THE PLYMOUTH to DAKAR CHALLENGE
John and Cheryl went on the Plymouth-Dakar challenge, leaving Boscastle at midday on Wednesday 14th February.....coincidentally six months after the flood! Two teams went from this tiny village -John and Cheryl as boscastlebusker and Colin Bond and Richard Rigby Jones as boscastlebreakdown !
This is fast growing challenge/rally has some unusual aims and rules. The thrust of the event is to raise funds for Gambian charities in desperate need, but John and Cheryl were also raising funds for Mount Edgcumbe Hospice. They surrendered their beloved Kia Ceres(aka The Flying Dodo) to the auction for Gambian Charities on reaching The Gambia. It raised £3000! See See dispatches for details of both their unforgettable trip and the auction. They raised £3125 for Mount Edgcumbe Hospice, and as well as the £3000 for Gambian Charities they took medical and school equipment, valued at over five thousand pounds. Watch this space for details of their next planned charity drive to Africa ...on their own this time!
THE SPONSORS  (your name here?)
Bears & Boxes A Country Guest House in North Cornwall
Bear Engineering Machined the Daihatsu wheels to fit the Kia.
Belle Tents Makers of Beautiful tents and marquees (Supplied the Canopy)
Laurence Llewellyn Bowen The presenter of BBC's "Changing Rooms"
The Cobweb Inn Boscastle, North Cornwall
Chris Davey Purveyor of Used Cars in Porth - (Donated the Diahatsu Wheels)
  E.J.S A generous offer of wheels from Turkey's oldest steel wheel maker
Flying Dodo Truro, Cornwall
Kernow Analytical Technology Made a contribution to fuel costs
Isuzu Motors Limited -the KIA Although unable to trace our Kia, paid for a set of suitable tyres!
Tim & Val Glover Mobile Tyre Service, Boscastle
R & N Fuels Roger the Coalman and singer of dubious songs
Nelson Stokes supplied the brake seals for our non-standard cylinders
Novatech Supplied our GPS system
Race Hill Garage Mark Swift replaced all the brake pipes and fixed all the electrics and got us an MOT
Trelay Farm Holiday Cottages Norman Watson answered our appeal and "sold" us the Kia for £1
Wellington Hotel Boscastle (Sadly closed for repairs after the Great Flood)
Willapark Manor Hotel Bossiney, North Cornwall