Scootering January 2023

A few months ago I had the pleasure of being interviewed by a degree student, Darcie Scimia, for her dissertation paper. Darcie comes from a family of scooterists, and her paper was titled: ‘Then it wasn’t a lifestyle, it was our life’: A study of scooterists in Britain during the 1980s and 1990s. It was a fascinating piece of work and one of her conclusions was that the culture was unusual in that it had, largely, escaped commercialism. In her words it’s a “bottom-up movement,” which is controlled by its participants, not outside forces. I’ve no problem with people earning money out of scooters, whether it’s running a workshop (or editing a magazine!) bills must be paid. However, when I look at the ‘key figures’ in our world they all…

Contrary to rumours that it may not happen, Burton Brewers SC can confirm that they’ll definitely be celebrating their 70th anniversary on Saturday, February 25, 2023. As many Scootering readers will recall, the all-day scooter season opener has been held for several years at the National Brewery Centre, Burton-on-Trent. However, because of some changes at the Brewery Centre, next year’s custom show and parts fair will be taking place at Paget High School, Burton Road, Branston, DE14 3DR between 11am and 3.30pm. The evening entertainment will then be held at the Burton Elite Venue, George Street, Burton, DE14 1NA. Although the live band is yet to be announced, DJs Marshmallow Factory, Jason Watson and Longshot Sounds are already confirmed. Make sure you join in with the Brewers to celebrate their…

One face missing from the 2022 August Bank Holiday Mod Weekender at Brighton was Paul Grant, who died in July after a car accident while driving near his home in Totnes, Devon. On August bank holiday weekend 2021, Paul and his cherished black and chrome Messerschmitt GS travelled to Brighton to show it off on the seafront, the first time he’d taken his scooter there since 1964 – that’s only a 57-year gap! He first fell in love with the Vespa when he was a Mod in 1963 in Islington, London and in 1964 he ventured down to Brighton on his GS where the Mods and Rockers were brawling on the beach. As Paul once explained: “I was responsible for throwing a deckchair on the beach but didn’t get into…

KICKSTART This information is provided by Stephen Hattersley, of WildWood Legal, a firm of solicitors specialising in claims for injured scooterists. Stephen, a qualified solicitor for 25 years, has been riding scooters for more than 30 years and has acted for injured riders across the UK. He knows the tricks and pitfalls that insurers use and pulls no punches in his dealings with them. He rides to work every day and understands the challenges you face out there. Q. I am in the middle of an injury claim. The defendants have made an allegation of ‘fundamental dishonesty’ on my part. What does it mean and what are the possible consequences? A. Sorry to hear that. This is an increasingly common occurrence. You will always hear insurers talking about stamping out…

The small but perfectly formed online magazine and independent specialist set-up Zani Publishing has built itself a decent reputation as an outlet for cult fiction over recent years. Its latest title is squarely aimed at the sharp-dressed among us. With titles such as the acclaimed A Crafty Cigarette, The Magnificent Six – Tales of Aggro, Feltham Made Me, and the superb Tales From The Foxes Of Foxham, Zani has shown itself to be one of the current masters in selecting subject matter that embraces Mod, Scooterist, Punk and Casual subcultures, with rites of passage stories that most readers can empathise with. The latest Zani Publishing book is a non-fictional overview of selected items of menswear fashion items that all possess a timeless appeal. In The Desired Article, JL Disley has…

Back in 1979, in the German city of Hamburg, four young musicians fell in love with the sounds of The Clash, The Jam and the early Mod revival acts that carried a punk edge, such as The Chords and The Purple Hearts. They formed a band that drew on these sounds and became The Types, who soon developed a strong local following. In time, a local record producer linked them up with Polydor Records and recorded the band’s biggest four songs with a view to releasing on to the German market. Unfortunately, due to the band’s preference for singing in English, the label deal fell through as the national music market preferred material recorded in their mother tongue, leaving only a handful of cassettes of this session and the band…