While most of the UK’s population is sleeping, Roger is riding his Honda bike with a precious cargo on-board. He is delivering blood to hospitals in the surrounding areas.

A volunteer with the charity SERV, he uses his own free time and resources to give something back to the community.  The charity SERV (Service by Emergency Rider Volunteers) delivers emergency blood, medical equipment and drugs at night to local hospitals safely, quickly and reliably.

Volunteers - known as Blood Runners, can be called out at a moments notice, to transport the vital cargo to its final destination. The charity provides a vital service completely free of charge and on a voluntary basis, 365 nights of the year.   Dealing with something as critical as a person’s life, Roger relies on his Honda bike to get him there quickly and safely – delivering the vital blood to the waiting medical staff on time...

This article is sponsored by Honda

For more information, see here:

The ghost of William Houldsworth, will be conducting tours around the historical Houldsworth Mill in Reddish on 30th October, just in time for Halloween. 

Also throughout the day at there will be a Craft Fair, Face Painting, Treat or Treat, the Halloween inspired Hells Gate Attraction, which features live actors, special effects, lazers and much much more...

Local man Chris, will be dressing up as William Houldsworth to give a free guided tour around the mill, with interesting facts and tales from the past.

Houldsworth Mill, which dates back to 1865 and a Grade II listed building, was constructed by Henry Houldsworth, a prominent mill owner at the time.  It has been home to a variety of businesses over the years and today you will find various shops and businesses that offer an unique shopping experience, including Lucas Cafe, Gothic Angel Crafts, Stans DIY, In Stiches, Kidz Stuff and more...

date: 30th October, 2011

venue: Houldsworth Mill Shopping Centre, Houldsworth Street, Reddish, SK5 6DA

times: Open from 10am until 6.30pm, with the following schedule;

Shops open from 10am

Cafe open from 10am til 6pm

Craft Fair 10am til 4pm

Hells Gate Attraction 4pm til 6.30pm 

William Houldsworth tour throughout the day

www.houldsworthmillshoppingcentre.co.uk

For more details contact Ray on 07961 601136

SERV – The Emergency Blood Transport Charity who already provide an emergency out of hours blood transport service, free of charge to local hospitals (including Northampton & Kettering General) and more recently rolled out their service transporting life saving donated breast milk to the Human Milk Banks, have now been asked to extend its service to include transporting urgent samples to Birmingham to test for a condition that can be potentially fatal to an unborn child.   Karen Spreckley - Blood Transfusion Laboratory Manager, Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust explains; “Northampton General Hospital processes all the blood group and antibody, and infectious disease screening antenatal  work for the whole of the East Midlands population. Now whilst this screening work is routine initially, it sometimes throws up the fact that a woman has a red cell antibody (about 3% of all cases) that can adversely affect her baby (worst case scenario is death of the baby). Where certain types of these antibodies exist – Anti-D or Anti-c, we have to send the samples to the Blood Service in Birmingham for additional testing, and this all has to be done quickly in order that the mother and baby can be treated if required”   Haemolytic disease of the newborn is a condition where antibodies in a pregnant woman’s blood can attack her baby's blood cells.

Haemolytic disease of the newborn, caused by Anti-D is usually the most severe form, but this can be prevented with an injection of anti-D immunoglobulin during pregnancy and at delivery. This scheme has reduced the number of cases of Haemolytic disease of the newborn, caused by Anti-D in the UK, by 90%. The injection is given to women with Rhesus negative blood and prevents the woman developing the Anti-D antibodies that can attack the baby’s blood.

If Haemolytic disease of the newborn is left untreated, the effects can be jaundice in the newborn baby which can lead to learning difficulties, deafness, and blindness and in severe cases death, either before birth, or shortly afterwards.   SERV expect to carry out over 1,000 life saving runs in this region throughout 2011, however demand on the service could dramatically increase by 50% as result of these runs to Birmingham.

The charity is looking for riders or drivers who hold or are working towards an advanced riding/driving qualification.

SERV also needs to raise funds to purchase an additional dedicated emergency response bike to help meet the increased demand.

