As Jim Kerr Used to Say...

The General is back. Call me Ishmael, but no one has seen that kind of battle not seen since Captain Ahab took on Moby Dick. Thankfully, I conquered this particular white whale and he was up and running again.

And, a couple of hours later, he was still starting....

What you gonna do when things go wrong?
What you gonna do when it all cracks up?
What you gonna do when the love burns down?
What you gonna do when the flames go up?
Who is gonna come and turn the tide?
What's it gonna take to make a dream survive?
Who's got the touch to calm the storm inside?
Who's gonna save you?
Alive and kicking

Sit Rep #2 - ...long live The General

The General is a wee bit dead. The 'weak battery' issue compounded with it being a wee bit damp last night** and he wasn't for starting (even with the jump pack).

We are not perturbed/daunted. Bit drier today so I'm hoping to get him started tonight. That will at least let us get it to a garage!

** and yes I'm a doofus, I couldn't get the bonnet to shut properly

A big thank you...

To everyone who's donated so far. We're now past our initial fundraising target and well on the way to our second thousand. Thank you all for your generosity and support.

The General on Tour #1

The General started today. It wasn't a spritely start. In fact, it was quite like finding a World War II Sherman Tank abandoned in a barn and firing it up after 50 years of neglect, but hey, he started. So I took him for a wee tour for the first of many location shots. It was mobbed down by the bridge so I had to go the other side, hence the rather hamfisted shooting into the sun.

Don't Call Me Quentin

Here he is, the last of the late brakers, with his head deep in the bowels of The General. A sight that we hope we don't see en route to Cabo da Roca.

"Hey boys - show us your lump!"

The clamour to see what beast powers The General has become too strong. Before a gang of crazed fans rip off the bonnet, our press office has allowed us to release this fleeting glimpse of this glorious piece of gleaming, precision engineering.

Desktop Wallpapers

By (ahem) popular demand, we now have these 'exclusive' desktop wallpapers for you to use in support of our cause. Currently only available in 1280x1024, but even at that, you can fully see the unlimited majesty of The General. Click on the thumbnail to download.

Display The General with pride.

The General - Sit Rep 1

All is not entirely well with The General. He wouldn't start last night. Looked very much like a dead battery. Not entirely sure why it died but with a quick jump from the trusty starter pack he was off and running again and seemingly as good as...eh...he ever was.

We have some work to do to localise the problem. Or, more likely, stick a new battery in and see if it survives.

Thank crunchie that's out of the way

Helensburgh 10k tonight, and as suspected Mr. Calf decided that he was unhappy with life a mere 500m in. He then decided he was lonely and invited Mr. Hamstring and Mr. Knee to a threesome. Result: right leg tighter than a Yorkshireman during a credit crunch.

No tears or major damage, though, and I was able to adopt a slighty undignified gait to plod round in a just-about respectable 51:14. As I'd loaded a total of 58 minutes of music on the iPod playlist, and fully expected to use every beat if the leg played up, I'm fairly pleased. In fact, the playlist offers an insight to the likely level of musical incompatibility in The General:

Manic Street Preachers, Bruce Springsteen, The Killers, James Dean Bradfield, Razorlight, One Republic, Headway

The astute will note the absence of any of these artistes on the favourites list of Andrew and Scott (or, indeed, just about any common ground in the lists of the main protagonists), which suggests that the battle for control of the stereo (yes, it has one and yes, it works) could be bloody and protracted. Either that or another alternator will be needed to handle iPod charging requirements.

Coming soon, to a street near you...

Allaying any fears that this exercise merely represents 3 guys who are old enough to know better messing about with a car (as if...), we can confirm that in parallel with the development of The General, there will be some actual physical effort expended in the fund-raising process. Thursday night sees Mark's attempt to persuade his gammy calf to behave for long enough to get round the Helensburgh 10k. All thoughts of a respectable (i.e. sub 50 minute) time have been abandoned in favour of a "get round unscathed" approach. All donations, as ever, will be gratefully received.

The Machine of Dreams

It's been quite a day. And now we have wheels. More tales of the day (and pikkies) to follow. Fire up this pony. The General is here.

The challenges come thick and fast...

Not satisfied with our previous donor's offer of an extra £10 for "doing it in high heels", the youngest Thomas has just offered "an extra £40 for doing it in high heels, tights and a skirt".

Not sure what they're teaching them at school these days. Let alone who's paying his pocket money if he can afford an "extra" £40...

Thank you...

To everyone for their generosity - over a third of the way to the target in 24 hours.

One or two nice challenges too. £10 extra from one donor if we "do it in high heels". We think this refers to the rally, but aren't sure if its for doing it wearing ONLY high heels; if so, it must be worth more than a tenner, although you really wouldn't want to see the photos.

We've also had a verbal promise of an extra £100 for a picture of Andrew or I in a dress on the quayside at La Rochelle. I happily accepted on Andrew's behalf, although I'm not sure if he's aware of this yet.

Tool Time

Someone just made a whizzer suggestion. We should take an angle grinder with us and chop the roof off for the last day (or before). We could perhaps use the removed roof as a makeshift shelter for an overnight stay and light a fire with the sparks from the...

I'll stop now.

Don't know what he's on about...

When we went to Go Ape at Aberfoyle recently - a cracking day out by the way - they were punting the Great Gorillas run and my interest was aroused. Then I realised that rather than pounding the streets of London for 7km (say an hour or two, max) in a gorilla suit, a better idea was to spend 6 days in a car with two lunatics without knowing if we'd get past the next junction before the car expires.

Which, as Scott suggests, is a bit like owning a Renault Scenic.

On the subject of gorilla suits, perhaps a fancy dress theme is starting to take shape...

It Could Be Much Worse

Just before we start to get concerned about the heat and pain of crossing a desert in a barely functional metal box...

We should remind ourselves that raising money for charity could be much worse.

You'd Never Think Until You Look...

On one hand, it's going to be a little tricky getting the right car for £250. On the other, there are a lot of cheap cars out there (and in quite incredible variety). Some are reminiscences, some fulfill aspirations (partially at least) and some are just plain daft.

We all secretly want the tan Allegro we found. Luckily, we won't buy because we are too ashamed to admit it.

The thing that strikes you when you start looking around is that you could easily satisfy your motoring needs with a succession of bangers for less than it costs you for your car loan and associated running costs. Now, I'm not saying I would be massive advocate of such of thing, but you could certainly have a fun few months in lay-bays if you gave it a go.

That said, new cars break down too. Eh Mark? ;-)

So, the quest for the £250 Motoring Grail continues. Let's be opening those garages and see what you have lurking...

Rolling rolling rolling

While the search for 'The General' continues on ebay and autotrader,
we have now received our first donation so in that sense the wheels
are rolling now on this little adventure!

9th May - It Will Go Down In History

There must have been a point in time when Scott and Oates (and some other punters) met up for the first time and said "Hey, lets go to the South Pole". Today is our day. The first team meeting. The planning. The realisation. Personally, I'm hoping for some grub too.*

So, if you're in Glasgow tonight, you will be near to a historic moment. Get yer blue plaque ready...

* hands up who's surprised