So what's the matter with you?
The pathway to the acquisition of this scooter was one filled with light-hearted events; however, the inspiration for its conception came from a much darker place…
Through the course of Tony Parkinson’s life, he’s had his fair share of scrapes and found himself in some tricky situations… “I’ll be honest, I can’t really blame anyone else oother than myself for some of the choices I’ve made; and on one occasion things got sso bad I actually attempted to take my own life.” Tony already owns several themed sscooters, and having reflected on his past he ddecided that he wanted to acknowledge the ssupport he’d had from some special people wwho’d helped him get through his dark times aand chose to dedicate this scooter to them.
Thailand
With this in mind, in spring 2020 Tony started to look round for a scooter and indirectly his long-term friend, Gary Hawes, became involved. “Gary’s the funniest man you could ever imagine meeting, and we’ve been pals since we were at junior school. He also likes a bet; a few years ago he won big and said he would take me on the holiday of a lifetime to Thailand. Early last year Gary did win big; he came into my business unit, threw £1000 at me and said: ‘Book the flights! Don’t give me that money back; we’re off to Thailand!’ Unfortunately, though, things weren’t going to be that simple because at the time Helen, my fiancée, had sent my passport off to be renewed.” Even so, and with the prospect of the trip to Thailand in mind, Tony sat down with Helen and told her about the intended trip. “As you can imagine it didn’t go down too well; however over the course of the weekend and after a lot of grovelling Helen saw how much it meant to me and agreed for me to go.”
When he came to look at it, he was expecting a full mint bike (he's not a scooter lad at all) so when he saw it he stared jumping and ranting saying 'I've thrown better in the river! It's a pile of rusty shite!
With all that said, on the following Monday morning Gary was back at Tony’s unit. “I need the money back! I’ve lost it all!” he said. Having been through a traumatic weekend with Helen I wasn’t too pleased, but ironically the funny thing about it was that unbeknown to Helen she’d actually saved the day, and because she’d sent my passport off to be renewed I still had Gary’s cash and I was able to give him his money back.”
Unbelievably, two weeks later Gary was again back at Tony’s unit. “We’re back on! I’ve won again; we’re going!” (Tony’s words in response to this are unprintable). But he saw an opportunity. “I told Gary that from my point of view the trip was off and I told him about the themed scooter I was planning to build. I told him that I’d seen one for sale and if he wanted to help me with that it would be very much appreciated.” Tony took Gary to see the scooter. “When he came to look at it, he was expecting a full mint bike (he’s not a scooter lad at all) so when he saw it he started jumping and ranting, saying ‘I’ve thrown better in the river! It’s a pile of rusty shite!’” Nevertheless, Gary knew exactly how much the scooter and its intended theme meant to Tony, so he bought it for him.
Pride
Throughout the conception of the project and during the course of the build, it gave Tony time to reflect. “Probably about 18 years ago I lost the ticket properly. Basically, I ended up losing my mind, becoming homeless, losing everything I had and living in a car. Being too proud, I didn’t ask anyone for help, and I foolishly believed that I could sort my own shit out through trying to survive on drink and drugs. Trust me; when you’re that low you won’t reason with anyone, and it was at that point I tried to commit suicide.”
Fortunately, at that time two of Tony’s friends, Laura Cuerden and Emma Crook, came to his rescue and offered him a place to live. “Things at that time were very difficult and I was being arrested every other day by Preston’s finest who were sometimes opening the door with their ‘big red key’. However, even with all that going on Laura and Emma still looked after me like I was family.” As well as Laura and Emma, another one of Tony’s best mates, Colin Ellison, was also there for him. “Colin was trying his hardest to sort me out, he had the patience of a saint, but you don’t listen to anyone when you’re that low; my confidence was shot.”
Rock
While Tony was living with Laura and Emma, he also met his fiancée, Helen. “It can’t have been easy for Helen; throughout my road to recovery, she’s been my absolute rock and she’s helped me sort my life out for good. I now have my own successful printing and embroidering business, and Helen and I plan to marry as soon as the pandemic will allow us.”
Tony does not want sympathy from anyone. The message he wants to deliver to others through his experiences and this scooter is that some of the choices we make in our lives are not always the best. The reasons for this are usually emotional and personal; but in times of need, and with a strong set of close friends around us, we can usually navigate our way to a better place.