Another weekend spent Titting about

Our third and almost final TITS prep weekend has come and gone......we're just a few weeks away from departure day now and there's still lots to do, but we had a productive weekend.

Many thanks to Loz (Woody) and Penny who turned up to help build the shelving into the truck for the several tonnes of medical kit we have...a fine job and a pleasure to spend time with Woody as usual...cheers Loz

We wheeled everything out and started measuring up the truck..the amount of kitwe have now is scary (No more please.....unless it's some very usefull medical kit that we can swap some more normal stuff out of the truck for, or pass it on to Anita for her to add to a shipment she's hoping to be able to finance next year)



Then while Woody and Paul got stuck into the woodwork, others started stripping bikes for electrical work



We played with the different combinations of mounts very kindly donated by Steve (RAM MAN) and wired up the sockets Man made of beer had sourced from here (sorry, I can't remember who they came from and the thread's gone, but many thanks )





On my bike we stuck a camera mount on for filming the trip (DVD available once it's done





Woody and his glamourous assistant Oblertone beavered away in the van





Before too long though it was beer 'o clock and the normal chaos ensued, albeit this weekend was by far the most flatulent one thanks to some fine Chilli.




As roles develop in the team, Steve Chip has been rather unfortunately picked as 'Team Bitch' but he plays the role so well it's kind of spooky


Thanks again to Jason (rocky, aka Mr Archeao) who turned up with Maria and a van load of knobblied up c90 wheels for taking...


Maria played Mum and kept us all plied with teas and coffees, and together with Rev Chuck and Dave (Bilko, thanks again ) listed a whole new room full of medical kit and drugs so we know what we've got


Jaq lasted the night out

but Bilks had had a hard day

(sorry Dave, but you know it had to be posted

Penny started a sing along

Then they all bloody joined in

Oblertone treated us to a lovely rendition of Twinkle Twinkle Little Star



Some more of the usual suspects....Speggo being sensible....

Some bald Ginger twat

Jez, who although not riding to Bansang will be flying out with Jason to go directly to the hospital to help us get the work done there...


It was an important weekend for Man made of beer, who explored his feminine side and decided he quite liked it.



Next morning we got stuck into the truck again and got the Noddy & Polar Bear Heavy Industries inc. Roofrack installed again



While the shelving came together nicely...


We can get three scoots inside the truck and hopefully all the medical kit inside and up on the roofrack....personal kit is going to poked into nooks and crannies and the Jerries for fuel courtesy CTFT will be found a home as well.....but it's going to be very very cramped.

We now also need a small trailer..it must be strong, preferably twin axled and it won't be coming back, as the truck is being left with the hospital for them to use around the town and as an ambulance.

If anyone has a suitable trailer that they would like to donate, please get in contact (we have another that will be going down with the minibus to Algeciras but that one will be coming back with Jamie and Whatton)

We also really need to get the truck to Dover.....we have the choice of spending several hundred pounds on MOT, Tax and insurance or the far simpler and cheaper option of getting it recovered to Dover by an HGV recovery company.....so again, if anyone knows of anyone who can help here, please shout out as soon as possible




Everyone on the board, everyone who's helped us with work, time, kit, auctions of riding gear and items, money, moral support, blagging, advice and everything else can be very very proud of themselves...it's all coming together now, the truck is starting to look like a proper adventure vehicle, the scoots are sorted as best as we can make them and we have a phenominal ammount of medical kit including many many drugs, dressings, hardware, suction pumps and even a defribilator.

What you've helped us put together is going to make a huge difference to the hospital....thank you all

Can you not...

...just book it in for a pre-arranged MoT with a friendly garage near the port? Then you can drive it to the pre-arranged MoT. After the pre-arranged MoT, pass or fail, you can drive it home without tax - and if you have given it to the people in Banjul while it is being MoT'd, then that's now home and you can drive to the port legally. After that, nobody cares...

It's a nice idea Ken but I believe the MOT station has to be local- driving from Telford to Dover isn't really within the reasonable bounds that you'd get away with using that little trick, particularly as we'll be fully loaded with a dozen scoots, several tonnes of medical kit and all sorts of other kit

I don't believe...

...that there is actually anything in the law that says it HAS to be local at all. Although you do hqave to drive it straight there. Apart from the universal law of 'Thou shalt not be seen to take the piss by a constable'. And it would be a pretty churlish constable who concluded that by not paying out a thousand quid to tax and MoT your vehicle before delivering it and its contents to Africa, you were 'taking the piss'.

I once bought a car` in Manchester and drove it back to Carmarthen for a pre-arranged MoT first thing the next morning. I wasn't stopped, but I'm convinced I would have been fine...

Funnily enough Ken, our final solution to getting the beasty down to Dover does include some elements of what you suggested, but we've got pukka insurance and it looks like it's pretty legit.

Thanks for the ideas though

Bill

i used to know someone who was a bit shifty that used to do this MOT appointment thing all the time.

travelling from London to Devon and back ( not me )