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Hawking a Chr tmas bonanza

In this fast-moving, fast-changing world there are few constants. But at Christmas we can still rely on some traditional elements to remind us of festive seasons past the Queen's speech; a repeat of The Great Escape on Boxing Day; relatives buying you cardigans in unspeakable colours ; neighbours who normally ignore you inquiring after your health; the illusion that your bank account has swelled by an imaginary amount (an illusion sadly dispelled by the first bills of the New Year); a card arriving from someone you last met the day you left school; the mistaken belief that the truce called between you and your in-laws will survive Christmas lunch; children developing mysterious stomach complaints when your GP has sensibly gone skiing for a fortnight.

All these delights are touching in themselves. But none can compete with the greatest tradition of all— the Hawk's Christmas Charity Bonanza. Yes, it's that time again, when the Hawk's friends in the industry rummage in their goodie cupboards to provide prizes to enable Commercial Motor to support a nominated charity. This year that charity is Save the Children, founded after the First World War, to save children from disease and want.

According to SIC, the gap between rich and poor in many countries is widening and growing numbers are being excluded from the basic rights of shelter, clean water and medical treatment. One sixth of the world's population (800 million people) have no proper health care; this includes most children in sub-Saharan Africa and millions across Asia. As a result, many children are dying of preventable diseases.

In Nepal, for example, one in 10 children die before their first birthday and there is only one doctor for every 13,556 people. By comparison, in the UK we spend E723 per person, per year on healthcare. In Ghana it is £2.40, in Nepal £1.50 and in Mozambique just 75p. Money raised from the Hawk's competition will help fight the most serious decline in healthcare standards since the Second World War.

COMPETITION RULES A selection of prizes are outlined below which readers can win for the cost of a postcard and stamp. For each postcard received CM will donate 20p to Save The Children. Last year's competition raised £440 for Shelter, in the previous year Oxfam received £500. Full rules are set out below. Prizes will be despatched as soon as possible after the closing deadline.

I. Answer correctly the question below each offer and send your answer on a postcard with your name and address. 2. Make sure you include the reference number of the competition entered and your size lithe prize is an item of clothing.

3. Try as many as you like but each entry must be on a separate postcard.

4. Entries to Hawk's Christmas Bonanza, Commercial Motor, Quadrant House, The Quadrant, Sutton, 5M2 5A5 by Friday 17 January 1997, 5. The Editor's decision is final and no correspondence will be entered into.

1. A century of Leyland

his year a number of publishers have rushed into print to celebrate 100 years of Leyland lorries, vans and buses. Naturally, the Hawk has received review copies of assorted publications and videos all laying claim to tell the story of this great British vehicle manufacturer.

Rather than hoard these delights, the Hawk has decided to offer one reader his mini-collection of Leyland artifacts which include two books: Leyland Lorries, A Celebration (a substantial hardback published by Nynehead) and Leyland I.-orries and Vans by John

Hanson, a pocket-sized resume published by Auto Review.

The package also includes a video, Leyland 100—A Century of Progress, from Vintage World, perfect for that blissful post-Xmas lunch hour when everyone else has fallen asleep and the telly is all yours. One clever reader can win all three items by telling me the real name of that other long standing British tradition, Cliff Richard.

Was he christened: a) Harry Harman.

b) Harry Webb.

c) Richard Clifton.

2. Luxury from Leyland

M oving into the pre M oving into the pre

sent, those kind folk at Leyland have provided the Hawk with the Leyland Daf deluxe driver's pack, a gift so desirable that cabinet ministers are rumoured to be on the point of resigning so they can take up lorry driving to enjoy such largesse.

The kit includes a deluxe sleeping bag, bath towel, executive wash-kit, multipurpose torch arid clock. radio alarm. Such a stylish piece of kit can only be allowed to end up in the hands of a genuine style guru; someone able to recognise the difference between Mod t et Chandon and a bubblegum-flavoured alcopop, or to answer this simple question about stylish crooner, Frank Sinatra.

