I’ve been too busy to individually blog each news article and update with regards the trip recently, so here is a summary of what’s been going on in the press over the past week:
The Daily Post article last Tuesday was most helpful to resolve our “no car for 5,000 mile trip and just 10 days to go” headline/problem. Many kind phone calls offering cars to myself and the papers news desk were received. We now have a reserve car being serviced, MOT’d (for the 6 or so hours we need to have one) and we should be ready to roll out in it on Friday evening. More on the car very shortly.
The North Wales Wekly News helped in updating the car situation and the awareness for the drive last Thursday.
The South Wales Argus covered the work some of our South Wales drivers are undertaking for Kutaisi, full story here. Kutaisi is the city in Georgia twinned with Newport. We will be staying 2 nights & visiting schools, youth football teams (rumour of a game in a 20,000 capacity stadium; Us v Kutaisi…), we will also meet the mayor and governors of Kutaisi.
Big thank you to Graham Linehan (writer & director of Father Ted, Black Books, Big Train, IT Crowd & all round comedy hero), for his kind twitter update which caused the website traffic and my Twitter feed to go off the scale for an hour or so. He had just been “statistically proven” to be the 5th most influential user of Twitter (higher than Barack Obama); here is his 1st update after he found out; Start by using my powers for good. Help @marc79 make his epic journey http://www.justgiv… (please RT!). Here’s the link to the tweet.
Photo: Linehan judging Eurovision.
There was also a brief article in “The Independent on Sunday” sport section yesterday, full page link here, full article below;
Baku to the Future
Another good cause, and an unusual way of helping it: 22 wacky Welsh supporters are setting out on Friday for a 14-day, 3,500-mile charity drive to Azerbaijan’s national stadium in a fleet of old bangers. Each will be full of clothes, toys, books and football gear for the 15 Eastern European orphanages and youth centres they will visit en route. Supporters, who have also raised £6,000 to spend on equipment and building work, aim to arrive in Azerbaijan’s capital Baku in time for Wales’ World Cup qualifier on 6 June at the Tofik Bakhramov Stadium – the one named after the 1966 linesman with the miraculous vision.
I did another telephone interview for Tudno FM last Friday afternoon with an update on the car situation, our latest preparation and of Gols recent donation to the Saray orphanage in Azerbaijan towards building a kitchen. I am hoping to be on the breakfast show Thursday morning, circumstances permitting.
For an hour Saturday afternoon, myself and Rich took the mic, donned the headphones and broadcast to the locality from Tudno FMs studio at John Brights Tŷ Hapus. A warm welcome from host Gary Carr before the live broadcast; a whirlwind of music and sport updates with the help of a young lad, Finn; a talented young footballer by all accounts, on trial with Manchester United, Liverpool and Wrexham.
It’s got to be said how well Rich got across the purpose of the drive, Gôls charity work, spelling out exactly what we’re doing this for. Before going on-air he told me he’d just come in now and again letting me lead the conversation, fair enough; the opposite happened. I wish we had an audio copy to put up here. Geldofesque Rich, Geldofesque.
Afterwards I managed to catch all 3 Llandudno goals v Guilsfield in their 3-0 win, and wandered into the clubhouse, pleased to hear they had Tudno FM on, with Gary still plugging Conwy to Baku. Thanks Gary, and for your donation; “Carr will be on the car”.
Next fundraising/awareness activity is this Sunday, 3rd May, at Conwy Utds Morfa Ground, 2.30pm. We have hastily arranged a charity football match. We have gathered a ramshackle squad of 14 from our regular 8-a-side Wednesday night games to face Anglesey league side Moelfre, in a post-season friendly, everyone welcome. Thanks again for all donations made this far through all the various routes you have managed to get to us!
Car update: Having been handed back the keys for the Saab on Friday I managed to clock up 2 miles of spluttering around Conwy, the mis-firing mentioned in my last post got worse. It’s currently back with our mechanic. Thanks Jeff you’re vital to this drive - though I really wish you weren’t *this* involved in a mechanical capacity at this stage.
I’m off to find a Hungarian phrasebook; “I will not buy this tobacconists, it is scratched”, had to include it:
It’s alive! I have just had the call that the Saab is now firing, all-be-it mis-firing, but firing! The fault “was” the electric coil. Many thanks to Universal Auto Electrics of Llandudno for their work on the car.
Today the car goes back to the mechanic for a full service to stop those mis-fires. All filters, spark plugs, oil change, and a few pumps and belts replaced, and hopefully the car will be back to me this weekend in it’s best working order for years. Thinking of celebrating with producing a short-film of the car actually moving (un-aided by tow rope or recovery truck)…
Got my jabs done for the trip this week, they included; a large helping of the Hepatitis alphabet, a spoonful of Diphtheria and Typhoid, a joust-like needle of Tetanus booster, all washed down with a Polio boost jab. Think i’m over the worst of the effects, arms still swollen.
Whilst looking up Azerbaijan on the NHS site, the nurse warned of Malaria risk in the country. Valleys in the north-west and south-west of the country are high-risk areas, where anti-malarials are advised. The print-out she handed me tells of 2,311 malaria cases in Azerbaijan in 1999, but has steadily been declining since, Baku is Malaria free.
"This map is just a guide as mosquitoes do not respect boundaries"
Press coverage in the last week includes; Azeri Sport Magazine (article here), North Wales Weekly News, and i’ve done a couple of short telephone interviews with local radio stations Marcher Coast and Tudno FM. Me and Rich are scheduled to be on-air at Tudno FM this Saturday afternoon during their sports show, i’m sure audio and photos will be on here shortly afterwards.
Our visa forms are filled out and on their way to the Azerbaijan embassy in London. Oh, and I got a speeding ticket on the weekend in Wrexham - I just hope it’s processed “very” quickly…
The Daily Post article last Tuesday was most helpful to resolve our “no car for 5,000 mile trip and just 10 days to go” headline/problem. Many kind phone calls offering cars to myself and the papers news desk were received. We now have a reserve car being serviced, MOT’d (for the 6 or so hours we need to have one) and we should be ready to roll out in it on Friday evening. More on the car very shortly.
The North Wales Wekly News helped in updating the car situation and the awareness for the drive last Thursday.
The South Wales Argus covered the work some of our South Wales drivers are undertaking for Kutaisi, full story here. Kutaisi is the city in Georgia twinned with Newport. We will be staying 2 nights & visiting schools, youth football teams (rumour of a game in a 20,000 capacity stadium; Us v Kutaisi…), we will also meet the mayor and governors of Kutaisi.
Baku to the Future
I did another telephone interview for Tudno FM last Friday afternoon with an update on the car situation, our latest preparation and of Gols recent donation to the Saray orphanage in Azerbaijan towards building a kitchen. I am hoping to be on the breakfast show Thursday morning, circumstances permitting.
