Friday update so far

And arrive we did!!! After a fairly uneventful crossing, except Miranda relived the experiences of drunken walking (after going tee total so long ago) due to the motion of the ocean!!
We drove off into Calais and went to find our hotel. We found it thanks to TomTom (lifesaver) checked in and ran off to the small village that is Cite Europe department store to collect the last few vital parts and some sustenance.
Back we went to finish off the attachment of the heads to the hinges using self tapping screws. These heads were pretty much the focal point of the whole concept for this rally. When we had decided to do this and bandied around several ideas it was the horses heads that sold it to all involved.
Now you know this, you will understand the pain we are suffering in our team…. On Thursday night we lost a team member RIP Milly. Milly was the right sided horse and shared the partnership of pulling our chariot. While driving to register for entry into the rally, incidentally, we were lost as we were looking for a road called Auchan when it should have been the store Auchan where we had been earlier on. While driving around and picking up a few other lost participants Milly decided to stand up proud on the bonnet (due to her hinge mechanism) and bask in the glory of pulling such a fine chariot. One minute she was there the next she was gone, torn away out of our lives by the elements of nature. Obviously she couldn’t stand the headwind at 60mph. Of course our other horse, Tilly, is also feeling the pain. She now has to do all the work and we are being slightly pulled to the left. So long Milly we will miss you, forever in our hearts, forever on our bonnet!!!
Anyway, back to the rally. We set off on Friday morning for the first of our rampages across Europe. This is the toughest leg of the tour taking us from Calais to the south of France to Annecy. We collected our first task which was to conduct the ‘Mentos and diet Coke experiment’ on top of our car in the town of Reimes. For those that don’t know the experiment check out the photographs to see the result. There were other objects to find and photograph for bonus points. Needless to say we completed all tasks giving us maximum points. There is nothing quite like the site of a menagerie of different people dressed up - from vicars to surgeons and everything in between. To give you an idea the photos will show the different people involved in this do. Needless to say we got some funny looks - two Gladiators and a Roman Goddess running around a small French town is not something you see everyday. When I say Roman Goddess, Miranda spent most of the morning with a coat on, due to the inclement weather, and didn’t look too out of place, she looked just like another partaker of the walk of shame.
So off we went to Annecy - the final leg of the day. I am writing this from the car somewhere between Dole and Annecy, we think, we shall be arriving shortly and will be de-costuming due to the uncomfortable-ness of this get up ( the Romans had it tough).
I look forward to updating you tomorrow with this evenings incidents and tomorrow’s rally tasks.
Thanks to those that have sponsored us and boo hiss to those that haven’t!!!!
To be continued……….