Last week, I saw a sweet story on social media. A local bike shop in Montecito decided to give Prince Archie a cute little red bike for his fourth birthday, and one month after Archie received the gift, his parents sent a thank-you letter to the bike shop. A lovely story, a story about how a local business wanted to show their support for their local royals. A story about a little ginger prince receiving a great little bike. Of course, the British media and the Derangers had to turn the story into something crazy.
First off, the bike shop – Mad Dogs & Englishmen – posted a photo of the bike with a message that didn’t even name-check Archie. They just wrote: “We hope yesterday’s special birthday boy had a wonderful day surrounded by lots of love, friends and family. Martin gifted him a new kids bike out of our Montecito shop! We really hope he enjoys it. His little sis can ride as well when she gets a bit bigger.” They only identified Archie as the recipient once they got the letter from the Sussexes’ office. So what’s so upsetting about a local business in California giving a child a free bike for his birthday? I have no idea, but the replies got so bad on Mad Dogs & Englishmen’s Instagram that they closed the comments. The Telegraph also clutched their pearls so hard at the whole story.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have accepted a free bike from a British business owner for their son’s birthday. Prince Archie turned four on May 6, the day of the King’s Coronation. But while the Duke travelled to London for the ceremony, the Duchess stayed at home in Montecito, California, where she took delivery of the surprise gift. The red bike was hand-delivered to the family home by Martin Watson, co-owner of Mad Dogs & Englishmen, a bike shop in the US town. Mr Watson did not hear any more about it, but this week he received a letter.
It said: “On behalf of Prince Harry and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, please accept their sincere thanks for the thoughtful gift you sent to Prince Archie for his fourth birthday. The bike has brought much joy and is most appreciated by the family. They asked that I convey their gratitude at the lovely surprise.” The note was signed by Harrison Colcord, a former sales director at the San Ysidro Ranch in Santa Barbara, who is thought to have been recently hired by the couple’s private office.
Jennifer Blevins, Mr Watson’s partner, revealed that the bike was a spontaneous decision he made on the day.
“He went and got one of our little Specialized bikes – they’re really nice little bikes – and he’s like, ‘This one’s perfect. It’s got training wheels,’” she told People magazine. “So he went and got some birthday balloons, and he got some flowers for Meghan and a birthday card, and he said, ‘OK, I’m gonna bike over and take it to their house.’” On arrival, he was greeted by security, who asked if he had received an invitation from the couple. “He said: ‘I’m just a British business in town that wanted to give Archie a gift,’” Ms Blevins said.
After running an on-site background check, security allowed him to leave the flowers, card, balloons and bike. The couple heard no more about it until Wednesday. “A courier came by our little shop on Coast Village Road and he dropped off that letter,” Ms Blevins said. “I was making a joke. I said, ‘It better be a thank you letter’ and it really was. I wasn’t expecting that. I had no idea.It was so thoughtful because, you know, they took the time to write something personal and not just a generic thank you.”
After sharing the note on social media, the couple were criticised by some people, who asked why they had not donated the bike to a less privileged child. In response, they said they donate a lot of bikes and support dog charities.
“This wasn’t a donation – it was a gift. It was a very impromptu gesture by Martin because he’s British and we have a bike shop in Montecito. We thought it would be fun.” They said they had shared the message because they were “proud and honoured”.
While official gifts must be declared, members of the Royal family are allowed to accept personal gifts, as long as doing so does not place them “under any obligation to the donor”.
So the (selective) issue is that the Sussexes “accepted a gift” and “kept the gift”? That’s it? Y’all know that Charles was literally accepting suitcases full of cash, right? Y’all remember that Camilla got so many shady “gifts” from the Saudi royal family that they actually had to change the disclosure rules just for her? Y’all know that designers frequently “give” Kate jewelry, purses and clothes, often using Pippa or Carole as a go-between, right? And y’all know that Kate and William have accepted tons of gifts for their kids as well? Besides all of that, Harry and Meghan don’t have to play by those (utterly arbitrary) gift rules anymore. Archie deserves presents too, and that’s what people are really mad about, that a local business thought it would be nice to give a kid a bike for his birthday.
