FEATURE: Monks Eleigh couple raring to go on 3,500-mile adventure across India in three-wheel car
The roar of the engine is deafening, and its power vibrates the floor under our feet like a foot massager on speed.
Belting down a country lane at what feels like 100mph – actually more like 40 – in a Morgan three-wheeler is exhilarating but slightly terrifying.
But this is the car in which Alan and Pat Braithwaite, both aged 73 and about to celebrate their golden wedding, plan to tackle something rather more ambitious than a quick trip down the road ... driving 3,500 miles across India.
Their 21-day Trans-India Challenge aims to raise £200,000 to support the country’s poorest communities through projects that allow them to help themselves.
They will be driving for about seven hours and covering up to 170 miles every day.
“It had a sports exhaust but I had that changed because it was too noisy,” shouts Alan, fighting to make himself heard as the wind whips our faces.
Back at their home in Monks Eleigh, we clamber out over the side – there are no doors. “So,” I suggest, “you won’t exactly be travelling in comfort?” “You get used to it,” Pat responds cheerfully.
The challenge brings together Alan’s lifelong passion for Morgan cars and the couple’s love of India.
But, before they go, he has another hurdle to face. He is due to have heart surgery next month, so they may delay their departure date from this autumn to February 2020.
“We’ve always been fascinated by India,” said Alan, whose grandfather was the country’s Home Minister – equivalent of the UK’s Home Secretary – before independence.
His mother was born in India, and his parents married there. “After the war, they all had to come home, which they hated,” said Alan. “They loved the country and the people.
“India has pervaded me since I was a boy. Although I travelled a lot on business, I’d never been there apart from five days in Mumbai.”
He also dreamed from boyhood of owning a Morgan sports car. His father was born in Malvern, where the cars – with their iconic retro shape – have been made since 1910.
“The four-wheeled Morgan with the long bonnet and louvres (air grilles) has always captivated me,” said Alan. He got his first in 2002 and his latest sits alongside the three-wheeler in the garage.
Pat and Alan, who have three daughters and five grandchildren, have lived in Suffolk for 43 years.
In 1985, they started their own specialist logistics and supply chain consultancy “on the dining room table”. It built an international reputation and finished up employing 40 staff.
They visited India for the first time in 2013. “We followed my grandmother and mother’s diaries and found where my parents married, and where they lived in Delhi and Simla.
“We thought ‘This is fantastic, we have to go back’. After we sold the business, we went back in 2017.
“We were driving along when suddenly there was this enormous noise behind us. It was the Bangalore Chapter of the Harley Davidson Owners’ Group ... 30 motorbikes.
“That sparked the idea we should bring a Morgan to India. Indians love unusual vehicles. We knew they’d love a three-wheeler.
“When we got home, we started saying let’s make this a reality. The first thing we did was buy the car. It cost £40,000, which is expensive but they are special.”
They bought it from Morgan dealers Krazy Horse in Bury St Edmunds, which customised it by raising the body, fitting crash plates and adding the eye-catching yellow and black paint.
The colours are a tribute to Alan’s father, who always said his dream car was a black Bristol with yellow wheels. Another poignant touch is the number plate TR10 MMC - trio for three, and MMC for Morgan Motor Company.
It belonged to a fellow enthusiast and dear friend who, when he knew he was terminally ill, said: “I want you to have my number plate.”
The three-wheeler causes a stir wherever it goes. It has the kind of quirky charm that makes builders lean out of their vans to get a photo.
With a 2 litre v-twin engine – also used on high-powered motorbikes – it is no Reliant Robin. “I’ve done 85mph on a motorway,” said Alan, adding that, in India, chaotic traffic and rural roads mean they will be lucky to top 30mph.
When they began planning the trip, they soon realised it could be so much more than just a long drive. “We thought, we can’t just do it, so we looked around for an organisation to support,” said Alan.
“I’ve been very interested in economic regeneration of poor communities. We looked for something that would really chime, and found this extraordinary organisation called Goonj, which has an almost social entrepreneurship business model.
“At first, I think they thought I was crazy. But apart from raising money, the trip will raise their profile – and provide entertainment for the communities they help.”
Gradually, it dawned on them what a huge task lay ahead. “We had no idea at first how much organisation it would take,” said Pat. Experts in communications and event support, Peter Brill and David Campbell, are now on board to help them.
The trip, which starts and ends in Mumbai, will be timed to avoid the monsoon and the hottest weather. A support car will carry luggage and spares, and one of the team will also be able to drive the Morgan. Pat only drives the four-wheeler.
“If we go in February, it will have been three years in the planning,” said Alan. “We’re looking forward to the adventure. This car puts a smile on people’s faces.”
