The 2013 Scoots trip was once again a huge success with 7 Honda C90 being delivered along with a huge pile of spare parts which included 2 engines along with many other new and used parts.

The three week trip was thankfully uneventful, at least as far as accidents were concerned. With the only casualty being John our back-up driver who crashed whilst riding my C90 out to the hospital’s farm project. That is unless of course you include the goat / truck interface on the way back to Banjul. Funnily enough, also involving John, but this time thankfully behind the wheel of the Pajaero. I am sad to report that it was no contest but we didn’t stop for the goat barbecue !!!!!

I think it is true to say that by far the majority of the team enjoyed the trip immensely, with one already aiming to fly out with his young lady to meet us when I arrive with the new team in March 2015. From my perspective it was an “interesting” trip and one from which I learnt many lessons, which I assure you will be put to good use in 2015 ! Not least of which is to try not to leave on a 4000 mile ride whilst in the middle of a severe Asthma attack! However I’m still breathing and raring to do it all again so what the hell !!! The main downer from the trip was the expiry of the Pajaero on the return journey meaning that we had to purchase a replacement vehicle. The Citroen van we acquired turned out not only to be a good one but also very much more economical than the 4×4 and as such it is my intention to use it for the next trip even though it may cause a few issues here and there !!!

The work that the team carried out at the hospital, and in particular the system of wire ropes on which the privacy curtains now run has been really well received not only by the patients and staff at Bansang, but I understand from Anita that the Ministry of Health would now like to see it used in Hospitals throughout The Gambia. Chalk up another success to “The Scoots”! Paul Myers and his wife Vanessa, followers of the Scoots project on ukGSer.com are at present in Bansang and Paul has done a magnificent job and used up the rest of the wires we took out to good effect in the Female and Maternity wards. Looks at though Screwfix may be seeing another order from me very soon.
Anyway, to the nitty gritty! It’s been great to see just how active most of the team have been on this last trip with their fund raising efforts and as a result the Tractor and Trailer that we were hoping to buy for the farm project is most definitely on it’s way. A special mention must go to father and son team Steve and Chris Smith with a whopping £4294 ! Well done indeed to them.

There may still be donations yet to arrive and there is also a possibility that Once Peter’s Scoot (the one that didn’t make it!) is sold a further £500 may be forthcoming. If anyone still has funds which they are holding for the project, please either put them into The Scoots Virgin Giving account or send them to either myself or Anita Smith ASAP.

The final figure to date is £11,912
Which after disbursements comes down to £9086
For a breakdown of figures please see excel file here:

I think you would all agree, a great result which will be a huge benefit to the hospital by hopefully allowing them to grow much more of their own food on the Farm Project and hopefully to become self sufficient in this area in the not too distant future. The last figures that we had for the cost of the Tractor and Trailer was £6500 although this may have risen slightly by now., latest indications are around £7500. My suggestion is that any surplus funds be retained for ongoing preventative maintenance on the units which will obviously be required in due course.

My sincere thanks goes to all who have taken part or assisted us in achieving this goal whether by riding, fundraising, donating or by simply supporting us, without you all it simply wouldn’t happen

Dennis Robinson