Photos courtesy of Instagram, Netflix, Archewell.
-
- Gigi Hadid Photo Call for Michael Kors Wonderlust Fragrance Launch, Rockefeller Center, New York, NY July 16, 2019. Photo By: RCF/
Children shouldn’t have nice things! They should be dressed up like little Victorian-era lords and paraded around events!
– the British media, probably.
Apparently in the we are not a racist family fan base biracial children are not allowed gifts. Only the white children are allowed gifts. Harry and Meg are no longer working royals they seem to conveniently forget that wish they all got.
It is a known fact that royal family members are sent presents. Even some fans in America do this. They are kept by the recipients and accepted by UK royalty.
I feel sorry for the bike shop owners. They probably weren’t expecting this level of idiotic backlash for doing something nice for Archie.
On the plus side it brought a lot of attention to their shop. Free advertising.
Exactly.
IDK. I think it’s a very sweet gesture, but if the owner is British and paying any attention at all, they knew the risks. I don’t mean that to sound like victim blaming. I think they weighed the risks against the desire to share a joyful thing with their British neighbors and decided it was worth the inevitable tabloid BS.
Also, I am dying at the name “mad dogs and English men” in Southern California, land of the midday sun.
LMAO zazzoo — the name of the shop is prophetic, isn’t it
For heavens sake…the hypocrisy, the cognitive dissonance! The real hatred… it’s super weird. A little boy got a little bike..they are the most corrupt family in the world.
IDK what a high end child’s bike costs. Last time I bought a bike it was $200 at Target, but I gave up bike riding 20 years ago. Let’s say this cost $2K. It’s a drop in the bucket for all involved parties. It’s a super sweet gesture, but it’s not even remotely about money. Like, when I gave my coworker a $20 gift card to the lunch spot on the corner last week. I just really appreciated something they did for me. That dollar amount was meaningless to both of us (we’re at the same level and earn the same salary, so there was no weirdness in a monetary gift) and there was zero weirdness to the gesture because we didn’t have to eat lunch together. (I friggin’ love little gifts like that, an hour to myself with an espresso and salad? Thank you! You’re forced to take a moment for yourself because it’s a gift and not your own insistence on a lunch break.) Of course the Sussexes can afford their own bike, but the gift was a message that they’re valued, and it’s not weird because it was for a kid and never needs to be seen publicly.
Believe the bike was $250, on sale, the (pink) Specialized, only one of the several kids bikes shown with training wheels on their website. A nice little treat for a four year old. None of their kids bikes look extravagant.
$250?? That made the news? Again, super nice gesture, but a bike is an investment. It’s not a throw away item. Most of the readers of the lowest brow rag would consider that kinda coin for a child’s bike – maybe in some cases multiple people contribute to bring a child’s dream to life, but it’s within the realm of possibility for most families. I just can’t imagine anyone taking the time to be outraged by this.
I like the detail about the guy just biking over to the gate and dropping off the bike. It’s a cute gesture. Their business insta being swarmed with negative comments is just proof of how low some of these royalist fans truly are. It makes the RF look hella bad that that’s how their fans roll.
@Jais, THIS, but no uproar about bags and suitcases full of cash. Jewelry and diamond watches?? Yeah right, tell us you are racist without telling us you are racist. These people make my blood boil. Stay happy Harry, Megan and the children, and let the others rot in their own bile. This was a lovely, much appreciated gift, and if people don’t like it, (including the rota) they can swivel
Right? It’s not like he was gifted some ancient shark tooth from Malta.
^^ Right @Jais! 💯 Not only that! Malta wanted that shark tooth to be returned to their country!!! But the FFK of the UK was given it as a birthday present by David Attenborough! Meanwhile, crickets from the royal rot and derangers. 🙄
I noticed the typo, but I’m leaving it as is, because it’s apt and on point.
