If you're out and about around the TT course tomorrow (Sat 13 July), you may see some cyclists taking part in a fundraiser with a difference.
Capital International Group's Chairman, Anthony Long, and Managing Director of Group Services, Les Coates, are gearing up for a performance of a lifetime, as they embody the legend himself, Elvis Presley... all whilst riding a tandem bike.
Siobhán Fletcher caught up with Les to find out more:
Hi there, I'm Siobhan Fletcher, one of the journalists up at Manx Radio, and welcome to the latest edition of our newscast. Now, if you're out and about around the TT course tomorrow, that Saturday the 13th of July, you may see some cyclists taking part in a fundraiser with a difference. Capital International's group's chairman, Anthony Long, and managing director of group services, Les Coates, are gearing up for a performance of a lifetime, as they embody the legend himself, Elvis Presley, or while riding a tandem bike. I caught up with Les to find out more. So, we're raising money for the Arusha orphanage in Tanzania, which is a really fantastic cause, and we want to do something a little bit different this year to try and raise funds. So, Anthony and I have agreed to attempt a lap of the TT course on a tandem, but also dressed as Elvis, just to throw a twist into it. Because going around the whole TT course on a tandem bike wasn't, just wasn't quite enough. Yes, my original plan was to do the promenade, Douglas promenade, and go up and down the promenade, but people told me that just wasn't enough and I needed to go big. So, we've ended up doing the TT course on a tandem dressed as Elvis, so I don't think it gets much bigger than that. You've done any training ahead of it, because there are some big peaks and hills along the TT course. There is. So, we've done some trial runs, mainly from Laxie to Douglas. We haven't done the dreaded mountain yet, but we have put some training in. We've had a few strange looks, even without a Elvis outfit on, because you don't see them going around the island that often, but we feel well prepared and the weather looks good for tomorrow, so we're really looking forward to it. Perfect. So, where about will you be setting off from? So, we're going to set off from the Craigney bar at 10 o'clock on Saturday, and we think it's going to take us about six and a half hours to do the full lap and finish at the Craigney bar. We're going to have a few stops on the way, so we're going to stop at the Costa coffee shop in Crosby, the miter in Kirk Michael and the Swan in Ramsey, just to give ourselves a little break and hopefully raise some money in those drinking establishments as well. Awesome. So, if anyone's listening and they're going over the mountain between probably about 10 o'clock tomorrow morning and maybe 11 or a little bit after that, you know, drive with Kirk, because there's going to be a couple of people you might want to see. And, you know, what's the fundraising target then? What are you hoping to achieve with this? So, we're raising money for the orphanages, I say, and we're hoping to raise at least 3,000 pounds, which will go to the ongoing maintenance and upkeep of the orphanage in Derusha in Tanzania. Will you be heading over to the orphanage at any point as well when you've raised the money? Yes. There's actually 12 is going from Capitol International at the end of August to spend a week with the children, as I say, help with any maintenance in the orphanage, but also, you know, work with the children and provide some sort of educational input as well and support them as much as we can. Oh, brilliant. Well, thank you very much for your time today and best of luck tomorrow. This is a huge goal. And hopefully I'll see you out and about. Is there anything else you'd like to add at all? Well, I would just like to, obviously, extend my thanks for those that contributed so far to the just giving page. And if anyone else wants to donate, they can find that online. We have a karaoke bus full of colleagues who are going around supporting us. So, please be careful if you're out and about on the mountain. If you come up behind us too quickly, we'll be all shook up. We're hoping we're not going to have any unchained malady with the chain coming off. And, you know, it's basically now or never. Thank you for making it to the end of the Manxeradian newscast. You are obviously someone with exquisite taste. May I politely suggest you might want to subscribe to this and a wide range of Manxeradia podcasts at your favourite podcast provider. So, our best bits will magically appear on your smartphone. Thank you. [MUSIC PLAYING]
