High point: Proper singalong to some real gems. Cab was bouncing today.
Low Point: We woz robbed. iPhone theft. Naughty naughty.
No point: The funny little waiter who suddenly lost his ability to speak English. Or deliver food. He had no point. Read more →
Distance covered on Road : 150 Miles
Highlight of the day : The Russian Firefighters Acrobatic display Team … (Sleeping in a dorm with 100 Russian Girls… James and Dave Orders Highlights only of course!)
Low Point of the Day : The traffic in Rush Hour in Nizhini Novgorod and getting lost in town for 2 hours in 40 degree heat…. Sweaty Sweaty boys!! Read more →
Hello to everyone back home,
I’m sorry that it’s taken me so long to get in touch but I haven’t had a moment to myself since this trip started.
First of all a great, big, huge THANK YOU to everyone who helped to get me ready for this adventure (you know who you are). Then, a big thank you to everyone who turned up for my going away party. One of the boys had worked really hard polishing me and the girls had dressed me up in new flags and lots of balloons and I really did feel like the belle of the ball. Also big thanks to London fire Brigade for sending three of their big new engines to provide an escort; they really knew how to make a girl feel special! As we drove out of the square everyone was cheering and clapping and waving and it all got quite emotional.
After the complete shock of the accident we were faced with a 24 hr delay to enter Latvia. Our fixers had tried every trick in the book to bounce us up the queue without success. Dejected about a lost day in a Latvian truck park, we bid farewell to Taddas and Edmundo and decided on dinner in the cafe. Well that was until we realised the accident had knocked out the electricity so no food on site! Plan Z was quietly put into place and soon Steve and I were meeting the Chief of Police at the border. Armed with our secret magic potion we quickly negotiated a bounce of 300 places to number 1 in the list. They do say it’s who not what you know!!
The start of the most horrific and challenging 48 hours of the trip began in Lithuania on Thursday morning at 6.30am. We met Taddas and Edmundo our fixers and followed them north and into Latvia as we headed to the Russian border. Taddas had kindly arranged a spot of swimming on the way. Well lake swimming at a stunning lake side house owned by his friend who actually owned the lake itself which was about the size of an English county. We had planned the swim so you can all stop panicking that we didn’t have shorts on!
Day 10. Like kids in a sweetshop, the Stage 1 crew, now fully up and running and functioning like the high performing team I knew was always there, were looking forward to Wednesday with schoolboy excitement as it meant only one thing. No driving and a rest. Or so we thought.
Thanks to all my Lithuanian work colleagues at Transcom Vilnius for giving the FTFE such an amazing reception today! We felt truly honoured: traditional food, homemade banners and even a passionate recital of the Lithuanian national anthem really made us feel special.. It was also really nice to have a conversation with people outside of the context of the motorway service station for once…. And remember guys, we are not leaving Vilnius until tomorrow morning so if anyone would like to take that extra seat inside our Fire Engine and join our adventure, there’s still time!! 🙂
Join the stage 1 crew in the back of the fire engine cab, somewhere in Poland. Day 9.
Featuring Steve Moore, Chris Moore, Ben Battye, Ross Shepley-Smith and George Troughton.
Question: what looks like a tarmac road, is made like a tarmac road and, in fact, is a tarmac road but handles like a rutted farm track in winter? Answer: the slow lane of every single dual-carriageway in Poland. Read more →
Aim – Austria to Slovakia via Hungary. Objectives – Short day, low mileage, sunshine, tobogganing & city hotel. Result – Operational Failure! Read more →
