Here's a sight you don't see frequently enough: three female motoring journalists in one room. From left to right: Sophie Williamson Stothert, Sarah Bradley and yours truly. Sadly, Sophie is being dragged to the dark side (PR) by the promise of a salary.
   The event was the annual WOMAC party on board HMS President, moored on the Thames between Blackfriars Bridge and Temple. It was a great party, and the views were spectacular.
   Women on the Move Against Cancer is run by women working in the motor industry, and raises money for different cancer charities every year. We rely on our generous male and female friends in the industry to bring the money, some coming from corporate budgets, but an impressive amount being released from personal wallets.
   This year we are raising money for Sarcoma UK, and Chairman Janet Wilkinson was able to hand over a cheque for £15,000 on the night. More will follow.
  A big thank you to everyone who bought a ticket for the party, the raffle or the tombola, or who gave a donation. In these tough times, it's greatly appreciated.  

I wouldn't usually have made a beeline for a Landcrab at a classic car show. But, while strolling around the Lancaster Insurance Classic Motor Show at the NEC, I  stumbled upon this beautifully restored Morris 1800 with a familiar name on the door.
    The somewhat lumpy machine was a rally favourite, and gained the nickname Landcrab for its fondness for going sideways. This blue and cream model with pink corners was decked out for the 1970 World Cup Rally, and had the names of three woman drivers on the door. One of them was Jean Denton, who would later become Lady Denton of Wakefield. 
   I first met Jean in one of the halls at the NEC. I was just starting as Road Test Assistant at Autocar, she was head of external communications for Austin Rover and she welcomed me to the industry.
   I got to know her better when I became a patron of WOMAC (Women on the Move Against Cancer), a charity she'd founded and she was always friendly and always encouraging.
   Her own list of achievements made me feel quite exhausted. She was Britain's woman racing champion in 1967 and 1968. Within 10 months of passing her test at the age of 26, she was competing on the racing circuit, driving Jackie Stewart's former Formula Three car. In 1969, she drove the only sports car to finish the London-Sydney rally. The next year she raced 16,000 miles across Europe and South America in the World Cup rally, leading the first private ladies' team to reach the finish in Mexico.
   She and her co-drivers were sponsored by Woman magazine and its logo featured prominently on the backs of their jackets;the chaps on the NEC stand said they also painted eyelashes on the headlamps.
   Later in life Jean went into politics, she became Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department of Trade and Industry and worked in the Northern Ireland Office. She was a co-founder of Forum UK, the British branch of the International Forum for Women, and was President of Women on the Move Against Cancer. Sadly, we lost her to cancer all too soon, in 2001, at the age of 65.

Thoroughly enjoyed the annual WOMAC Valentine's party. I'm proud to be a patron of Women on the Move Against Cancer. We are a group of women working within the UK motoring industry who raise money in our spare time for a different cancer charity each year. Naturally we rely on the generosity of our colleagues to donate and raise money.
    WOMAC has raised £800,000 since 1979. It has always chosen to support small, worthwhile charities that find it hard to compete with larger ones. So this year we are raising money for the Pancreatic Cancer Research Fund, recognising that little progress has been made in fighting this form of the disease    compared with other cancers.   
    Having been away from the industry for a few years, it was lovely to see so many familiar friendly faces at the party, and to meet some new young ones, including journalist Sophie Williamson-Stothert, and motorsport PR Gaynor Keating.
    It was also touching to see so much cash handed over by motoring journalists and PRs. Thank you to everyone who has contributed so far.
    For more see www.womac.co.uk