Sunday mornings are for lie in’s, breakfast in bed and numerous other things….however, on Sunday the 12th December, for many it was about doing something for someone else, namely for kid’s that have to endure Christmas in a hospital ward.
Don’t get me wrong, it’s not the ward that’s the problem, the nursing staff are one of a kind believe me. It’s the fact that kid’s should be spending Christmas at home and not being ill away from it.
And so it was, in the middle of Bedford, that The Pilgrims Scooter Club had gathered on this fine winter’s morning. Sleeping in was replaced by eagerness and good will, and breakfast in bed, by a coffee and bacon roll from Libby’s at the Piazza.
Why? Why not!
If you were to try and put a figure on how many members there are in the club, you couldn’t because we are not defined by normal rules.
We have members from several of the eastern counties, no subs, no committees, just lots of members that want to have a good time in the scootering scene. And wouldn’t it be a shame if at this time of year we can’t gang together and do something worthwhile?
On arriving at the Piazza at an early 10.30am I was pleased to see several scooters already there, the owners of which were tucking into free coffee and mince pies courtesy of Woody and Libby.
Over the next hour or so more and more scooters arrived from far and wide and the pile of presents in the back of the van got larger and larger. By 12.30, after we had waited for a few scooterists to come back from refuelling, it was time to go.
It was great to see all the people that were in town that morning just stop and watch as 50 or so scooters roared to life and went round the square, hell it was great just being a part of it! Once round the square and over County Bridge it was through Ampthill, Flitwick and Toddington finally arriving in Dunstable.
Thankfully there were no incidents other than one lad that ran out of petrol on his Vespa, could have been worse I guess and he arrived before the first fag was finished after pulling up at the hospital!
Once everyone had finished their fags and grabbed a coffee or cup of soup from the vending machines in the foyer, it was up to the kids ward to present the….well, the presents. Woody led the way with several others all carrying full sackfuls of toys for the kids where they were presented to the Play Leaders and some of the kids that felt well enough to make it to the playroom. Well, sensibly they weren’t going to let a load of strangers onto the main ward as it would be too disruptive for the kids.
A couple of pictures later and we were off to leave the kids in peace, next stop, the pub. More specifically, Chalk Hill Watling Street on the A5 where Bill and Tom were waiting with some top tunes.
Of course it had to happen to someone, and this time it was Squirrel’s turn. Not only had the poor buggers clutch inner snapped, the outer also kinked so you couldn’t even get a new inner through. Still, Mojo to the rescue, who was good enough to ride home and get the pick up to get the forlorn scooter home. I’m sure Squirrel said that it looked like it was time to start thinking about a rebuild.
So, myself Stu and B set off for home at the end of a long and brilliant day. Congratulations to all involved and special thanks have to go to Woody for all the work he put into it!
