Sierra Leonean motoring enthusiast drives cross-country from northern Scotland to southern England

Sierra Leone Telegraph: 13 August 2021:

His name is Lindsay Benjamin. Born and bred in Freetown, Sierra Leone and living in the UK. On 17 and 18 August 2021 Lindsay will be driving his Vauxhall Vectra Estate 1.9 SRI turbodiesel on a breathtaking, end-to-end tour of Britain, from John O’Groats in the far north of Scotland to Land’s End in southern England – a total of about 850 miles.

Why is he doing it? Lindsay is committed to raising funds for a worthy cause – his favourite charity – the UK Alumni Association of the Sierra Leone Grammar School.

Speaking to the editor of the Sierra Leone Telegraph – Abdul Rashid Thomas, this is what he said:

“I am a keen motorist, and I am a member of two advanced driving associations.  I live in Britain. I grew up in Sierra Leone and have good memories of attending the Sierra Leone Grammar School, the oldest secondary school in West Africa.  I studied science at “A” Level and that gave me a good foundation for my career at mechanical engineering companies in Britain.  Several alumni who graduated from school up to the 1990s have had distinguished careers in various disciplines.

“However, today’s students at the school do not have these advantages.  The country’s economic difficulties mean that the school needs significant investment in science in order to attain previous standards.

“Today’s students are just as bright as my generation, they just need a similar opportunity to build their own futures after their promising starts.  See the website www.stemforslgs175.com, especially “The Cause” tab.

“The UK Alumni Association of the Sierra Leone Grammar School, Registered Charity 1146279, has arranged for five runners to represent the school at the Virtual London Marathon this autumn.  My competitive running days are long past, but I want to supplement the effort by doing a long car drive.  This will be an end-to-end tour of Britain, from John O’Groats to Land’s End on the 17^th and 18^th August 2021, about 850 miles.  This will feature:

• Recording the entire trip using a hardwired Dashboard Camera that monitors both speed and geographical location, then presenting the highlights at an interactive question and answer session in a Zoom meeting on 27^th August at 9pm UK BST.
• Aiming for a calendar time of 30 hours, from 08:00 hrs on Tue 17^th to 14:00 hrs on Wed 18^th.  I hope to get under 18 hours driving time.
• My intended route south from John O’Groats is:
  • The A99 road to Wick
  • The A9 road all the way to Edinburgh
  • The A7 cross-country road to Carlisle
  • The M6 motorway to just south of Birmingham
  • (overnight stop at Bromsgrove)
  • The M5 motorway to Exeter
  • The A30 road to Land’s End.

“During the non-motorway stretches I will stop to make and broadcast hourly Facebook videos.”

Please donate through our Gofundme page – Click Here

You can take part in the Zoom discussion with Lindsay after his solo cross-country power driving by using the following zoom access details, on 27^th August at 9pm UK BST:

Zoom Meeting ID 850 6641 8810

Passcode: 083824