Father and son take on European Road Trip and Banger Rally in Ford KA in memory of daughter cared for by Rowans Hospice

Geoff and Nick Kingstone, from Lee-on-the-Solent, will race 1,850 miles from London to Lisbon in Portugal, in a car rally to support Rowans Hospice in Portsmouth.

Geoff says he is ‘eternally grateful’ for their support after his daughter, Emma, was cared for at the hospice after being diagnosed with bone cancer.

There Emma received about seven weeks of end-of-life care and the duo want to give back to the hospice to thank them for their care.

The race, European Road Trip and Banger Rally - will see hundreds of car enthusiasts compete across five countries across 10 days until they reach the finish line at Portugal’s capital, Lisbon.

The duo will set off at 2pm on April 6 from the Rowans Living Care Centre in Waterlooville passing through Le Mans, La Rochelle, Bordeaux, through the Pyrenees, Burgos and Braga before finally reaching the Portugal coastline.

Geoff, who is retired and volunteers for Blind Veterans and The British Red Cross, said: ‘Rowans Hospice looked after our daughter Emma two years ago for seven weeks so we as a family would love to try and give something back.

‘It's been a hard couple of years but we've got a picture of Emma on our car so she'll be with us in a way.

‘We're starting tomorrow afternoon and we'll be going to London tomorrow evening where all the teams congregate.

‘You weren't allowed to spend more than £400 on your car.

‘The idea of the rally is to use cars that are all past their sell by date.’

Geoff, 68, and Nick, 38, think they can complete the course in five days.

The main qualifying requirement is that every competitor drives in a Ford KA.

After Rowans Hospice faced a ‘devastating’ financial hit to their income during the pandemic, they are only now starting to recover so staff were delighted on hearing the news they’d be fundraising for them.

The charity's director of income generation, Carol Milner, said: ‘We are delighted and so grateful to Geoff and Nick for their support of the Rowans Hospice charity in their quest to generate much needed income for local hospice care.

‘We are looking forward to hearing all about their journey when they return and would like to extend our thanks to everyone who has kindly donated to their fundraising page.

‘The charity is renowned for providing high quality palliative and specialist end of life care, with its role essential in supporting the NHS.

‘From the moment of diagnosis through to bereavement support, all care is given without charge and it is thanks to the wonderful support from people like Geoff and Nick that we can continue to provide this vital care to all those in our community who may be affected by life-limiting illness.’

A message from the Editor, Mark Waldron

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