10:22 pm, February 5, 2009
So I’m starting to get a bit worried now. Have you SEEN the weather? Been outdoors? Simply opened your curtains?
Well, unless you’ve been in Fiji, you’ll have probably experienced a slight icy blast of some sort.
While it might be a bit damp and cold down here on the south coast – well at least it has been for the last couple of days – the snow is predicted to return again for tomorrow.
I’ve been glued to the BBC Weather website site with an unhealthy obsession – and my constant viewing doesn’t seem to be doing any good. And I mean that the forecast isn’t getting any better however long I stare at the screen…
The problem is, as we’re going all the way up the country it’s quite hard to pin point where the problems are going to be. And to make matters worse the gritters are running out of grit. Only in Blighty, eh?
Needless to say I’ve been panicking a bit and filling the boot of my banger with safety equipment. I’m even going to take a shovel, and a blanket, and someone even suggested a bit of old carpet which is good for traction when you’re really stuck in a drift (snow)!
Last minute preparations aren’t going too well. Dan still hasn’t got his car – he assures me it’s arriving tomorrow – but I won’t believe it until I hear the engine rev down the phone.
The track day has gone wrong too. Bedford has been cancelled due to the weather (pants). So Motorsport Vision kindly offered us Snetterton instead which is miles out of the way, but part of the challenge is to do it so there we must trek.
We’ve only got an hour at lunch while the other users are letting their cars cool down, and if someone bins it in the morning they’ll be no lunch break and we’ll get no track time. That could mean we’re making the trip there for nothing…
In other news, I’m set for a live radio interview on BBC Radio Solent in the morning – Gulp! I did a pre-recorded piece about the challenge today and our chosen charity BEN which will play out at the weekend, but live is a totally different matter.
To make matters worse it means getting up at the crack of dawn as I’m due to be on at half seven. I’m going to shove as much espresso down me as I can and hope I make coherent sense.
Right, better get off and have a think about any other emergency equipment I might/might not need…
James
WHAT IS BANGERS4BEN?
The Car Dealer team and friends have been handed £200 each by the bosses to spend on a banger that will get them from Portsmouth to John O’Groats and back in three days.
We’ll be taking in a trackday on day one thanks to Motorsport Vision, an MPG marathon on day two when we’ll get (hopefully) to the tip of Scotland.
Then, on day three, we travel the 650 miles home. Yes, it will be tough. Yes, it will be cold. And yes, we may break down, but one thing’s for sure – it’s bound to be eventful.
READ MORE BLOGS ON BANGERS4BEN HERE:
Rules and route of Bangers for BEN
