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Good Samaritan Ambassadors
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A visit to Kochi and a taxi ride in an Ambassador car inspired Joanne in a small way to embark on this worldwide journey in this `Old Lady of Indian Roads' with Tim, discovers SHUBHANGI JOSHI.
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Joanne Bowlt, Tim Nicholson and their 'Florence', a Morris II. in Kochi.
SOME YEARS ago, Joanne Bowlt, from the UK, visited Kerala. For sightseeing, she had gone about in an Ambassador car. She had loved it then.And now, on a historic journey, she drove into Kochi on Friday last, with Tim in a Morris Series II, the same model of car, as the Landmaster - the original Hindustan Motors `Ambassador', introduced in India years ago.
Mission
With a mission to raise funds for the British Red Cross, Tim and Joanne have embarked on the longest car journey of their lives. Celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Morris Oxford, Tim Nicholson and Joanne Bowlt, started their historical drive on May 5, from Oxford, United Kingdom, to Oxford, New Zealand, in a 1954 Morris Series II, which they call `Florence'.
Kerala has been especially hospitable to the travellers and they have received offers of assistance from all quarters.
" From the offer by a small Ambassador garage owner in Kollam, who has invited us for a free checkup on our way through Kerala, to our stay in Fort Kochi at this beautiful hotel, every one has been extremely warm and generous" said Joanne relaxing at the Brunton Boatyard Hotel. Their further itinerary in God's own Country includes the backwaters at Kumarakom, and a stay at a Jungle Lodge in the Periyar Wildlife Reserve.
The Kerala experience
Joanne is especially looking forward to spending a night on a rice-boat at Kumarakom. Kerala has been an especially rich experience for the two, as Joanne remarks, "This state is so vibrant and varied in a relatively small geographic area, that it is truly amazing". Their Kochi stay included a Kathakali performance and sampling as much of the local cuisine as possible. If it were not for the long journey still ahead of them, they would have loved to take an idyllic break in Kerala, they said.
Unusual ambition
They have travelled extensively through France, Spain, Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Libya to reach the Western shores of the Indian Ocean in Egypt. From here, they shipped their `Florence', to Mumbai. They continued their journey through India, and drove south to Kerala. The fact that both are graduates from the Oxford University gave rise to this unusual ambition of driving across half the globe to reach another Oxford, a small rural village on the Waimakariri River in New Zealand. They have given up their comfortable jobs, let out their flats and sold off their belongings to buy their special Morris Series II. Yearning to do something exciting and unusual both Joanne and Tim signed up as Red Cross volunteers and hoped to raise a substantial sum charity driving around various nations.
"Though we are paying for our journey we are having a fantastic adventure", enthused Tim. "We do require help but we are not asking for money from anybody. We get enough help in kind from various companies once they know about our cause". Hindustan Motors for one, have been servicing Florence ever since she reached India.
Dedication has helped
Cox and Kings, have helped them with their bookings throughout Kerala. They have also received a lot of help from various shipping companies in India and Egypt, taking care of a major worry and great expense of ferrying the car across the seas. Their journey though, has not always been so comfortable. There have been occasions when they did not know where they would spend the night or where to take the car for minor repairs. Their single-minded dedication to the trip has carried them through on such occasions and helped them reach so far.
From here the couple will continue through Kerala and then across South India to Chennai. Traveling through India has only deepened the sense of wonder at the vastness and diversity of our country. Tim's first reaction on reaching Mumbai was most surprising. "Of all countries we had been through, none felt as close to home as India - it was raining continuously, English was commonly heard, and everyone was eating Indian food!"... a sentiment bearing testimony to the subtle influence of India on the world.
"In fact a lot of people had warned us against driving through Kerala this time of the year, but the rains have been beautiful" says Tim.
The couple has maintained a video record of their unique journey and Joanne plans to write a book on her adventures with `Florence'. They also maintain a website to record this journey - oxford2oxford.co.uk, which can be accessed for details on their amazing journey.
An antique motorcar, an adventurous couple, and a cause worth toiling over are the ingredients for a unique journey across nearly half the globe. The most significant aspect of the journey is their car - to the world she is a Morris II, to Tim and Joanne she is Florence but for us she has lived up to the Indian name of being a goodwill `Ambassador'!
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Metro Plus
Bangalore
Chennai
Coimbatore
Delhi
Hyderabad
Kochi
Madurai
Mangalore
Thiruvananthapuram
Vijayawada
Visakhapatnam
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