NW Report October-November 2009

10^th-11^th October :- Board & NC Meeting, Rugby

I was not able to attend this as supporting the Mobile Chaos Rally at Silverdale.

21^st October Presentation of cheque to North West Air Ambulance

At the summer rally of Blackpool MAG we held a raffle for the NWAA and also the profits from the Stanley Park Bike Show in Blackpool were put towards this worthy cause which resulted in a cheque for £350 being presented to the NWAA by members of MAG.

25^th October MAG Scotland AGM

I was asked to attend the MAG Scotland AGM and had a very enjoyable weekend. Steve Wykes, Regional Rep for Scotland opened the meeting and gave a summary on matters happening within MAG UK. In Steve’s report on matters occurring in Scotland there was mention of his involvement in “Bikes in Bus lanes” relating to Edinburgh and a campaign to get this sanctioned across Scotland as at present, there are no cities that allow this north of the border. On the subject of MPTC there was mention of the possibility to set up a temporary site in Elgin. All serving officers were re-instated without a vote as there were no contenders for the positions. The discussions continued around ways to fight the growing bike theft problems, possible re-launch of Glasgow and Inverness groups, and the possibility of posters being included in the Road that could be removed and displayed at local dealers.

31^st October Blackpool Area MAG Halloween Party

This was the first year we had attempted a Halloween Party and it was very successful, raising over £200 for MAG.

11^th November RideSafe BackSafe Meeting, Police HQ, Hutton.

Lancashire Police’s RSBS initiative has now spread to a couple of neighbouring forces with Greater Manchester and Merseyside now supporting the scheme. Quite a few events have been planned for next year which NW MAG is getting involved with.

29^th November RSBS Toy Run, Preston-Blackpool

I was asked if NW MAG members would be available to help Marshal this Toy Run organised by The RSBS team. The run was very successful with 100+ bikes turning out on a very wet & windy day. Plenty of good PR for MAG again and we have been congratulated by the Police and Lancashire County Council for our assistance.

NW MAG AGM

We held the NW AGM at Blackpool RUFC prior to the Blackpool MAG Christmas party so as to maximise use of the club house. Steve Wykes kindly returned the favour in coming down to observe at the meeting. Attendance was disappointedly low but the weather was very poor. Quite a useful meeting though as we seem to have secured a re-launch of Morecambe and Lancaster local MAG group by two members who attended the meeting. There was also interest shown by a member from Merseyside to act as a political officer for the area. I was re-instated as NW Rep with Jenny Willan taking on the position of NW Treasurer and Bill Green will be acting as NW Secretary as well as his position as NW Political officer.

Blackpool MAG Christmas Party, Blackpool RUFC, Bispham.

Another quite event as this clashed with a number of other Christmas events that were happening in the area. Saying that, it was an excellent evening’s entertainment and we covered our costs still making a few quid for the fighting fund.

Other events in the region

As mentioned previously, it looks like we may soon have an active group up and running in the Morecambe & Lancaster area, and a political officer residing in the Merseyside area. I have also been contacted by an ex BMF rep who I signed up to MAG a number of years ago. He is now quite interested in taking over the Wirral & Chester local group as it has become quite stagnant of late. We also have some new members who are in regular attendance at the Blackpool MAG meetings, one of whom is quite keen to take on the role of dealer liaison officer in the area.. Manchester MAG seems to be operating successfully although I am getting very little feedback from the area and they were not represented at the AGM.

Regards,

Tony

NW Rep.