Bubblegum Bangers Rally Day 6, Guernsey

Day 6, 2 October, 11.25pm, home.

THE end is here.

After 2,207 miles taking in eight different countries over five days, the end of the rally has come.

The last day started pretty ropey for most people after last night's end rally party and presentation evening in the swanky L'Atelier Renault Restaurant in the centre of Paris.

It turned into a late one.

A few of us ended up in a little bar off the Champs d'Elysees and didn't rock into the hotel until 4.30ish.

Getting up a couple of hours later proved to be a challenge but thankfully negotiating our way out of traffic hell that is Paris was surprisingly painless before hitting the peage and making St Malo in good time.

In actual fact it was a real pleasure driving through the Parisian suburbs in blazing sunshine while listening to The Verve.

I've already mentioned about our playlists for each country and I have to add that every day we made sure that we listened to some Seasick Steve but there were other times on the trip when our iPods have played integral parts in the experience.

For example, listening to The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan while making our way out of Rouen on a beautiful Sunday morning, going through north Germany on our way to the Rhineland playing Sigur Ros and having the Orbital and The Future Sound of London on full blast as we meandered through the snow topped mountains of the Swiss Alps.

Excuse me while I wax lyrical but these were what Wordsworth called 'moments in time'.

The whole rally has been full of great moments.

It's hard to believe that we only set out on this adventure last Saturday.

We've done so much from the party in the car park in Rouen, the challenges in Amiens and Antwerp then onto a night out in Amsterdam, driving through stunning German countryside and round the Nurburgring.

Onto Switzerland and the mountains and the San Bernardino Pass, followed by bringing the Arc de Triomphe to a standstill before rounding it all off with a riotous party in Paris.

My personal highlight was the Arc de Triomphe.

It was truly uplifting to see our little island stamp its mark on the national monument.

The end of the rally was also heart-warming.

After coming off a tumultuous ferry journey through the rough seas in the dark, all of the rally drove in convoy down the harbour front a couple of times, tooting their horns and setting off fireworks.

It was a spectacular and fitting climax.

Yet so much more happened on the rally and it's impossible to do it justice through a single person writing a daily blog.

All 160 odd people who were on the rally have their own stories and experiences that could fill a book.

Sadly there was one casualty today.

The Dude Where's My Car team's fur covered Datsun Bluebird with a golf tee on it's roof, which was awarded the banger of the trip by the other teams, finally packed up half an hour out of Paris.

It got towed down to St Malo while the lads will have to endure another night on tour.

They will no doubt try their hardest to make the best out of a bad situation.

With regards to broken cars, a big shout out must go to John Dunne and Dale Crowsley, or Dave as he likes to be known, in the support vehicle.

Crowsley as managing director of Forest Road Garage also supplied our Mazda 323 and Island FM's KIA.

Mention also has to go to my team mate Nick Mann.

We didn't have one falling out apart from going onto the Arc de Triomphe for the first time and I momentarily failed to appreciate his constructive criticism of my driving.

All the other rally goers deserve praise as well.

There was not one bad apple in the bunch.

But there is one person who needs to be singled out and that is Brin Harrison.

It is mindboggling to think how much effort he has put in over the last year in organising the event which has been nothing less than awesome.

The whole rally has been a wonderful experience and it is all down to Harrison.

Driving round in his customised Renault 2 ½ Special, he always had a smile on his face and went out of his way to ensure that everyone was involved.

Thanks to him, and to all of the participants, the five days raised more than £25,000 for the Mines Awareness Trust.

I don't know if there is a 2008 Guernsey unsung hero award going, but Mr Bailiff sir, if you're reading this, get ready to give this man an accolade.

He has done Guernsey proud.