THE THIRD ANNUAL CHARITY EASTER EGG RUN TO THE ROYAL MARSDEN HOSPITAL.
An event organised by the club and now in its third year, rabbit ears compulsory!
This was another “will we, won’t we” event for the Eastern Region. Three members had committed to attend but the heavy snow and sub zero temperatures in the preceding week made the prospect of a drive down to Surrey less than appealing. However with a last look at the less than promising weather forecast on the night before the decision was made to go. Three cars finally left a snowy Eastern Region for the run down to the very scenic Newlands Corner meeting point, near Guildford where 26 cars eventually headed off in convoy for a 23 mile drive to the Hospital.
We created our very own traffic jam on arrival as they tried to pack all the MX5s, in to a space reserved for about 8 cars. Gifts of Easter eggs and toys were presented to the hospital for distribution amongst the younger patients and we were given an update on the current progress with Royal Marsden's £30 million appeal. Check here for details The Royal Marsden Cancer Campaign. After some refreshment kindly provided by the Hospital we headed back to the cars and took off on the second part of the run. This was 45 miles, much of which was in sunshine, through some very pleasant Surrey countryside and nice twisty roads, including some genuine hairpin bends, and some quite busy Surrey towns. An excellent carvery lunch was then had at The Grasshopper Inn on the A25.
Unlike the rest of the day the journey home saw heavy snow showers on the M25 and rain for much of the rest of the way. Not a problem for those of us that stopped just before the M25 slip road and put our hoods up, but not so good for others, who didn’t!
An excellent day out and all in a good cause. We will certainly look out for details of the forth annual run next year.
Thanks to Di and Tim for all their hard work organising the day and particularly for the route directions which were presented in smart little coloured boxes complete with sweeties and a commemorative plaque for the event.
Martin Curtis ©