media coverage

This was our second opportunity to talk about how 'The Tour' went and I was happy to talk to journalist Katie Keyes in a follow up article to the one previously published.

Because of the regional significance of the Dorset Echo and the location of our team-mates Alex and Dave (both based in Weymouth), I took the opportunity to thank them and their Scooter Club - the Lowriders. 

https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/24557877.scooter-riders-raise-nearly-20k-alzheimers-society/

As it has been a week since we 'finished' the Tour, we celebrated by appearing on BBC Radio Kent, Radio Sussex and Radio Surrey, on a slot on the Pat Marsh show called 'Who's made the News?'

Please note that there's a bit of a break in the recording (I think our internet dropped out partway through our bit) but you can find it available on BBC Sounds for the next 30 days. 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/p0jj44d0 - scroll forward and our interview is 2hrs and 48 mins in. Usual BBC rules apply. 

We started today with a return visit to the HQ of Ashdown Radio - about a mile and a half from our house - to be interviewed by Peter Suter in his 'East Sussex Today' slot.  This gave us a great opportunity to thank several people for their support! 

https://www.ashdownradio.com/player/on-demand/items/alison-bowen-and-henry-smith/

ScooterNova is a scootering magazine predominantly in print but also with a large online presence and is put together and published by rally going scooterists who just happen to be friends. 

https://scooternova.com/2024/08/07/grass-skirts-button-downs-the-before-we-forget-scooter-tour/

A great day for media coverage with an article in the Western Mercury covering Watson Super Mare and Exmouth.  Sadly, the 'reporter' who copied and pasted my text into 'his' article, didn't let us know about it and we had to be told 3rd or 4th hand, as the link was posted into a random Lambretta FB group and we were tagged into the comments! https://www.thewestonmercury.co.uk/news/24492766.uk-scooter-tour-stopping-weston-super-mare-exmouth/

As 2 of our team come from Weymouth in Dorset, it is right and appropriate that we kick off the next phase of our media coverage with a local newspaper - the Dorset Echo. https://www.dorsetecho.co.uk/news/24486582.scooter-team-tour-britain-alzheimers-society-fundraiser/

SLUK is an online (only) scootering magazine read by over 350,000 people annually. This is massively significant for us. 

https://scooterlab.uk/the-before-we-forget-tour-around-80s-rally-towns-news/

Our local press comes up trumps again. Sadly they are not on line, but we managed another half page!  Equally sadly, we are slightly out of their coverage area as we are a bit out of town. Not so sadly, the Father-in-Law, also came up trumps and hand delivered a copy to us!

Not any of our local media outlets  but rather one of Beef’s friends who sent over a newspaper clipping. We went looking …  and found it In a ’very local’ paper.  By the power of Greyskull* (or the Helensburgh Advertiser) there is potentially one more person joining us en route!

https://www.helensburghadvertiser.co.uk/news/24473169.scooter-team-head-loch-lomond-alzheimers-charity/

*For any younger readers, this is a reference to the 80’s TV series He-Man  and the Masters of the Universe

In a magazine that (allegedly) appeals to the prosperous area of Mid Sussex and beyond, we may be somewhat out of place. Nevertheless less, it's a great article with fabulous pictures taken from our photoshoot with the immensely talented Gabe at GKRJ Photography. Published on May 1 - we made pages 43 and 44: https://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/html5/reader/production/default.aspx?pubname=&pubid=8b1e2d90-bf11-4aa3-9b48-cbbf409429fc 

Uckfield Town's community resource for local news. We managed half a page... 

International Scootering magazine. We made a half page of page 24 / the News Section. 

As Sussex residents (although I haven't been here very long, Henry has been here much, much longer) there is a lot of interest in what we are doing. And so far, the media has been very kind.  The latest article was published on 16th April:  https://sussexbylines.co.uk/news/health-and-care/taking-the-long-way-round-the-before-we-forget-alzheimers-fund-raising-tour/

Scooter Lab UK (the world's first on-line only scooter magazine) published a review of the recent SWSC Rally to Dawlish and featured ... yes you guessed it ... Us! https://scooterlab.uk/south-west-scooter-clubs-present-dawlish-pre-season-rallery/

And we did it again - today we hit the airwaves, live! We were interviewed by Peter Suter on his East Sussex Today show. https://www.ashdownradio.com/player/on-demand/items/alison-bowen/

So the cat is out of the bag and ITV went on air on  28th March with some interviews and footage about what we are doing.  https://www.itv.com/news/meridian/2024-03-29/sussex-scooterists-celebrate-mod-memories-on-before-we-forget-tour

Same content as the Sussex World article below

https://www.sussexexpress.co.uk/news/people/the-before-we-forget-tour-riding-2000-miles-on-vintage-italian-scooters-to-raise-funds-for-the-alzheimers-society-4518370?fbclid=IwAR0SSPYm7eORf9rt79RTHsRSxrCHt8_9Zp_MkMzEjroq7_rwn2370-R4xag

A mention (and call to arms) for our upcoming event in Uckfield (2nd April). 

We were featured on Page 29. Very exciting considering this magazine has covered our 'scene' since 1985