Just when I was beginning to think that interest in Justice for Drivers might have begun to wane, we go to Truckfest, Peterborough and it dispels all my doubts.
What a tremendous response from drivers and the public alike throughout the weekend and a record in respect of the signatures for the petition and the amount of money raised I think.
After much planning and preparation, Titch (my 10 yr old Son) and I arrived at the showground in Peterborough about lunchtime on Saturday and immediately got the living accommodation sorted, namely my caravan and awning set up.
As we were doing this we made the first contacts with Pertemps, an agency who had the area next to ours and were to prove invaluable over the weekend.
Next to arrive were my Mam and Dad with the JfD stand. This was quickly erected (plenty of practise) and we already had people coming over to express their interest and wanting to sign up! Very soon we were met by Lyndsey (Ladytrucker) and Ian (Liberace) from TrucknetUK who had volunteered to help out on the stand.
Most of Saturday was taken up dealing with drivers and their families who were themselves at the show for the weekend and the key rings and Hour Guards (donated by Davy Driver) were selling fast.
I wont bore you with comments about the weather but needless to say, the thunder and lightening on Saturday night was some of the most spectacular I have ever seen and I expected the worst (normal Truckfest weather) for the next day. However, Sunday dawned bright and clear with sunshine, which was to last throughout the day and helped us no-end. This was our busiest day, with no rest for our band of happy volunteers, gathering signatures and raising money from donations from the many visitors to our stand.
We also had visits from various dignitaries of other websites and publications including, TrucknetUK (Rikki and Lucy), PDA ( Pat, John and Andy), onlinetruckers (Jim, Tim, Trev and respective wives/girlfriends), Craig Sheer and John Huntly from T & D magazine and even a couple of people from Volvo ( UK and Sweden). There are probably plenty of others that I haven’t mentioned but it was a very busy weekend and I’m not good at remembering names, particularly after a few beers.
Monday wasn’t so busy but I think we did well enough on the day. The sunshine helped to bring the crowds in and there were still drivers and their families visiting the stand. At one point, I was walking down the road to go to another stand to collect the promised signatures when I was stopped by a Welsh man asking if we could help his friend who had been stopped by Customs and was facing a trial. I gave him as much advice as I could at the time and I’m waiting for a follow-up phone call to carry the case further. I’ll keep you all posted!
Much progress was made with potential sponsers for the future but as nothings finalised yet I’ll have to keep you in suspense until it is. Needless to say, you’ll know as soon as I do if I was successful and it will certainly ease the pressure on JfD finances.
All in all it was a very successful weekend and has served to renew my commitment to the cause. We collected a total of 886 signatures, 300 of which were from the PDA, and £431.58 towards our funds.
Pertemps Agency have agreed to help us if I can get them the appropriate info, namely providing Hour Guards to all of their 35,000 drivers, at a reduced cost of which we will get a substantial donation. Thank you very much to their reps who were at Truckfest.
Thanks especially go to all those who visited the stand to sign the petition and make donations for the various bits and pieces we had available over the weekend (key rings, calendars and hour guards). WE sold out of key rings on the Sunday (some of us even gave up our own) and more will have to be ordered for the next show at Driffield.
A really big thank you goes to my family and the volunteers who worked tirelessly in the blazing sun to make the weekend so successful and we hope to see you all at future events this year.
Best regards
John Vasey
and my daughter says ta for the chocky