w/ (2) "yungins" -i happily made a small donation.

might we see the womble-mobile on the xmas time prize draw?

best of luck!

Well - we're here in Calais!

Let's start a pictorial of the day..  It didn't start quite as expected though.  We went to fill up with petrol.

Well, nothing strange about that - but, "where is the filler cap?" an inquisitive Gordon asked.. Quite a Homer Simpson 'd'oh!' moment as i realised i had completely 'furred over' the filler cap!

So, a quick bit of swordsmanship to the rear quarter with a stanley blade (after having to feel both sides for the circular indents for about 10 minnutes) and we're in. Fuel added, car packed, passports ready, it's Ramshackle Time !!!

The drive to Dover was, shall we say, attention grabbing..  We had a whole coach load of people photographing us on Hasting seafront, a Police car laughing at us, and a complete comedian asking us 'have you got fur to go then?'

Here we are waiting to go on the ferry, with our little ticket in the window.  There were about 4 or 5 other ramshackle cars on the same ferry, and we all said hello to each other and mutually admired handiwork..

 

 

Well, they let our Womble on the ferry and we're in.  We downloaded the Womble theme tune and had it playing as we arrived into the car deck, purely for the sake of authenticity..

As so many BeoWorlders have been so kind as to sponsor us, it's only fitting we fly the flag - so let's 'spread the word' across Europe.. by road. I'm sure Saatchi & Saatchi could come up with better campaigns mind you..

Here we are on the ferry... 

"I've booked us a nice Hotel, so no worries there.." says a confident Gordon. We arrive after 1.6 miles to Calais town centre, and the Mercure Hotel looks not too bad if reception is anything to go by.

First floor, just up the stairs - the very helpful receptionist informs us...  This is what we see.

Oh....

Thankfully, we turned the corner and the rooms are excellent - they are just renovating that section of the hotel.. Phew!

Dump the bags, change into shorts (it's actually really warm here!) and it's off to the Registration Point at a big cafe next to a shopping centre a couple of miles away.

We arrive to fits of laughter from a large group of Ramshacklers parked together in the corner of the huge car park.. Some hilarious cars, hilarious fancy dress and it looks like this is going to be a lot of fun.  Registration comprised of showing our drivers licences, car documents, passports etc etc - all pretty thorough - then we were given a 'mission bible' - which Gordon and Martin are reading now as i type this, which consists of course route, hints, tips and some Sodoku puzzles to do as part of the task (??!!!)

So, now i will post some images of the cars we have seen so far..  

 

Team 'Waynes World'

Not sure what this is - but the great big shackle type thing on the front must bang around a bit !!

Hello Sailors!!

Thunderbird.. but.. ahem, spelt wrong

Nice day for a Barbecue.. No time? Okay - do it on the move !!  This is brilliant
 

The green one must be a punk-rocker-something ...

Martin

All registered, we made time for a quick beer (rude not to), then it's off back to the hotel to do this thread!  Streams of cars were arriving as we left as most people were coming on the late afternoon / early evening ferries. Registration finishes at 11pm tonight, so we're really looking forward to seeing the rest of the cars tomorrow.  At least 100 teams have booked, so it should be quite a spectacle when we all roll off tomorrow morning!

Our Womble deserves safe harbour tonight what with the journey ahead, so we have put him to bed in the Private Car Park behind the Hotel. Bless..

Now - it's food and beer time, so i'll sign off for now. Early start tomorrow so it won't be a late one! I will keep the thread going, and when we arrive in Annecy tomorrow i will try and get more images uploaded.

Fingers crossed the Womble starts in the morning - i'm sure it will. Then... Let's Ramshackle !!!!!!!

This is great Lee, thanks.
Looking forward to tomorrow's installment.

Tip top thread

Look forward to reading more as the trip begins

Great thread. I'll be watching this...

Lee the car looks great. Carol was almost crying with laughter reading about the petrol cap incident. Good luck to you and you co-drivers. To quote a line from the Italian Job "Remember they drive on the wrong side of the road over here."

 

Craig

Craig:

Lee the car looks great. Carol was almost crying with laughter reading about the petrol cap incident. Good luck to you and you co-drivers. To quote a line from the Italian Job "Remember they drive on the wrong side of the road over here."

 

Craig

Don't forget ..................."You're only supposed to blow the bloody doors off !" - I'm sure you can do the accent better than me

This is great !

Looking forward to the rally !

 

Simply Cracking!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! It's only 13:30 and you are already down to the food and beer??? That's what I call a holiday.

Oh this is just great! 

As I read the international press (right now) covering the event you will face some tough competition, Lee. Reportedly, a Japanese consumer electronics producer - having noticed certain sticker on your vehicle - decided to leave no chances there: they are going to put up a worthy competitor against you, which by growing grass on its hood will reduce the C02 emissions even further ... good luck, man  

 

DAY 1 - RAMSHACKLE RALLY VALENCIA 2008

7.30am. Calais. Ramshackle Check-In..

The car's ready, we're ready, and we're the fourth car to arrive. Lot's of the teams were out on the beer until the small hours, so we had a few 'casualties' that rolled in late - however, the cars started streaming in... In case you were wondering, we had an early night. When you get to a certain age you learn how to pace yourself...

In a few minutes, i will show you some more shots of the cars - but here's an 'overview' taken about half an hour before the off  

What's that i hear? 'Danger Zone' from Top Gun blaring out on a cheap car stereo?  Oh my word... it's a 1988 BMW 318i.. dressed as a fighter jet !!!

Oh my word... Remember the scene from Top Gun when he wanders around with a towel round him?

Yup - that's their costume. Brilliant...
 

Four South Africans in a Camouflaged Nissan Sunny...  Off the hook!