This is so thoughtful for Archie! But I’m kind of surprised that Meghan didn’t write a personal thank you herself.
Honestly, seeing how insane the vile press and comments over this tiny thing is, I can see why she didn’t.
Look at it two ways, normally she would’ve written it, but this is fine also.
If Meghan wrote it personally, the press would deploy experts to analyze her character from the handwritten letter again. They probably thought the shop may share it online, so made it official.
I can’t believe how utterly budget the paper and font etc are.
Lol really?
This was such a sweet story and I love that he brought flowers for Meghan, too. I love that the thank you note says “Prince Archie”. Of course people had to try to ruin it. I did see the bike shop started a gofundme for people who want to help them donate as many bikes as possible to children in need and it’s already raised $8k because Sussex squad is the best. Good for them.
The Trolls are so dumb, after all their vitriolic messages on the shop’s Website, causing them to close it for a time, in ride the Sussex Squad and raised over 5K for bikes to be donated.
The shop is doing a brisk business with their T shirts, thanks Trolls for giving the shop publicity.
So while we’re on the subject of royal gifts why not also get into how many of those official gifts end up as ‘private’ property? I think it was the Guardian who did something on this, things that were gifted by other Head of State, etc. and ended up part of say Philip’s estate. Grifters the lot of them.
But no, a local shop can’t give a bike to a private citizen.
And it backfires on the Rota and Racists again. Because now the bike owners have a new level of sympathy for the Sussexes, due to the backlash they’re getting for accepting a lovely gesture in the form of a bicycle for a pre-schooler. Keep it up, and everyone is going to turn against the Rota and Racists as their antics lead people to be more sympathetic to the Sussexes.
I was curious what the value of the bike was. One of Google’s top results was a link to Daily Fail (I didn’t click!) and they didn’t identify the model but noted Specialized bikes can cost up to $11,000. LOL. The actual bike is the “Riprock Coaster 16” and retails for $249.99. It’s not nothing but hardly extravagant (and the wholesale cost to the bike shop would be even less). I’d say it was well worth it for them for the free advertising.
Thr UK press narrative is that Americans now hate the Sussexes just as much as the UK hates them. This story doesn’t support their talking points so people instantly attack it to make it go away. The Shop Owner is British too so it makes it worse.
Post QEll, I’ve noticed multiple, daily, negative articles about Harry and Meghan, often from British media sources, popping up on my Yahoo front page. It’s as though someone is working overtime to put a negative spin on anything Sussex-related on a US-focused site, that def skews older, and possibly more conservative than I realized. It sucks that this is “news”, and that this is what “news” has become. I’m reading this as a deliberate effort to negatively influence the public perception of the Sussexes — with an audience that otherwise would give little thought to them. I’m also wondering who’s influencing or even bankrolling this mess, and if it’s connected to Harry’s legal cases with the British media.
It’s so insidious. And that kind of ‘drive by’ Sussex ‘news’ is exactly the sort of stuff that conditions people to think H&M are attention seeking all the time. US outlets are manipulated by Murdoch media or simply too lazy not to piggyback on some of these articles. I also think the UK media/BRF also pay to manipulate Google searches. Negative interest and hashtags when “Prince Harry” is typed out pop up as suggestions immediately but last week “Prince Harry hacking” “Prince Harry phone hacking” would not auto fill, you had to type the entire phrase in.
Someone did an analysis of the data surrounding the comments on Harry and Meghan. It was found that 85% of the posts on social media sites were by bots. These were set up to specifically t negatively troll Meghan and Harry.
The trolls are making more people support the Sussexes.
“ While official gifts must be declared, members of the Royal family are allowed to accept personal gifts, as long as doing so does not place them “under any obligation to the donor”.
Seriously, do the RRs still not accept that Harry and Meghan are no longer obligated to follow royal “rules”? Or do THEY feel obligated or are they required to couch all of their coverage around these royal rules? Or are they just not imaginative enough to tell a simple, sweet story without injecting the Institution into it?
