It’s a wrap!
Like all good holidays, it all ended far too soon. Before you’d even unpacked your suitcase it was time to scour the house for lost toys, check beneath the sofa, empty the fridge and re-pack the roof-box. The Staycation Special is over. You can watch the full feed here, if you are so inclined)
What a night that was! Two hours of automotive madness, banter, fading light and chaos. The fairy lights weren’t working, the interior lights kept going off but you all persevered and exercised patience as we once again disappeared down the rabbit hole that is Geoff Buys Cars.
I’m a Geoff, you’re a Geoff, we’re all Geoffs, and after the usual run around the houses, we got to the giveaway. The first rabbit out of the hat was first place, a chap called Chris James would be the lucky new owner of either Pablo the Saab or the Citroen XM Estate.
Confusingly (but utterly predictably for a Geoff Special) there were 2x Chris James involved, one who was watching live from a pub and one who wasn’t. Could the real Chris James please stand up? The one in the pub thought he’d hit the jackpot, only to find out later to his bitter disappointment that he was indeed the wrong Chris James. Geoff Buys Cars offers no refunds and there wasn’t time to photoshop a birth certificate and pretend he lived in Swansea, so the fake Chris James was forced to drown his sorrows whilst the real Chris James was found and given the good news. The pressure on the night proved too hot to handle… it would be more than 24 hours before the real Chris James stood up put one of those fingers on each hand up (to the other Chris James) and stuck a Welsh flag on the XM.
A proud moment for everyone involved! Except the wrong Chris James.
Beautiful French cars, fast Swedes and disappointed Chris’s aside, there was still the matter of Pablo Picasso to deal with.
Upon finding out that his rabbit the next one to be accidentally slammed in a French window (happened to a Gerbil once, ask Nanny Sue, it wasn’t even our Gerbil), Jim uttered a victorious cry of ‘oh god no’ and logged off the feed, deleted Geoff’s number and blocked Geoff on Facebook.
With the main draw over and the momentum of the Geoff’ness still running at almost full velocity, we fire straight into the backup draw and did another Geoff Special for the Ford Escort or Toyota Celica. Powered by nothing but Shirley Temple (the drink) and enthusiasm, we powered through the darkness and did the draw not by candlelight but by the light of some Pumpkin LED string lights. Nothing like planning ahead!
Paul Beard’s rabbit was the first one out of the gate, and after some deliberation he opted for the Toyota Celica. More on that car soon.
The next morning Jim the Picasso Winner sent a sheepish email asking if there was a more suitable name to fit on the V5 of the Xsara Picasso, and could I kindly find one.
Joking aside, Jim was a legend about the whole process, and very kindly emailed to ask if there was someone who needed the car more than he did… and there was.
FULL LIST OF WINNERS
Chris James – The Citroen XM or Pablo the Saab
Jim Fitton – The Citroen Xsara Picasso
Connor Murdock – A model BMW 7 Series
Robert Mortimer – A model Escort Cosworth
Jamie O’Hara-Smith – A model Renault Clio
Wullie Lewis – A model Saab 9-5 Estate
Jesse toms – A model Saab 9-3
Robert Mortimer – A Hotwheels Mazda MX5
Here’s the story…
Some months ago MrsGeoff popped into town and noticed a black Volvo V70 T5 with a sticker on the side saying ‘Sam’s T5 Story’. Sam is a young chap with quite a story, and is a massive Volvo fan. We did a bit of digging and watched all of Sam’s YouTube videos, and were touched by his journey and what he’s up to.
We strolled up the road and left some Geoff loot and a letter on top of the V70 T5, and a couple of days later Sam’s Dad got in touch and we’ve been chatting occasionally ever since.
By sheer coincidence, the very same moment that Jim was typing an email asking me to find a home for the Picasso, Sam’s Dad was on WhatsApp talking about a ropey looking VW Golf he’d found and saying he needed something very cheap and good on fuel whilst their T5 goes into the workshop.
Sorted.
Two nights later in the pouring rain, Tom collected the sandpit from outside Geoff HQ and the Picasso will now go and live with Tom, Sam and the team.
The final twist in the tale was the Picasso Painting that MrGeoff and SmallGeoff had done and framed, which raised a staggering £85 through the charity auction, making a total of £150 to be donated to MIND through the various recent activities and the eBay proceeds.
The whole experience was a great result, and it just shows what the wonderful world cars can produce when you concentrate more on people and fun than on fast cars and profit.
Thanks to everyone who was involved, I had a great time and I hope you did too.
PS the Escort hasn’t sold. Repsol wrap and raffle…? Or no? £1500 if you want it.
Anyway, onto the next one. I’m going all out for it.
Thanks for reading!
