Staffs 4x4 Group Called Out

In message , hugh writes

Good job. Should be mentioned more often!

So while I'm here I'll mention Breckland Land Rover Club's "Rover Rescue" group. We have been on and off standby throughout the periods bad weather since Christmas mainly due to potential flooding in the North Norfolk area. Thankfully we haven't been called out this year.

It's a pity this sort of activity doesn't appear in the press instead of the 'Chelsea Tractors' ...

So tell them about it. They will not come across these kinds of activities by accident. We all could do a bit more positive self-promotion - who else will do it for us?

It would be a shame to see stories like

"Groups of bobble hats from all over the county were on standby throughout the weekend, ready to rescue any mountain bikers who succumbed to the elements while buzzing the unsuspecting dogs of innocent walkers..."

Pete

hugh uttered summat worrerz funny about:

Personal head on - Nearly joined recently but for a volunteer group the membership subscription put me off TBH.

Apart from that I fully support the concept and good work done. I'd happily help out and would help anyone I could and would no doubt relish the opportunity if it meant playing,,, er using one of my 4x4's for the good of the human race.

With my work head on - having been in the position where I asked for the assistance of Staffs Search and Rescue from the emergency services Command and Control point of view I was very impressed and much relieved by the help offered as were many thousands stranded in stationary traffic which got moving all the sooner for the groups efforts. So impressed was I, I gave our Ch.Supt a nudge to write a letter of appreciation.

With regard to your recent efforts, excellent! I found myself unwittingly reliant upon an ambulance not so long back. Lord knows what would have happened if they hadn't been able to respond. As it happened during the period you mention I was again off sick with Laringitis Extemus Man-fluicus and I didn't captain any of my 4x4's for the period the snow was on the ground... but Mrs D did a steriling job taking me to the Dr's and back in the very weather you mention and a normally 18 minute trip taking 2 hours... though I do think at one point the horns popped out and she had a demented grin whilst learning the characteristics of ABS, steep hills and other vehicles veering out of control all over the shop.

Lee

Not the press, unfortunately. Occasionally in here or other groups, or in the GLASS magazine or on some website or other, you get a story about someone who has done an interview with the press. Also you occasionally see pieces about off-roading in the press and you can see the kind of "reporting" that goes on. Invariably the "reporter" wants to talk about getting muddy and blatting around the countryside, and the photographers will sit in the truck shivering and moaning until they see some mud, then will hop out to get photos of the truck driving through it.

It's not "reporting", it's story-telling, but they're in the business to sell papers, not inform people, and that needs a regular stream of Flash Gordon-like cliffhangers to make sure the reader comes back again for the next episode.

Well, get used to it. You'll see reports about taxpayer money spent on updating footpaths, but you won't see reports about 4x4 clubs maintaining rights of way for free on their own time using their own equipment. Personally I'd hesitate to bring our activities to the attention of the press, even when as a few weeks ago at the request of the council some of us turned up to clear a bridleway --- no horse riders in evidence to help of course. Bringing the press in on such events just gives then an excuse to print crap and prompts the tide of drivel on the letters pages for weeks on end.

In message , Lee_D writes

One of the big issues for this type of group is insurance - hence the need for a subscription. We cover part of our costs this way, but we're also to be found tin shaking at supermarkets, Lichfield Bower, Staffs County Show etc.

We did get the letter by the way - and used it in our (successful) application to the Big Lottery Fund. So thanks for that. The grant enabled us to buy good quality radios and is paying all our training costs. Most of that goes on our Missing Person Training.

We have a 1967 Series 2A 109 control vehicle - about 10,000 on the clock from new!! We carry stretchers for casualty evacuation, comprehensive first aid kits and personal flotation devices for working near water.