Derek Hannah R.I.P.

My mate Degsy - Col de la Faucille - Friday 4th November 1995 - Here he is, with probably his third or fourth Grolsch of the day.

I did the Italian Job charity run three times. The second time I did it I took Degs as my co-driver. It was the most memorable of the three. He was the worst navigator, in the world. Although he did manage to direct us out of Paris using a street map of Milan!!! He also managed to save my life quite literally. . . But that's another story.

We left the Dieppe ferry at midnight to drive through the night via Paris. We stopped in a rest area on the motorway for a kip and then set off, in the rain at 6.30am for Switzerland. By about 9 we were descending the Col de la Faucille and the sun was shining. We pulled over, by the side of the road, to take in the view of Lake Geneva, below us. All was going well and we spent a leisurely day driving the Swiss alpine roads. We shared a ski lodge with the rest of our convoy and got smashed in a little alpine bar. I was feeling generous and got everyone's meal on my credit card. By the time we reached Italy, the following morning, we had both run out of money and my credit card bounced at an Italian service station. Derek had spent the last of his cash on beer. We were both banking on our wages being paid in, the Thursday before, but they hadn't been. Either that, or we were both completely overdrawn. (This is more likely).
We borrowed about £20 off Phil Sullivan to pay for our tank of fuel (I'm still not sure if I paid you back Phil?) So we were without cash until Monday. But on Monday we discovered that we couldn't use a British switch card abroad. Luckily for us we were staying B&B in our pre-booked hotels. We were guaranteed at least one meal a day. But we needed money for drinks in the bar and fuel. I phoned up my credit card company and got my limit upped to £1500. When I got home, 10 days later, I had lost about a stone and had a credit card bill for about £900. Most of it was for hotel bar tabs. It took me another couple of years to pay it off.

Everyone who met Degsy on the Italian Job in '95 has never forgotten him. As Tony Fidoe put it; "Degsy's a star!".

I'll miss you Matey! You're a Star. . .