Footnotes From France 4

So I was listening to the radio last week as a writer was being interviewed.  Can’t for the life of me recall who he was, but he was saying that it had taken him 15 years to write the book he had recently had published!  While I have no intention of taking that long to complete what I am writing, yesterday it did strike me that in September it will be two years since I began this odyssey.  As my plan is to mix in the story of my own journey along the Marathon trail, as it were, yesterday I was revisiting the timeline since I first had the slightly crazy idea to see if any surviving ‘marathoniers’ were out there and whether they’d be willing to share their memories and stories.  Now in July 2012, because I have been sorting all the recollections and press cuttings and photographs into neat and tidy (i.e. accessible) files, I’m still astonished how much information I have collected, and I’m still getting jolts of excitement as I read through various newspaper articles and discover new tid-bits of information.  For example, given the huge cost for someone to not only register their entry into the Marathon, but then actually drive their trusty 1960s family car along the 10,000 mile route, meeting the costs of fuel, tyres, oil, repairs and maintenance, food and water and return ticket from Sydney, it’s extraordinary to think that by the closing date for application on June 1^st, 1968, entry was over-subscribed and a large reserve list had to be created.  Scanning down the entry list as it appeared in June of that year, it’s also fascinating to see that by November when the Marathon began, half of the runners and riders had completely changed, probably because so many of the ‘ordinary motorists’ came to realise that either their sturdy Morris Oxford Traveller wasn’t really in a fit state to driver over the Khyber Pass, or that despite their best efforts, they just hadn’t been able to raise the necessary funds to get themselves all the way to Australia.

For example, as late as October 1968, official press packs included a profile of a Mr and Mrs Grensted of Taunton in Somerset.  Describing themselves as “Mr and Mrs Average Motorist”, they confessed to never having done any rallying before because they could never find the time!  Mr Grensted calculated that in total he would need £3,000 to cover all expenses, but had at time of going to press only raised £40!  Suffice to say, the Gensteds were not in the starting line up at Crystal Palace.  Rather sad, really…

So, another glorious day beneath the big French sky.