After all the fundraising and shopping for the three childrens homes had finished it was time for Santa (i.e. Chris Biggs) and the Bexley crew to go and deliver all the toys and cheques to the respective homes.
On arriving at the Pied Bull I was amazed to see that so many people had made the effort on this cold, crisp Sunday morning to support the Toy Run. At 10:30 a.m. we departed from the Pied Bull, with Santa in Tank's sidecar and approximately 30 bikes, one trike and one van full of presents, in convoy to the first home in Welling. By the time we got there I was bloody freezing and welcomed the hot cup of tea and a mince pie. As soon as Santa had finished handing out all the pressies, we presented the home with a cheque and said our goodbyes, telling them we would see them next year.
With everyone ready to go we set off to the second home in Eltham, not knowing what to expect as we hadn't been to this one before. This home was a replacement for the Charlton home that we normally go to but this year we were beaten to it by the Goldwing Owners' Club. The Eltham home made us feel more than welcome with more tea and mince pies. They were also presented with a cheque.
The third home was one of our usual ones in Kidbrooke. They were only too pleased to see us again and they also did us proud, laying on a small buffet and more tea and coffee. After Santa had done his business I took some of the older kids over to the car park where the bikes were parked so they could have a look at them. Some of them got an unexpected bonus of a ride on a Volkswagen trike that had come along with us from the Tsunami (I think that's how you spell it) Riders club - the kids loved it.
After all was said and done it was off to the pub for a well earned drink. Now you might be wondering how much money was raised for the Toy Run and other charities and I am pleased to tell you that it was just under £1000. This money was raised through the raffles on club nights and the Christmas party, also by friends and members of Bexley Triumph Owners.
The money was used to buy each one of the children at all the homes exactly what they wanted and each home was given a cheque for £100. The rest of the money was divided up between the Duchene Family Support Group which is a charity that we actively support and the Lions Hospice in Gravesend. Both had representatives on the following club night and both organisations were presented with cheques for £175.
I would like to say a big thank you to everyone who donated their hard- earned cash both through the raffles and also in cash donations, especially: Jo Seaman, a lovely lady who has nothing to do with the club but gave us a generous donation towards the fund; Jo's daughter Philippa Seaman and all the staff at the Royal Bank of Scotland up in the city for their generous donation and finally to my wife Tracey who spent a lot of time on the telephone, going to see the carers at the homes, finding out just what the kids themselves wanted and then going out getting all the presents and wrapping them all up.
Sorry! I would also like to thank Chris Biggs for doing such a good job as Santa and Dutchy for dressing up as an elf to play the part of Santa's little helper. By the time you get to read this we will be well into 2002 and both me and Tracey wish you all a very happy New Year and look forward to seeing you on club nights at the Pied Bull.