MISCONCEPTIONS

Loud rhythmic beats reverberated off the walls in the courtyard.  There were machines everywhere their glistening chrome sending out blinding flashes of light  from the hot sun.  Every few minutes a familiar sound could be heard in the distance, getting louder as it approached.  The crowd waited in anticipation as more of the machines arrived, their engines revving as they approached the gates.  There were both adults and their children all milling around and looking at the various displays.  Many of the adults wore similar style clothing, mostly leather. They wore the symbol of their ‘family’ on their backs so it was easy to identify who belonged to what group. Their bodies often covered in various coloured inks.  The children also had their faces adorned in bright colours, this ritual seemed to be taking place in a tent in a corner of the yard.   One of the machines stood apart from the others and there stood a man, his face a grinning skull with long grey hair.  He beckoned to the children to come forward and sit on his machine.


Is this an extract from a new Stephen King novel perhaps?  No – but I wouldn’t mind betting that the last thing you thought of was a charity fete.  It is a tongue in cheek description of the Stone Cross MCC’s charity fete held on Saturday 8th June.  The club work tirelessly throughout each year raising money for local charities.  The chosen charities this year were Ravens Rescue UK which is a non profit making animal rescue centre RAVENS WEB LINK  and Greenhall S.E.N. Nursery which is the nursery that my Granddaughter Jess attends and although based in Stafford also takes children from across the West Midlands area.  If you are on Facebook then pop over and like their page Greenhall Nursery.

Unless you are familiar with the biking fraternity you may well associate them with American TV Series such as Sons Of Anarchy or things that you may have read in the local papers.  Perhaps you believe that they ride around in packs causing mayhem. That they bite  the heads off chickens in perverse initiation ceremonies.  They wear leather jackets with patches and have the names of their club emblazoned upon their backs.  They are covered in tattoos, they look after their own.  Perhaps you think that people like this have no place in our society.

If this is what you think then you should have been amongst the crowd on Saturday.  The atmosphere was good, everyone was enjoying themselves, especially the children having their faces painted and dancing on the grass to the music.  The only chicken eaten was in the delicious curry which was for sale (amongst other good food)  which had been prepared by the landlord and staff of the pub hosting the event. There was a tombola, a children's colouring competition, raffles and various other things to keep the whole family entertained.  And that is the whole ethos behind bike clubs such as Stone Cross.  They are a family.  Yes they have their rules which members are expected to abide by but doesn’t every club have those?  Yes they wear their jackets (cuts) with patches (rockers) showing the name of their club on the back.  Yes they are very often adorned with various tattoos, but then that applies to a large number of our society nowadays.  Yes they do look after and support each other.  A lot of the people there were from other bike clubs who were there to show their support some had travelled quite a distance. I personally cannot find any fault with that.  There was no trouble, and non biker members of the public came and mingled with bikers.  The bikes were the main attraction of course.  Every biker loves to display their machine just as motoring enthusiasts like to show off their cars.  And the man with the skull mask?  Well he was beckoning children to come and sit on his bike so that the parents could take photos – How many owners of top of the range cars would encourage that?  The mask apparently was what he wore for the club’s Halloween party and all the time I was there I never saw one child run away frightened, if they did look a little unsure I saw him lift the mask up and smile.  

There is another group in our society that often get misjudged.  They can also look different.  Sometimes their speech is hard to understand or they have no speech at all.  They may walk in a strange jerking way or rely on machines to get them around. Some are unable to feed themselves or rely on other ways of getting food into their bodies. These people often get called names and are taunted by other members of society.  There are even members of our society who think that these people are a drain on our financial resources and that they should be terminated at birth.  These are the disabled.  

My Granddaughter belongs to this group.  She was born with an undiagnosed genetic defect which has caused her brain to be underdeveloped.  It has been said that she may never walk, hold an adult conversation or be able to get employment.  She is almost three years old.  At the moment she is surprising everyone by doing things that the experts said might be impossible.  She can crawl, pull herself up and cruise around the furniture, climb onto the furniture and is able to walk a few steps holding onto someone’s hand.  She is fed through a ‘button’ which goes straight into her stomach as she is unable to eat enough solid food to keep her alive.

My Granddaughter is one of the happiest children you could wish to meet.  She has a smile you could die for and a very bubbly personality.  She may not be able to talk as yet but she certainly makes herself understood.

She attends Greenhall Nursery and without their help and positive support I doubt she would be achieving some of the the things that she has, so the Nursery plays a very important part in her life (and ours) and she loves being with the other children.  All donations to Greenhall are used entirely for the children.  Peoples support and generosity means that each child gets a good Christmas present, one which is suited to their particular need and not just one ‘off the shelf’.  It means that the children are able to go on trips and that the mini bus that takes them (also provided via donations) is kept well maintained and safe.  It means that the school can pay for people to come into the school and talk to the children and show them things.  They have entertainers at Christmas, someone who comes in with small but unusual animals that the children can see and touch and also learn about and also someone who comes in with a host of ‘creepy crawlies’ to do the same thing.  The sensory room ( Jessica’s favourite place) can be well stocked and maintained and also other equipment purchased which is beyond the scope of the Education Departments budget.

On behalf of Jess and her friends at Greenhall SEN Nursery I would like to say a big THANK YOU to everyone who attended and supported Stone Cross MCC charity bash.  To the club members themselves I want to say THANK YOU.  I know how much work you put into these events and I know over the years many charities have benefitted.

Our society is rich in it’s diversity.  We do not all look the same, talk the same or have the same customs, but it is this diversity that makes us part of a unique family…the family of man.

Bikers often end their written messages to each other with the letters L & R.  I found out today that this stands for love and respect.  What a pity that not all members of our society share this.