AWARE ~ Wales

and Matt is taking over - well done Matt ;0)

10th March 10 Ok now we have a slight problem with our 'ride' in May. Richards partner, Jeni, is pregnant and expecting at the end of May, hum, very bad timing. Sent Emails to the charities explaining the situation. Richard and I have come-up with a new date sometime in October. I don't want to ride at the height of the season, so we picked October, maybe the first week - Saturday 2nd looks good.

1st January 2010 Wow - 2010, it's like a SiFi move title. Happy New Year to you all !!!

25th December 09 A very Marry Christmas to you all from the AWARE~Wales team here in down town South Wales. Hope you all got what you wished for, I got the bill...

16th December 09 Interview with Lee Cole at 'Rhondda Radio' went quite well. Also made a 'plug' for AWARE~Wales to be broadcast over the airways - that's nice ;0)

9th November 09 Due to Angie, the wife, contracting Swine Flu, the radio interview will be postponed until 16th December.

8th November 09 I've arranged a meeting/interview with 'Rhondda Radio' on Tuesday morning - ah it's the face for radio that they want...

18th October 09 Meet with a FEW other riders (2 to 3 thousand) at the old Severn Bridge for the annual 'Hoggin' the Bridge' ride for charity - fantastic day out (pictures to follow).

As you may/may-not know, Richard and I are also members of 'Dragon Riders' in Aberaman, Aberdare, which is a trike and cruiser club. I've recently created and set-up there website and attached user free photo album(s) of rides and events etc. So what I'm also looking at, is to create a photo album page for this site - hold that thought and give me until the end of the month...

4th October 09 Attended the Aberdare Motorcycle Show. Not a bad turn-out, only thing was, we could only 'hand out' leaflets to people and not collect donations. This was due to conflicting with the 'shows' charity. So all you people how took our leaflets - please donate on-line, or contact us. Thank you.

8th September 09 MORE good news - bring it on!!! Jenny Rayment (Punctureseal UK Ltd) emailed, with a very generous offer. After Richards meeting with Jenny at the West Wales Motorcycle Show, she'll sponsor us with their product - fantastic, no punctures on the trip. Now that's a BIG help. Many thanks Jenny and Punctureseal.

7th September 09 Some very good new - for a change… Richard has just 'acquired' a Suzuki Bandit 600, this might be his bike for the trip...

31st August 09 Big Bike Shop open day. Again with the rain - what is this weather doing to us! For AWARE~Wales, it wasn't a great success, but any donation is a plus really. I would like to thank all the staff at The Big Bike Shop for hosting the event, and for my son Richard, Jeni, Chelsea-summa and DJ for persisting with the day (pictures to follow). On a good note ta-la. I did get a contact for the Aberdare Bike Show, thanks Ryan (Aberdare Motorcycle Club), so watch for the link on the Events page later.

Also I Emailed Doug at armybikers.co.uk with regards putting a link on his site for us. So if you are Ex or still in the Armed Forces and want a bikers patch, check out Dougs site or go to our Links page, thanks Doug.

25th August 09 Sent an Email to 'Jenny' (punctureseal.com) with regards the possible sponsorship from the Carmarthen show (23rd). Also Emails to all that helped make the, somewhat wet day, a great success. Again thank you to the West Wales Motorcycle Club for giving AWARE~Wales the opportunity to participate in their event.

24th August 09 Email form Verity Hiscocks (Jazz Festival). Due to the festival being indoors, there is basically no room at the Inn…

23rd August 09 Well we set off, Angie and Richard (with all the display) in her car, and me on Ethel. See this link for the full gory details (pictures to follow).

22nd August 09 Ensured that everything ready for tomorrow. Angie did a 'dry run' with the display boards, using various combinations to get maximum affect - so our living room now resembles a show pitch at the moment. Well everything is ready - and the weather forecast for tomorrow: Pontypridd (where we live) cloudy but fine. Carmarthen (where we are going) rain, heavy at times with blustery winds… oh joy!!!

21st August 09 Found out that there is a Jazz Festival at Pontypool, 4th ~ 5th September, so I sent an Email to Verity Hiscocks, to see if we could put a small display up.

18th August 09 Email to Fi (Meningitis Trust) enquiring about help with laminated posters and balloons for the display at the West Wales Motorcycle Show on the 23rd

8th August 09 The Big Bike Shop are holding an open day for the Maesgwyn & Park Lane Special Needs Schools, and via Christine of Ty Hafan, we have a 'stall'. So if you're about on the 30th August Richard will see you then - I'm away!

6th August 09 Spoken with all concern… and we've agreed to postpone the trip until next year - 15th MAY 2010. The reason for this is the continuing economic downturn. Basically, when we first set-up AWARE~Wales everything was ok. Then in four months came the recession. But we have now been told that the recession is lifting!

1st August 09 Funds are very, very tight. Not heard from any of the petrol companies, from Tom Tom, re- SatNav, or Cardiff City Hall for the ride out/home. You'd think with charities at home, people would fall