The Topless Ladies car rally was held on Sunday 20th June 2010 for ladies in topless cars (what else!)  Everyone had a really great day, and raised over £2600 for CLEFT!

CLEFT would like to thank William Hulse and Jan Archer for organising this great event and to all the competitors who entered the event in a spirit of fun (and not without a competitive edge) for their own generous support without whom of course the event would not have been possible.

The winter months spent on the painstaking detail paid off, but would have been impossible without the help of family and friends all of whom braved the cold morning manning the checkpoints and setting out the skill course the day before on a wet and windy airfield. We had 20 cars start out of 23 entries, an excellent number given this was the first rally of it's kind in Essex, but could easily have doubled the number had we opened it up to men as well!

From the feedback we will keep it as a ladies rally all of whom proved proficient navigators (no one lost) and competitive drivers particularly on the Carver Barracks timed section of the skills test! We did however have to remind one couple who settled down for a nice cup of tea at Andrewsfield just 5 mins after the start that they only had 5 hours to complete the 70 mile course! The whole day went without incident and the army checkpoint at Carver proved to be very popular both for the ladies and men in uniform. We were also surprised how observant women are (not sure why) but almost everyone scored highly in identifying names places and images as well as resourceful in designing some imaginative hats!  

The winners Julie Redfern and Catherine bond from Great Chesterford  driving a convertible BMW scored 270 points just ahead of the chasing pack in a close finish to the line, the skills test was won by Jan's own daughter driving my 1972 MGB roadster ( no practice or prior knowledge of the course) but their exposed tops may have influenced the marshals unfairly!

Bardfield Vineyard proved an excellent venue (how cool to start by driving through the middle of a grade 1 listed barn built by Henry VIII ) and to come back to a hog roast and live music! We have many supporters to thank for their huge efforts and contributions including Duxford Country Kitchens for providing the hog roast and our own Priors Hall Farm for supplying the succulent pig! Alan Jordan was immensely generous in allowing us to use the Vineyard and Great Lodge (the wines proved popular prizes) to stage the event, and without the support of commercial sponsors the final total raised for CLEFT would have been a lot less.