27th March 2026
Charity Screening of World’s Toughest Drive – My African Adventure Raises £2,800 for Parkinson’s Dance Programme
The recent charity screening of World’s Toughest Drive – My African Adventure, by Rob Hayward and Guy Deacon, drew a sell-out audience to the Powell Theatre in Sherborne and raised £2,800 for the Parkinson’s Dance programme in Sherborne and Dorchester.
The film tells the extraordinary story of former British Army officer Guy Deacon’s journey from Sherborne to Cape Town, undertaken to raise awareness of Parkinson’s disease across Africa. Despite living with the condition himself, Deacon completed the 12-month, 18,000-mile drive through 25 countries. The film captures the remarkable resilience required to overcome physical challenges, vehicle breakdowns, and the difficulties of navigating some of Africa’s most remote landscapes.
Inspired by his experience, Deacon established The Deacon Foundation two years ago to tackle the lack of understanding and the stigma surrounding Parkinson’s in many African communities, where the condition is sometimes wrongly believed to be a curse. The foundation provides small but impactful grants to individuals and local organisations, supporting education, care, treatment and practical assistance for those living with Parkinson’s. Its overarching aim is to improve the quality of life for people affected by the condition.
The Sherborne screening proved a major success, with funds raised through ticket sales, book purchases and donations going towards supporting the Parkinson’s Dance programme run by Dorchester Arts in Sherborne and Dorchester.
Mark Tattersall, Artistic Director of Dorchester Arts, said:
“We are delighted that the charity screening of World’s Toughest Drive – My African Adventure was such a success. The money raised will help us continue our Parkinson’s Dance classes in Sherborne and Dorchester, and we are incredibly grateful for the support of The Deacon Foundation.”
The evening highlighted both the power of film to inspire and the strength of community support for initiatives that improve the lives of people living with Parkinson’s.
March 2025
With the benefit from 16 weeks at Hobbs Rehabilitation Centre near Salisbury, Guy is making steady progress. He is undergoing LSVT voice therapy which is really helping his speech and the daily physio session are improving his overall mobility. With the launch of the film looming, Guy has lots to look forward to including a trip to Nairobi where he has been invited to attend the African Charity Screening of Running of Empty, hosted by Sir Richard Evans and Hemingways Hotel. All the money raised from this event will be going direct to Kenya Parkinson’s Care Network “ParkNet” and Parkinson’s Si Buko.
Both these organisations will be actively creating awareness and educating the community about Parkinson’s Disease in Kenya.
These two charities have been chosen by The Deacon Foundation.
September 2024
Guy is making good progress, and after 5 weeks at Yeovil ICU and Ward 8B, he is now at The Yeatman in Sherborne undergoing intensive rehab. He is in excellent hands and his speech and movement is improving daily.
We are delighted to say, “Running on Empty” on-line sales has taken off and after only a week over 150 books have been sold from our kitchen table. We spent yesterday afternoon with Guy labelling, stuffing and sealing envelopes. Guy can’t believe the number of sales… nor can the Post Office in Sherborne - the lovely ladies behind the counter hide every time I walk in with another full box of A5 padded envelopes for stamping! Tania
August 2024
Guy very suddenly suffered a severe stroke on 19th July. He is currently at Yeovil Hospital and making excellent progress. As always, he is determined to overcome this set back. We will keep you posted here on how he is doing.
As a result, we have had to cancel or postpone many of his forthcoming book events. We have a large stock of his book, “Running on Empty”. If you would like to buy a copy, please click on ‘Book’ above and this will direct you to the correct page. Tania
22nd March 2024 Yesterday was my first event to promote my book “Running on Empty”. I was at the Oxford Literary Festival where I was interviewed by Matthew Stadlen. There were perhaps 70 in the audience.
Although I was asked some questions I wasn’t expecting, Mathew steered the conversation nicely allowing me to make the points that I wanted to make about Parkinson’s in Africa. The audience were genuinely clapping at the end so hopefully I pitched it about right. We even sold some books!
1st May 2024 Guy was privileged to be invited to speak at Grimsthorpe Castle – a wonderful private home owned by Lady Jane Willoughby in Lincolnshire. He was hosted by Sebastian Miller, who first offered the castle before Guy had even left the Army in 2019.
The evening followed the by-now familiar format with Sebastian hosting and interviewing Guy, illustrating the session with film prepared by Rob Hayward.
Perhaps the most unusual thing on this occasion was that the poor wagon embarrassed itself by breaking down! But it was not specifically a result of travelling through Africa, it was a simple enough problem: the starter motor packed in but was easily diagnosed and repaired promptly by the AA, a service not available in Africa!
18th March 2024 After a very early start at the BBC in Salford, I was hosted by David Bennett at Stansted House. There were approximately 80 people present and we followed the preferred format of a “conversation with…” . David and Sarah very kindly provided supper for a number of guests afterwards and the evening was a great success. A number of books were bought and signed and the audience was very generous in their donations.. I have known David for over 35 years and it was great fun to be “performing” with him again as we did together on our troop leaders course at Bovington.
I then headed to Layer Marney Tower in Essex, where I was due to talk on Friday 19th. I was met after midnight by Nick Charrington. I know his brother Richard very well but had not met Nick before. I arrived a short while after he had said good night to 50 guests he had had for dinner. This is a man who is clearly really busy. That he and Sheila could accommodate me and be such good hosts was very humbling. Yet again the evening was well attended and the tried format proved successful again
25th April 2024 North Cadbury Court: A memorable evening which saw Guy and Hugh Bonneville on the stage in front of 240 people. Although the subject is serious Hugh kept the occasion light and entertaining whilst not holding back on the key messages. 140 books were sold