Did he implore his loved one to:

a) Come fly with me. h) Come outside with me, c) Come to the pictures with me.

3. Making a MAN of you

i0fter Christmas lunch it is absolutely essential that you get out of that armchair and take the dog for a walk. It could add years to your life.

But when you step into that crisp winter afternoon it is equally important that you are wrapped up well.

This is where MAN comes in. It has sent the Hawk a warm driver's jacket in deep blue with beige arms, cotton outer fabric with dry wax finish and a thermally-efficient filling.

Sound cosy? You want it? Well, answer this question about a famous man.

Count Ferdinand Von Zeppelin's most inflated invention is associated with the First World War. Was it:

a) A heavy metal rock group.

h) A reversible camouflage overcoat.

c) An airship.

4. Time for Mercedes

a• hese days a reliable

watch is an invaluable accessory out on the road. Just-in-time deliveries wait for no man, or woman. But to make timekeeping a pleasure, not a chore, your wrist needs to be adorned with a watch supplied by Mercedes-Benz, so cool in its black finish with subtly delineated red/green face that it would sit comfortably in a Swatch collection.

I have one on offer and to win it just answer the following question.

Which former member of Monty Python's Flying Circus directed Time Bandits?

a) John Cleese.

h) Terry Gilliam.

c) Eric Idle.

5. Toying around with Scania

0 t heart we're all still i kids. With some of us it doesn't stop at the heart but extends all the way to our little toes. So what better surprise to brighten up the New Year than to win an authentic model of a Scania 4-Series Topline, the very top of the range of Scania's big newie, complete with its unique feature, the overhead hunk. The Hawk has two of these fine models to hand over to the smart alecs who reckon they can answer the next question.

Which spirited wonder horse won the Grand National in 1973, 1974 and 1977?

a) Red Alligator.

b) Russian Hero.

c) Red Rum.

6. Seddon Atkinson maps the way

ost nights in the Hawk's local, the Weasel & Calculator, an argument will develop between drinkers assembled around the real fake log fire about the best route to take when trying to reach Trewermack from Water Orton (or any other implausible journey you care to think about).

The ensuing debate goes on for hours with opposing sides scratching maps on the real fake mahogany bar with the sharp end of pipe cleaners. Similar arguments to these, taking place nightly in pubs up and down the country, can easily be settled by the two readers who win the Hawk's next prizes: a pair of Seddon Atkinson road atlases.

Who served as prime minister in the 1945-51 Labour Government?

a) Clement Attlee.

b) Sir Robert Walpole.

c) Earl of Liverpool.

7. You can never tyre of Dunlop

0 ust imagine how warm your wheels must feel with Dunlop tyres wrapped around them. Now you can recreate that feeling on your own torso, courtesy of SP Tyres, maker of Dunlop, which has supplied two classic car coats for CM readers to win.

Parka-styled in red microfibre with a warm, quilted lining, the coats are finished with antique brass-studded fasteners and contrasting black-trimmed front facing and cuffs. Satisfied? You will be when you see them. To win one answer this royal question.

From which family of monarchs did Elizabeth I emerge?

a) The House of SaxeCoburg.

b) The Tudors.

c) The Plantaganets.

8. A dash of verve from Volvo

a. hose blue-haired,

blonde-eyed guys and gals at Volvo Truck never disappoint with their generosity—but hey, no stereotypes. This year, as last, they have supplied two of their heat-seeking blouson jackets which will cut the ice at formal and informal occasions wherever the trucking fraternity meet. Don't be shy then. Answer this brainteaser for a chance to kit yourself out in one of these fine outer garments.

Which of these is not in Merseyside?

a) Calderdale.

b) Knowsley.

c) Wirral.

