of members, or to make three of our four annual issues ‘online‐only’. I honestly don’t think the Trustees had any other option! Of course, another advantage of only having one printed issue per year is that it is ecologically more sound, which in these days of ‘climate change crisis’ cannot be a bad thing. Membership & Membership Renewal Fees: I am informed by our Webmaster, Simon Freedman, and our Treasurer, John Byrne, that the new facility giving people the option for paying membership fees monthly, quarterly or annually is now available via the link on the NABD website. Again there were one or two teething problems but our two super‐geeks seem to have sorted it out. Once they have sorted out a few more wrinkles in the banking process we will also be able to offer this facility via the ‘Standing Order’ system directly from your bank. Hopefully the option of paying two pounds per month will make it easier for people to join the NABD and to retain their membership when renewal is due. The 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally: (May 8th – 10th 2020) Back in October 2019 the powers‐that‐be announced that they had decided to move the early May Bank Holiday in 2020 from Monday 4th of May to Friday 8th of May to coincide with the 75th anniversary of ‘V.E. Day’ (V.E. = Victory in Europe) which heralded the end of the European conflict in World War Two. The somewhat short notice announcement has reportedly thrown many people’s long‐standing plans for holidays and weddings etc. into disarray but for the NABD it may prove to be a positive boon, at least for this year. The weekend of the 8th, 9th and 10th of May 2020, just happens to be the weekend of the 29th You’ve Been Nabbed rally in Cheshire. In addition to being an event that features more entertainment than you can shake a stick at, including live music on two stages, a huge stand‐up comedy show, three bars (including a eal ale bar featuring 40+ Ales and Ciders) and, of course, a top‐quality bike & trike show sponsored by Back Street Heroes Magazine; the event also has a theme each year to give folk a chance to dress‐up and be even sillier that normal on the Saturday. 4
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The theme of the You’ve Been Nabbed rally this year is ‘The Second World War’, to coincide with the 75th V.E. Day anniversary celebrations that will be happening around the country. This should give a huge scope for choice of outfit for those who enjoy getting right into the theme and we are also trying to find ways to ensure that, in addition to honouring the WW2 armed forces, we also honour all of the facets of service that contributed to the allied success; including the Merchant Navy, the Home Guard, the ARP’s, the Land Army and the hundreds of thousands of women who kept industry going while so many men were overseas. We are also hoping to get some WW2 vehicles displayed on our event site at The Royal Cheshire Showground (just off Junction 19 of the M6 motorway near Knutsford), including some motorcycles of that era. So if you have such a machine, or know somebody who has, we are offering two free ‘VIP Passes’ (worth £100) to anybody who is willing to bring their WW2 vehicle along and display it on Saturday May 9th (or for the whole weekend if they wish). Interested parties should contact the NABD office via email to office@thenabd.org.uk with a photo of their vehicle, or telephone the office on 0844 415 4849. Of course, the You’ve Been Nabbed rally is not just a fantastic, fun‐packed event; it is also a showcase of the work being done by the world’s leading support group for motorcyclists with disabilities, so in amongst the wonderful array of bikes and trikes on display in the Back Street Heroes Custom Show on Saturday 9th of May, there will be an appreciable number of machines that have been adapted to suit the needs of their disabled owners. The vast majority of those machines will have been specially adapted with the help of Grants from the NABD. In addition to being the annual showcase of the work of the NABD, this event is also the NABD’s most important fundraising event. 100% of the profits from this event go toward the running costs of the NABD office and the wages of the office manager and the administrative assistant (the only two paid employees of the Association) so that, not one single penny of the donations made to the NABD go toward ‘administration costs’. You’ll have to look long and hard to find
another registered charity that can honestly make such a boast! The total in grants awarded by the NABD in 2019 (a very tough year for everyone) to help bikers with disabilities to have their bikes, trikes, or sidecar outfits adapted to suit their needs came to £38,071.86. In 2018 the total in grants was £56,409,74. In total over just the past two years that was 126 bikers with disabilities, many of whom had thought they would never ride again, back in the saddle where they belong with the help of the NABD! And for every one of them there have been another three or four who have been helped by the NABD to gain or regain licences, or sort out legal and/or insurance problems that were keeping them off the road. It is only with the support of bikers that we are able to continue to improve on the figure of 11,000+ disabled bikers who have been directly helped by the NABD over the past 29 years. We are hoping that one of the benefits to Friday 8th of May being a Bank Holiday; is that people who have previously been put off attending the You’ve Been Nabbed Rally in the past because of how late they would arrive after working all day on the Friday, will now give it a go due to having the day off. We have a wonderful site and an event that creates an atmosphere worth bottling and we will be ready and waiting to welcome each and every one, of you, and your friends, to one of 2020’s most iconic and unmissable events. Advance tickets are on sale for £30.00 each now via http://www.thenabd.co.uk/ or telephone 0844 415 4849. Personally I can’t think of a more enjoyable way to actively support a registered charity. I’m sure if you come along, you will think so too. Well, I think that just about covers the things I have to say in this issue. Next week I’m off on holiday for five days in the sun, in a bid to put the past three months firmly behind me. Then, on February 7th I’m getting married to my lovely partner of five‐years Mandy. I hope your year has a similarly joyous start, and that it heralds a wonderful summer for each and every one of us. Hasta luego amigos!
Rick Hulse
