Page 5 - 100% Biker (January 2020)

THIS
MONTH’S
FEATURED
EVENT

SEE PAGE
EDITORIAL
18
We are delighted by the positive feedback
to last month’s editorial about kindness. It’s
humbling how many of you out there are
quietly doing good things for other people.
With that in mind, this month we are pleased
to give this space over to just one of the folk
who got in touch and we’ll let Martin Webster
explain himself.
“Once I got past the fantastic Thai custom
in the latest issue I was very taken by your
editorial about Rough Sleepers and the idea
that a small gesture can make all the difference.
In previous years I collected socks, hats and
gloves as it got colder, but I was concerned that
they might not be going to those who really
needed them and also that I might be merely an
enthusiastic amateur wasting everybody’s time.
I also heard that safety concerns mean that
much of the contributed items in, for example,
‘Shoebox appeals’ have to be thrown away.
So last summer I spoke with agencies
who work at the sharp end of the issue and I
discovered that the hardcore of actual rough
sleepers—as opposed to ‘housed beggars’ or
some other judgemental category—is quite
small but that contact on the first night is vital
and that smaller towns have less in the way of
resources to tackle this. The period just after
Christmas is also the most critical.
With all that in mind, I realised that a
THIS ISSUE’S OTHER STUFF target the ‘first-nighters’ and then I raised
small effort could make a big difference. So
I compiled a list of items that would directly

money to fill ‘Bags of Kindness’ with those
items. I persuaded my local Friends of West End
Park charity to make this its Christmas appeal
and so far we have filled 80 useful draw-string
bags, at a cost of around £13 each, with the
following brand-new and pre-checked goods:
Hat. Gloves. Socks. Hand-warmers.
Poncho. Space blanket. Energy biscuit. Torch.
Deodorant. Toothbrush and paste. Wet wipes.
Beard/Hair brush.
The aim of this is to help a person survive into
the second day so they can find help. As I work
all over the country I have taken to dropping off
bags in places as diverse as Brighouse and Belfast
with groups ranging from the Street Angels to
the Welcome Trust where they have been well-
64 received by those people on the front line.
If anyone wants to donate they
32 64 SAVAGES MC CHARITY can do so at www.facebook.com/
donate/2147528548881529 or on eBay by
CUSTOM BIKE SHOW
6 NEWS Bosun finds the way to Weyhill. buying item number 323972372947. More
importantly, if you know a local group who
Bringing you the best of the new. 74 SUICIDE FROGS could benefit directly, please let me know
10 PRODUCTS CUSTOM SHOW at martin@couldbeverse.co.uk. By the way,
Ibstock Brick gave me some of the bags, as
Take a coffee break. With additional sticky Yoda. have many others, out of helpfulness and not
18 CUSTOMBIKE 78 SPIKE & BOB’S BIG seeking publicity. Thank you.
BLUE
Huge coverage of the biggest custom show in SWEDISH ADVENTURE: PT 5
Europe. The trip comes to a close for our travellers.
24 BIKER GEAR 86 BULLFROG BASH
Find out what’s on the menu. Laidback in Lincolnshire.
32 CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL 90 EVENTS
OF BIKES Everything you need to know for everywhere

Kicking back at the Town Hall. you want to go
42 TEAM WILDCARD 93 SHEDHEAD

A Bonnie at Bonneville (and another Blackjack goes around the bend.
Triumph too!) 96 WARLOCKS MC’S CUSTOM
52 DISTINGUISHED BIKE & CAR SHOW
GENTLEMAN’S RIDE CARDIFF Summer in Scunthorpe. It does happen…
Classic couture and cycles in Cardiff. 98 TAILPIECE
56 FLAMES & FRAMES ‘Oh, oh, you’re in the Army now’. That ear
Lighting up the Railway. worm comes courtesy of Grav.

www.100-biker.com | issue 256 | 100% Biker | 5