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"Roc Around the Clock"

Update 27th August

We did it !...............£1350 was raised thanks to your generosity and goodwill. Many thanks to all who supported our event :-).

                               #STOP PRESS#

         New challenge now confirmed.Please visit

              www.justgiving.com/scirocco2morocco

                                    for details.

                             Happy New year :-)

Setting off at 07.45 from our home in Sleaford (up since 06.15 !)we dropped 3x sproggs off at my wife's sisters (Thanks Mary !) and then set off at 08.00 to travel the 42 miles to our start point at the Kings Mill hospital.

We arrived at the Kings Mill hospital (first on our list !) at approx 09.20 due to having to make a slight detour for some travel sickness tablets for Teresa !.We were greeted by a few friendly faces outside the KMH Restaurant and stopped for 8-10 mins for the traditional photo opertunity (i call them "Kodak moments !") before setting off at 09.30 to begin our "dash".Our second stop was at the Mansfield Community hospital followed by......Ashfield Community,Heanor Memorial,Kingsway,Derby City General,Derbyshire Royal Infirmary,Ilkeston Community,QMC Nottingham,Melton Mowbray,Grantham District,Newark,Lincoln County,Bassetlaw,RotherhamGeneral,Northern General,The Royal at Chesterfield,Walton Hospital,Whitworth Hospital,St Oswalds,Buxton,Macclesfield District general,Univesity Hospital of North Staffs,Royal Infirmiry (Staffs),St Georges Hospital,Staffordshire General,West Park Hospital,Royal Wolverhampton Hospital,Maidstone Hospital,Pembury Hospital,Kent and Sussex Hospital,Tonbridge Cottage Hospital,Darent Valley Hospital,Gravesham Community Hospital,Medway Maritime Hospital......35 in total !

We traveled 672 miles (874.5 inc getting to and from our start and finish points),and the 20 year old Scirocco was solid as a roc(k) all down the line !

A short "Travelogue" video of our journey is now on YouTube @

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9ib8loKeTE

The "guess the amount of hospitals" competition was a 5 way split !, so we asked Geoff Brocklebank the Lincolnshire representative of Leukaemia research to draw a name out of a hat for us whilst we handed over the cheque for £1350 on the 28th September.

The patio set was won by Kerryanne from Blandy Ward at the Kings Mill Hospital...well done !

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My wife Teresa and I are attempting to raise at least £1000 for Leukaemia research by driving "Scarlet" the 20 year old  "Blood Red " ! VW Scirocco Scala around as many NHS Hospitals within the UK in 24 Hours as is humanly possible !.we will start the challenge at the  hospital were I have worked as a medical equipment technician for the last 11 years, the Kings Mill Hospital in Sutton-in-Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

Local Press release about our challenge :

http://www.chad.co.uk/ashfieldnews/Miles-of-smiles-for-leukaemia.3166012.jp

http://www.chad.co.uk/news?articleid=3046570

http://www.blogstoday.co.uk/bloghome.aspx?username=cranwellpoacher

Radio stations covering the story:

BBC radio Lincolnshire (16th August 2007 @ 08.15AM)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/lincolnshire/

BBC Radio Nottingham (17th August 2007 @ 14.15PM)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/

Mansfield 103.2 (Time TBC)

http://www.mansfield103.co.uk/

Real Radio FM (yorkshire)

http://yorkshire.realradiofm.com/showdj.asp?section=onair&DJID=28921

A few pictures of Scarlet :-).....

http://s172.photobucket.com/albums/w37/cranwellpoacher/Scarlet/

Youtube link: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=RRPFa_lTvck  !:-). Keep up to date with our progress and eventually get to see how we get on with the challenge !

Update 15/07/2007 http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=2xfu5Irn_V4

Update #2 03/08/2007 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NuzcanWJiTw

The Drive itself : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9ib8loKeTE

"It's a little like the Le Mans 24hr...But with a lot less glamour and a lot more pitstops !"..

People have suggested that we just ask for donations based on how long the 2 of us can remain in the car without having a blazing row about directions, but we feel that after 19 years of marriage we will get on just fine.........no really !:-)

We are now inviting anyone who sponsors us to guess how many hospitals we will manage to get to in the 24 hours. Anyone who has already donated can email me with a guess, anyone who donates from this point and would like to win a patio set that has been kindly donated by the Sutton-in-Ashfield B&Q Store :-)). please add a figure in the comments box, or fill in the box on the sponsorship form.

In the (Likely !) event of several people guessing the correct total, we will put all the names in a hat and draw the winner from it. If we manage to get more than one prize we will award them for correct/closest, closest next guess etc, etc.......

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Before i go any further may i just take time to say a quick thank you to some people who have helped me to prepare for the this fundraiser by donating not just one, but 2 motor cars for me to use !.