I found that so odd. They ran the Sussexes out of town, kicked ’em out of the family & the institution, and they think the rules still apply? They think Harry still needs someone to ‘advise’ him on what he can say? What he can accept? They are truly hopeless.
And happy birthday to Prince Archie! That’s a cool little bike!
Many on that island don’t care that they have the body of Ethiopia’s Prince Alemayehu and REFUSE to return his remains to Ethiopia, but do care about a gift to a little prince. Trash, the lot of them.
💯
So who leaked the thank you letter? The bike shop wanted publicity?
I’m sure they are genuine fans and were just too happy about receiving the letter. Like the cabin crew guy who took a photo with Harry and received a signed copy of his book. He too just wanted to share how happy he was.
lol at “leaked”. It is not a government document, it is a nice thank you letter. Why shouldn’t the shop share it? It is a business at the end of the day. People share when they got something from famous people all the time on social media.
The bike shop was excited about receiving the thank you note!! They put it on social media and now they have raised $$$$$ to give many bikes to needy kids.
Win.Win.
This shows you just how deranged these “people” are. And, I even hesitate to use the word people. Sorry, sorry excuses for humans who use this kind of hatefulness to make war on innocent acts of kindness not to mention hostility towards an innocent child. They are truly disturbed.
His own damn grandfather couldn’t be bothered to even wish that beautiful boy a happy birthday.
I am so impressed by Jennifer Blevins and Martin Watson. They must be truly lovely people who know how to send such a perfect gift for a 4 year old boy. That kind of generosity and outreach helps to restore my faith in human kindness. Well done, Mad Dogs and English Men, I hope your are well rewarded with much good business. Thank you again. Oh, and stay out of the midday sun!! Fondly.
I’m waiting for there to be outrage when the Wales children get gifts. Heck a woman gave Kate a pair of earrings last week and there were only cries of joy.
Remember when David Attenborough gave George a fossil he stole from another country? And the BM were totally cool with it and thought it was the cutest thing in the world?
Yeah.
Yes, we’re ion the same page. Imagine the outrage had Archie been gifted that tooth. They would not find it cute.
That was a gift from a good-mannered English expat directly to Prince Archie: symbols matter. Even wealthy kids need to hear their existence matters, so stop turning a well-intentioned gesture into an obligation to donate.
This particular gift belongs to that particular child. Donate everything but this bike. It symbolizes kindness, and as such, it was a donation to Prince Archie.
I can’t with all these sanctimonious voices telling what to do with your child’s belongings or how to feel super hyper guilty if you don’t act by the obligated charity book code! Because Prince Archie was born into money – which he is too young to realize, by the way – everything gifted to him must be snatched away from him? For f***’s sake, people.
@sugarhere Well said!
I don’t know which comment you’re referring to @Sugarhere, but I read that along with the well wishes for Archie, there were also some sanctimonious people (as you correctly call them) saying that instead of sending a gift to Archie on his birthday, the shop should have given the toy bike to someone with less money. Hmm. So, Archie shouldn’t receive gifts even for his birthday? They try to pretend that their real concern is charity when they don’t seem like the type to praise the Sussexes for their charitable donations either. Basically, their whole sentiment is that the Sussexes shouldn’t have nice things. Surely if they were that aggrieved by someone, somewhere not having a bike, nothing is stopping them from making their own donations. Anyway, good for the shop and happy birthday, Prince Archie.
It’s appalling how much certain people actually hate Meghan’s children. And we all know why.
I know, Beverley. It makes me so scared for those kids as they grow up. They will have all this unwarranted scrutiny and criticism for everything they do. What clothes they are seen wearing, what schools they go to. At least H&M will protect them better than Harry was protected.
The bike shop is holding a raffle for a free bike for an underprivileged kid. But the winner has to prove they are on public assistance. Also the bike shop put out a message they will delete all negative posts. Choke on that trolls
I read an Instagram comment, iirc, that the bike shop was trying to cope with the influx of trolling comments and said many of the accounts aren’t real (people) so that business of hate is still happening. I’d like legitimate news coverage of that whole phenomenon
Yes! I wish there was an depth story about this kind of SM manipulation that could get traction.
