Contributions towards the Don't Buy The Sun blimp had started to stall at between a third and half of what we needed, so I've been trying to see if there was a way of bringing the budget in a little.
One cost that was always movable was getting the "DON'T BUY THE SUN" message printed on each side, which actually worked out almost as expensive as the blimp itself. It's also been dawning on me with every passing week that there are so many causes close to our hearts that the blimp could be used to advertise that we'd be as well just getting a blank one and buying banners for each of these. So, I've ditched the printing.
And this is where we are - the well is now dry, having been spent on:
A 7m-long blimp, white with red tail-fins (currently naked)
Tether rope
Safe storage bag
Enormous gauntlets to haul the thing down after a flight
Several reels of industrial-strength velcro
So, where this leaves us is very, very straightforward: we need banners, and we need helium.
The blimp has ties for banners, but speaking to people in the industry, the velcro will be invaluable for making sure whatever banners we put on stay in place.
Many of you lot know the world of banners a lot better than I do, but even so I reckon we're still at least £300 short of having banners in the air for a couple of home games, and probably more like £400.
Also, the ties are for banners covering an area of 2.25m x 1.5m, which is almost a little bit of a waste of a 7m-long blimp, so what we could feasibly do is get individual PVC lettering printed up and back them with velcro to use more of the surface area.
Regardless, none of this can happen without more contributions.
PM me for an address for cheques or bank transfer details, or send payment by Paypal to stu@corkyball.co.uk (send as a gift to stop Paypal taking a big cut)
Can't end this message without a big thanks to everyone that has thrown in so far. Huge, huge thanks to all concerned - you know who you are, and I'm confident you're going to end up being part of something absolutely boss.