TWO childhood friends are joining a rally to raise funds for a charity that provides Lego sets to children in hospitals and hospices.
Andy Hulett, from Crewkerne, and Jason Hockridge, from Exeter, are taking part in a 700-mile rally around Scotland in aid of Fairy Bricks charity.
Starting from Friday, April 29, the two friends will cover 700 miles in a circuit around Scotland with a budget of just £567 to buy a car for the event.
Andy said: “We are raising money for a charity that I’m really passionate about. Fairy Bricks does amazing work, and we’d love to raise lots for them.
“They deliver free LEGO sets to children in hospitals and hospices across the UK, which is a simple, but a very impactful thing.
“Jason and I have been friends since childhood, and during lockdown we both agreed to do some kind of road trip when restrictions were lifted.
“We saw this crazy idea advertised on social media and thought, ‘why not?’ The TBR700 rally is held over over days, starting on Friday 29th April, covering 700 miles in a circuit around Scotland.”
The Lego car
It follows the traditional NC500 route, but throws in an additional 200 miles, to make things more difficult.
The NC500 is usually completed over a week or so, but the TBR700 is not only a four-day event.
The rally is also not a traditional race and the format is similar to Top Gear.
Every morning of the rally, teams are presented with an envelope at the start line which contains challenges to complete during the day.
Points are awarded each evening, with the overall winner announced on the final day, from the 45 or so teams competing.
Andy and Jason have already been testing their customised 20-year-old Peugeot 206, which has been converted into a LEGO mobile for the event.
Both are confident that it will get them the 500 or so miles to the start line in Perth on Friday.
Jason added: “Whether it survives all 700 miles and the Highlands is another matter, but at least if we are stranded on a mountainside, we know we are doing it for a good cause.”
If you would like to sponsor their journey, you can donate on their GoFundMe page at: https://gofund.me/9a100cbe
Andy also intends live-streaming some of the rallies on his ‘OldCarsMostly’ TikTok account, during the four days, https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMLpNmfjp/.
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here