Friday 8 August 2008

1 Month to go.....so much to still do !

Well it's now the 8th August and that means that we now only have around 1 month to go before we set off on our challenge.
Over the last few days i have been seeking more assistance from both local and International companies, and at this moment in time i am waiting for confirmation on a few possible leads. I spoke to a fella from the Lincoln CO-OP on Monday who seemed sure that he would be able to rustle up some sort of help through their travel service, so that would be a most welcome source of assistance, also i spoke to a lady from Vodafone based in Newark on Tuesday, and she was looking into the possibility of helping us to stay in touch during the journey by way of providing us with a couple of sims that would allow us to make free calls for the duration.I hope that this particular lead comes good as it is a major feature of our journey that we can chat to the press,family and well wishes whilst on the road, and of course these days it may also allow us to get online and keep our blogs up to date.I did take the car around to the Vodafone offices, and made a point of the fact that the red that adorns the Scirocco is almost the same shade as their logo sports..well you have to push your benefits don't you :-)
I have also been in touch with SNCF the french rail and (apparently !) ferry service,they have replied to my email and have forwarded my request for their assistance in crossing to Morocco to the relevant people although i have learned during the course of arranging this trip, never count your chickens until they have hatched !.
I also sent an email to Shell and Texaco(the fuel companies) a couple of days ago to ask if they would consider assisting us with our fuel expenses...no word so far, but these things sometimes take time to filter through the corporate systems.
A friend of mine at the hospital (Sean) has also managed to source us some last minute coverage of our event at the Sheffield Tigers Speedway arena, so on Thursday night next week we will be appearing (one night only !) at the venue.Hopefully at the very least we can spread the word to a few more people, and of course there is always the chance that we can secure some last minute sponsorship also...that would be nice :-).
Glen called the other day to tell me that the guys over at the Phirm (VW Specialists) had offered to give the car a going over to identify any possible problems before the off....trouble is that they are over (or down perhaps ?) in Kent, and I, and the car, are up in sunny Lincolnshire, so getting it down for them to work their magic on could prove a problem.....need to think about options on this issue !.
On the 23rd August there will be the first National meeting of Scirocco Owners at RAF Cosford. It's called the National meeting, but in actual fact we are expecting quite a few of our fellow Scirocco enthusiasts from over in Holland ,Germany,France and other parts of the EU.In fact i am sure that i heard that we may be getting visitors from as far afield as Australia, although, as you may appreciate, he will not be in his car :-)
More details about this event can be sought at the Scirocco Register website forums here : http://www.sciroccoregister.co.uk/

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