Spring has finally sprung & again a pleasure to see so many members & visitors at our monthly meeting.
Our president opened the meeting with a warm welcome to all & a pleasure to see a long term member who had been hospitalized over the Xmas & New Year period.
Details of forthcoming events were distributed to members, along with entry information for the Cheshire Show, Hartford Summer Show & Arley Show, all in June – looks like it’s going to be a busy month !
Following the general business of the meeting, Ted Mellor from Merseyside & Cheshire Blood Bikes gave an informative & interesting talk on the service provided by this charity.
The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes (NABB) consists of 36 groups providing a free voluntary transport service, spread all over the UK & Ireland. They provide an essential service to transport not only blood, but also platelets, samples, human donor breast milk & small items of surgical equipment. A service providing a rapid motorcycle response was the brainchild of Margaret Ryerson & her husband who came up with the idea in the 1960’s, with the NABB eventually being created in 2008.
Liaising with NHS front line services, the blood bike groups are now able to facilitate a “coast to coast” delivery service nationwide. The Merseyside & Cheshire Blood Bike group was formed in 2012 & thanks to the volunteers who run this service, they have delivered 1000’s of lifesaving or essential items to hospitals & hospices. The Cheshire group alone have carried out on average 7,700 jobs a year, covering many miles on their bikes.
The NABB motto sums up the service the blood bikes provide, to which we are all grateful.
“One day, we may well have the ride of your life ………….”
Hartford W.I. Cheshire 