GAMES ON THE M5/M4
Somerset to London.- this neck of the journey was executed in one stint. It was punctuated with games:

Staying Awake games:
generally these games have rule-sets which revolve around speaking very, very loudly and saying anything that comes into your weary brain.

Coffee Stopper includes the variation:
When either the ‘Driver’ or the ‘Co-Pilot’ feels unable to stay awake the coffee stop card becomes active- the car is stopped at the next available service station and coffee is purchased and drunk. In games where there is more than one ‘Co-Pilot’ then any players, except for the ‘Driver’ may be eliminated from the game by ‘falling asleep’ until the last remaining ‘Co-Pilot’ is ‘flagging’ at which point the coffee stop card is played as before. And the game then starts again with all players getting back into the car and sometimes the selection of a new ‘Driver’ to start the car.

When driving A or B roads, the game
‘Knock knock, Ding-a-ling, Silly ploddy, Bump bump’ can be played.
Players all play simultaneously keeping an eye out for various ‘landmarks’ on which they may score points if they shout out the appropriate words before their opponents do.
‘Knock-knock’- 1 point is gained if a player shouts these words on sighting a red royal mail post box.
‘Ding-a ling’- 2 points are gained if a player shouts these words on sighting a telephone box- (you can choose to award extra points for sighting the red variety)
‘Silly Ploddy’- 3 points are scored if a player shouts these words on sighting a police officer or police vehicle. If multiple police officers are contained within a single vehicle the player may only score 3 points and not 3 for each silly ploddy.
‘Bump Bump’- 4 points are scored if a player shouts these words on sighting a Rolls Royce.
Each ‘landmark’ can only provide points to a single player, who must be the first player to shout the correct response. If 2 players shout for the same landmark at the exact same time then nobody scores those points.
Extra ‘wordplay’ points will be scored by Road Trip Teams for any really good suggestions for a replacement article for the words – ‘bump-bump’- this is a game remembered from the 1980s by one of the assistants, when Rolls Royces were possibly more readily spottable/prestigious than they are now.
We toyed with it being limousines- but they are so rubbish that we rejeceted this idea… or what about diplomatic plates?? Suggestions please in return for points.
If any player is able to say knock knock, ding-a–ling, silly ploddy, bump bump all in one breath, and if his opponents can validate that all ‘landmarks’ were indeed spotted, then he may score double points for those 4 landmarks.

‘Oodyararver’
In this game, players must take turns to say to their opponent the word Oodyararver? (or who’d you rather?) followed by the names of two people known to them, sandwiched around the word ‘or’. Famous names are usually used. The opponent must then reply with the name of the person they would choose to have sexual relations with. There is NO option in this game to not reply. The aim of the game is to produce names that make the choice of an answer as difficult as possible for your opponent. For example:
Oodyararver, Biggins or Anne Widecombe?

To specify some of the more popular ‘Staying Awake’ games:
What is your Favourite Sandwich of all time?
Each player, in turn, asks his opponent the question: what is your favourite sandwich of all time? To which the opponent must answer with the ingredients of their favourite sandwich of all time, e.g. Avocado, Smoked salmon, fresh spinach, salad cream, pepper. Player 1 then aims the same question at player 2 to which they may reply.. um.. cheese and pickle or something posher and more original if they feel a bit intimidated by player 1’s highbrow sandwich. This game is unwinnable. Mr Reeling says to make his a sunblushed telegraph pole and eel with parsley on rye. a variation of this is what are you favourite crips/dinner?

What is the most common pub name? – who knows the answer to this- certainly the Rose and Crown is very frequent to pop up, . or just the Crown or the Red Lion but is not also the Kings Head, Queen’s Head, and what about the Swan and the Black Swan or the White Swan…..?
‘The Wig and Dickle’ near in Swainsthorpe, Norfolk, we think is less common. Actually totally uncommon, its called the Dun Cow now. Darn it- that pesky google makes closer inspection so easy and so much more likely to disappoint.
Extra points for the best pub names spotted- or, better still, visited. Or place names for that matter- Stratton Strawless in Norfolk for instance.

 
Another game: ‘basket case’- written in our ‘book of notes’ it says: give them a saying- they must construct a story/paragraph in which that saying appears but is cunningly disguised. We wrote this down but have since forgotten what the game involved. And, for us, the moment has passed. Extra ‘wordplay’ points for a good interpretation of this game….

How do you make money out of By jingo there goes my pink flamingo? The assistants would very much like to know the answer to this, in order to keep themselves in wool and porridge. There must be some solution to this question as it really is a very good game in our opinion. You may not agree- if you haven’t played it enough.

All these musings and listing of the games we played from Somerset to London has basically been a huge cover-up so that you don’t notice that the assistants are not sure if they cheated on the leg of the journey between Cornwall and Essex. Is it cheating to sleep at home for a night whilst road-tripping? Money had run very low and it was a bit late to call anyone to stay with at this short notice, and we had to go to Essex in the morning. And the M4 ends very close to one of the assistants’ front door. And we’d be able to make sandwiches for the following day’s sustenance. And, anyway, WHERE IS IT WRITTEN?
We think, on reflection, that it is not cheating. We would be more than happy for you or us, or anyone at all, to take one day road trips at any time that they see fit. In fact we shall do some ourselves very soon.
‘Hang about assistants’ we hear you dissenters mutter ‘is this not just a ‘day-out in the car’ that you refer to’
We think not. As long as there is some element of the unknown about your excursion, (i.e. you have no idea where you are going to/ you have no idea how to get there/ you stop somewhere unexpected or unplanned/ you forgot your map/ wits) we will be happy to put this experience in the category of ‘one-day road trip’