M&H I think behaved perfectly. If anyone should be criticized it’s the bike shop owner who (I’m sorry to say) does seem to have done this mainly in the hope of getting some free publicity (do you think he’s giving every kid in Montecito, or even every British expat kid in Montecito, a free bike for their birthday? I doubt it), As evidenced by the fact that they posted about it (okay, not naming Archie but definitely dropping hints) before getting any kind of okay from M&H? If M&H had sent the bike back that might have gotten out too and I can only imagine what sort of slant the tabloids would have put on that.
^^ I disagree with your take above @Cate, and with yours below @BlueNailsBetty. I believe the shop owners’ account of the gifted bike being a last minute thought on the day! It was a very sweet gesture. All parties directly involved have handled this in a lovely way. It’s the non-involved Salty Isle Sussex haters who need to get a grip and get a life!
It was a sweet gesture.
It’s the blasting it on social media that feels gross to me.
This feels a bit sleazy to me. They are coming across as doing this to drum up publicity. First they make a thinly veiled announcement and then they splash the thank you note on their social media.
Using A and L to drum up attention/publicity is gross. They could have quietly gifted the bike but instead, they blasted it out.
^^ I don’t see the shop owners having ‘used A&L to drum up publicity.’ If M&H felt the shop owners had ulterior motives, they wouldn’t have accepted the gift and sent the thank you letter. Your word “sleazy” is out of place. I think ‘sleazy’ more aptly characterizes the exchanging of bags of cash for royal access.
I believe the shop owner had sincere motives in gifting the bike to Archie and in extending flowers to Meghan. Surely, the nice gesture enhanced Archie’s b-day during a stressful time, with Harry away in the UK trying to be dutiful toward his unappreciative father.
The only sleazy thing that came out of the nice gesture by the shop owner is the rota & derangers’ unhinged reactions. But fortunately that led to greater publicity, which ended up benefiting the fundraiser to gift bikes to other children. Any upswing the shop owners are receiving for their business, is well deserved! 👏
“ Your word “sleazy” is out of place.”
Actually, it’s my opinion…which is based on very real facts instead of assumptions about what HM feel about this matter.
It’s perfectly fine if we agree to disagree on this situation.
Everyone is entitled to their views and perceptions. In fact, the meaning of ‘sleazy’ is: “disreputable, sordid, filthy, cheap, shoddy, contemptible, or vulgar.”
Nothing about the motivation to gift Archie a bike has anything to do with ‘sleazy.’ It was a nice gesture, not a quid pro quo, or something negative and underhanded. The shop owners didn’t mention Archie’s name in the initial post, which also did not get widespread attention.
Even if you believe they wished to gain extra business out of giving a bike to Archie on his birthday, how is that ‘sleazy?’ I believe the shop owners have demonstrated genuine, caring motivations, and that they were excited about receiving a thank you from the Sussexes. The resultant success of a fundraiser to make other children happy, is a good thing! 🚲
Well said, @aftershocks. As you stated, the gift was a nice gesture during a stressful time. I also saw it as intending to demonstrate that Harry and Meghan have support from the community.
i don’t think they planned it that way for publicity. they made a post about gifting a bike to a birthday boy, did not even name who it was for. they would not have known meghan and harry would send a thank you note so that they would have something to show the world “for publicity.” geez, we should stop thinking all people have ulterior motives, many still give because they can and they want to. how we perceive people says a lot about us than about them. some supporters in twitter are leading toward this direction.
I think the bike shop put the thank you letter on their instagram but they didn’t broadcast the gift. I think they just wanted to brag about receiving the letter but it got them publicity both good and bad. Now the have a go-fund me to donate bikes. Perhaps they could donate 4 bikes to 4 underprivileged kids in honour of a 4th birthday. I don’t know about people nominating and applying. Probably letting a charity handle it would be better. It’s disgusting what these trolls do. I’m sure George has been given a bike somewhere along the line. And Archie got a bike from the Invictus Games last year I believe. Hope Lili got a trike for her birthday!