A dedicated response bike costs around £7,000 to purchase and a further £3,000 per year, a dedicated response car costs £3,000 to set up + £3,400 per annum lease

If you are able to give just 3-4 evenings or a weekend per month as a rider/driver/controller or fundraiser or are able to help with funding please contact SERV’s publicity officer Danny Bateman - [email protected] or visit www.serv.org.uk for more details.

Jonathan Rea converted his pole position start into two hard-earned podium finishes in today’s final two races of the 2011 World Superbike championship season at Portimao in Portugal.
 
The 24-year-old Castrol Honda rider was in confident mood heading into today’s two 22-lap races around the undulating 4.592km Portimao circuit and duly took the lead into the first turn in both outings.
 
In race one, Rea opted for a medium compound tyre which did not allow him to put in faster laps earlier in the race. He was passed initially by Sylvain Guintoli and then Carlos Checa, who went on to take the race one win.
 
For the second race, Rea opted for a harder compound Pirelli and again took the lead but was passed by Eugene Laverty and Marco Melandri, leaving Rea in third place as Melandri took the victory.
 
Karl Muggeridge, who replaced the injured Ruben Xaus for the final round at Portimao, continued to improve his feeling for the unfamiliar bike, tyres and circuit in today’s two races, eventually finishing in 18th and 17th places.
 
The Castrol Honda team would like to thank Karl for his hard work this weekend and Ruben for his own contribution to the 2011 season.
 
Rea’s two podiums today marked a strong end to a troublesome season in which he missed three months through injury. However, his Castrol Honda team continued development of the current CBR1000RR Fireblade, including particular elements that can be transferred to a new model which will be available for the 2012 season.
 
Jonathan Rea – 3rd and 3rd

I felt I rode race one just about as well as I could have, but Sylvain showed massive pace at the start before Carlos came by too, so well done to them for their results. It was nice to be able to challenge for victory in both races, although I think in race two it was pretty clear where we were losing out to the others. I felt I rode well and the bike was working great in some sectors, but not in others where we needed it to. This year’s been such a journey for me, with a lot of ups and downs, so it’s just great to go into the off season with no injuries and the bike on the podium here. I’d like to thank everyone who has made the journey with me this season and to the team and all its partners for their support. I can’t wait for 2012 to start now.
 
Karl Muggeridge – 18th and 17th

It’s been very tough for me this weekend. On Friday I was just trying to remember which way the track went and we had a couple of technical issues on the first two days which restricted our track time as well. In warm-up this morning I was still struggling to find some harmony out there so in the first race I just kind of sat there and did the laps. It paid off because I had a better feeling for the second race after we made some suspension changes so the bike worked a little better on grip and turning. We also adjusted the electronics slightly to soften the throttle response off a bit. It all helped and I was a lot more comfortable in race two – I was still too slow though. I also lacked a bit of confidence in the tyres but that’s only going to come with time. It was fun to be back working with the guys though, and to be in this paddock where I still have a lot of friends.
 
Ronald ten Kate – team-manager
 
After a roller coaster season, in which we’ve had some good highs but also hit rock bottom at times, we’ve managed to get to the last three rounds fighting for podiums and race wins. I want to give credit to all the riders who have been involved this season, especially those who have worked on the development of the bike in recent weeks, also to the staff who have done a tremendous job. It may be the most revolutionary comeback ever, so well done to everyone. The end of the season means a big winter testing programme, and our development work in areas other than electronics has already started and we intend to bring those parts to the track soon. So the work doesn’t stop and we’re planning a private test at Qatar in the next few weeks. We’re looking forward to 2012, to welcoming Hiroshi Aoyama to the team and to working with Jonathan for the fifth consecutive year.
 
