A group of intrepid fundraisers are preparing to drive across Europe in a 14-year-old car with more than 120,000 miles on the clock which they bought for £400.
Last year, The Exhibition Pub and Golf Society, in Godmanchester, raised £8,531 for Macmillan Cancer Support with a variety of events, including a trek to the Everest base camp. Its grand total for Macmillan is more than £70,000 since 2005.
Next up is “Tallinn in a taxi”, a monster 1,668-mile drive in a Peugeot 406 from Godmanchester to Estonia’s capital, Tallinn.
Landlord Paul Dyer and Exhibition regulars Phillip Malley, Peter Tack and Graham Knott leave on Monday.
Mr Dyer said: “We saw the car online, it had 11 months MoT, and we’ve had it serviced.
“The temperature there can get very cold, down to -20 degrees Celsius, so we’ll take the anti-freeze and screenwash. We’re having snow tyres fitted this week.”
They plan to drive through France, along the coast to Belgium and then Holland, across Germany and Poland, up through Lithuania and Latvia before reaching Estonia.
They plan to solve any breakdowns, said Mr Dyer, and accommodation will be arranged as they travel. The car, if it makes it, will not be scrapped or sold. Mr Tack is due to drive it back after meeting family in Lithuania.
Mr Dyer said: “If all goes to plan we will be back at Stansted by Saturday night. But you never know, the car might die at Dover. We’ve done all the essentials, so if the gods are smiling on us, all will be OK.”
People will be kept up to date with progress with a blog, featuring photos and videos, via The Exhibition’s website.
Meanwhile, the society’s chairman Steve Tatham and Mr Dyer presented a cheque covering last year’s fundraising to Pauline Craig, representing Macmillan.
They thanked all those who supported the society in 2013, adding: “The money raised is spent locally within the postcodes of those donating, so we know that some of our customers have directly benefitted from the money raised.”
INFORMATION: To support the Tallinn in a Taxi challenge, go to www.justgiving.com/tallinn.
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