A wonderful wonderful day! A touch of nerves as per normal when we have to deal with anything shipping related. Today was no was exception. Martha had already been in Spain for couple of days and we were itching to get on the road (and very conscious of our time constraints). The sillyness of shipping didn’t disappoint but with our man Eric on the case dealing with all the craziness. He did a grand job of dealing with the shipping lines, warehouses, truck drivers, crane operators and all the other people involved in this over complicated process.
Low point: The search for a mobile internet solution for updates to the website, computer says no
First night ever in a hostel, and a nice one at that. The others have made comments on my snoring, but I’m quite sure its all fictitious. The room was quite a sight first thing.
A good start to the day, with a meeting at Sea World’s offices at 9am. Eric from shipping company Sea World Services has been a star and has managed to get the fire engine cleared by customs in record time, hopefully this will enable us to unload and get going by lunchtime tomorrow. This obviously depends on how long it takes to re-inflate the tires and reattach the lights that had to be taken off for the shipping from New York to Valencia.
Team Fix It: Jamie, Karissa, Radhika, Annie, Jo and Adele
Operation fix Steve: Setting up and running a charity and attempting to achieve a world record, though extremely rewarding, is stressful and definitely takes its toll on the mind and body. Steve has been battered and bruised after spending 235 days driving Martha 28,268 miles across five continents. Due to the ship’s regulations we weren’t able to travel with Martha this time, so while she was bobbing across the Atlantic (I miss her) the goal of the week was to rest, recuperate and work (FTFE admin) in a super relaxed environment before the final push back to London. The Azul Yoga and Pilates Retreat was the perfect place to bring Steve back to wellness, whilst attempting to straighten his drivers back, catch up on much needed sleep and give him the energy to get home without 14 cups of coffee and two red bulls a day!
From September 2010. The FTFE expedition sneak a fire engine into China. After 6 months of paperwork and two fixers, did it really come down to hiding the word fire from the front of the truck ?
Somewhere in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean sails a freight ship carrying its usual load of shipping containers heading for Europe, or Valencia in Spain to be exact. Within one is an extra special shipment, a Fire Engine affectionately known as ‘Martha’, who is on her way back to London after an epic nine month global journey which has seen her circumnavigate the globe in the name of charity.
In Washington we were very lucky to spend time with the fantastic people at the Lung Cancer Alliance. We wanted to tell you a bit more about them and the amazing work that goes on globally to try and defeat this cruel disease. Not many people know that lung cancer is still the biggest cancer killer in the world, causing more deaths than breast and prostate cancer put together. Yetin terms of research it is the most poorly funded.
It’s Clare here all the way from sunny Liverpool. I am a fundraiser at The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation which, as I am sure you know, is one of the charities supported by FTFE. We’re so proud of all the crew who have been part of the challenge and from everyone here I’d like to say a big ‘THANK YOU’ for what you’re doing to help defeat lung cancer.
You’re all stars in our eyes and we can’t wait to welcome you home next month.
All amazing cities, all amazingly expensive. We have been over whelmed by people’s generosity in the US, up there with the best of them is the Carlton Arms Hotel who amazingly generously donated free accommodation for the FTFE crew whilst in New York for 10 days. HUGE! We have turned the Carlton Arms into our HQ where we have shot video for the documentary and worked ferociously at the remaining logistics (shipping ahhhh), routes, website, press, etc, etc.
The guys at the Carlton Arms have themselves also been touched by cancer, sadly losing a very good friend to a rare and bizarre form of cancer. When contacted by FTFE John Ogren said “The Macmillan nurses were angles sent by God to care for him in his last days. Also we love all firemen everywhere. So of course we want to offer the rooms at no charge.” Legend. Read more →
