Craig Cheetham on the achievements of two genuine heroes
‘If you’re lucky enough to be able to travel, take every opportunity on offer.’ That is something my dad said to me when I was about to leave home for university, and his words of wisdom have stuck with me throughout my adult life.
Even with the challenges presented by several factors in today’s world – Brexit and transport strikes among them – I’ll still make every effort to go somewhere new and experience a different culture. And it’s a passion I fully intend to instil in my own children as they grow up.
Phil Churchill is doing exactly the same, and while his budget is considerably bigger than mine ever was as a youngster, his son Will is going along for the ride. He’s about to have the experience of a lifetime. Of course, not all youngsters will get to have the experience that Will is enjoying as you read this, but the Churchills aren’t doing this solely for themselves. They and their Aston Martin Vantage, a car with a six-figure fundraising adventure mileage already beneath its tyres, are raising money for the Campaign Against Living Miserably (CALM) as the main purpose of their trip and, as I write this, they’re already almost halfway to their £24,000 target.
In a society where – devastatingly – suicide is the biggest killer of men below the age of 50, the work that CALM does is, to my mind, one of the most valuable acts of charity taking place in the UK. Nobody should have to suffer the ordeal of burying their own child.
Thank you, Phil and Will, for helping to raise awareness of the wonderful work that CALM does.
If you, your car club or your friends have anything planned to raise money for charity, we absolutely want to hear about it and talk about it in these pages. Please get in touch with us at practicalclassics@bauermedia.co.uk and we’ll help you in any way that we can.
FOCUSING ON...
Father and son continue amazing fundraising drive
By the time this issue goes to press, father and son team Phil and Will Churchill will be well on the way to driving 24,901 miles around the world in their Aston Martin Vantage.
The V8 has led an adventurous life already, having started life as Aston Martin CEO Ulrich Bez’s company car in 2005. In summer 2006, to mark production of Aston Martin’s 30,000th car, the Vantage was driven 30,000 miles in 30 days by 30 employees, with Dr Bez driving the first stint from the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
In summer 2007, KR05 YWU became the first car to drive the full length of the newly endorsed Asia Highway Network from Tokyo to Istanbul, and on to London, raising funds for UNICEF.
It was Will, then aged 15, who spotted the car
