A landlord from The Spinners Arms, Cummersdale, Carlisle has shaved his hair off alongside his friend to raise vital funds for the Great North Air Ambulance Service (GNAAS).
Alain Davis, 47, from Cummersdale, and Perry Dewar, 61, from Aspatria, are passionate bikers and made the brave decision to say goodbye to their long locks after realising how important the charity is to the biking community.
The event was inspired by Alain’s experience of being airlifted to the Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle by GNAAS following a bike accident in 2009.
Alison Davis, 45, landlady of The Spinners Arms and Alain’s wife, said: “Pretty much every biker we know has respect for GNAAS. We are very grateful that this service exists.”
The pair had initially planned to sell their hair to The Little Princess Trust, the idea being that the proceeds would then be added to the fund, however the pair were told they only accepted hair with up to 10% grey, so they were ruled out.
In the end, a suitable professional wig making service was found, who were more than willing to accept the hair.
Leading up to the event The Spinners Arms held quiz nights and regulars had Easter egg draws in order to help them reach the target of raising £1,000 for charity.
On May 26 the two men braved the shave and afterwards there was live music from a local rock band called Fireball to mark the occasion. A raffle was also held by one of the regulars, Marlene Balmer, to help boost the fundraising.
Mrs Davis said: “We had a great evening with a lot of friends and pub regulars coming to see Alain & Perry get their hair removed! They tossed a coin and Perry ended up going first. A hairdresser from the village plaited his hair, cut it off and then shaved his head – he suits it! Alain went next but once his hair was plaited, we made another £20 as one of his mates asked if he could cut the plait off! They both did really well and were presented with a goody bag including sunburn cream and a Carlisle Brewing Co beanie each.”
Money is still coming in from the event but The Spinners Arms are expecting to raise around £1,200.
GNAAS is reliant on public donations to survive. Last year, it needed to raise £5.1m to survive. To find out how you can help please visit www.gnaas.com or call 01325-487263.
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