Introducing Catharine the Chatwagon

Ladies and GentleYaks,

With less than two weeks until we leave, we’re finally starting to get our act together as panic sets in. We’ve picked up the Chatwagon, taken her for a test spin, and now plan to soup her up so she is prepared to deal with all that the journey has to throw at her.

On Thursday we went over to the generous guys at Hilton Group to have a first look at the car, also known as Catharine (Elliott vetoed Susie the Suzuki), and learn how to do some of the more common repairs we’re likely to encounter – a big shout out to Ross for taking us through everything and servicing our steed. The beauty was scheduled for an MOT on the Friday morning so Elliott went back that afternoon to pick up the car and it was officially ours.

We’d just like to thank all the guys at Hilton Group for being so generous to us – we really didn’t expect to get a car in such good nick, fully MOTed and even valeted. It looks like we couldn’t get a better car for the rally so a big thank you to them. Just a quick heads up on the work Hilton Group do. Car repair, classic car restoration, rentals, windscreen and tyre replacements, and much more. They’ve got a great set-up there and are well worth a visit. Check out www.hiltongroup.info for more information.

The Yaks aboard the Chatwagon, with Dave Ward of Hilton Group accompanying.

We took Catharine out for her first drive this weekend – a 200 mile round trip to Kent. While only a fraction of the distance we’ll cover, she coped well. She took some getting used to at first – a lack of power-steering was a novelty for both of us, as well as the indicator lever being on a different side than usual (this often resulted in a clean windscreen rather than a clear indication when changing lanes). All in all it bodes well and we’re excited to get started.

Our fundraising efforts are going well, we’ve managed to raise £160 so far, with many more people saying they’d donate. Please turn those words into action, the work of these two great charities is incredible and has a huge impact on those they help. If you’ve been following our activities so far, you’ll know that we are offering a number of items/experiences in return for your donations. We strongly encourage you to club together in a group to reach higher rewards – it only takes a few of you to raise £60 and choose your favourite Carly Rae Jepsen, or equally bad artist, song for us to have on repeat for a day. Make sure you let us know your choice before we go so we can download it if we don’t have it. Donating is really simple, just visit www.justgiving.com/teams/twoyaksinahatchback to donate!

That’s it for now. All we have to do in the next two weeks is buy supplies, fundraise and continue to apply for sponsorship. Make sure you click subscribe to stay up to date with our shenanigans.