Time to name names: Blood Bikers ask Lincolnshire Freemasons to name the latest addition to their fleet
The newest motorbike in the 10-strong fleet run by the Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bike Service went into service at the end of July lacking one vital element to make it complete – a name.
A £5,000 donation from Lincolnshire’s Freemasons went towards the purchase of this Kawasaki, and that’s why we need your help. What should the bike be called?
Kev Turner shows off the space the new bike’s name will be displayed
The Blood Bike Service has given you the honour of suggesting a name for this machine, which will be operated alongside one already called Mark Mason. To tell us your ideas, please email our Provincial Communications Officer Stuart Pearcey (stuart@wordsman.co.uk), putting ‘blood bike name’ in the subject space. Stuart will collate a list and pass it on to the Blood Bikers, who’ll make the final selection.
Fleet Manager Don Ford has given us the honour of selecting a name in recognition of our commitment to supporting the service. He said help from organisations like the Freemasons kept the service going. “It’s a vital service funded enturely by donations and the goodwill of volunteers, and it’s hard to know how we’d carry on without your help.”
Providing the service, which delivers blood products, vital paperwork, and even breast milk for babies is getting more and more expensive. “Fuel costs have increased, and the distances we travel have grown substantially too,” he said.
Volunteers created the Lincolnshire Emergency Blood Bikes Service in January 2012, covering nearly 2,700 square miles and now stretching from Boston in the south to Hull and Sheffield in the north. For every ‘out of hours’ shift a team of volunteers is ready to respond at a moment’s notice. Team members work on a rota basis, with a charity-owned vehicle located at the rider or driver’s house for the duration of their shift. This means that whatever the time, day or night , they are able to respond as quickly as possible.
Stuart added: “Anyone withour access to email can still submit their idea for a name; there must be someone in their lodge with an email address who’d be pleased to help out. And please, let’s try to avoid suggestions of the ‘Boaty McBoatface’ type… Sensible suggestions only, please!”
