Hospital crew’s cycle delivers £3k for charity

Eighteen contractors working on the new Dumfries and Galloway Royal Infirmary site at Garroch Loaning inspired by the globe-trotting adventures of a colleague’s teddy bear united on Saturday for a 60-mile charity cycle ride to Gretna.
Trevor Baird, 41, said: “Eighteen guys started it and 15 guys finished it.”
He added: “It’s breathtaking for me; some of the guys had never sat on a bike before.
“They took out time from their own families to come, and in the conditions we were riding in . . . it was just phenomenal.
“Not one of them moaned whatsoever.”
Trevor’s friend Paul Corrie died of motor neurone disease last year.
And in October Paul bought a teddy bear while in Spain naming it ‘Paul Ella Landy’ after his friend, his granddaughter Ella who died in 2010, and after his passion for Land Rovers.
People have been pledging support for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, as Trevor’s work colleagues have taken ‘Landy’ to France, America, Jamaica and Spain.
And when a colleague was set to undertake a bike ride, a Dumfries worker on site suggested they back Trevor’s chosen charity — leading to a group effort.
Leading the group on Saturday with ‘Landy’ tied to the front of his bike, Trevor said: “Eighteen riders started it, leaving from the back of the hospital just after 7 am in severe weather conditions.”
And in the evening, the Friars Vaults pub in Dumfries hosted a fund-raising night — with 29 raffle prizes donations from the site in the form of a juke box and a day driving a luxury sports car.
Landy’s travels had already generated £932 for the Motor Neurone Disease Association, but Trevor said: “I think we’ll have easily cleared £3000 just from the cycle ride.”
To back the efforts, visit the website www.justgiving.com/fundraising/Paul-Ella-Landy