On Dec 9 we had the pre ride briefing in the Cinema Room at the Sanctum Soho Hotel on Warwick St. For those unable to attend, about 30 of our 40 or so Riders came along presumably for the free drinks! We were joined by David Munns, Ruth Fluin-Hardy and Jo Carter from Nordoff Robbins and Roseanne Pearce, Lucy George, Liz Tootell, Mike King, Morgan Pickard and Hannah Davies from Childline. David and Jo from Nordoff and Roseanne from Childline gave impressive talks on their respective charities, with DVD illustrative footage on the big screen, to a hushed room. Yes, even this hardy mob was affected by the what they heard and saw. It really brought home the real need for funding for these excellent child based charities and hopefully all our riders will approach the fundraising with even more willpower. Our Classic Tours tour guides, Sarah and Phil, then gave us an excellent detailed run down of what to expect on the ride, helpful tips on the quality of alcohol available on the boat (also a bit on the weather, health , the roads etc!!) For those able to come along it made a very informative insight into what to do and when. Afterwards many had dinner or went up to the Terrace, where, I am reliably informed, some stayed most of the night, well 4am — hands up Victor, Matt, Craig, Phil…………. Sharon cant remember if anyone else made it that far!!!!
We have now raised over £150,000, hence a profit of around £85,000 — the target is £250,000 so we have some ways to go but with Christmas spirit and a lot of effort from everyone there is no reason why we shouldn’t do it. Bear in mind we can still raise funds after the ride and certainly intend to until the end of February. We have currently 43 fully confirmed Riders with a few more interested but its is not too late to enroll new riders.
