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Outside of a building a bit south of Brisbane is a metal plaque, and it bears the following inscription...“VVMC. Brothers in Arms, Together then, Together again, Together forever, Lest We Forget” ...the building is a Clubhouse very aptly named “The Bunker” and the words on the plaque are definitely not the hollow ones of an advertising billboard or a shopfront hoarding, nor do they bear false witness, because, although few in number, those indelibly etched words speak volumes about the true character of the men found within that Clubhouse, for they are the members of the Vietnam Veterans MC Queensland Chapter. The ethos of the VVMC speaks for itself, and once again came to the fore as they held a Swap Meet and Auction to benefit Bruce“Skip”Eklom, (the full story about Skip can be read at www.qldvvmc.com. Although held at very short notice, it nonetheless attracted a quite considerable crowd and I have no doubt that anyone, myself included, who was a winning bidder on any one of the vast array of items up for auction would have left feeling dissatisfied with their purchase. During the course of the day, Mutha, the president of the Queensland Chapter, introduced Skips fiancée Ljuba to the crowd and announced that the wedding planned before Skips accident would still be going ahead and will be held at the Bunker. On behalf of the Wildcats and myself, I wish them all the very best in their marriage. |
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Plenty of good tucker and grog kept the crowd occupied between the auctions, as did the very credible array of cars that were also on display along with various stalls and traders. Due to the huge amount of things that had been given to the Vets to auction, it was getting fairly late that night when the final lot came up for grabs, this was a major item in the form of a 110 cubic inch motor, transmission and drive donated by Custom Central, and, as the photo of the highest bidder on this item shows, he had a grin from ear to ear when it was finally knocked down to him, and quite justifiably so, as it’s going to be one hell of a power plant for a bike. With most of the crowd having left for home after the final auction, the remainder then retired to the bar to see the night out, a few diehards were still going strong when I finally surfaced from my tent Sunday morning and headed up to the Clubhouse for a huge plate of bacon and eggs for breakfast, and, as a bonus to an already great weekend, the initial chill had gone from the air by the time I eventually packed up the bike, so it was a glorious, too good not to be out riding morning, that saw me saying a few goodbyes and heading back home to NSW and its winter. |
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There’s no doubt that all the people involved in the fund raising for Skip have done a fantastic job, and, no one would begrudge them if it was all wound up at this stage, however, that is not going to be the case as Custom Central are digging even deeper into their pockets, and, in conjunction with Ozbike magazine are embarking on a project to help Skip even further, some of the details are out already and can be read along with an article about Skip in issue 321 of Ozbike, but, make sure you buy, beg, borrow or steal the following edition to find out just how really big this upcoming project is going to be, and, just how much Custom Central and Ozbike are putting into it. In closing, congratulations to all involved so far in helping Skip, and a special thank you to the VVMC Qld Chapter for the generous hospitality you showed me whilst I was visiting the Bunker. |
Crusty |