I know H&M are keeping the kids private but I’d still enjoy a new photo of A&L.
I am sure we will see new photos in the next 12 months.
^^ I wouldn’t get my hopes up for that to happen @PrincessK. The only certain thing we can look forward to from the Sussexes this year is the upcoming Invictus Games, the Invictus-related documentary, and possibly a podcast from Harry. We would be lucky to get another season of Archetypes from Meghan. She may simply decide to move onto other projects, or she could currently be working on a new Archetypes season.
Whatever is in the works, I don’t expect to see the children or the dogs. The Sussexes always have to be on guard and in protective mode. I don’t begrudge them forever shielding private happiness in their Montecito haven.
The sad reality @HeyKay is that those of us who care about and support the Sussexes, must accept rarely if ever seeing Archie & Lili as they’re growing up. The hope is that the OTT scrutiny and hate directed toward the Sussex family will abate and lessen in intensity at some point. But that hope may be futile.
After the exceedingly scary experience of being chased through the streets of NYC by vile, aggressive paps, the last thing on M&H’s minds would be sharing pictures of their children publicly. They would probably like to share with their supporters, but that means the general public gets involved. Every time M&H have shared pictures, there has been negative, OTT criticism overtaking the positive appreciation by supporters.
After the Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir, the Sussexes were accused of oversharing, publicity-seeking, and intruding on their own privacy! Is it any wonder that we rarely see or hear from M&H for months on end? While I’d love to see them release a nice family photo, including Doria, along with the three dogs, Pula, Mia, and Guy, I’m not expecting it to happen anytime soon.
I’m sorry but how on earth does someone “intrude” on their own privacy? I’ve never heard that term applied to anyone else before, but somehow demented people have determined that if they can’t profit off the Sussexes lives, then the Sussexes can’t appear in public either. That’ll be the day.
^^ You’re right, that doesn’t make any sense, @Debbie. But none of the mindless stuff written about H&M makes sense. For sure, they will be seen in public on occasion. But in the aftermath of the NYC chase, I would bet the Sussexes and their team are upping security strategies and measures. I have no idea what it’s like to live with such high antennae regarding security needs. But at least, H&M are blessed in many ways, and the Squad is always praying for them.
As far as the public getting to see much of their children — no one should be holding their breath or getting their hopes up.
Another example of how certain people don’t want any child of color to have any fun or feel any joy. And those Certain People definitely have it out for Duchess Meghan’s children.
^^ Exactly @Beverley. Sadly, this is the reality.
Can the press and the trolls stop talking about children? This little boy is 4 years old! I don’t like it when they write about Louis either. This stuff is so damaging. The American press agrees not to write about people’s children until they are adults. The British press, Youtube, Instagram, etc, ought to do the same.
I concur.
Good God–I want almost every bike from this shop. I didn’t even know there were electric bikes. Whoa…😎😎🥰
I’m not crying for anyone here–the bike shop did this FOR the marketing, and that is 100% fine! (I work in a field that “intersects” with marketing to an extent, so I’m like, brilliant, hats off to them for this clever idea!) I mean, if they are successful, they can and should support charities, give bikes to low-income kids, etc., but this was a publicity move. I don’t want to say it was a “stunt” because again–nothing but admiration for their great idea here! And of course it would have been churlish of H&M not to graciously accept the gift.
I report anti Sussex YouTube channels for hateful content. I do what I can do.
Good!
Bravo.
Soooo, I just read a 10th June 2023 article in The National Scot claiming The Telegraph group, which also publishes The Spectator, is now in receivership because they no longer generate enough income to service their debt. But we’re not seeing anything about dire Telegraph finances in this article? Business that can’t service debt and poses going concern risk chooses to run this kind of copy???🙄
Don’t know much about how Britain does bankruptcy, but if I read stories on Middleton Party Pieces correctly regarding prepackage business sales removing liabilities from biz sale transaction, there’s possibility that Torygraph owners could recover some equity without satisfying debt? Ugh if so. But I could be misunderstanding Brit bankruptcies.