Firstly Gaynor and David, who let me have their Mercedes Estate (which unfortunately was to big for the job !), which they allowed me to use to raise money to buy a smaller car.....also a great big thank you to Steve in Leicester who was originally going to sell me the Scirocco, but having heard what its intended use was, then very generously let me take her for free (even left the stereo in !)...many thanks Steve !.

The "Roc Around the Clock" Logo, was designed by Glenn Place of the Scirocco Register....cheers Glenn, nice work !

Also,many thanks to my friends at  the Scirocco Register who have given help and advice as well as donating various spares to get Scarlet ready for the challenge...including Darren who has just sent me a replacement  set of front seat covers, peter who has arranged to get some T-Shirts manufactured for the event and Sean who has helped to keep our event posted on the owners club site, and also made a generous donation...thanks fella's !

Scirocco Register Link: http://www.sciroccoregister.co.uk

Also thanks to our Dutch Friends at the Scirocco NL site: www.scirocco-forum.nl

The things that struck me about many of these people was that they had experienced the effects of Leukaemia, Gaynor and David lost a  friend to Leukaemia, and their son has 3 of his own friends currenlty fighting the disease. Steve was also touched by Leukaemia having had a member of his close family suffer from the effects of childhood Leukaemia, i thought that was either just pure coincidence, or maybe it just illustrated how common the disease is amongst our friends and familys, i guess a lot of people know someone who has or has had Leukaemia, and that is why when i was diagnosed with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL) last year after having just a routine blood test,,I decided that i would like to try to raise funds to help fight and ultimately find a cure for the condition.....and I am sure that one day we will :-).

Please use this site to donate to my chosen charity, Leukaemia Research (UK).

Scarlet is currently undergoing some "TLC" with the help of the money that was secured by the sale of Gaynor and Davids car, to get her into top form for the challenge ahead, and i have the oily hands, cuts and bruises to prove it !:-).The challenge will be taking place on the 24th August, setting off from the Kings Mill Hospital at approx 09.30-10.00am, so...watch this space !

After the challenge has been completed, Scarlet will be auctioned off to raise yet more money for the charity, so if you fancy a nice little 1987 VW Scirocco Scala in a few months time, make sure you get a bid in !

If any companies would like to help out in any way then please feel free to contact me with your offers....any help would be most welcom

Sponsors to date:

Volkswagen (UK) Who have just donated an additional £50 today....many thanks !

Vinyl Graphics for the car......Many thanks to Lee and Fay at Customvinyl. They are going to produce,cut and fit the Logo's to the car...for free !:-)...Thanks a million. Please visit their webpage at www.customvinyl.co.uk

Breakdown cover !.....Many thanks to the RAC ..Rock Around the Clock !

Prize for the "guess the total" competition......B&Q superstore, Sutton - in - Ashfield, Nottinghamshire.

Formula 1 (F1) goodie bag, supplied for us to auction by the Renault F1 Team headquarters (UK). Watch for your chance to win it !

VW dealership help.....*Many thanks to all at Herons Volkswagen, Newark, Nottinghamshire who have donated £200 to pay for our fuel.

Please visit their website at : http://www.heron.volkswagen.co.uk/retailers/retailer?dealer_no=535

A SatNav System  ..........Many  thanks to the Rev Andrew Howe, Nottingham

Pitstop garage services in Sleaford who carried out some essential repairs for us ...many thanks guys !

Pitstop (UK) Ltd, 42 Northgate, Sleaford, NG34 7AF
01529 415550

Smart VW's of Newark. Many thanks to Paul for his generous donation to our event.

www.smartvw.co.uk     Tel : 01636 704526

Insurance cover......Sorted !.Thanks to Norwich Union :-)

Thanks also go to ...............Aldi,Lidl,Tesco,Morrisons, Homebase, Sainsbury's and Boyes who have helped out with prizes for a raffle, and also have supplied  us with other items that we need for the challenge .....great !

Any items that are donated that are not directly related to the challenge will be sold to raise more funds, or given as a prize for the competition that we are now introducing.

All companies donating help or equipment will have their company names/logo's on the car during the challenge.

Thanks in anticipation of your goodwill ! :-)

Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to sponsor me: Leukaemia Research will receive your money faster and, if you are a UK taxpayer, an extra 28% in tax will be added to your gift at no cost to you.

We decided to practice what we preach, so have therefore made the first online donation of £10 !. If you decide to donate online, you will be given the option of dedicating the money if you wish. Maybe you know someone who has suffered or is suffering from the disease, maybe it could be in memory of someone who may have lost their fight, or maybe you would like to wish us luck in our attempt.......we will probably need lots of that !. All comments left by people donating will be displayed on the site for others to view.

If you want to call us to pledge money thats fine, i realise that not all people are comfortable with using the internet payment option, so please feel free to pay by good old pounds and pence if you prefer.

Contact details are as follows:

Mobile : 07974935611

Email : scirocco2morocco@tiscali.co.uk

So please sponsor us now!

Many thanks for your support.

Andrew and Teresa Ward