The BLOODHOUND Ambassadors played a vital role during the debut of the Car at the BLOODHOUND Expo in London in September.
As we reach the end of a busy year, we asked more of our Ambassadors to share their experiences. If these inspire you to join us as an Ambassador, you can find out more about the Ambassador programme in the Education section of our website and then please sign up using the link on that page.
We’d like to thank all of our Ambassadors for their help with the BLOODHOUND Project this year and to thank John Landshoff, Tony Barber and Allan Reid for their stories.
A full 24 hours in the life of an Ambassador
By John Landshoff
My alarm went off at 3am on a September Saturday and I left Bristol on the 4.25am bus to London. A gorgeous sunrise greeted our arrival in London and I hopped onto the tube to Canary Wharf. I walked in to see the Car and a practically empty venue, which soon filled up with the team. We all posed for a group photo and then the day began in earnest.
I was working with Seema Quraishi (the BLOODHOUND Ambassador Programme Manager) and several other ambassadors on reception greeting the public and pointing out the various exhibits. A small queue formed outside for the 9am viewing, with each successive viewing getting more and more people.
The public were enthusiastic and keen to see the Car, with a lot of parents dragged into the venue by very excited children. I got to meet a lovely gentleman who had driven Donald Campbell’s cars for him and helped prepare one of the cars in which he broke the world speed record. He showed us a signed dedicated photo and was invited to come to the Technical Centre.
After the last viewing at 5pm I offered to stay and help with the take down, which included loading the Car onto its transport and completely clearing the venue. I was given a lift back to Bristol, finally arriving home at 3.10am on Sunday just over 24 hours after my alarm had gone off the day before.
An inspiring experience
By Tony Barber
I found the event a most interesting and inspirational experience. It gave me the opportunity to discuss and explain many aspects and challenges of the Project to a wide range of visitors from all over the country, and enthuse them throughout the day.
BLOODHOUND – Putting on my Ambassador shirt with pride
By Allan Read
I can't begin to tell you how genuinely proud and honoured I was to be at Canary Wharf debuting the real 1000mph Car alongside the whole BLOODHOUND Team. As a seasoned ambassador I'm well used to presenting at events, but this one was the BIG one, so I put on my light blue ambassador shirt and made my way to Canary Wharf.
I had seen photos and videos of the unveiling of BLOODHOUND on social media and on the news so I thought I knew what to expect, but seeing the 98% finished Car for the first time was just awe inspiring because I’d previously only seen the Car in various stages of build at the Technical Centre.
Friday started with a team briefing and various job roles were issued. My first hour was on sales and my first order came from 1K Club President Ian Glover: "Allan, I need you to build me the model of BLOODHOUND from K'nex as we don't have one pre-built for display – it’s quiet complicated, so you'll need to read the instructions".
Now, my first reaction upon opening the box was to... yes, you've guessed it. But after a few minutes I retrieved the instructions and started building. Very quickly my first hour was nearly up, so having completed 98% of the K'nex model I handed it over to fellow Ambassador Ian Northeast (I never did find out if he finished it!).
Next up was centre stage with the Car where, for the next three hours, I found myself in direct firing line of hundreds of cameras and smartphones as the public filed past – apologies if I got in the way of a good shot of the car!
Till that point I'd only ever shown the public around the show car, so to be allocated the position of showing the cockpit of the real Car to the public was quite a privilege, especially when Andy Green was just the other side of the Car and Richard Noble kept coming up from time to time. Being on centre stage with the world’s fastest car and the world’s two fastest men at the same time was quite something!
Having spent the two public days supporting as an ambassador doing different jobs I felt right at home among friends. We all share that same passion for ‘Inspiring a Generation’ – that's what brings such a diverse group of individuals together. I made new friends and I also enjoyed seeing old friends, and even students whose schools I'd visited with the education team and who were keen to introduce me to their parents. We are making a difference!
The Expo finished as quickly as it started and it was time to break down the event. We had to be out of the venue by midnight and as I wasn't going anywhere in a hurry, so I pitched in. I thought I was going to get in the way, but after packing away many things I found myself assisting the engineering and REME team in manoeuvring BLOODHOUND out of the Winter Gardens – believe me, it’s not the same as moving the show car! Major Oli Morgan asked me to push BLOODHOUND from the NSR runway wheel saying “See how well it rolls!” and I have to say it did very easily.
After seeing BLOODHOUND winched up onto the trailer I said my goodbyes. With the slickest of operations we had made it out before midnight. Job done!
If you’re inspired by our Ambassadors’ tales, find out more about becoming a BLOODHOUND Ambassador – join our team now!
