Mods in Aberdeen have joined forces to raise thousands for charity after a fellow member was diagnosed with cancer.
Dozens of scooter enthusiasts hit the roads of the Granite City as part of this year’s March of the Mods, raising £6,500 for a good cause.
The event, which normally features a group ride-out and an evening concert, is held at various locations across the UK every year to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust.
Aberdeen mods have been involved in the project for more than a decade, but they were determined to stage a “bigger and better” march this year for one of their own.
Club members have now decided to donate half of the proceeds to Prostate Scotland, which supported their fellow mod Robert Carmichael through the hardest of times.
Huge support from scooter community
Mr Carmichael, 53, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of prostate cancer last December.
While this came as a shock to him, he said the team at Prostate Scotland helped him get his head around the diagnosis and move forward.
He said: “When something like this happens to you, you don’t know what will be at the end of it all.
“A surgeon just tells you they will remove your prostate, but what happens after that – would I still be able to dance to Northern Soul, would I still be able to ride my scooter?
“And Prostate Scotland is a great charity that helps you out with all that – you just have a chat with them and they give you information and put you in the right direction.”
Mr Carmichael underwent an operation to remove his prostate in May, but seven weeks later he was told the disease had spread to his bladder and lymph nodes.
He added: “When they told me that I still have cancer, that knocked me down for a while – but the scooter community has always been there for me.
“I travel all over the country for scooter rallies and Northern Soul nights and I find that everywhere I go, there is always somebody that wants to help you out or speak to you.
“There’s been a lot of emotion and passion over the last year, with people helping out and donating funds to Prostate Scotland, and I’m really grateful for that.”
‘People’s generosity blew me away’
More than 80 scooter riders joined the group ride-out from Duthie Park to the Beach Ballroom, where around 450 people attended a non-profit March of the Mods concert.
A number of artists – including Aberdeen band Target 5 – entertained the crowds with a wide variety of mod tribute acts, as well as Northern Soul and Ska tunes.
All of the money raised from the event was donated to charity, with half given to Teenage Cancer Trust and the rest to Prostate Scotland.
Stephen Rafferty from Target 5 said: “We’ve been part of this since the very beginning, but this year we decided to go bigger and better.
“We’ve been passionate about it ever since we got involved and it’s great to see it growing each year.
“And all of it is for a good cause – we play for free and every pound that people have paid for tickets goes directly to the charities.
“I’m absolutely blown away by how generous people are. These buckets couldn’t fill any faster.”
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