Glan Conwy pensioner's passage to India in car rally

Jan 1 2009 by Samantha Castle, North Wales Weekly News

AGE was no barrier for pensioner John Brooks who, at the age of 80, has completed a gruelling drive through India in a charity car rally.

John, of Glan Conwy, has just got back from the 12-day Karma Enduro rally, in which he was joined by more than 40 other Hindustan Ambassador cars. He took part in the event to benefit two charities: Adventure Ashram, which aims to build a new hospital with outreach facilities in a remote part of India, and the Rainbow Trust, which supports families in the UK who have children with life threatening illnesses.

“The challenge started in Goa and finished 12 days and over 1,400 miles later in Kerala, South India,” explained John.

“There were 40 cars and we all drove the Hindustan Ambassador, built in India and based on the old 1956 Morris Oxford. The car proved to be reliable if rather sluggish when climbing mountain passes and although fitted with air-con, we found the loss of already limited power made it unusable. For some reason none of the handbrakes worked either!

“It was hot, dusty, tiring and at times a scary experience. We were warned to drive carefully as some of the roads were surfaced but littered with potholes, while the rest were full of potholes with occasional tarmac.”

John and co-drivers Roger Tanner and Paul Murphy were told that driving in India is different from the UK, and were told to forget their Highway Code!

“On Indian roads they do not give way, they overtake on blind corners, they hoot their horns all the time and nobody uses indicators,” added John.

“But we all survived and the scary memories are fading away and leaving us with visions of delightful people, beautiful scenery, bustling towns, tuk-tuks, bikes, dogs and cows, not to mention the odd elephant, monkey, snake and a few reckless water buffalo.”

The two back-to-back Karma Enduro charity rallies raised a whopping £300,000, which will be shared between the two charities.

samantha.castle