New Flash

I have good news to report, those who I have been in contact with recently may have heard my dilemma about my planned trip to The Gambia.

Around this time last year a group on my old university friends decided one night to apply for a voluntary charity rally from the shores of Plymouth to Banjul in Gambia.
Months passed without word until on day an email arrived, confirming the acceptance of the rally. The rally consists of about hundred-odd people from England buying any cheap budget left hand drive cars driving overland through the countries of France, Spain, Morocco, Mauritania, Senegal to The Gambia, where all the cars will be auctioned for charity. (Check out www.plymouth-banjul.co.uk for more info)

At this point there was no opportunity to involve myself in the team as the recommended size of a team was 2 and they already had 4. However I offered my limited knowledge and support and claimed a position as a sub in case anyone decided to opt out! …… you can guess how this fairytale is going to …. Begin…. Around September Sam decided for personal reasons he could not make the trip and therefore I jumped into a ‘ready made’ team. Car already purchased and plans being formulated. My plan initially was to quit my work just before the start so I could fund my journey but reaching the end of December 2005 I found that I was beginning to progress through work and was a little torn on whether or not to leave.

Then came new years and January my deadline was to decided and hand in my resignation one month before we were due to leave on the 9th Feb. Bad news struck us early, Mikey B decided to also abandon the rally due to personal reasons, and the remaining two of the group decided new of my tough decision. Deciding my options I decided to attempt proposing the volunteering trip to my manager on my first week back from Xmas and arrange my time as annual leave, I had no response and my last chance resign was approaching. Alas, the weekend before 9th Jan, no word form my manager, I reluctantly decide to stay at my work and also abandon the team.

Two days later however, my manager calls me over for a chat, “yes we can arrange your time off, but you must show commitment to work…sfsjdfthfa…..” (I didn’t hear the rest of the conversation, that was all I wanted to know!)