2011 World Superbike championship, final round
 
Portimao, Portugal (4.592km), 22 laps - results, race one:
 
1 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati 38m13.293s
 
2 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +2.860s
 
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda +8.481s
 
4 Max Biaggi (ITA) Aprilia +11.963s
 
5 Joan Lascorz (ESP) Kawasaki +13.333s
 
6 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha +18.960s
 
18 Karl Muggeridge (AUS) Castrol Honda +1m06.213s
 
Race two:
 
1 Marco Melandri (ITA) Yamaha 38m11.326s
 
2 Eugene Laverty (IRL) Yamaha +1.075s
 
3 Jonathan Rea (GBR) Castrol Honda +1.363s
 
4 Carlos Checa (ESP) Ducati +2.648s
 
5 Sylvain Guintoli (FRA) Ducati +3.355s
 
6 Leon Camier (GBR) Aprilia +4.709s
 
17 Karl Muggeridge (AUS) Castrol Honda +57.941s
 
Final championship points:
 
1 Checa 505, 2 Melandri 395, 3 Biaggi 303, 4 Laverty 303, 5 Leon Haslam (GBR) BMW 224, 6 Guintoli 210, 7 Camier 208, 8 Noriyuki Haga (JPN) Aprilia 176, 9 Rea 170, 10 Ayrton Badovini (ITA) BMW 165.

The first annual Prescott Bike Festival was a success beyond expectations.

The one day event attracted in excess of 5,500 visitors, 100 exhibitors and some unforgettable opportunities to celebrate all things two and three-wheeled. More importantly, it raised over £52,000 for charity. 

The Prescott Bike Festival was born out of the need to raise awareness and fundraise for the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and one of its member groups, Severn Freewheelers. For 22nd April 2012, the Prescott Bike Festival will be bigger, better and hopefully generate even more money for this worthy cause than before.

Set at one of the most prestigious hill climb venues in the UK against the beautiful backdrop of the Cotswold Valley, the Prescott Bike Festival aims to provide something for everyone; a relaxed family atmosphere, a huge variety of entertainment and a rare opportunity to ‘Run the Hill’ on your own motorcycle.

Well supported by the bike industry, highlights of the 2011 event included the UK debut of the Morgan Three Wheeler, classic machinery from the Brooklands Museum, helicopter rides, live bands, the Stunt Starz stunt riding team and the chance to meet the stars of the British Superbike Championship. Not to mention riders aged from 8 to 81 taking to the hill.

In 2012, the Festival will feature the addition of a new Race Bikes Thru’ the Ages display area. Never before has such an extensive collection of bikes been brought together. Here, festival goers will not only be able to get up close with rare exotica, early pioneering machinery, modern MotoGP bikes and more but see many of them in action, ridden by race riders. Of particular note is support from the Lansdowne Classic Series, who will be displaying some of the most prestigious race bikes of the 50’s and 60’s. The 2012 Festival also promises a kids demo area, a new Orchard Food & Bar Village, a Run the Hill Fancy Dress competition and so much more.

One of the most amusing new features for the Prescott Bike Festival 2012 was inspired by the unexpected entry of super hero, Superman, into last years’ Run the
Hill. This year, entrants can choose to tackle the hill climb in fancy dress, raise money for the Blood Bike charities and win a fantastic prize for the best costume of the day!

www.prescottbikefestival.co.uk has just been launched to provide more details on what will be in store and give the opportunity to purchase advance tickets and secure your place to Run the Hill. There are just 200 entry places to Run the Hill, so it’s best to book early!

Prescott Bike Festival will take place on Sunday 22nd April 2012 and all proceeds from the day will go to the Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes and Severn Freewheelers.

The Nationwide Association of Blood Bikes is the umbrella organisation representing 12 regional blood bike charities, all providing a motorcycle based, free delivery service to the NHS; moving vital medical supplies, blood and pathology samples from medical centres and hospitals throughout the UK. Recently NABB member groups have become involved in the transport of frozen human milk from the donor to the milk processing hospitals. This has been a real life saver due to the necessity of very premature babies intolerance to anything but human milk.

Run entirely by volunteers, NABB member groups have over 700 active members with a fleet of 35+ emergency response motorcycles. All NABB riders have an Advanced Riding qualification, are trained in the movement of medical essentials and operate from individual regional charities, but with a common goal, to alleviate suffering and reduce the funding pressures on the NHS.

NABB was formed in 2010 and is chaired by Gloucestershire man, Gordon Downie.
Severn Freewheelers are the regional Blood Bike group operating in Gloucestershire, Hereford & Worcester and North Wiltshire. Over 70 volunteers help Severn Freewheelers carry out their much needed service. Severn Freewheelers run 4 x BMW R1200RTs and a Honda Deauville, all emergency response equipped and handle some 3000 call outs per annum.