One of the more unusual fundraisers we have been associated with so far is the “Points of Inconvenience” car rally being undertaken by an intrepid team of young drivers in aid of the Birch Tree Activity Programme. One of the drivers, Nat Swift, (21) is Cosmo Rock’s cousin, and they wanted to support the programme with this madcap adventure in a vehicle totally unsuited to the task. Nat and two friends (Estanis and Jake – collectively The Three Unwise Men) are in the middle of a mad road trip across Europe to raise money for two excellent causes. Poles of Inconvenience (more here Poles of Inconvenience – The Adventurists ) kicked off on 12 July and finishes in a former missile silo outside Prague on 7 August. The more PoI’s (‘carefully crafted nuggets of spectacular inconvenience’) that they can clock up in between, the more points they score. At the time of writing they are on the Albanian Coast having travelled over the Alps and on down through Italy. Visit Nat Swift is fundraising for T21 (justgiving.com) for their story, but I liked this description of their vehicle: ‘We found our (t)rusty steed, Felicia, through a friend and she set us back the fine sum of £350. Her condition at best could be described as undriveable. Miraculously, we got her running and after some of our finest bodging she passed her MOT.’ The rally raises money for Cool Earth, which aims to preserve and protect rain forests. Additionally Nat’s team have chosen to support T21 and the Birch Tree Activity Programme. This is what they say: ‘The T-21 charity, an incredible organization that provides employment opportunities and activities for young adults with Down’s Syndrome. This cause is very close to our hearts: Nat’s cousin Cosmo has Down’s Syndrome and has been working in the Café for a couple of years. He always says it is one of the best parts of his week and he has made a huge number of friends there – from colleagues to regulars.’ We couldn’t agree more- and if this has inspired you to make a donation to Birch Tree’s Activity programme, here’s the link to their JustGiving page
The Three Unwise Men. Nat is in the middle. There’s also very amusing daily commentary on The Three Unwise Men (@the.three.unwise.men) • Instagram photos and videos , from which the shot above is snipped. I think that they picked up the ski (just the one…) along the way.
All sorts of helpful engineering tips too, such as this: ‘Felicia’s special treatment continued in the morning of our fourth day on the road. Estanis had the bright idea of helping her loaded suspension by cutting up an Aldi slider and putting it in the spring.’
