Thank you for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.  Allow me to introduce the two of us:

Brod, my husband, is a cancer survivor and a volunteer with Macmillan Cancer Support.  But his optimism and positive attitude mean he is quite capable of taking on any challenge he sets himself.  He is a former national rally champion co-driver and a not quite so successful road rally driver (he only achieved a second place after all) in a variety of cars in a variety of countries.  So he can find his way around maps, tulips and roadbooks as well as staying on rough and ready roads of all kinds.

I have navigated on Historic Rally Car Register (HRCR) regularity events but much prefer classic tours as these are not so competitive - hence I usually drive and allow Brod to tell me where to go.

Our car is now 45 years old, and, like Johnny Walker, still going strong (although the latter is older by many decades).  A Porsche 912 built for the USA market, it has been in England for only 6 years - the length of time we have owned it.

The 2012 Tour will be the third in which we have participated, although we marshalled on the 2009 Tour.  Standing in wet fields at classic car shows and in supermarket doorways with big buckets, we have managed to raise over £7000 up to now for Macmillan.  This time we are starting early as we are aiming at our biggest target yet with your help.  Brod is threatening to do something outrageous for every £1000 raised over our £5000 target - yet to be decided, but it will be legal, he tells me.  One thing he is doing is growing his hair - he expects to find enough conservative minded folk who will sponsor him to have it cut.

And after the Cape to Cape Tour next year, Brod will be continuing his training to gain a place as a crewman on a 70' Clipper racing yacht on the 2013/14 Round the World Race, but only for one or two legs of it.  It will be well out of his comfort zone but still another channel not only for raising funds for Macmillan but also proving that there is life after cancer.  Inexperienced in sailing at such a high level, Brod will find his stamina and endurance both during training, which he has already started, and the race itself tested as never before .

Like so many others, our family has been touched by Cancer, most recently by the sudden death through kidney cancer of Brod's brother in law, Tim Straw, a well respected dentist in N Yorkshire, husband, father and grandfather.  So we now gird our loins and start to raise funds for Macmillan on behalf of those who, through no fault of their own, rely on donors and volunteers to raise the funding that enables Macmillan nursing, research and support for cancer treatment to continue in the future.  And we shall be seen in muddy fields, supermarket foyers and anywhere else where we feel we can raise both awareness and funding.

Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving – they’ll never sell them on or send you unwanted emails. Once you donate, they’ll send your money directly to the charity and make sure Gift Aid is reclaimed on every eligible donation by a UK taxpayer. So it’s the most efficient way to donate - we raise more, whilst saving time and cutting costs for the charity.  And we ourselves do not handle a penny of your donations.

So, please, dig deep into those pockets and donate now.