Bikers beat last year’s best despite all the ‘red tape’

 

• 25 Nov 2013
• Cape Argus
• Chelsea Geach CADET NEWS AGENCY chelsea.geach@inl.co.za
• From page 1 BIKERS and teddy bears zoomed through the city in their thousands yesterday on the annual Toy Run for children’s charities.

But the 8 000 motorcyclists who rode down to Maynardville Park in Wynberg were in for a big surprise.

Strict security at the beer tent caused the crowd to dry up hours before usual, and organisers had to scramble for water, electricity and toilets at the last minute as the council facilities were out of order.

“The red tape is strangling this event,” said Toy Run vice-chairwoman Glynis Coetzee, who has organised it for 12 years. “It’s getting harder and harder to hold this event because of overzealous regulations.”

Coetzee said the toys and funds generated by the run benefited50 000 children in 300 charities across the Cape.

Coetzee said her team was granted access to the Maynardville Park late on Friday, only to find the water, electricity and toilets were not working: “The charity then has to go to the expense to make up for poor services.”

Parents had to abandon either their beer or their children as no alcohol was allowed outside the small beer tent enclosure, and no under-18s were allowed inside.

Paul Hendricks, who has done the run since 1981, said there were no rides or waterslides to keep children occupied. While a band played to an empty arena, parents smuggled their young children over the fence of the beer garden.

Sizing up the trucks full of toys, Coetzee said it looked as if yesterday’s haul had beaten last year’s best of 34 000.

The city was asked for comment yesterday and said it was only likely comment on the matter today.