Page 91 - QDG 2022

shaft sheared which left Guy stranded on the side of a very remote road. It says a lot about Guy, that he calmly flagged down a truck heading south to Angola and hitched a ride for both him and his van, across the border, through the bandit province of Cabinda, all the way to the gate of the British Embassy in Luanda.
The ambassador to Angola, Roger Stringer, a fellow ex army officer, imme- diately took Guy under his wing and it was in this fantastic country that I joined Guy for two weeks as his driver. Seeing Guy, first hand, dealing with seemingly insuperable problems is a lesson in bottomless patience. The spare part I had brought out to mend the van.... did not fit. Never mind, the local mechanic (one of the many who bent over backwards to help Guy throughout Africa) reassem- bled the van, we strapped the prop shaft on top, and set off in two wheel drive.
Angola is a misunderstood country. Our first encounter was with a charming hotelier (we were camping in his car park) who explained that he had fought
on the Communist side long civil war, simply because his whole community had. The Soviet backed communist side (MPLA) won. No longer
son’s. I have seen him not being able to get money out of his wallet, struggling to peel a banana and ending up in tears
1st The Queen’s Dragoon Guards
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Marxist, this party has led a very stable and peaceful country since 2002. Another passionate Angolan, who sold us some new tyres, and in whose garden we camped for two nights, explained to us that having experienced one million fellow Angolans killed, the whole country was simply tired of war. It is now very peaceful and very friendly.
The toughest part of the journey was over but
the most emotional part was yet to come
simply attempting to put on a pair of shorts. Sharing these experiences with Guy I now better understand the effects of this inhibiting disease.
For some of Guy’s journey, including his final moment of arriving at Cape Agulhas, Guy has been accompanied by filmmaker Rob Hayward. Rob has documented key moments of Guy’s amazing journey and a film of this epic challenge is due out in summer 2023. You will cry.
On crossing the border
into Namibia, Guy was on
his “home straight” towards
Cape Town. The toughest
part of the journey was over but the most emotional part was yet to come. It has been a lifelong dream of Guy’s to drive through Africa, but little did he ever think he would do it while coping with Parkin-
To see all the amazing stories of encouragement and help he received look up www.
guydeacon.co.uk
M A-M
Guy broadcasting about Parkinson’s on Angola radio
“30 years dreaming, two years planning,16,000 miles over 12 months travelling, over 20 countries and 3500 pills later I reach the southern tip of Africa”