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In 2005 we flew two scooters to Kazakstan and rode back to Hereford, avoiding too much damage bar bruised dignity when we somersaulted over the handlebars in open manholes at 1am on a stormy night in Kyrgistan. We braved the deserts of Turkmenistan, wondered at the fabulous buildings of Samarkand and Bukhara, slept with brigands in their remote village, danced with dervishes in their Istanbul mosque, and negotiated our way through many roadblocks manned by police looking for bribes (we paid none and always ended up on friendly terms). We raised £5,000 for Macmillan.

In 2007 we drove a 1930 Austin Seven from Peking, across the Gobi desert, across Siberia, to Moscow, St Petersburg, Warsaw and Berlin, ending up in Paris 8,000 miles and eight weeks later, having bagpiped in Peking, St Petersburg and at a Russian wedding party, had a tent blown away in a sandstorm in the Gobi, stayed with foresters in their log cabin in Siberia, had nude saunas with the Russians....and somehow managed to drive the car nearly two thousand miles with a broken propshaft! We raised enough to buy 5,000 mosquito nets for Kenyan children via Unicef

The friendship and generosity of everyone we have met on these trips has been unbelievable

In May we set off again from Peking to Paris, this time Carmen in a 1930 Austin Chummy ("Myrtle"), and Kip in a 1928 Austin Ulster ("Kotka"). However, instead of a mere 400 mile crossing of the Gobi south to north, this time we shall travel west to east as well, a total of 1400 miles of the Gobi.Thence to Barnaul in Russia, then Chelyabinsk, down to Stalingrad (now Volgograd), into Ukraine, to the Crimea then Kiev, Cracow, Auschwitz, Colditz Castle, and Paris...8,000 miles ands 8 weeks later.

Smile Train helps doctors in third world countries to carry out cleft palate operations on children who are often otherwise abandoned as being deformed. The operation takes as little as 40 minutes, and costs about £150, so please help us raise money for this excellent cause. Please pass on our details to your friends and help us make a real difference in the lives of children.  

Read more on www.pekingtoparis2011.co.uk