01-08-2024, 08:16 AM
August - traditionally the month for the British schools' summer holiday. Dad would book a week's holiday and a suitable venue chosen and booked - probably a caravan on a remote farm or a cheap bed-and-breakfast - usually in one of the far-flung corners of Britain: the Lake District, or perhaps the Norfolk coast, or maybe the New Forest, West Wales or the West Country.
Wherever it was, it was likely to be a 6 to 8 hour drive - no Motorways to speed the traveller along, and no MacDonalds or Burger King to break the journey. Little Chef opened it's first diner in 1958 but the chances are that wasn't on your route. If you travelled through a sizeable town there might be a Wimpy Bar, but otherwise it was self-catering! So it was down to Mum to make the sandwiches (carefully wrapped in tinfoil - no plastic bags), supplemented by slices of Victoria sponge cake and the ubiquitous Thermos flask of tea or coffee.
A typical scene from the late 1950s or perhaps the early 1960s; both Austins look to be in fine condition, but sadly neither seem to have made it to the twenty-first century. Not surprising for the Big Seven, as even in the late 1960s when the Austin Seven movement was becoming well-established the Big Seven was not popular - some events even proclaiming 'no specials or Big Sevens' - but more surprising that the RP hasn't survived.
Wherever it was, it was likely to be a 6 to 8 hour drive - no Motorways to speed the traveller along, and no MacDonalds or Burger King to break the journey. Little Chef opened it's first diner in 1958 but the chances are that wasn't on your route. If you travelled through a sizeable town there might be a Wimpy Bar, but otherwise it was self-catering! So it was down to Mum to make the sandwiches (carefully wrapped in tinfoil - no plastic bags), supplemented by slices of Victoria sponge cake and the ubiquitous Thermos flask of tea or coffee.
A typical scene from the late 1950s or perhaps the early 1960s; both Austins look to be in fine condition, but sadly neither seem to have made it to the twenty-first century. Not surprising for the Big Seven, as even in the late 1960s when the Austin Seven movement was becoming well-established the Big Seven was not popular - some events even proclaiming 'no specials or Big Sevens' - but more surprising that the RP hasn't survived.