October 21st - Post-bash report - I am still working on the trip report and it is taking longer than I thought; I am only up to day 3! But I should have it finished soon - the first three days were the biggest. In the meantime, I have posted a selection of pictures from the bash into the Picture Albums page - I tried to cut down how many we selected but it was still over 100! Once I finish the trip report I should have time to put some captions together too. Next year, I am taking the _old_ laptop and doing this along the way!! If you would like to be notified when the Trip Report is done, click on the Contact Us page and sign up at the bottom for notifications.
Also, I would like to make a quick comment on the story shown on ACA (A Current Affair) last night - what a load of bollocks!! The particular person in question in the interview was actually talking to me on Day 3 at the street-party that Variety put on for the Bashers and locals (before events got too traumatic that the performer in question had to leave) and they were using some of the most explicit and provocative language of any of the Bashers I talked to the whole trip! And this was with no one around, without being "forced" into drinking. And then to hear about how they were "held ransom" and "sexually harassed" for a sensationalist article is ridiculous! I was also not really surprised at how pretty much the entire story took everything out of context, including the email from Variety. My sister's friend had been the target of a slanderous ACA article before, and knowing the true story compared to what was shown on TV was enough for me to already have no respect for that show, but yet again they haven't failed to disappoint with a one-sided witch-hunt against an organisation out to help the kids. All I have to say is that I hope this doesn't affect our ability to keep on raising money to help the kids, and for the performer in question - I hope karma was watching! |
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October 16th - We finished the Bash!!! Sorry for not posting updates any sooner, but due to baggage restrictions I was not able to take the laptop along and do daily updates. And lets face it - some towns didn't even have mobile service let alone internet connections!! But I am compiling a day-by-day trip report which I will have posted sometime soon - hopefully by the end of the weekend.
But the XP made it to the finish line!! We had some minor issues, such as breaking two rear wheel bearings, an exhaust flange gasket, a boot latch, cruise control sensor, rear brake adjustment due to excessive application of the hand brake and a fuel cutoff solenoid, but the great guys from AW059 (Uncle Bonk and Uncle Andy) were always able to get us on the road again - they were awesome and we couldn't have done it without them!! We had a great time - thanks to the Gouldies in Car 157 - the 19th Hole for helping us out along the way and finding out feet; the first couple of days were rough, but after 14 creek crossings on the first day we thought we were never going to survive. It got easier though, and we're all proud to have helped raise almost $9000 for the kids in Queensland. Watch here for the trip report which will be available soon! |
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September 21st - Wow! We had a great last day of fund raising!! While the sausage sizzle at Arlington was a little quiet, we did get to spend the day with Yvonne who is always such a great lady to be around. And, while the weather was a little hot for a rush on sausage sales, the homeless shelter in West End benefitted from the remaining kilo's of sausages we had left over. And, the raffle and collection buckets way made up for it - with a very generous donation from one of our visitors today, along with a heap of raffle sales based mainly on such great prizes that were generously donated to us, we actually made just over $600!!
Additionally, the XR Club of Queensland have been handing around the collection buckets at their events, and raised another $325 for us - very generous and thanks SO much for all your collecting; over the course of the year's fund raising, the XR club has donated over $1000 which is phenominal!! Thanks so much guys & gals .. my next car is an XR Falcon!!
A few more minor things to finish up this week - finish the wiring on the rocket, fit the claxton horn, some final painting and touching up - and organising all the gear, spares and accessories we'll need to pack to take along. Thanks to everyone who has helped us get to our milestone fund raising target - when we started out we thought it was going to be impossible, but so many people have some to help us - not just with fund raising, but with getting the car ready too - it's great to meet so many people willing to give of their time or money or both to help out. Thanks to everyone, and watch this space for our blog of the actual 2008 Variety Bash from Car Nasa - The Rocket XP! |
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September 20th - Busy weekend sausage sizzling!! We had one today which raised over $200 at Lizzie's day care centre fair, along with an addition $100 donation from a very generous part-time member of the team. Was a busy morning .. was only there for three hours, but we sold over 100 sausages and it seemed to come in waves which kept the cook (me) busy! And after a forecast of showers and storms, we had a beautiful and hot/humid day .. especially behind the bbq!! Tomorrow we're at Arlington for our last official fund raising event before the Bash!!
The starter motor in the XP died today (we suspect the solenoid rather than the starter) so we're having to roll/clutch start it everywhere at the moment which requires two people to go everywhere - one person to drive and another to push! Hopefully we can get that fixed up next week by the fantastic guys at MotoTech in Pickering St - they've done several days of work on the car and it's about as tip top as its ever been (apart from the starter which they must have jinxed! They told us it looked loose, and two days later it stops working!) But thanks to those guys .. we couldn't have done it without you!! |
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September 9th - Only three weeks until our first ever Variety Bash!! Surprisingly, things seem to be coming together rather well without the harried rush we were thinking it might be. We are within a couple of hundred dollars of our target thanks to some very generous donations, especially Queensland Enegery Resources (www.qer.com.au) who donated $2500 to get us up to within sight of our target!! We have two more fund raising events - both sausage sizzles on the 20th of September at the Michelton Child Care Centre Fair from 9am-12pm and on the 21st of September at Arlington Shopping Centre on the corner of Bunya Rd and Arlington Dr.
In other news, we have the car just about finshed - the interior is all done and back together. Just fitting the single seat in the back and finishing a couple of minor details. Working on the remaining wiring for the light bar and rocket while the car is having the front suspension done and then next week we have a few more minor repairs to finish and the Rocket XP project will be officially done!! |
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| August 17th - Less than two months until the Bash now, and things are in full swing. Lots of work going on in the interior at the moment. The seats are pulled out, and all the carpet is ripped up. The kind folks at Rhino Linings are donating their time and materials to spray the floor with Rhino Linings to protect it from rust, and we'll put some rubber mats on top of that. With all the dust, water and mud we'll be seeing, I think carpet is a bad idea! Have also been doing lots of re-wiring and have consolidated a lot of systems and its not looking as crazy as it used to. Have some work on the suspension, brakes and exhuast yet to go before we're completely ready - aiming for the first week of September in time for scrutineering. |
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July 22nd - A HUGE thanks go to my Grandma Claire and Grandpa Reg - for their VERY generous donation of $1000. The XP originally belonged to my Grandpa Reg (who has now passed away) and it's great that we can keep the car in the style to which he originally built it, and help out a great charity at the same time. I think Grandpa Reg would be proud of the car! And another HUGE thanks go to my Auntie Celia and Uncle Dave for their VERY generous donation of $500 from their company Cilud! With these two donations, we have almost doubled our fund raising efforts to date!
We have the Bash stickers on the car (well, some at least), and a new UHF radio fitted (after the old one died). We have a CD/stereo fitted now for the long days driving (courtesy of one of my old cars) and we've arranged with Rhino Linings Australasia to pull up the mouldy water logged carpets and have the interior sprayed with Rhino Linings! This will be much better for the muddy, outback roads we'll be travelling through, and I'm very excited that we're getting so many great, generous people on board the project! Thanks everyone for your support! |
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