I do think children under 18 should be protected from the press.
The Olson Twins, Amy Carter, Chelsey Clinton all were mocked or worse while being under 18.
MN has a local shock jock AM show, very much like the old Howard Stern show, and he repeatedly shuts down any talk about celeb kids under 18.
Just cuts the callers right off, even on live air.
“Hey, No. Leave the kids out of it.” And cuts the audio.
During the height of the Monica Lewinsky media storm, he did the same.
“Ya want to talk politics, go ahead. No bashing ML, she is a very young adult. Off limits.”
All the royal kids should be off limits.
Would not be surprise if security has now been told not to accept any gifts.
I have no issues with them dropping off the gift, it’s the posting on social media that I find questionable. If any of us gave a gift to a child in the neighborhood are we posting that information on social media along with the thank you letter, I don’t think so. Also, I’m sure the child already has a bike, probably more than one. They wanted attention. This go fund me to provide bikes to children sounds great on the surface, but let’s not forget it’s generating revenue for them. They’re not buying the bikes from small bike shops in the not so affluent part of L.A. derangers and squaddies have played right into their hands.
I believe there’s such a thing as kindness and human decency. Sure, the shop owners could have felt it would also be good for business — I don’t see anything wrong with that. I believe their account that they were genuinely excited about being British business owners in an area near the Sussexes’ home in Montecito. Plus, I accept that their overriding motivation was about making a young boy happy on his birthday. There was no guarantee the gift would be accepted, or that they would receive a written thank you.
Others here have noted that the shop owners did not post about the gift until after they received a thank you letter. Aside from trollish reactions and over-analyzing, good things have happened as a result of the friendly gesture.
For anyone that’s interested, from the bike shop’s IG:
“WE ARE NOT MAKING ANY PROFIT ON THESE BIKES. Funds will be used to buy bikes at our wholesale cost and they will be distributed by a local charity. This will allow us to maximize every dollar donated to this mission to purchase as many high quality kids bikes as possible.”
Given the current response to the fundraiser and the retail prices of kids bikes on their website (not that expensive) it looks like 20-30 kids could be gifted new bikes. The shop does their own donations during the holiday season (see details on the original raffle) and likely already has a charity partner they work with. YMMV, but personally, I’m with @aftershocks on this, and, from what I’ve read, am willing to believe the bike shop owners are, as they appear to be, motivated by good intentions. They say they’ll be transparent about how and where the funds are spent, so let’s see what happens.
The good gestures people do, & for a kid no less & all this negative nonsense. No telling what their celebrity friends gave Archie. He is a little boy, a kid for Gods sake. Leave him grow up normally, with friends, great parents, loving sister & grandma. & a bike! The bike shop should be commended for their generosity & love for kids. I will send my support too!👍Thats what America is all about. Being good to your fellow man, boy, kid, whomever.🇺🇸
With hate like this being spewed by royal sychopants, I hope Harry and Meghan never release any more photos of their children. The vile cretures would think nothing about destroying them and blaming it on an accident. If Charles cared he would make sure they are protected at all times, he doesnt and W & K make no secret of their contempt and jealousy.
Wow, you’d think they accepted stolen diamonds from a foreign country or something
This incident with the bike has shown many Americans how depraved the UK media is for causing undue hatred on a child-If Archie and Lilibet ever go to the UK as children can you image how they would be talked about in that press-they don’t believe in protecting children until they are 18 years of age-they want to damage and hurt them as they are growing and developing -Pure vultures with shitstain hearts-God give them strength to keep those children safe and happy from the UK media.
They want the Sussexes to be pariahs in society and the fact that they aren’t is eating the BM alive. Seethe bitches and watch while the Sussexes receive love and prosper. Oh, and Harry ain’t getting deported so you may as well give up that fever dream and move the f-ck on.