01-02-2022, 08:27 PM (This post was last modified: 01-02-2022, 09:06 PM by Bob Culver.)
With that dress presumably the lady was riding the red bike side saddle. Otherwise the boy would have made some more impudent observation.
It is intriguing how extensively pictures of healthy young were used to sell. Raleigh bikes had numerous similar adverts. Now such ads would imply blatant basic sexual attraction, but it requires no mean imagination to read muchof that into the 1950s versions.
I read somewhere that just post war only about half or so UK men wore underpants. Hopefully that did not apply to the class who could afford a Bantam and tennis shorts.
(On further examination there is a subtle touch which even I did not intially notice...)
I trust the huge windows in the tram were safety glass.
Me a capitalist? I bought materials which I used my skill to turn into objects of desire. The artisan is worthy of his labour.
Still doing it almost 50 years later though I don’t have hair halfway down to my waist any more!
02-02-2022, 12:30 AM (This post was last modified: 02-02-2022, 12:59 AM by Tony Griffiths.)
(02-02-2022, 12:02 AM)Duncan Grimmond Wrote: Me a capitalist? I bought materials which I used my skill to turn into objects of desire. The artisan is worthy of his labour.
Still doing it almost 50 years later though I don’t have hair halfway down to my waist any more!
Spot on.
"How much? Two and sixpence? Outrageous!"
"Nay, lad, it's sixpence for hitting it - and two bob for knowing where."
So said the man who, squatting on the floor with a pair of tins snips and a hammer, made me a beautifully crafted new rear wing for my chummy in 1964.
(01-02-2022, 08:27 PM)Bob Culver Wrote: With that dress presumably the lady was riding the red bike side saddle. Otherwise the boy would have made some more impudent observation.
It is intriguing how extensively pictures of healthy young were used to sell. Raleigh bikes had numerous similar adverts. Now such ads would imply blatant basic sexual attraction, but it requires no mean imagination to read muchof that into the 1950s versions.
I read somewhere that just post war only about half or so UK men wore underpants. Hopefully that did not apply to the class who could afford a Bantam and tennis shorts.
(On further examination there is a subtle touch which even I did not intially notice...)
I trust the huge windows in the tram were safety glass.
Side-saddle - if you had the money it would have been the expensive sprung-seat "Tan-Sad". Looks rather dangerous.
02-02-2022, 03:21 AM (This post was last modified: 02-02-2022, 03:23 AM by Bob Culver.)
I think she would be well advised to at least hook her heels behind the bar. Back wheel unspung! I would not even go near my car in a white coat, let alone ride on a bike!
Magnificent pictures. dunno how you find them.
Love the picture.
I was astonished during my first trip to Italy (in a Fiat 500 in 1967) to see female pillion passengers on Vespas and Lambrettas all riding side saddle. I'd never seen it in the UK and my phrasebook Italian wasn't up to asking about it.
It was more in the order of "Sirrah, I beg your assistance, my postillion has been struck by lightning"
1963. Set out at 7am on my 125cc Bantam from the tip of the Wirral peninsular to visit my future wife in Woolacombe, Devon. Took me 14 hours and a sore backside!
02-02-2022, 08:07 PM (This post was last modified: 02-02-2022, 08:24 PM by Bob Culver.)
The lady is not even hanging on. Suppose no risk of sudden braking.
When I first saw had an immediate vision of racers as on TV cornering at 25 deg to the horizon.
Would make a great wall picture but spoilt by the words which seem like an invitation to a mosque.
I knew from cards from relatives where Woolacombe is but cannot find Wirral pen?
03-02-2022, 02:29 AM (This post was last modified: 03-02-2022, 02:53 AM by Tony Griffiths.)
(02-02-2022, 08:07 PM)Bob Culver Wrote: The lady is not even hanging on. Suppose no risk of sudden braking.
When I first saw had an immediate vision of racers as on TV cornering at 25 deg to the horizon.
Would make a great wall picture but spoilt by the words which seem like an invitation to a mosque.
I knew from cards from relatives where Woolacombe is but cannot find Wirral pen?
Here you are, Bob. Even today, taking main roads (the route is shown as planned without them) it's still 7 hours. Add in traffic and it'll be more like 9. Progress!
Thanks. Quite a jaunt in a Seven let alone a Bantam. I was severely discouraged from bike ownership (my father apparently considered hammering my RP regularly at 50 mph on main roads as safer) so not familiar with bike performances. Which has the most "performance"? Seven or Bantam?
My Gran and Grandad did their courting in Southampton in about 1918 to 1920. Gran told me that she always rode side saddle, and one evening the bike slipped on some greasy tramway tracks - always a city hazard for any two wheelers. They both got a dressing down from her mother when they got home, despite being nearly 20 years old ! The picture is of Grandad's motorbike shop in Shirley high street, with some leather belted "Duggies". I guess those belts were another hazard to the pillion rider. I like the slogan "Prams Re-Tyred" in the window.
