Two colleagues will settle a long standing 'grudge' this week by racing each other across London on Barclays 'Boris' Bikes, raising awareness and money for young people at
RNIB Rushton in the process.
Youth will battle experience as Grosvenor Contracts' Sales Manager, Phil Taylor, 44, takes on Design and Marketing Consultant, Matthew Hicks, 29, in a modern-day showdown that will see both parties race from County Hall to Tower Bridge, just over two miles across the urban jungle of London.
What's the grudge?
Friendly banter in the office masked simmering bitterness between the two parties involved. This recently escalated to a full-blown argument when Matthew suggested that modern electro-pop music was better than old-school rock'n'roll and Phil took great offence.
A 'duel' was briefly considered to resolve the dispute, but before they got kitted out with chain mail and shields, they decided on a potentially safer way to restore their honour.
When Matthew walked into the office wearing his usual garish luminous cycling gear, an idea was born. The environmentally friendly 'Boris bikes', adopted by Londoners of all ages, was the perfect choice for a clash of the generations.
Phil works for
Grosvenor Contracts, a company supplying essential infection control and specialist cleaning services. Matthew is co-founder of 321 Collective, a creative agency. Both companies are based in London.
Grosvenor Contracts have a strong working relationship with us having recently undertaken a major curtain and blind installation at
RNIB Rushton School and Children's Home in Coventry.
Phil said "I'm looking forward to it. These young guys think they know it all. I'm going to take them down a peg or two. We're very concerned about our environmental impact at Grosvenor... so a Barclays Bike race perfectly reflects our company values and I can't think of a worthier cause than RNIB."
Get involved
If you would like to donate to support this event and the wonderful work of RNIB, please visit
Matt and Phil's JustGiving page.
Or, if you and your colleagues want to take part in a fundraising event, or come up with one of your own, please visit our
fundraising and
fundraising ideas pages for inspiration.
Alternatively you can contact us at
fundraising@rnib.org.uk or on 0845 345 0054 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm).