A Dramatic Kidnap at Balmoral Castle

“ A dramatic kidnap at Balmarol caused uproar during the classic car charity challenge, it happened while contestants were exploring the grounds of the Queens summer residence. “One moment he was sitting happily in the back of our car and the next minute he was gone” – says Ros Fitton, “We thought at first he might of fallen out but then we saw the ransom note”. The Queen was not amused by the incident, Buckingham palace sources said she was furious when she heard about the act of terrorism. “One is appalled that this has happened in one of ones castles”, she is reported to of said. The rest of the royal family were asked to be kept informed of any developments. Prince Harry on leave from his unit in Afghanistan is believed to have offered to lead the rescue mission. “Nobody messes with the Windsor’s” he snarled.

The victim of the kidnappers was Jogle the lamb mascot for the challenge. He had been in the
custody of Brian and Ros Fitton who were giving him a lift in their Bentley on day 2. Happily
Jogle was mysteriously returned to their vehicle after a £5 ransom had been paid to charity. “We promise to look after him better in the future” said a chastened Brian.

The grounds of Balmoral castle were opened half an hour earlier than usual to allow the contestants to take a whistle stop tour. It was a glorious sunny day and the scenery during the journey was simply stunning.

There was another entertaining episode when a motorist thought he had been caught speeding by one of our motorcycle marshals. Martin over took a van and pulled into the side of the road some 100 yards ahead. The van pulled in behind Martin the driver got out and pleaded his innocence and was very relieved to find that Martin was not a policeman.

All entrants arrived safely a Dryburgh Abbey and thankfully the accompanying breakdown truck was not required. Jogle the event mascot was handed into the custody of Carolanne Eggenberger & Mary McLaughlin who will be looking after him on the third day.

And We're OFF

Friday 8th May – Advance party leave the Isle of Skye for Thurso. Collecting donations of £20 from the Loch Caron restaurant and a bottle of glen Morangie from Glen Morangie

Sat 9th May – Showers sunny spells windy. Marshalls and competitors arrive at the Weigh inn hotel Thurso. Some cars have been driven all the way. Some have been transported part the way and driven the rest and some transported all the way. All the party were fascinated by a helicopter overhead which landed on the lawn of the hotel only for us to find when the door opened it was Richard and Kerry martin (showoffs!). There is only 1 competitor that did not make the start – John Schofield and his ford thunderbird due to illness. Signing on took place in a jovial atmosphere everyone raring to get started, everyone was supplied with an event polo shirt sponsored by Sandy & Susan Dalgarno.

Sunday 10th May - Bright, clear skies, breeze. Everybody was up early cleaning cars and sticking on event logos. All the cars left the hotel for the 20 mile to the start of John o’ Groats. Bernard & Barbara Simpson in their mark 1 rally Escort broke down on the way to the start with a broken half shaft (No11). All competitors collected a travel blanket sponsored by Keith & Lesley Loeber. The first car Carol Anne Eggenberger and Mary McLaughlin in their 62 Cadillac were piped off the starting line at 9.30am followed by the rest of the entrants at 1 minute intervals.

The first reported breakdown was Nicola & Eddy in the office Ford Corsair, the car was eventually put in the back of the Overton car transporter and taken to the lunchholt at the Thistle hotel in Inverness. Following lunch all the competitors had a fabulous drive over Tomintoul. All competitors were checked in at the Lecht ski centre and on arrival Richard & Kerry Martin car no 3 jaguar xk140 was found to have a puncture and the wheel was changed for the onward journey. Everyone arrived safely at the Hilton Graigendarroch Hotel although Richard Sykes and Simon Metcalfe & Richard Fitton & Alan Hart were late arrivals and were fined (for charity) by the stewards. Meanwhile Bernard Simpsons Escort had been taken to Overton Garage in Aberdeen where Bernard repaired the car by replacing the halfshaft and arrived back at the hotel at 10pm to applause from the rest of the competitors and was ready for the journey the following day.

Jogle, our event mascot, travelled with Keith & Lesley Loeber for the first day but was mistreated because they sat down and ate a roast lamb dinner in front of him and someone offered him mint sauce. Jogle was transferred to Ros & Brian Fitton to look after him for the next day and because he has also wanted to drive in their Bentley Mk V1. We hope he is ok as he gets travel sick. At dinner silly highland cow hats and puppets were produced and most people left the dining room wearing these hats.

Only 10 days to go, will everybody be ready?

Many of the entrant’s cars are still not ready and there could be some burning of the midnight oil to make it to the start on time. Sandy Dalgarno’s London to Mexico Rally Escort is in the final stages of completion. One of the official’s cars is a 1981 Rolls Royce Silver Spirit, but it has been standing for some time and has developed oil pressure problems and is currently undergoing repairs.
Keith Loeber says his Healey 3000 is still in 100 pieces! and the only images he has were taken before renovation took place and John Schofield’s Ford Thunderbird won’t stop so he is trying to modify the brakes from drum to disc at this late stage.

