The Phoney Rally

"Sir, you are drunk"
"Madam, you are ugly. But in the morning, I'll be sober"

Churchill was right. Some things in this life are unavoidable and just bound to happen. Like his sobriety the following morning, for example, and his maid remaining ugly. So I suppose it was inevitable that very little of note would happen between December 08 and Feb 09 with Charlie 8,000 miles away in the South Atlantic, Tony for the main part still somewhere in central Asia, Rich living and working in Germany as well as trying to organise his own wedding, Ian still living with his parents in Lincoln, Craig fighting to retain his job and the fact that, unlike last year, we have a working vehicle.

Master Chief Charlie departed for the depressing South Atlantic waters around Christmas time, and it was at his previous residence in Reading that Dennis stayed until Mid February; unwelcome, unvisited and unable to be driven anyhow by any team members. Tony rekindled the flickering dying flame that was the Mongol Rally 2009 at that stage, by his return to the UK. Due to the fact that he was the only one at that stage who could actually drive the thing, Tony moved it from Reading, to Lifesaver/Heartbreaker Lawler's humble abode outside of Bath...

...And now I'm struggling to think of anything else worth mentioning apart from the fact that I managed to secure my HGV license, and in doing so scare a lot of people in and around the Salisbury area.

Still the problem persists that we don't adhere to the 10 year rule, with Dennis 26 this year. This, as I have said previously on these pages, is a rule introduced by the Mongolian Government to stop old bangers held together by elastic bands being left in the country after being auctioned off to the locals at the finish line. Either we loose a huge deposit, paid to the border guards to say we won't leave the vehicle in the country, or we get to the finish line and then drive off into the sunset and out of the country. Suggestions about what we are to do on this issue have ranged from the sublime to the ridiculous. Driving it out of the country and then shipping it back has been muted. As has selling it off to some local to help alleviate the costs of the deposit. Perhaps the most ridiculous suggestion, however, has been that of loading it into the back of a transport aircraft. We really are clutching at straws are we not.