Pensioner’s Middle Earth charity rally

Carolyn Corliss (76) from Bourne will be taking on the Famous Fireball Monte Carlo Rally next month to raise money for children’s charity Action Medical Research.

Carolyn will be driving an old Nissan Primera across seven countries - with a giant dragon on the roof of the car for her Hobbit themed adventure.

She said: “What with the ‘Fireball’ name, we had to have a dragon, and the first one we could think of was Smaug. So from there it snowballed into a ‘Middle Earth’ theme, which should be a lot of fun!”

Carolyn – who will wear a Belladonna ‘Took’ Baggins costume - will be joined by her friend Richard Gumsley (Gandalf), 77, and nephew Chris Gamble (Frodo), 44.

A talented amateur artist, she has created the dragon’s 6 foot body out of chicken wire, fibreglass and expanded polyurethane. The team bought the realistic-looking head from eBay.

Carolyn’s no stranger to driving challenges: she completed ‘Scumrun’ for Action Medical Research in May 2018, raising more than £1,500 in the process. Her team will even be using the same car.

This year, she hopes to raise £2,000. She said: “I first came across Action a few years ago and it’s been a charity that’s very close to my heart ever since.

“Very few people have heard of Action and so I’m honoured to be able to take on such a fun challenge to not only help raise funds but also a bit of awareness for them too.”

Carolyn will also be making a fundraising appearance – along with Smaug - at Truckfest in Peterborough over the May Bank Holiday Weekend (5 and 6 May).

You can read more about her challenge on her fundraising page https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/carolyn-corliss1