Chairman’s Chunk

THE CHAIRMAN’S CHUNK...

The toughest part of writing the Chairman’s Chunk for the Open House Magazine is normally, ‘Where do I start?’.

In normal circumstances there is so much to cover that I am spoilt for choice but, as we all know all too well, the past two years have been far from ‘normal circumstances’.

With this in mind I thought it worth dedicating the majority of this Chairman’s Chunk to an update on how the NABD has weathered the Covid-19 pandemic so far.

NABD – The State of Play:

As far back as April 2020, following the cancellation of the scheduled 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally and the onset of the very first Covid-19 lockdown, the NABD committee could see that the pandemic was going to have ever-increasing negative effects on our ability to provide services-as-usual as well as fundraising activities and donations coming in.

In June 2020 we made the difficult but necessary decision to suspend the NABD Adaptation Grants system and the Learner/Loaner Scheme to protect the NABD from the very foreseeable consequences of the Coronavirus pandemic. However, it was also agreed that, when/if possible, outstanding grant applications could be processed where this would not pose undue risk to the overall welfare of the Association.

Sadly, and with great regret, as the government furlough scheme came to a close in the Autumn of 2020, we had no choice but to offer redundancy to its paid Administrative Assistant, Jane Singleton (one of only two paid NABD employees). Jane accepted the redundancy package offered and the redundancy came into effect on 30th October 2020. 6 Open House Issue 99

As expected, donations to the NABD took a nose-dive as ever-increasing numbers of events were cancelled due to Coronavirus restrictions.

As we were not willing to simply accept this situation passively, we organised a number of ‘Virtual’ online events, partly in a bid to raise funds but also partly to keep-up moral and reassure members and supporters that the NABD was still actively engaging where it could.

These Virtual Events, hosted via Facebook, relied very heavily on a range of musicians and comedians donating their time and talent ‘free-of-charge’ and we are indebted to each and every one of them for doing so.

The first event, The Virtual You’ve Been Nabbed Rally in May 2020, was an unsurprisingly chaotic event with a number of ‘technical problems’ due to our general inexperience of online events, but it raised a fairly respectable £2,519.66 over the weekend.

events, each of which raised a respectable amount in online donations, but the Jewel-in-the-Crown was undoubtedly the Virtual Nabdonia Rally in July 2020, which raised a very gratifying £5,604.89.

These proceeds of these virtual events certainly helped in keeping the NABD afloat over the past two years of pandemic pandemonium!

Though general donations were massively reduced due to the effects of the pandemic, they did not dry-up completely and it is with great pride that I can announce that we found ourselves able, on three or four occasions, to process the backlog of Adaptation Grant applications and on each occasion, we were able to clear that outstanding backlog!

It is true that some Adaptation Grant applicants had to wait somewhat longer than usual for their grants to be processed but, by November 2021, we had no waiting list!

In total, since the onset of the Coronavirus Pandemic, the NABD has managed to help a further 47 disabled people to have their bikes, trikes, sidecar outfits or quadricycles adapted to suit their needs with grants totalling £33,049.49. Personally, I call that a hell of an achievement!

More recently we have been able to reopen the NABD Learner/Loaner Scheme and Gordon Hooper (Learner/ Loaner Coordinator) has been feverishly getting the bikes ready and delivered to applicants so that this other very important NABD service can once again start showing positive results!

A lot of difficult and sometimes painful decisions have had to be made over the past two years but the ‘proof’, as they say, ‘is in the pudding’ and those decisions have enabled the NABD to survive the pandemic where many other charities have not.

Now, as we look towards 2022 with a greater degree of optimism than we have felt since 2020, I am pleased to say that the NABD is revved-up, ready and raring to go!

The 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally (May 6th – May 8th 2022)

Tickets for the YBN29 rally have been on sale since December 1st 2021 and I’m pleased to say that the sales are going well.

On occasion we have been asked what the NABD policy is regarding Coronavirus restrictions at this event and, though the answer may seem obvious to some, I thought it worth including it here so that everybody understands the position. “The National Association for Bikers with a Disability (NABD), like any other event organisers, are legally obliged to follow the prevailing Covid-19 restrictions when organising and running events.

Therefore, any and all events organised by the NABD will operate within the prevailing government regulations and/or legislation with regard to Covid-19 restrictions.

Currently it is impossible to make any realistic supposition on what, if any, Covid-19 restrictions may be mandatory for outdoor events at the time of the long-awaited 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally (6th-8th May 2022) but if any restrictions are imposed by the government at that time, we will have no option but to abide by them.”

Obviously, it is our fervent hope that there will be no need for any Coronavirus restrictions to be in force at the event, though we will of course be doing whatever we can to ensure the safety and comfort of all who attend.

Further details about the YBN29 rally are published elsewhere in this issue of Open House and, of course, on the NABD website at: www.nabd.org.uk

Tickets are also available online via: https://nabd.co.uk/ shop3/6-rally-tickets or by telephone via 0161 749 7050. The first 500 tickets sold will be entered into a free prize draw to win a £100.00 cash prize so get your tickets booked now!

In addition to the YBN29 Rally featuring some of the finest live music and comedy you are ever likely to see anywhere and incorporating its own in-house Real Ale Festival, people attending the rally could also be in with a chance of winning a rather lovely Can-Am Spyder trike. Don’t delay, book your tickets today!

We could all do with a boost of joy this year. The NABD’s 29th You’ve Been Nabbed Rally would seem the ideal place to get your boost while partying with a purpose!

It is my fond and fervent wish that all NABD members and supporters are blessed with good fortune and great happiness throughout 2022.

Rick Hulse