simulators in use, an airliner simulator of the Boeing 737 , and for those of you who have always fancied a go at being "Maverick" (Top Gun !) there is an awesome F-4 Phantom simulator also.

I have had the experience of the Phantom, and believe me it is just like being in the real thing,all the controls are there, the unit moves around in relation to your flying input, and you really do have to keep reminding yourself that at no point are you ever more than 15ft from the floor..:-).

We will be sorting out the details of the draw later, but don't miss the chance to win this prize (worth £279 !)of an hours flight in the "virtual" aeroplanes of your dreams....

AW Accident Repair Group to help S2M

Got some excellent news this morning when i recieved a phone call from Andrew Walsh, the owner of the AW Accident Repair Group.He has very kindly offered to not only paint our "work in progress" half a Scirocco trailer for us, but also to give "Scarlet" a bit of a makeover also ! and as we all know a car that looks good also drives much better :-).

This news is of great significance to our project, and I would like to just take this oppertunity to thank Andrew for his tremendous support with our challenge although it is not the first time Andrew's company has helped one of my projects out, he also helped a few years ago when the Cranwell Aviation Centre Jet Provost aeroplane needed some TLC and he very kindly sorted out a part respray for the JP which left her looking a thousand times better !.

Just got to get the trailer built now......anyone handy with an angle grinder and a mig welder ?:-)

S2M is VR on 2L !....Second Life !

S2M is Now VR on 2L !...What ?.Well ok,Scirocco 2 Morocco is now "virtually" advertised on a site called Second Life....it's a "virtual" world on the web.Anyway, i had a go at producing an object on the site and it turned out to be...erm...welll a large box really...with the S2M logo on it !.

Took a few snaps of the Challenge logo advert box and of my virtual "Avatar"....a virtual me !...but 20 years younger and a lot slimmer !

If you have a go on Second Life (It's Free !), see if you can find either my Avatar or one of my expertly (!) made logo boxes...then let me know where or take a snap :-)

Listen mum...we're on the Radio !

Ok,so the cars back on the road and being used as a daily driver due to the fact that i firmly believe that a use car will fair better than one thats laid up for months on end and is then expected to perform 100%...the reality is that a car that is laid up has a better chance of suffering a failure of some sort as soon as you ask it to perform at all !.....so I decided to keep her rollin' and if anything does need to be sorted then at least it will give us time to complete any nescessary work before we set off on our "little trip" !.

I've started to gather together a few items that i think would come in useful on the run like a fire extingusher,300W inverter (to power and charge all the "gadgets" that we are going to have on board),oh, and a mini fridge ! with just enough room for 4 large cans of beer....luvvly !

The team have been invited to the BBC Radio Nottingham studio's next Thursday to appear (is that correct in radio terms ?)on the John Holmes show.I have met John once before when i did a short stint on his show to talk about my last Scirocco themed charity drive "Roc Around the Clock", and i found the experience an excellent one as John is the sort of fella that you feel you have known for years and who has that ability to make you feel completely at ease almost as though you are chatting to him down at the local pub....but obviously the BBC don't serve you best mild whilst your on air !

If anyone gets the chance to tune in via terrestrial radio or via a web feed then the deatils are: The John holmes show,BBC Radio Nottingham,23rd January 2008,3.15PM (GMT).

Ode to the Morocco Scirocco !

Ode to the Roc !

I decided to write an ode to Scirocco, but all that would rhyme was the place called Morocco !.so faced with a case of poetic block, i decided to call it "the ode to the Roc" !

Twas back in the 70's when that great man Giugiaro took hold of blank paper a ruler and Biro ...then shouted ......"eureka" ! "i have an idea"...before pottering off for a fresh glass of beer !.

For weeks he did toil, like a man that's possessed , and when he was finished said "i think it's my best !".
gazing down at the drawing he stood and he grinned " such a sleek shape I've drawn it should go like the wind !"

So he called it Scirocco, and the legend was born, and many a driveway this car would adorn, all over the world from Antwerp to Bangkok folks fell in love with the lines of the Roc.

Then in '92 production did cease and Volkswagen laid the Rocco to rest in peace, but 2008 See's the phoenix reborn and the IROC begins a windy new dawn !

Andy W