Motorists invited to Escape from London ..
Leading motor insurers, like us here at insureyourmotor.co.uk and everyone else, like to dip their collective toes in pools of nostalgia from time to time, and that's exactly what they and you can do very soon.
...Ahh memory lane, a place we all like to revisit on occasion, especially if our most recent history has been nondescript. Therefore it's no surprise to learn and accept that someone like me tends to spend a good part of my days there. To be honest the last few years have passed me by, everything's been kinda hazy, albeit a rather pleasant, opium-aroma'd one, whereby a set of various sized pipes, an assortment of tripods and what can best be described as a beginners chemistry set, has never held so much fascination. Problem is, too much escaping from reality means you'll loose touch with today, let alone yesterday.
My Yesterdays conjure up vivid, carefree scenes of tug-of-war, tree houses, skipping (it was a sharp learning curve my youth), and, best of all, hide and seek.
If there's one aspect of growing up I loved more than anything else, then it was the art of hiding.
"4,3,2,1...coming ready or not!" blurted my optimistic playtime chums, unaware that they'd never find my exact co-ordinates in a month of Sundays; such was my ingenuity for unearthing (quite literally if the situation presented itself) the ultimate location not to be found in. Bin Laden had nothing on me. So, it's fair to say, if this sport of kings filled my early learning period, then cars formed the backbone of my formative years. Hence me arriving here. To a point.
So imagine my delight when I read that the two are coming together. Described as the worlds largest game of hide and seek, and taking place on the 23rd of April, 'Escape from London ' is coming through a town near you. If you happen to reside somewhere southerly of London that is. The aim of the game is to avoid been spotted by 'guards', as you, the 'escapee' make your way from the capital to a pre-determined checkpoint by adapting the cunning of a fox in the height of 'cunning season'. As escapee's you will be armed with maps and allowed several hours to make this, the first checkpoint, rumoured to be somewhere on the south coast, without being detected by guards. As guards, your instructions are equally as simple. Find the escapees. Which shouldn't be that much of a chore given that the vehicles they are making their escape in, will be adorned, if that be the correct verb, in large vinyl numbers. To help you still further, you'll benefit from a 45 minute head start to potentially hazard a guess as to which routes the escapee's will take on their way to the first checkpoint, and find some nearby bushes to hide in, determining the best possible position in which to mount your ambush from. Or, as the rules unfortunately dictate - take a picture of the escapee's car and mark the spot and time caught on the map provided. Spoilsports.
Twists in the game are aplenty. For a quiet start you are not informed of the co-ordinates of the second checkpoint, until you reach the first. Oh, and you can't re-use any of the Queens highways you facilitated on the way to that first checkpoint; aswell as escapee's having to highlight their intended routes and hand over to officials at the finishing post. Plus, motorways are strictly out of bounds. There are other issues and guidelines you should be made aware of, and by visiting the official website of the event, www.streetescape.com you will find everything you need to know.
Pre-registration is required, (check the above link again for this). Safety is paramount during the event, with organisers going to great lengths to point out it is NOT a race. Participants must obey the rules of the road and drive within the law, as coming first is not the objective of this inaugural and unique take on our favourite childhood game. A game which the more I read about reminds me to a certain extent of 'Wacky Races'. Is this just me?..Returning to my childhood again for the second time in the space of the same article.and unrelated thoughts of Penelope Pitstop.
Onwards and upwards and, needless to say, you must provide your own vehicle for the event, which, like you has to be signed in before the deadline, and a sensible driver would do well to employ the services of an onboard navigator. A living, breathing, 3-d one that is, as ploughing across fields is again against the rules, and as any manufacturers Sat-Nav I have toyed with suggests from the confines of it's dash-mounted home, that the quickest way from A to B is usually via someone's allotment.
No special insurance is required in order to take part, although it is urged that you have some form of insurance - as this is, in case you're unaware, a legal requirement when out on the tarmac anyway. Leading online insurers, like insureyourmotor.co.uk would be more than happy to arrange cover for you today.
Hide and seek with cars - does life get any better than this? Well, a giant Scalectrix track covering most of the Midlands would be a bonus in my book, yet slightly more challenging I'm thinking.
Date - 21/09/2006