9. Renault shows its bubbly nature

fter Christmas, when the in-laws have gone home, your friends have tired of coming back after the pub closes every night and the neighbours have ceased dropping in for a "quick one", one fact becomes depressingly apparent. The fortune you spent on Christmas cheer, from cases of beer to sickly liqueurs, has been transformed into several cardboard boxes of crushed cans and empty bottles. There's nary a sup left, apart from half-a-bottle of medium dry British cooking sherry.

Fear not, for our good friends at Renault are prepared to launch a magnum of fine champagne against the ship of your despair.

To put the fizz back in your life, pull the cork on this question.

What does the French phrase "a bon marche" mean?

a) a big lorrv.

b) a good bargain.

c) a love affair.

10. ERF's last Rollo

5he Hawk's generosity knows no bounds. He is prepared to give his last Rollo to a lucky reader and, what's more, it comes attached as the livery of a scale-model El*' EC series tanker. This handsome model is joined by two compatriots--a white/green Marks & Spencer reefer and a Team ERF unit in handsome navy/red. Three model artics are coming up for three lucky readers. Just answer me this.

Who wrote the blank verse epic Paradise Lost?

a) John Milton.

b) John Gummer.

c) John Lennon.

11. Feeling warm with Foden

0 o January arrives and to cheer yourselves up you rush off to the sales to spend money you haven't got on a driving jacket to encourage you to climb into the saddle of a new year. But woah, stay your horses, put that over-exercised credit card away. With a bit of luck you could win a chunky burgundy/grey jacket stamped with that name of stout quality and no-nonsense, Foden of Sandbach.

I have one of these prize items of clothing to send to the first reader who can tell me this.

Which team won the Football League three consecutive seasons from 1980-1 through to 1983-4?

a) Luton.

b) Liverpool.

c) Leyton Orient.

12. They're all heart at Imexpart

5 he Hawk welcomes allcomers to this column, so a big hello to components supplier lmexpart of Leeds. making its first appearance in the Hawk's Christmas Charity Bonanza by donating an extremely fine 1/87 scale MAN arctic in a special presentation case. Let's have a film question to decide the winner.

What was the name of the Beatles second feature, released in 1965 and directed by Richard Lester?

a) Help!

b) Helter Skeiter.

c) Here We Go Round The Mulberry Bush.

13. 5/1_ gosch. it's Bosch

Of, like the Hawk, you translate the word DIY into Damage It Yourself, the next prize will he of no interest whatsoever. Fortunately CM's readers, for the most part, are the sort of people who are good with their hands and likely to jump at the chance to win one of six power tools donated by those generous folk at Bosch. The package is worth nearly £600 and comprises two cordless/drill screwdrivers, two electric scrapers and two cordless screwdrivers. Bosch tells me its power tools make light work of DIY tasks and, in my case, they would need to. But for you clever folk out there who fancy sticking an extra wing on the house during January this is just the competition for you. Apply your skills to this topical question. What do the initials ERM stand for?

a) Eye Rapid Movement.

b) Early Road Map.

c) Exchange Rate Mechanism.

14. Iveco Ford's bumper box

0 t's not really a question of leaving the best till last, but it's certainly a question of leaving the most till last. When New Ford Truck had finished filling the Hawk's garret with desirable goodies I made the following inventory: one gorgeous brown teddy bear in IFT red waistcoat and bow tie with navy trousers; two IFT navy rugby shirts; two white "Cargo" teeshirts; two midlength wax jackets (one navy, one forest): two IFT navy/light-blue trim EumTech bomber jackets; 10 IFT Sheaffer refillable ballpoint pens; two 24V truck kettles and two WT-emblazoned desk calculators. One is almost tempted to burst into song—"And a partridge in an IFT". Anyway, this lot must be worth a postcard. To be in with a chance of winning one of these lab prizes tell me which of these is the reputed birthplace of Christ:

a) Beirut.

b) Basingstoke.

c) Bethlehem.

Now all you have to do is put on your thinking caps and start scribbling your answers: no cheating and no conferring (well, go on then,! won't look). The Hawk returns in CM on 2 January; until then, keep the bottle-opener by your side at all times.