The Marshal Team

The marshal team for the CCCC are volunteers from the Longton and District Motor Club based in the North West of England. They are from Left to right; David, Graham, Margaret, Peter, Pete, Martin and Bryan

Introducing our Motor Cycling Marshals

Bryan Kilgallen.
Age 48
Occupation - Dental Surgeon
Interests - motorcycling and motoring in general
Motoring qualification - Advanced Motorcyclist (IAM). Bryan did some marshalling for the Road Racing events when the Commonwealth Games came to Manchester in 2002.

Bryan has many years of riding experience totalling thousands of miles including abroad. He started riding at 16 and took his IAM test at a tender19! Part time work with Merseyside Road Safety whilst a student led to many years with Star Rider training and conducting the old 'Part One' Motorcycle test! As a road user, Bryan is very concerned about motorcycling safety and he applies excellent road craft in all aspecets of his riding. He is very keen to be part of the NSA rally and hopes he can make a good contribution to the organization of the event.

Martin Wilson
Age 57
Occupation - Retired Teacher
At present - Pool Lifeguard, Fitness Instructor & Mini- Bus Driving Assessor
Interests - motorcycling, motoring in general and fitness activity
Motoring qualifications - Advanced Motorcyclist (IAM). MiDAS (mini-bus awareness scheme-CTA, Driver Assessor Trainer).

Martin has also had a licence since the age of 16, but returned to motorcycling at 35. Many miles completed over 22 years, but non abroad. Martin also has a keen interest in driving safely and defensively, as the mini-bus work has a pre-requisite to demand this aspect of motoring. He is also looking forward to being part of the NSA rally.

The Classic Car Charity Challenge—39 days to go

There are only 39 days to go until the start of our Classic Car Charity Challenge. There are currently 16 entries including 3 Ford Escort rally cars one of which is Sandy Dalgarno’s car that competed in the London Mexico rally and has been completely rebuilt by David Sutton for this event. The latest entry is a 1960 Ford Thunderbird that has been reclaimed from the flames of a fire and will be driven on the event by John Schofield.

Entries so far include Sandy and Susan Dalgarno (Mk 1 Rally prepared Escort), Carolanne Eggenburger and Mary McLaughlin (1948 Cadillac), Graeme and Christine Rudd (Lotus Elan) Jeff and Dorothy Hill (Triumph TR3), Richard Fitton and Alan Hart (Austin Healey 3000) Bryan and Rosalind Fitton (1952 Bentley Mk V1), Stewart and Cheril Loeber (Austin Healey 3000), Michael McFall (Mk 1 Rally prepared Ford Escort) Keith and Lesley Loeber (Austin Healey 3000), Steve Hannaford (Replica “D” Type Jaguar), Bernard and Barbara Simpson (Mk 1 Rally Escort), Richard Sykes (Alfa Romeo Junior), Richard and Kerry Martin (Jaguar XK 120), Abbey and Miles Loeber (Triumph TR4), John Schofield and Helen Penkeyman (Ford Thunderbird) and a Ford Corsair that will be driven in relay by members of the NSA staff.

We have received offers of support for the event and donations of money, auction prizes and promises for the charity collection. Any further offers will be very welcome and will mean a lot more to the many disadvantaged people who are supported by our nominated charities, BEN, The Salvation Army and The Starlight Children’s Foundation.

If you wish to support our charities please contact Gillian Johnson in the MIAC team on 01325352626 or e-mail to GillianJohnson@nsg.ltd.uk

My name is Jogle, I am a sheep.

I have not had a happy life, I never knew my father.

When I was very young a large lorry came into our field and these three black and white dogs chased my mother, aunties and friends round the field and into the lorry. The doors were shut and the lorry drove off – I still can see my mum looking back at me out of the slits in the side, I have not seen her since.

Some weeks later I was rescued from the field by some animal lovers, I am glad they were not food lovers, and taken to Dr Baaaaarnardo’s where I have been until I was rescued.

I was so pleased when Pat and Jeremy came for me and asked if I would like to be the event mascot for the Classic Car Charity Challenge.

I like old cars, especially Bentleys’ or something large and comfortable and would like to have a ride in Bryan and Rosalind’s car, the only problem is that I get travel sick but I am sure Bryan would not mind a bit of sick in his car, he looks such a nice man. I don’t want to offend anyone but I don’t want to go in Mr Dalgarno’s car, I want someone that drives properly.

I can’t wait to meet everybody at the Weigh Inn hotel in Thurso, I hope ewe are all nice and kind to me and don’t tease me by saying mint sauce.

Love from

Jogle