Joprinsen

This Bank Holiday Sunday 26 May, PrinFest Northern Soul & Mod Alldayer with 12 hours of top DJs spinning vinyl. Heart Research UK have published a press release detailing both their involvement and the background to this event which follows below. Scooters, Northern Soul and dancing – Halesowen woman remembering late husband with ‘Mod’ inspired charity event A Halesowen woman who lost her husband to heart failure is raising money for Heart Research UK Midlands and the Woodland Trust with a vintage scooter and Northern Soul inspired event in Selly Oak Birmingham. Jo Prinsen is hosting the Northern Soul and Mod Charity AllDayer on Sunday 26 May, on what would have been the 50th birthday of her late husband, Ian ‘Prin’ Prinsen, who died in 2016. The event, which is being held at Bournbrook & Selly Oak Social Club, features a scooter ride-out, taking in sights around Halesowen, Uffmoor Woods, Clent and the Lickey Hills, as well as live DJ’s spinning vinyl, vintage stalls a charity raffle and even a barber. All involved are donating their services for free, and all the money raised will be donated to Heart Research UK Midlands and the Woodland Trust. Inspired by their shared love of scooters and Mod culture, Jo decided to organise the event, dubbed ‘PrinFest’, to celebrate the memory of Prin and to raise money for causes close to her heart. “Prin passed away very suddenly, it was a total shock,” said Jo. “We had been together for 26 years. “When we got married at Dudley Registry Office in 1999, Prin rode there on my Vespa 90. Prin is missed so much by all his family and friends, who remember him as a true gent and one of the good guys. His friends gave him a scooter escort to the funeral. “I wanted to do something that would help to raise money, but also to raise awareness because I think a lot of people don’t realise that heart problems can affect people in their 40’s, and also the ‘classic’ symptoms are not always there. "PrinFest will reflect Prin’s love of Northern Soul, Mod culture and classic Vespa scooters. He loved building engines, he worked on friend’s scooters and one day hoped to have his own little business fixing scooter engines.” “The local scooter clubs have been fantastic, I’m really touched by all of the support that they are showing. A lot of them didn’t know Prin personally but they’ve all just got behind him as a fellow scooterist. “They are all joining in on the ride out, which will be a scenic ride past areas of significance for Prin including woodland that we used to walked in.” Local businesses, from dry-cleaners to scooter shops have pledged prizes for the raffle, including scooter services and suit cleaning. Heart Research UK Midlands have also donated many prizes including a 7 night holiday stay for four people in Cyprus . “I’ve been overwhelmed with the support I’ve received, people have been so lovely. The generosity of people has been incredibly touching,” said Jo. John Lloyd, Heart Research UK Midlands Regional Executive said: "We are proud to be associated with Jo`s event and the opportunity to highlight the work of Heart Research UK here in the Midlands. “We encourage everyone to get involved, and hope that with our support, the day will be a huge success. “Prinfest is going to be a great event and will help to raise funds for our pioneering research in to the treatment, prevention and cure of heart disease, helping hearts here in the Midlands." Everyone is welcome to attend the AllDayer, with tickets costing £5. For more information, please contact Jo on Joprinsen1@gmail.com. aka #jop For more information on Heart Research UK Midlands and the research that they fund, please visit https://heartresearch.org.uk/midlands Site note - Can view details of this event via our Event guide just click the following link

For those that may not have heard the sad news, Ian Prinsen, my beloved 'Prin', passed away suddenly & unexpectedly of heart failure on 17 August aged 47 years. His funeral was on Tuesday 6th Sept and he had a great send-off with a scooter escort & many of his mod & soulie friends were among those who attended the service. Together we had put on our Steppin' Up nights 4 times a year since Sept 2012 - Soul based with a mod twist, we wanted to reflect our love both of old soul music and the mod scene. We had been together as a couple since 1990 & both attended many northern soul & mod do’s & rallies over the years, & enjoyed DJing together & separately at many scooter club, mod do’s & soul nights. But it had been a while & following a low turn in our lives with redundancy etc. starting Steppin’ Up was a significant turning point in our lives, for it symbolised in Prin’s words, the start of getting back to who we were again. When 2 years ago we were looking at a car to buy together for the first time our key consideration was plenty of room in the back to load our DJ gear – which we would kart up the stairs at Bournbrook & Selly Oak Social Club (incredibly steep, narrow ones too - until we started taking them up the main stairs)! the wonderful club with the lovely room & massive sprung wooden dancefloor. We always hoped to fill the large room one day…there always a lot of things on nowadays though…We got a lot of support from a lot of people including ‘regulars’, fellow DJs & people traveled & they spread the word. Thank you all… Back to the devastating news – I asked a friend to take me to ‘the club’ where Mick & Elaine always treated us like honorary members. When they greeted me they had already heard via Steppin’ Up regular John Wilson (thank you John x). They took us into the back where it didn’t seem 5 minutes since Prin & I had been sitting talking to Mick & after saying how sorry they were (I know they thought a lot of Ian) without hesitation offered us the downstairs for the ‘wake’ (for want of a better word), so after the funeral we congregated at the club where we were given the warmest welcome in the world & their catering lady had put on a great spread. The room was packed with family, lots of friends & love. It is still so hard to take in. Just to say I have cancelled the 1st Oct date we had booked (that being too soon & my birthday) and I am currently considering whether to proceed with the Nov 19th date, so will update you when I can. Jo x