20 September 2006
Look out Europe! This week a trio of Victorian safari hunters set off in a car that looks like a zebra for a continental rally in their own version of the Italian Job.
Steve Gilfrin, who works at Farnborough College of Technology, and friends Adrian Barker and Phil Sharp sped off on Thursday in the charity Staples2Naples event, which sees cars worth no more than £100 attempt to drive 1,500 miles across six countries, to end up in Italy.
Steve said: "Last year, we took part in the Home2Rome event, when I dressed up as the Pope. We really enjoyed it and it started an addiction for mixing travelling and taking part in silly rallies."
Silly it may be, but Steve and friends will be hoping to raise serious money for the Frimley Park Hospital Trust Charitable Fund. One of its priorities is to fund a new resuscitation unit for A&E.
Unfortunately for the Volvo 740, the banger rally will be its swan song – at the end of the trip it will be scrapped. Unless, of course, you know a home for an aged car that looks like a zebra!
The event’s official website is www.staples2naples.com, and you can make a donation on http://www.justgiving.com/staples2naples2006