Sing For Your Supper – Sponsorship Update

Ahhh, hello MOTO. You have been an absolute God send. When travelling around the country in the past overnight parking has been a huge problem, but since MOTO Services are situated pretty much all over the country we’ve been in safe hands.

Thanks to MOTO Hospitality we are now able to park overnight at their many Service Stations free of charge. We must also thank you for the MOTO App the BOGOF deals on bacon butties have been a real treat. They are our official sponsors of overnight parking. We struggle to find overnight parking, meaning basic amenities such as toilets, showers and our overall safety was a huge issue. Since our van is not classed as a campervan we are not able to stay at most campsites meaning we had to park in the nearest lay by or public park. This was a massive problem but now thanks to MOTO Hospitality we can rest assured we can sleep peacefully at night and wake up refreshed and ready for another day on the road.

Thank you to all at Anand International who are one of the largest suppliers of Battery & Blank Media throughout the UK. One of the main problems on the road when busking using a battery powered amp is recharging the batteries.  Anand International came to our rescue and provided us with powerful rechargeable batteries and chargers that are quick to charge. We now have a supply of batteries that will last us sometime and can be charged on our 12v Battery on the road. Finally batteries that are able to keep up with us.

BBC Radio have been really fantastic and supported us throughout. There have been live performances, discussions and storytelling. Huge thanks go out to all the BBC stations that have supported our music and adventures so far.

To date we have had the opportunity to perform live on radio stations up and down the country including a special performance for BBC Tickets with BBC Radio Lancashire, BBC Radio Merseyside, BBC Radio Derby, BBC Radio Wiltshire, BBC Radio Cumbria, BBC Radio Lincolnshire, BBC Radio Norwich, BBC Radio Surrey, BBC Radio Stoke, BBC Radio Leeds, BBC Coventry & Warwickshire. We’re not finished with you yet and hope to make a few more appearances. We’ve had some great feedback from the shows, thank you all again for your wonderful support.

Massive thanks to Strings & Things for providing us with a stack of our favourite Ernie Ball Earthwood Guitar strings. We’re not just saying that as you sponsored us; Earthwood Strings have always been our favourite.  As we say “A set of Balls is the only way to play” The “Super Lock” strap locks are a great accessory and we can now rest assured the guitar will not be slipping off during a performance. Also for the many phantom disappearing plectrums, straps and stickers. 

Roland has really come up trumps when it comes to sponsorship. A very big thank you to all at Roland who have supported us. Originally they kindly loaned us a Roland Street Cube for the duration of our “Sing for Your Supper” challenge. Since our tour was postponed due to my broken arm and operation we contacted them to see if they could extend the loan period. 

We received a lovely email back stating that they would like to donate the amp to us to complete the challenge and for any further projects we have in the future. This was not what we expected and we were so overwhelmed by their generosity. In bigger cities with all the hustle and bustle an amp is a necessity; performing for hours and hours on end, day after day to be heard finger picking on the guitar would result in massive blisters and the vocals would end up sounding like someone who had smoked Woodbines  for over 80 years.

We have used a Roland Street Cube for years, but unfortunately due to the heavy use and the years of wear and tear it has seen better days. The Street Cube is a fantastic piece of gear and is a must for any musician on the move. We have found with fully charged batteries (6AA) it lasts approximately 6 hours which is a must if you don’t want your performance cut short. It is perfect and fits snugly under our bed in the van when were on the road.

Thanks to wonderful people at Sutherland Trading are who are the only UK distributors of the fantastic Hohner Harmonicas Range and what a lovely bunch of people you are. I’ve always used Hohner harmonicas, but if you toot away hard enough on them eventually your reeds going to blow. My set of Hohner harmonicas were shall we say a little worse for wear (maybe due to an unfortunate Lucozade spillage which I’ve discovered is deadly for a precious et of harps), they were showing signs of age, a few notes were missing and not bending as they should. They provided us with a much needed set of harmonicas and they play like a dream ( I promise to keep the fizzy drinks away from them). We have used the new harmonicas on our Album and they have been fabulous on the road, since I now have a full set I can play along to almost any tune.

Since we need to busk in every county in England to complete our fundraising, we faced a huge dilemma. In one word it was London. Not only is it near on impossible to busk there without auditions with huge waiting lists or face the risk of being arrested, we are unable to travel into London in our old (but very lovely & reliable) van. It’s Non-compliant according to the LEZ regulations (sounds like something from Flight of the Navigator) we have since learnt that our van is overweight by a small amount and it will cost us £100 per day to travel into London and that’s without the congestion charge.

So in this case the van was out of the question (unless we put it on a diet) meaning transport and accommodation to London was going to be extremely costly. After lots of worrying and I suppose lack of faith we were able to receive sponsorship from Virgin Trains who provided us with complimentary return tickets to travel to London.

Not only that, when we arrived at Liverpool Lime Street, we checked in at The Virgin Trains office and the lady on the desk who was concerned about our equipment and suitably impressed with Zippy, and wait for it, upgraded us to first class for both our outward and return journey. We were told it was all down to Zippy our travelling companion mascot who had clenched the deal. We were overwhelmed and could not believe how blessed we were.

Thank you so much Virgin Trains for your generosity (and for the lady on the desk at Liverpool Lime Street) for saving the day, without you, we really couldn’t have afforded to travel into the capital. The journey was fantastic (with very humorous toilets) and a luxury we have never experienced, it’s definitely not one we shall ever forget. 

When we received the news of Virgin Trains generosity we were so excited, but then it dawned on us “where were we going to stay?” Since we were unable to drive to London, we had no van, resulting in no accommodation. We searched on the internet for hostels and cheap B&B’s and they really do not exist. Either all of the rooms were booked or they were completely out of any budget we have. Since we had only just received confirmation of our travel our hotel bookings were all really last minute.

That’s when Park Plaza Hotels (PPHE) really stepped up. After some research we were delighted to learn that this prestige chain of hotels already supports local food banks. For some reason this is not something we expected. They have several 5 star hotels in and around London and perhaps they could help us out? Its a daunting fact worrying about where we will be staying.

We contacted various hotels and sent them over the information and we are happy to say that 3 of the hotels provided us with a room for the night. Not only that they provided us with breakfast, which was out of this world and unlike anything we’ve ever experienced.

Huge thanks to Park Plaza Westminster Bridge, Park Plaza County Hall and Park Plaza Victoria for your generosity and support. It was totally unexpected and so kind of you to help us complete our challenge. We can see why you won “Considerate Hotelier of the Year” and fully approve of your current scheme; helping the homeless in London. We are lost for words on how supportive you have been and with your help we are able to complete our busking session in London. Thank you, thank you, thank you.