In November 2017 Claire’s mother had a stroke and was left incapable of doing anything for herself. Whilst in hospital the doctors conducted a number of tests and found that she had cancer. Due to the stroke and ongoing health issues it was impossible for anything to be done for her.
The family spent the next four months making life as comfortable as possible for her but unfortunately she lost her fight and passed away peacefully with her family by her side in early March 2018.
Two days before this happened Sandy lost his job. Sandy had been looking for a Mark 1 MX5 which had to be “special”. By the end of March 2018 we heard that Sid was for sale and after some negotiations we purchased Sid.
In November 2018 we were watching Stand Up to Cancer and we received a telephone call from one of Sid’s many friends asking if we were interested in doing a drive from Lands End to John O Groats. We jumped at the chance to do some good with this little car. We got together with some very good friends who all jumped at the chance to join us and we will be raising money for Cancer Research and Stand Up to Cancer in the hope that lives can be saved.

I am Phil Thompson, I am 62, and have been married to Moira, the same age as me, for 41 years! We have members of the MX5OC for approximately  6 years. During our membership,  we have owned Mk1 ‘s  Mk 2.5, and our current Mx5, is a Mk3.75, called The Beast. During my membership, I was Area Coordinator for 3 years for the Yorkshire Ridings, but at the end of last year, I transferred my membership,  to North East Midlands. Our car has been modified a great deal , and I now attend a lot of Trackdays. Our car won the car of the year, whilst we were Yorkshire Ridings members, and Moira and I won the Persons of the Year award also. Almost 3 years ago, I was diagnosed with cancer of the parotid gland, which is a gland in the neck, that affects the saliva gland. aI underwent a 4 hour operation at Sheffield Hallamshire Hospital, by the surgeon and specialist Muzamill Nusrath. This man saved my life, If I had left it 2 weeks, it would have been inoperable. Several weeks later, I commenced 6 weeks of Radiotherapy,  at Weston Park Hospital in Sheffield. I drove there every day, in my Mx5, including Boxing Day! The staff and attention, and care was incredible, after effects,  and discomfort,  were not nice! Moving forward,  I attend Doncaster Royal Infirmary, just for a quick check up. Moira and I would like to support Weston Park, and the stand up to Cancer Campaign. I have an appointment in June, when I will make them aware of our event next year, would love to see my surgeon Muzzy, when we pass through. 
Phil and Moira Thompson

Like many families worldwide our family has been affected by Cancer. We both have family members and friends who have battled this dreadful disease. Some thankfully have beat it, and sadly others have lost their fight. 
Through our love of our MX5 we have been lucky enough to meet some great friends and have shared some amazing experiences.
We are looking forward to kicking off our year long fundraising campaign and feel proud to be part of this great team. We look forward to our adventures on the trip next year. 
Thanks
John and Michele Hoy

In the summer of 1996 my mother Silvia Little died

We are doing this drive in her memory

She was frightened of hospitals so the symptoms of her illness went undetected for some time as she suffered in silence

She had growths removed and had treatment but stopped as it was making ill

Funding is needed to research the causes of this disease

I am James Arnold, I am 56 and I have been married to Dorian for 17yrs. We have been members of the MX5OC for 6 years since I bought my Mk 3.5 called Scarlet for obvious reasons.

We wanted to take part in this drive to raise funds to allow the fight against cancer to continue and increase the number of people who are able to survive cancer.

We are doing the run in memory of my first wife Rosaline; Who at the age of 28 was diagnosed with Hodgkins disease.
She put up a fight for 3 yrs but in May of 1994, She lost the battle and died at the age of 31.
So when I found out about the run I felt it was something I needed to do.
James and Dorian Arnold.

We really hadn’t any first hand experience of cancer until 15 years ago when Martin’s dad was diagnosed with bowel cancer. We remember visiting him in the Intensive Care ward and thinking that we’d not be seeing him around for much longer. He was 70 and was fully active, growing vegetables (competitively – he couldn’t do anything without it being competitive!) on his allotment and looking after Martin’s mum who was 10 years older than him. He was a ‘toy boy’ in the 50’s before the phrase had even been coined.

Fortunately he was under the care of a very progressive surgeon at Lincoln County Hospital. Dr Reasbeck clearly understood that there was still plenty of life in him and was able to carry out surgery to remove his colon and ‘re-plumb’ his healthy tissue to form a pouch, thus removing the necessity for a colostomy bag. He’s just turned 85 and is still going strong. Had this happened 10 or 20 years before I don’t believe this surgery would have been available, so who knows what progress will have been made in the next 10 years.

In the ensuing years cancer has affected innumerable members of our close family, friends and work colleagues. Thanks to the ongoing research into this awful illness many of these people are in remission and living full and active lives.

Additionally I’ve had a bit of a scare with raised PSA levels leading to suspicions of prostate cancer. Several biopsies later and nothing has been found, but I’m having 6 monthly checks to be sure.

We wanted to take part in this drive to raise funds to allow the fight against cancer to continue and increase the number of people who are able to survive cancer.

My name is Barry Badger (aka Moley) I still run a local Radio Station with my joint director Chris for the last 13 years in Market Harborough which is my passion for the music industry, I have been a member of the North East Midlands region for 6 years. I own 3 Mazda Mx5’s, a Mk 3 Zsport, Mk2 10AE and a Mk I California.

I have always had various sports cars through my lifetime but have stayed with Mx 5’s for past 14 years the first being the 10AE.
When the idea of driving from Lands End to John O’Groats came up this seemed a perfect opportunity to take this challenge in a Mazda Mx 5.

Raising money for cancer convinced me to join my group of friends with my Mazda’ Mx5, as my late Father passed away sadly when I was only 14 years of age, but all  those years ago there was limited treatments for this dreadful disease. Since that time I have experienced family and friends with various aspects of cancer. So for myself being able to contribute my support to raise money for ongoing research and try to drive out cancer is my way of way of achieving a goal towards this, with the 1000 mile drive from Lands End to John O’Groats. 
So please support this worthwhile cause and drive out cancer.

We bought our Mazda MX5 in 2003 & joined the owners Club.  Since then we have had endless days out, many holidays & made some amazing long lasting friendships.

We have decided to make this trip from Land’s End to John O’Groats, as like everyone else we have family & friends who have Cancer, sadly some are no longer with us.

As part of a team of MX5 enthusiasts we want to raise as much cash as possible for SU2C whilst doing something we enjoy. 
Looking forward to our next adventure, with tops down all the way!
(Weather permitting of course)

Nigel & Jo Beardsmore