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Hopefully by now you will have heard of the Scumrun challenge; teams of car enthusiasts will be meeting in Kent on 17th May to embark on a five day mystery tour across Europe. The slight catch is that they will be driving vehicles which they themselves have bought (on a budget) with the hope they’ll survive the ride! Monies raised from the event will be going to Action.
One of the most recent teams to sign up is ‘Carry On Action Medical Research’, led by 75-year-old retiree Carolyn Corliss from Lincolnshire...
Carolyn Corliss will be taking on the Scumrun challenge in May 2018
OK, first question Carol: why the team name?!
Ha! Well, a friend of mine who does a lot of fundraising work for Action – Angela Hyde (chair of the Peterborough Committee) - first heard about the Scumrun challenge and convinced me to sign up. I wasn’t sure what sort of theme we could go with and it was her who suggested some sort of medical premise. The first thing I thought of was the ‘Carry On…’ films and so we ran with it from there! I’ve already got my matron’s uniform and we’ll have a doctor as well as a surgeon.
Sounds amazing – so who is joining you in ‘Carry On Action Medical Research’?
Well, I’m fortunate enough to be joined by a very dear friend of mine, Bryan Harris (76). He also loves his cars and was a rally driver. He still actually competes every now and again and in fact he’s just recently got back from the ‘Classic Car Club’ in Mallorca. Bryan is bringing along a friend of his, Richard Gumsley so there will be three of us.
"If you’re a fan of cars and adventure I would highly recommend giving this a go. If I can do it at my age, anyone can!"
So you’re a bit of a car enthusiast?
Oh yes, absolutely! I’ve always enjoyed driving; I used to own a vintage Alfa Romeo and was often invited to take it to various events and conventions across the world. I’m retired now but I used to work for Christies on the consultancy side of things and wrote for several motor magazines. I just love cars, so this challenge was right up my street.
Tell us a bit more about the car you’ll be driving…
It’s a 1999 Nissan Primera and it cost us £250 (pictured below). We have had to tweak one or two things to make sure it’s brought up to MOT standard, but we’re quietly confident it’ll do the job! We’re still in the process of decorating it, but we hope to have the team name on one side and the Action logo on the other. We also hope to have a big funnel on the roof as well with a tube coming out of it! You won’t be able to miss us once it’s finished!
Carolyn and her teammates will be driving a 1999 Nissan Primera
Who is going to be doing most of the driving?
I think we’ll share it fairly evenly between the three of us. I do enjoy being sat behind the wheel but it’ll be nice to get a break now and again to enjoy the scenery. Not that we know where we’ll be going yet, but that’s part of the fun!
What are you most looking forward to?
I think the driving, the camaraderie and just having fun! I’ve never done anything quite like this before so it’ll be a completely new experience. But that’s what life’s about: meeting new people, having a laugh and creating memories.
Why should anyone else sign up for Scumrun?
The whole concept of Scumrun is a good exercise in ingenuity: you’ve got to find a car, maybe tinker with it a bit to get it fully roadworthy and decorate it. The fun will really begin when we’re out on the road. There’s nothing like a challenge to bring people together, bond and help promote team unity. If you’re a fan of cars and adventure I would highly recommend giving this a go. If I can do it at my age, anyone can!