South West Life

Standing in line in the bank today, as I sometimes need to do, I found at least one bonus.  On the counter was a postcard about Roger Clark and his “ride for regional kids”.  Roger is getting to where he asks questions about why he is around, and whether taking family photographs is his main purpose on the planet, and when does he get to ride his Harley, you know, the important stuff.

You’ll know that the important stuff is what we’re all about here at South West Life, and indeed reasons to ride your motorbike are very serious business indeed.  So Roger’s put it all together and will take his beloved Black Betty from Busselton to Broome, and then back via Esperance.  If by then he hasn’t seen enough of WA, we’ll be thinking up another trip for him. 

The purpose of the trip is to raise funds for Regional Kids Inc, a charity set up to help sick kids in regional Western Australia.  Giving him a reason to ride also put him in the hands of old friend Suzi Kent, (Cyclone Suzi), who had just started Regional Kids Inc.  When he called about the ride, Suzi said GREAT!, and went to work… she’s not called Cyclone Suzi for nothing it seems.  The work included rounding up sponsors, and there is a list of them on the blog.  We figure that although we hate to say anything nice about our bank, it’s worth recognising Westpac as the major sponsor for this undertaking.

While the photos might seem to be the major business of the ride, there’s a bunch of awareness raising going on - ads from GWN, and a sausage sizzle in every Westpac town along the way will contribute to that.  Check the blog for mention of other sponsors.

As with all these things, there is a purpose that includes raising cash to help with treatment for sick kids.  At every stop, Roger will be setting up his gear and taking portraits of the children in town.  The session fee for every portrait will be donated to Regional Kids inc, so not only do you get to keep a magnificent photo of your beloved offspring, you get to do a good deed for the people struggling to keep their heads above water while they worry about the illness that confronts their kids.  I’d rather pay for the photo session than get the help, I can tell you that.

The trip starts on May 29.  Roger’s ride blog is at http://www.envyprojectsblog.com/?page_id=11 , and you can follow along if that’s what you’re interested in.  He’s a photographer so some of the photos you might see of the wide open spaces and the people he meets could be worth a look.  On 29 and 30 May, Roger and his entourage will be in Busselton, Donnybrook, Collie, Harvey, and Waroona.  They won’t be back in the South West until 1 July, and from then til 3 July they’ll take in Manjimup, Augusta, Margaret River, Dunsborough, and finish again in Busselton.  In between all this they’ll have put 10 340 km under the wheels of Black Betty, (plus diversions, a golden phrase that covers taking the day off, checking out the secret spots the locals tell you, and just maybe, getting lost).

We’re really keen to see how he does.  Roger’s from Capel and we figure that is a good enough reason to check in with him from time to time.  Watch this space.