Well the time has passed so quickly and here we are days away from our trip. The car is ready (well ..... not quite), we are ready (well .... not really), hotels have been booked (well  ....... almost) and our travel plans are in place (Ah .... well sort of ......). We hope it isn't an omen but we have unwittingly booked ourselves one way on Eurotunnel. Could someone, somewhere be trying to tell us something ...... yikes !!!

It has been impossible to keep up with this blog - but those of you who are regulars will know of our preparations and the overwhelmingly fantastic response to our fundrraising. We are truely humbled with poeple's generosity. Thank you to everyone who has given.

We are signing off from here for now but you can follow us as we go to Rome on Twitter. Just type Austingarages into the search box.

Bye for now!!

Jean & Nick

Thought it was time we introduced our team. AG Competitions Department has two team members - Austin and BeannieB. Had a bit of a job to get them to stand still long enough for a photograph but with a bit of bribery you can achieve anything! Here they are ........

In July 2007 we drove down to Barcelona in an 'N' reg LHD Maestro. Why? - you might well ask. We had acquired the car for my brother and sister-in-law to use at the family country retreat about 1hr south of Barcelona. They were having a BL car whether they liked it or not!

In late 2008 we drove it back having swapped it for a LHD Rover 214 with Air con and Power Steering - far more suitable for a 5' 2" Spanish senora to drive around in! As the year turned into 2009 we were to be found trudging up the M1 from Eurotunnel watching the firework celebrations of New Year's Eve. On both journeys the car never missed a beat and behaved impeccably.

The car languished around Austin Garages for a few months having sailed through an MOT with minimal fuss and acquired the nickname Dr P (from it's registration plate) while we mulled over what to do with it. Meanwhile three friends at that time of life when a couple of beers on a Friday night constitutes 'painting the town red' (sorry gents!) were having a chat.'I've always fancied driving Staples to Naples' says one. 'Good idea' says another, 'Why not' said the third and Dr P once more had a purpose.

The purchase was done, the car prepared by Austin Garages and the guys went into training. Dr P in all her rallying livery appeared at The Lupin Farm Gathering in August 2009 and Rusty, Hunty and Simmo successfully completed the Staples to Naples run in October of that year and at the same time raised funds for St Giles Hospice in Lichfield.

We couldn't have been more proud .... or more jealous .... so well done the three team members of British Leyland Motorsport for your achievement and for being our inspiration for this year's adventure ... Austin Garages aka AG Competitions Department is going to Rome in July 2010.

Our Maestro is one year older and a good deal sadder at the moment but over the coming months will be transformed into a lean mean rallying machine which will take the team of Nick (Austin) and Jean (Beannie B) to Rome in 4 days over some tough terrain under the guidance of the Street Safari team. There is more information about the course on the Rally links page which follows this.

At the same time we are hoping to raise a significant amount of money for our chosen charity Help the Hospices. A link for the charity  also appears on the following page. We hope we never need their help but many people will and have had the benefit of the fantastic care Hospices provide. This is a worthy cause deserving of worthy support. Help the Hospices is an umbrella charity which supports all kinds of Hospice care therefore where-ever you live in the country you will be supporting Hospice care right near you. This includes the Hospice at Home teams locally to you too.

We will be updating this blog over the coming months as the event draws closer but meanwhile you can donate on our Just Giving page a link for which  is also on the Rally Links page. If you visit us in person there will be a collecting tin in our reception and/or if you prefer to wait until you see if we succeed please pledge your support on this page or fill in a sponsorship form in our reception.

More later ..........................................!