EEnddorsementt
Happily immersed into the work ethic,
even though there seemed to bearegular
change of jobs, it all helped to keep the
scooter on the road. Kev went everywhere
on the Sportique and soon joined other
locals who owned scooters. They would
meet at the Victoria pub, and though there
were alot of motorcycle riders with the
same idea, there was rarely any trouble.
Quite the opposite, in fact, as there
seemed to be some sort of mutual respect
between what most saw as rival factions.
Soon the scooters started to take over and
it didn’t take long for the idea ofaclub
to be formed.
Before it could there were problems
mounting up for him by the way of driving
endorsements–the old system of points
on your licence. The first time was on the
way to watch Everton FC for carrying a
passenger with noLplates. The same
happened later,this ti me with his
girlfriend as pillion. Before long Kev’s
licence was taken away from him and in
doing so his scooter became re-possessed
by the HP company,asg etting to work
became more expensive. Having his most
prized possession taken away wasaharsh
lesson, and one he would never allow to
happen again. Once his licence was
rreturned,anew scooter was purchased
- – this timeaLambretta SX 150. It
pproved very reliable and rightly so, as it
wwas almost new.
Bad luck continued, this time when he
wwas hit byabus. Despite being bruised
aand battered there was no lasting damage,
aalthough the same couldn’t be said of the
LLambretta. That required extensive work,
aand once done was quickly replaced. Not
tthat Kev thought there was anything wrong
wwith it, but it just seemed that theVespa
ssuited him better.Kev eventually swapped
tthe Lambretta foraVespa SS 180.
By this time he was married to Hillary
aand theVespa became their workhorse –
ggetting them both to work, doing the
shopping, anything for that matter,asit
became vital for daily life. It was still used
socially,ofcourse, as by now,along with a
few others, they had formed ‘The Unity
scooter club’. Initially,itwas made up of
four lads and their girlfriends, all whom
later married their respective partners.
That's where the idea of the name came
from, with them all beingakind of union
together.Itwas nothing too serious, but
socially they did everything together,
always on the scooters.
Magic bus
For awhile everything continued as
normal, although Hillary started to
struggle on the scooter in cold weather.
The maisonette where they lived was some
distance from their places of work and
requireda50-mile round trip each day.
Kev only hadamotorcycle licence and
anyway,the cost ofacar was too much for
the newlyweds to afford. There was a
solution though, by changing two wheels
for three. The law stated that you could
drive athree-wheeler on the road with a
motorcycle licence. Sure enough, a
Reliant Robin became their daily choice of
transport, but in doing so theVespawould
need to be sacrificed to pay for it. It was a
harsh decision, but just like he did
throughout his life, Kev put others first
rather than himself. Even he admitted that
on winter days the Robin was more
comfortableandwarm, especially when it
rained. This was the late 1960s and at the
height of psychedelia, so the fact that it
had been painted bright purple helped.
Kev named it ‘the magic bus’ after the
record by The Who, and it certainly stood
out on the road. Ironically,onlyaweek or
two after purchasing it the council got
themanew place to live close to where
they both worked.Without hesitation, Kev
went back to the shop where they had
done the part-exchange in the hope the
Vespawas still there, but alas it had been
sold. He was devastated, but there was
nothing that could be done about it.
For now,their transport would revolve
around using the Robin which, even
though he wouldn’t admit it, was the best
option in the short term. The new flat
needed some money spending on it
anyway so money was going to be tight
over the followingmonths. This didn’t stop
Kev from dreaming however,and once
back on his feet financiallyascooter
would definitely be his next purchase.
Theside panels had the rider’sname,
Dave Appleton, written on them, which was a
common thing to do at the time. Jeff Collins,
whosold Kev the scooter,said he knew Dave
and so put Kev in contact with him.
The only surviving copy of their club
badge, and one he was veryproud
Joking with other club members, note the club’snamejust visible on the fly screen.
His bright purple Reliant Robin known as ‘the magic bus’,
which replaced theVespa.
66 |SCOOTERING|AUGUST2019
