A UNIQUE motorcy- cle workshop is set to close after ten years - despite being successful. On Saturday, Pauline and Dave Emerson will reluctantly hang up their spanners for the last time when the motorcycle workshop closes. For more than a decade it has been a Saturday morning institution among many bikers in Essex to drop into the workshop run by the cou- ple at the Laindon Community Centre. There, for £2 an hour, they are given expert instruction on how to repair their machines, plus they had the chance to meet other bike fanat- ics and drink endless cups of coffee. Due to demands for sports and social activities on the premises, Laindon Community Association has decided to convert the workshop into a general purposes hall. This leaves the workshop with nowhere to go.

By NICOLA TAYLOR Pauline said: "It is sad because the workshop is unique in this country, if not the world. it is a place where people can bring their bikes and learn how to maintain them on a shoestring. "Dave teaches people how to fix the bikes, but the people who come along also help each other. I'm known as the carburettor queen as I am always being called on to hold them together." Pauline said the well- equipped workshop at the community centre was only used on a Saturday, and stood empty the other six days of the week. However, she fears they will be unable to find any replacement premises which has the space to put seven bikes up on ramps and is secure. Pauline added: "We also need to find some- where that is flexible. We oppen from 11am until 2pm but we stay until the

bikes are fixed, which can be well into the evening. "It is a shame because the workshop has such a loveley atmosphere. "People help each other and we have made a lot of friends. Also the sight of someone leaving, having their bike fixed and wear- ing a big cheesy grin, is wonderful." Centre manager John Hunt said "We are duty- bound to provide facili- ities for the community. "We have a waiting list of people who want to get in and use the centre. "One of the things we reluctantly looked at was the motorbike club, which we have tried to get more people to use. This was not something done lightly and we have got a good working relation- ship with the club." He added he was in negotiations to try and find a new home for the motorcycle club with the organisation which is to have the workshop's equipment. Anyone who can help should ring 01268 471717

Picture caption: "Zen and the art of motorcycle maintainance - (above left) Beckie Coombe, 22, works on her bike and (above right) club host Dave Emerson with biker Colin Nicholls" Picture: STEPHEN LLOYD

Our Comments:

This is a great article but there are a few errors...

Firstly The Workshop is not a 'club' it's an 'open-house'; there's no membership.

Pauline doesn't 'hold' carbs, she 'balances' them; understandable mistake for a non-technical writer.

Lastly, The Association has never actively promoted either The Motorcycle Workshop or the use of it's workshop facilities.

The phone number given is The Community Association.