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.

Can you believe this is the 200th blog post on our pokey little corner of the internet? If that isn't a good enough reason to write a post taking stock of where we are, our achievements and what is still to do, I don't know what is. So where are we? We have registered three cars for the event and have five of the six drivers sorted. Carl is still looking for his co-driver, but Lisa and I are completely invested in driving Team: Dirty Martin around Europe, as are Richie an

According to reports, the UK is the second-largest market for aftermarket vehicle upgrades in Europe. The industry was valued at around £7.8 billion in 2025, and is forecast to reach £9.5 billion by 2030. The manufacturing sector is worth around £12 billion, with approximately 1,600 businesses operating in it. The Top 10 most popular modifications in the UK are: 1. Alloy Wheels 2. Number Plate Personalisation  3. Exhaust Upgrades  4. LED Lighting  5. Suspension & Lowering K

We visited Colour Create yesterday and met Barry and Kevin. I rambled on about the trip born from a stupid idea, fuelled by alcohol and fed by a 'you only live once' attitude. They initially looked at us like we were daft, I reckon they are right to be honest! I showed them images of what we would like. I explained my reservations about sticking a magnet over the contours of the car. They had a sample of the automotive-grade magnetic sticker, which was thinner than I expe

I've been scouring the internet for a good, reliable local printer to see if they can help us with our livery. There are lots of choices, but I was struggling to find one that stood out and that I felt comfortable with. I was in the office and noticed our company had big displays, so I got in touch with our Communications Manager, who tipped me off to a company called Colour Create. She raved about their service and quality and advised me to drop her and our company's name,

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

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

I almost found the perfect support vehicle for our epic jaunt across Europe next year. I stumbled across this cracking-looking...

It's the weekend.  How about something fun? After a break from chasing down unicorn cars and perfect alloys, I made a playlist inspired...