This section covers all the Ws: who, where, why, what, when, and, erm, how. 
A daily record of the plans made and the decisions taken. 
Click on the articles below for the latest news.

While browsing for some Martini Racing bits ahead of the summer trip, I stumbled across this beauty. Distinctive yet minimal, this looks the mutt's nuts. This then sent me down a rabbit hole of looking for VW T2 vans on eBay, and the results were initially surprising. For a few grand, I could pick up a '70s T2 with around 50000 miles on the clock - result. But, in the immortal words of Prince, "all that glitters aint gold". After examining the pictures a little closer, th

I don't know, you wait months for new content, and then, just like buses, three articles arrive at once! If you have been paying attention, you will know that R&R have a new car for the trip and are thinking about ideas for decoration and theme. I sent them a link to the article the other day, and Richie responded with an AI-generated image of a Q2 in blue with full rally markings. The livery included their granddaughter's name and the day she was born as a number - very f

Now that R&R have their car for the journey, we need to think about a theme for them. Initially, they played around with the idea of buying a Ford Transit and making it look like the A-Team van, topped off with Richie in an inflatable dinosaur costume to represent Hannibal Smith's penchant for working as an extra in films, and Rachel dressed as B.A. Baracus (the idea of her crossing international borders in disguise as a black man didn't faze her). Then Richie bought a black

The tale of the third car in our convoy has had more twists than the Gotthard Pass. Remember when R&R were supposed to use an Abarth ; then, when more comfort was required, there was tongue-in-cheek talk of a funeral car? Next, a van was suggested to help with the fancy-dress part of the trip, before they settled on a Ford Kuga , which was then potentially swapped for a campervan . Yeah, well, all that is in the past. The Abarth/funeral car/van/Kuga/campervan is dead! L

I was messing around with Claude, the A.I. app, as it looks like a decent alternative to ChatGPT - not that I can find much wrong with ChatGPT, but variety is the spice of life and all that. I'm not up to manipulating A.I. to achieve what I want, so I'd run some tests to see what it produces. I asked the app to create a logo for our team, completing the rally from Liverpool to Monaco and back. I asked it to make it using the name 'Dirty Martin', the Martini Racing colours,

I bought something from Etsy the other day, and the site showed me all the items that I'd marked in the past, no doubt hoping I'd jump in and treat myself to an epic Lancia Delta t-shirt - I was tempted, I can assure you. What it did was get me onto the official Martini Racing Sparco website, where I looked at their wares. Several things jumped out at me, like officially licensed and branded sunglasses, a 'pit lane' fleece (thinking it will be cold in merry old England and a

There are so many moving parts to this trip that my head is spinning. We definitely need to book hotels and trains/ferries. We need to decide if we are having a week in a villa, find out who can make it, and then book that. Then there are the cars; they all need checking to ensure they will actually make the trip before we get busy with the decorations. Then there are the drivers. Lisa and I are definitely in - barring any disasters at home. Carl is definitely in, but do

Looking through the Pre-Rally Bible, I stumbled across something called Auto-Train, a service in which your vehicle hitches a ride on a rail-based car transporter while you travel in style to your destination. The service ran from Nice to Calais, which would have been an absolute boon for our trip. Notice I used 'ran' instead of 'runs'. The service to Calais ceased in 2017, with the link to Paris ceasing in 2019. Loading the car up in Nice and then letting the train take t

Things got a bit more real last week as the Bust Rallies organisers emailed a copy of the Pre-Rally Bible. It has sections covering Accommodation, Transport, Car, Insurance & Breakdown Cover, Rules & Driving laws, Shopping List, Supporters & Sponsors, Car Disposal and the Final Checklist. Accommodation:  Provides a list of suggestions, broken down by budget: Camping/Hostel/Budget Hotel/Mid-range Hotel/Deluxe Hotel. Richie and I had a very brief look at some of the places av

I stumbled across this advert from the 2012 Super Bowl the other day. I'd never seen it before, and it had me giggling. No spoilers here, except that the title of the post is a translation of the first line spoken in the ad. Oh yeah, it is all in Italian...deliberately. Click below to watch. The full translation is: Line 1: “Che cosa guardi, eh?” (repeated twice… followed by a slap!) Translation: “ What are you looking at, huh?” Line 2: “Mi stai spogliando con gli occhi?”

A few years ago, I bought a GoPro to record the first epic driving journey we made, a seven-day trip around the Highlands of Scotland, completing the NC500 in a motorhome. If you haven't already, I recommend you try it—it is fantastic. For those unaware, the NC500 (North Coast 500) is one of Scotland's most spectacular scenic driving routes, often called 'Scotland's Route 66'. It is a 516-mile circular route around the northern Highlands of Scotland, starting and ending in

Hot on the heels of the dashboard in 'Bert' doing an impression of Blackpool Illuminations , Abbie decided to join the party with a light of her own after a trip down a particularly bumpy road. Over the weekend, we went to our friend's 50th birthday party. They live in an idyllic hamlet up in Lancashire, about 30 minutes away. We were running a little late, so I used Google Maps to give me the quickest possible route to their house. Next time, I'll study the route before b

Ever experienced that sudden jolt of panic when your engine light unexpectedly flickers on? That's exactly what happened to Carl, as he was happily cruising in to Cheltenham this weekend.  He messaged me to say the dreaded light had come on on his way down south, not long after he stopped for fuel at a 'dodgy petrol station'. 'Bert' was limping along, but he wasn't well. After spending a few days down South, Carl was preparing for the long journey home by filling up Bert. H

I was just reading a review of the Apple AirPods Pro 3 in The Guardian (TL:DR they are boss) and they casually mention that they work...

Following on from The Great British Innuendo Tour , I stumbled across a map of places in Northern Ireland that we should definitely add...

I have found the next essential item required for our trip across Europe in our tiny city cars: a pair of headphones. Stay with me. ...

These days, when you come, the beautiful sun...I get a flush of excitement thinking about our trip next year and start planning a...

Now that we are officially participants in the 2026 Black Forest Gateau Bust Rallies event, I have a renewed vigour for the whole daft...

It is official, we are officially registered for the Monte Carlo or Bust Rally: Black Forest Gateau 2026!!! It has been a long time...

When football meets motorsport. Ebbsfleet United have unveiled their 2025/26 away kit, marking a nostalgic reunion with their historic...