Keech Cottage Children’s Hospice

Tensor were contacted by two executives from Luton Borough Council regarding sponsorship desperately needed for a charity event in aid of the Luton based Keech Cottage Children's Hospice. The two executives, Frank Harrison, 40, and colleague Mike Girle, 52 planned to cycle the 906 miles from Land's End to John O' Groats to raise funds for the hospice. They had the backing of the Borough Council who were providing some support but now needed additional sponsorship from business.

We were so pleased when we got our commercial backers, exclaimed Frank to the Tensor reporter, as he described the moment when Tensor plc and EGS Ltd agreed to jointly finance their expenses. If it wasn't for Tensor and EGS then it simply would not have happened, he said.

The pair set off on their marathon on Saturday June 12, 2004 and took 10 days to complete the tough charity ride. Frank said it wasn't plain sailing as we had a couple of punctures and a near collision at the start when Mike nearly ran into the back of me!

Along the way they had to endure the hard Scottish summer it was cold, rainy and I nearly got hypothermia. I had to stop and rest at one point. We each took turns under the hand drier to warm ourselves up, said Frank.

When we spoke Mike Girle, he echoed the same comments as Frank, but added, you know, quite often the public are completely unaware of how Business helps their local communities and this is a splendid example of what does actually happen on the ground. Well done, Tensor and EGS! he concluded.

Well done to you, Frank and Mike, the splendid effort was all yours — Ed