Despite the manic Britishness of the whole thing, I find this clip strangely uplifting. This must have been one of the more powerful Lambrettas, I guess - 175cc? Still a daunting load for such a small unit, though - I guess it would get a little out of breath going over the old Hardknott Pass.
We've been making rather slow progress with organising a summer holiday. Appropriately inspired by the earnest pluck of this lot, I am determined to try a little harder.
And the caravan, you will note, can be erected by morons...
Was it a hazy day or does it burn a pint of oil as it pulls away? Still you have to admire the freedom of those days. You do realise the tot in the side car is now a granny telling her grandchildren about her days at the seaside, no doubt to their horror and disbelief.
ReplyDeleteHi John - at first glance, having the kiddie in the sidecar with neither helmet nor safety belt seems a bit casual by modern standards, but then I guess this rig would do about 10mph flat out.
DeleteFunny how the wife's permed hair and Capri pants (I am told) date the story very clearly - the fact that she wears high heels on a camping holiday to the beach suggests that she may be one of the morons they are speaking of.
A couple of things occurred to me - why isn't the local kid throwing stones at their caravan, and what are they going to do when they find out there is no wifi?
This clip also reminds me that I once had a daft fantasy about converting a (Piaggio) Ape van into a min-caravan, but this confirms what a stupid idea that would have been.
Brilliant. I wonder if you can still get these folding caravans? Make a great sandwich box.
DeleteMy missus once had a notion to convert my old knackered 4x4 (Known for its laid-back comfort and lack of acceleration as The Sofa) into a caravette by the addition of a bed made out of MDF, with storage and cooking facilities underneath. I think she'd seen one like it on Facegob. It would be great for holidays in the Highlands, she said.
I had to point out that The Sofa's top speed (30mph downhill with a following wind)wouldn't be improved by having half a ton of MDF in the back and that we would be restricted to taking holidays in Norfolk, Holland or other gradient-free zone.
Plans were hurriedly shelved.
I am confident that a folding camping trailer would be a total pain in the neck - a great advert for half-board hotel accommodation. I was impressed with this one...
Deletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=llq3y-FwyBo
What a load of rubbish. Where's the folding 6x4' wargames table?
DeleteThere must be plenty of room for a couple of 6mm Napoleonic armies in that rig out. He's clearly not made full use of the space available.
And he was a smug b***ard.
No argument there. Perhaps there is an alternative model.
DeleteWould be a bit annoying though if that music came with it? Everywhere you went?
ReplyDeleteThat's right - the music was compulsory. On the other hand, if you have a look at the old British Pathe clip library, you'll find that every facet of British life from 1945 until about 1965 incorporated the same sort of music. "Well, it's time for the annual event which is a flagship for vintage car enthusiasts the world over - the Famous Brighton Veteran Rally..." etc. That's why we always had a spring in our step. And everyone knew his place - that was a good thing, too.
DeleteMade in Emsworth - village next to me - thought I recognised the shoreline.. :o)
ReplyDeleteInteresting - if you saw a modern advert where someone ran a rig like this from somewhere near the factory to somewhere else near the factory, without a hill in sight, would you smell a rat?
DeleteActually, I smell a rat already. 3.5cwt for the caravan, plus their baggage, plus a wooden dinghy, plus a sidecar, 2 adults and a child, plus a windscreen that increases the frontal area by about 100% - what's the output of a 175cc two-stroke engine in 1961?
Smell it? - that's a rat.
Great stuff. In the late 1950s my parents scootered from S.E. London to Cornwall several times for holidays, a good 250 miles each way - even given quieter roads, I am impressed. ( Then on radio 4 yesterday ( Richard Coles' Saturday twaddle show ) a listener had toured the Highlands by scooter, starting from London -wow!) But I reckon this rig would have struggled to get over the Hog's Back...
DeleteDavid, you're right. Your folks' London-Cornwall trip would be on pretty rough roads by modern standards, too. My own parents travelled from Liverpool to Paris on my dad's Lambretta, and i once went with him on it up to the Scottish Borders from Merseyside (I think we got to Gretna, and I think it rained most of the time) - his was a 125cc, and on especially steep hills I used to get off and run up. This was more welcome than you might think, since it prevented the pillion seat from cutting off my blood supply and causing gangrene in the feet.
DeleteThis gizmo in the movie clip, c/w 400lb caravan and all the extras, could not pull the skin off the proverbial rice pudding.