Firstly it is important, in these difficult times, to thank all those who have made any sort of donation to the Fund over the past year – all contributions are much appreciated and go towards insurance, servicing and maintenance of our fleet. 
Especially this year we would like to thank the following - David Wall who raised over £700 for us by running the London Marathon – his time was 4h 55mins. Sadly Steve Kendell intended to run as well but was taken ill and was unable to take part but he has plans to run in 2010. Joan Moore, one of our regular customers, had a ‘big’ birthday this year, and asked all her friends to make a donation to the Fund rather than give her presents – we received over £300 as a result of her generous gesture. Three Care Homes Elstree Lawns, Hill House and Arkley that use our vehicles regularly have held events this year and each raised several hundred pounds with the benefit of matched funding from BUPA. The Pearson family held a Ball again this year and made a donation to us from the proceeds. We would also like to thank the family of John Daniel, who was involved with the Fund in its early days; following his death last year they kindly sent us a generous donation. All these people have helped to raise the profile of the Fund both in the local community and further afield. Recently we have recorded an informative item for Radio Brockley, the Hospital Radio station which serves The Royal National Orthopaedic Hospital so that all patients know how to make contact with the Fund and were also invited to speak at a lunchtime meeting of the Kingsbury & Kenton Rotary Club – a very successful event which may lead to more.
If you wish to make a donation to the Fund, please give us a call on the office number.
Contact Details for Barbara Bus Fund
Barbara Bus Fund, Louis Fleischmann Building, RNOH, Brockley Hill, Stanmore, Middlesex HA7 4LP
Tel: 020 8416 0733
E Mail: office@barbarabus.com
Web: www.barbarabus.com
Christmas 2009
The staff and Trustees of the Barbara Bus Fund would like to take this opportunity to wish all our passengers, drivers and friends a very happy Christmas and a healthy and prosperous New Year
Barbara Bus Satellite Operation launched The Fund is proud to announce the launch of the first satellite operation – ‘Barbara Bus Gwynedd’. Based in Criccieth, the new service was officially launched at a lunchtime event on a rainy July day. The rain did not dampen anyone’s enthusiasm for this venture which is proving very popular already. The operation is run by David Thomas, who retired to Wales recently.
Our picture shows Vera Walter, the first passenger to use the Gwynedd vehicle, with her family, David Thomas and Barbara Bus Chairman Richard Holland.
The launch was held at the Mynydd Ednyfed Hotel, where vehicle kept and was attended by Lord Dafydd Elis-Thomas AM, the Presiding Officer of the Welsh National Assembly, Barbara Bus Chairman Richard Holland and his family, Barbara Bus Trustees and representatives from the press and many local organisations. John Jones, our own volunteer driver did a presentation in Welsh and was also interviewed by BBC Radio Wales.
Further Growth at Stanmore Earlier this year we purchased a second Ford Connect, intended as a replacement for ‘Frankie’ – however we became so busy during the summer that we have hung on to ‘old Frankie’ and now recognise the need to permanently increase our vehicle numbers. So although we will finally be parting with that vehicle early in the New Year, we will be getting another one as soon as we can – we are not sure yet what it will be like, but it will definitely be a single wheelchair vehicle. We have also recently taken delivery of a new Renault Master to replace ‘Rose’– this time we have gone for a long wheelbase which allows more room for large wheelchairs and also extra space for the passengers who travel in the rear seats. It has some extra features and we are suggesting that anyone wanting to drive it should have a demonstration first. If anyone is interested in purchasing either of the old vehicles – ‘Rose’ or ‘Frankie’ do please contact us in the office.
Stoke Mandeville Vehicle It is hard to believe that the vehicle has been at Stoke Mandeville for over three years now – it is certainly well established and a well used resource by patients in the Spinal Injuries Centre. The main demand continues to be at weekends, but weekday usage has seen a big increase during this year.
Penalty Notices & other problems During the course of the year we have received quite a number of Penalty Charge Notices here at the office – not quite enough to paper our walls, but we would like to reduce the number we receive for 2010! These notices usually cover speeding fines, minor traffic infractions such as driving in bus lanes or stopping in box junctions and also parking fines. I must remind you that payment of fines incurred is always the responsibility of the driver, so please be aware when you are driving – watch your speed and traffic signage and when you park, particularly in Central London, please check before leaving the vehicle that you have met any local requirements. Each vehicle has a copy of the Blue Badge Parking Guide to Central London which is comprehensive. If you would like to buy a copy of this guide or the national one, there are seasonal offers on www.thepieguide.com .
It is also important to fill the tank after each journey, and to leave the vehicle as clean as weather conditions permit. Please consider the next user!
Independent Safeguarding Authority (ISA) You may well have read about this in the press and wonder how it will affect our use of volunteer drivers. ISA registration (free for volunteers) will be compulsory for all new volunteers from July 2010, registration of existing volunteers will be phased in after that date. ISA registration only needs to be done once, so if a volunteer comes to us who has completed his registration for his job or for another volunteering role, we will be able to check that online. CRB checks will still need to be carried out alongside the ISA registration. It will be a criminal offence for us to use a volunteer who is not ISA registered. As with any new government scheme there are still many points still to be clarified and we do receive regular mailings updating us. We will contact you individually when it begins.