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26TH  JANUARY 2005

DAISYCHAIN RUN REACHES THE END OF THE ROAD

After 13 years of the Daisychain run it has been decided by the organisers to call it a day.

When Paddy Hinton started the run following the death of his father Keith we had 101 bikes starting from the Elephant and Castle in Totton, over the years it had grown to such an extent that over 6000 bikes started in Totton in 2004. This scale of growth was bigger than any one of us expected. We are proud to announce that we have raised over £75 000 for the Wessex Cancer trust in the 13 years the event has been running.

Each event took a year in planning, and as it got bigger, the planning got more in depth, with health and safety, road closures, insurance, Police planning, toilets, marquees, etc. Anyone who has organised a public event will understand the issues that had to be dealt with.

I hope that the end of the DCR will encourage other people to start their own events for the Wessex Cancer Trust. The Trust supported Paddy, and his family during Keith's illness, and were so supportive to me after my mother Pat Sparks, died of Cancer inside four days! During my nine years of organising the event i have spoken to so many people to whom the Wessex Cancer Trust has been a means of support, and i cannot rate them highly enough. I know that this decision will disappoint many people.

I would like to thank everyone who had helped, and when i list them, i am sorry if i miss people out. EVERYONE who has taken part and donated or got sponsorship for the event, the hundreds of people who have lined the route, Everyone close to me that have had to put up with the hissy fits (and i did them with style) namely my son, Chris Jones, who has not known life without the DCR. Hampshire Police, who have done so much to make sure the run went smoothly. Totton and Fawley parish councils, who have coped so well with that amount of people descending apon their areas. Every motorcycle dealer and shop that quaked when i entered the shop, knowing that i would make them part with something for a raffle prize, Rod Organ for this pictures, Phil, for 13 years of Artwork. Fingers for the t-shirts, Van, Marquee, toilet hire also is included, but most of all to the marshals that have worked with Hampshire police to make sure every got to the end safely.

We hope we at the Turfcutters can carry on running smaller events under the Daisychain umbrella, so the name will never end, but we hope we have given you the impetus to organise other events.

Thank you all so much, Gilly

For further information on the Daisychain Run, or if anyone wishes to take help, please contact
Gilly by e-mail or on +44 (0) 1590 612962.