The Well Oiled Machine

For a team with no vehicle yet, they look like they may well leave a lot of us standing. This is a well oiled machine. Team Trauma. With monthly meetings, a financial and technical guru, meetings with minutes and notes, ideas abounding of how to raise funds and a high profile headquarters with it's own restaurant (well, ok, it is a restaurant, a curry house), I was beginning to wonder if they were planning a road trip or to conquer the continent. All seems to be going smoothly with Team Trauma, apart from one small point. The vehicle has not yet shown up. They are working on it though...
Team 'Lots of Trouble Usually Serious' are also progressing well. A visit to the garage at an opportune moment found 4 excited overgrown boys dropping a large engine in to a small hole in the front of a Lotus. Amazingly it seemed to fit. John rattled through a long list of work they had completed on the car. Still some way to go, but at least it does look like a car now rather than a Meccano set.
Team Newlywed have been following in my footsteps, making an appearance in the media. The Banbury Guardian no less. An appearance in the next Celebrity Big Brother must surely follow.
On the media front, I managed to keep one step ahead of the Newlyweds with a local radio appearance (do you appear on radio ?). Anyway, my interview by Wessex FM lasted a good 30 seconds or so.

This weeks award for amusing graphics must surely go to the Mowlem Mob. Excellent work there and they should certainly stand out in a crowd. I think their example may be encouraging a few other teams to look in to vinyl wraps and decals.
My team is gradually taking shape. It consists of 5 so far but could go as high as 7. Not all will be on board at the same time though. We shall start with 4, go down to 2, briefly I shall be left on my own but then shall gradually pick up waifs and strays as we venture around the continent.
Jezebel is also transforming gradually. With some major assistance from Jim, we now have wooden units and a cooker installed. With the assistance of Lucy, the rapidly disintegrating carpet on the inside of the roof was stripped out and replaced and that awful spray on glue was splattered liberally over clothing. Jezebel is certainly looking better inside, but there is still a long way to go until she is ready for the off.
Now, on to the less good news. We have lost a few teams this week. Work, lack of funds, lack of team mates and serious medical issues have taken their toll. Teams 1, 9, 34 and 40 have confirmed that they won't be making the trip. Teams 15 and 17 are rated doubtful. Teams 2, 20, 28, 32, 37 and 44 are reported as missing and have not provided any update for a long time. I would love to hear some positive news from any of them.

To Boldly Go....

These are the voyages of the Star Ship Jezebel...

It's Life Jim, but not as we know it...

It was always a source of amazement to me, Star Trek. All that technology to propel their star ship across the Galaxy at amazing speeds, tractor beams and di-lithium crystals and yet, despite all of these amazing advances in technology, nobody thought of putting in seat belts. What really used to grab my attention (apart from the short skirts and Captain Kirk's unfailing ability to find English speaking, buxom and attractive women across the Universe) were the amazing screens and panels on the Bridge. So this week my aim has been to go one better than the designers of the USS Enterprise. I already have a number of seat belts fitted in the van and now I have a leisure battery, several lengths of LED lights (thanks Marc), a triple cigarette lighter socket to power up all of my gadgets. I intend to create a van interior to rival the Enterprise.
Saying that though, when planning the double decker bus, I had dreams of a cocktail bar, mood lighting, some aspidistra and maybe a piano in the corner. It ended up as a beer terrace, outside toilet and a malfunctioning fridge that spewed warm beer cans across the floor whenever we went around corners.
So, back to the real world. The tail pipe on Jezebel, that Chris the mechanic warned me was loose, well, it's no longer loose. Or attached to the van. The new one sits on the arm of my settee as we speak. Next to the leisure battery which I know I'm going to stumble over with bare feet before I can be bothered to move it.
I took the stereo out a few days ago and found the inevitable spaghetti explosion behind it. Having refused to work for months, I think the stereo took the hint and feared it was going to end up in the bin. It now works, as long as it is placed precariously on top of the dashboard and not stuffed in to it's slot above the heater. Great. A stereo with a sense of humour. Just what I need.

The venue for the leaving do has had to be changed. After much discussion by Weymouth and Portland Borough Council, the Weymouth Pavilion is to shut at the end of May. The Krankies and Brotherhood of Man will just have to find another town to torment this summer. More upsettingly though, the opportunity to make use of the perfectly sized car park and photo opportunities of a convoy of bizarre vehicles setting off from the Pavilion and proceeding along the sea front of Weymouth will have to be modified. Fear not though, we have an alternative location for the leaving event. None other than the home of English non-league football. The Bob Lucas Stadium. Formerly known as The Wessex Stadium. It's a place that holds many fond memories for me (and many frustrating, wet, cold and depressing memories too, now I think about it.) Meeting Steve Claridge the day after we got married for example. I guess that would be in the fond memories bracket. Weymouth managed a draw after all.

    It does have a very large car park though, which is just what we need. It has a bar and catering facilities and hopefully by the time we need it, an outside stage of some sort. We have the Speedway Snails ready to play for us and who knows, maybe another band or two. We are getting there....
Another major event this week was further progress for Team Nightmare. As regular readers will know, Team 14 have caused me a few issues since entries began. Big Phil originally had plans to take a team of Old Gits, retired or close to retiring blokes on the trip. Alas, people dropped out and were replaced. The average age of the team plummeted and worst of all, women found their way on board. 7 blokes became 3 of each sex. They had (no, they are still having...) problems getting their paperwork sorted out. But, just yesterday I had the exciting news that Team Nightmare are mobile ! They have a minibus. It's plain white at the moment and lacks cooking facilities, but Holly has some exciting plans. I overheard them earlier. " I must learn to make curtains...". Obviously too young to remember Star Trek....