Iain & Dave's Just Giving Page for Cancer Research UK
David Wade-Smith is raising money for Cancer Research UK
on 12 March 2022
Story
Thanks for taking the time to visit our JustGiving page.
The time will soon be here again for our annual charity rally across Europe - this time (hopefully) ending up at Oktoberfest in Munich.
The 2017 Crumball Great Escape is themed loosely on the sixties film depicting the true life events of the mass breakout of 76 allied airmen from a German POW camp in March 1944, and so the route will take in several historic wartime locations (and plenty more besides) en-route to one of the world's best known festivals, Munich's legendary Oktoberfest... A great place for us to unwind at the end and an ideal location to explore some of the fabulous mountain driving roads in our trusty steed.
Our vehicle of choice is now an experienced team member having accompanied Dave and Helen on the rally last year, participating in the Thundercrawl rally which took us all the way to Venice. 'Mazzy' is a 1990 Mazda MX-5 and was bought two years ago for the princely sum of £345. We have spent some time (and money) keeping her in fine fettle for this adventure and fingers crossed she won't let us down!
Each year, for the past three years, we as a family have completed this fantastic event, which raises lots of money for many different charities - including Cancer Research UK which is especially close to our hearts following the loss of Peter Jones (Iain and Helen's father) in 2008. We hope that by donating what you can afford, we will make a difference and eventually beat cancer once and for all so other's need not lose someone close to them. The rally is a lot of fun, but we like to think it had a serious message too and we hope you will help us achieve our target.
Here's a rough outline of each day's route:
Day 1: Koblenz to Colditz and Dresden (Approximately 320 miles)
We will all meet in a large car park somewhere near Koblenz at 8.30am where all the teams can admire / laugh / and take the usual bets on the durability of each other's vehicles! The first day’s route will take us through the hilly countryside around Koblenz before reaching the famous POW camp at Colditz Castle for mid afternoon. Then it is onto the famous cathedral city of Dresden in Saxony for the evening checkpoint.
Day 2: Dresden to Stalag Luft III and Prague (Approximately 300 miles)
After a walkabout challenge in Dresden teams will head east into Poland to the legendary site in the pine forest of arguably the most famous POW camp, Stalag Luft III, from where the largest mass escape by allied prisoners of war occurred in March 1944. This may look a shorter day on paper but we will of course be driving on Polish roads! Teams will then cross over into the Czech Republic and head south to the fabulous Bohemian capital city of Prague for the escape de-briefing.
Day 3: Prague, Regensburg and Munich (Approximately 250 miles)
A deliberately shorter route will allow teams to get to Munich for mid afternoon so that we can hold the presentation ceremony early for those teams who want to head over to the Oktoberfest for the early evening, if they are not staying on for a day or two. A memorable day to challenge car and participants alike, before the party begins in Bavaria's capital.
This year Iain and Dave will be giving Johnny foreigner what-for by donning our best home guard outfits in celebration of everyone's favourite (now borderline rascist) war-based sitcom and have transformed Mazzy into a WW2 Spitfire, complete with camo paint job and slightly inappropriate stickers - all definitely not mentioning the war. Chocks away!!
Please donate generously and thanks for your support!
Donating through JustGiving is simple, fast and totally secure. Your details are safe with JustGiving - they'll never sell them on or send unwanted emails. Once you donate, they'll send your money directly to the charity. So it's the most efficient way to donate - saving time and cutting costs for the charity.