Raising French bread with a marathon effort

Raising French bread with a marathon effort

BIG-HEARTED members of the Association of British Tour Operators to France have been busy raising cash for charity.

In between the podium bashing and drinking binges at their annual conference, ABTOF delegates raised £5,500 for Whizz-Kidz, a charity dedicated to providing wheelchairs, tricycles and other mobility aids for children with disabilities.

Green Flag joined forces with Voyager Insurance and donated a new Smart Car, worth around £6,000, that was raffled off to raise money, while a child’s scooter was auctioned to the highest bidder.

One delegate was pounced upon by ABTOF chairman Warren Sandral, who took it upon himself to remove a suitably sized donation from the victim’s wallet.

The fundraising effort was co-ordinated by Independent Coach Travel director Stephen Moore, who just so happens to be running the London Marathon on April 22 for Whizz-Kidz.

“I have no personal reason for doing this but there are more than 70,000 disabled children in the UK and their lives would be totally different if they had the mobility Whizz-Kidz can offer.”

Stephen wants to hear from Travel Weekly readers who are prepared to sponsor his marathon attempt. If you can part with some cash, contact Stephen during office hours on 020-7538 4627.

On a less serious note, delegates were forced to endure the sight of Brittany Ferries operations director David Longden as he was carried on stage by four heavies and stripped of his shirt.

It was a scary sight.

The reason for this prank was soon revealed when Longden was handed aT-shirt which bore the statement “I’m a happy birthday boy.” Well, that’s a birthday surprise Longden will not forget.