2011-07-31 Tin 4 Tin

Every year the guys from the Brits area get together and collect tins of non-perishable foods for under-priviliged people in the area.

In previous years, a retail store pledged to match what the bikers can give "tin for tin", which is where the name of the jol originated.

Bikers being who and what we are, however, the retail store realised this is costing them a LOT of money, because the Bikers are not shy to give to a worthy cause...so they pulled out.


Shows you! Bikers can even "out-give" a Retail Store when it comes to worthy causes.

This year, the jol was, from a personal perspective, marred by the fact that one of my good mates lost his son in a flying accident the day before.

I struggled to get to grips with the jol and felt a little down most of the day, which I'm sure one can understand.

It did not stop everyone from having a good time, however, and the weather was as great as usual, allowing for a lot of fun and laughter to be had along with good fellowship...as always.


It was at this jol that I had the epiphany, which would turn my photography "career" in a new direction. As I walked through the crowds with the camera, I found myself looking for opportunities to take photographs of the people, but other than what I usually did, I found myself focusing on the families, even the extended families.

One of the things I realised was how often I had seen photographs being shown at funerals, only to see photos of the deceased only. No photographs of the guy with his wife, for instance.

Sometimes there would be only one photograph of the guy with his kids.

That's when I decided to make an effort of getting photos of people with the rest of their families.

On some of the jols that followed, I even had the opportunity of finding out who some of the guys were actually married to! (Onlyjoking!!)

On the way to the jol, there was an incident with someone apparently being knocked off his bike by a Taxi, but this was sorted out.

After the jol, Smiley ended up in hospital for a couple of days, because his 'Busa was not fast enough to pass a car that turned in front of him as he was leaving the jol. He has recuperated sufficiently to ride again, even though he had to buy a Kawa as a replacement for the Busa, but that's another story...