Austin Seven with a Beehive

[Tony Press]

I had forgotten the Beehive 


  Beehive !.jpg (Size: 237.52 KB / Downloads: 647)

[Ivor Hawkins]

The box saloon is what my father would call a Hong Kong taxi, with all the bells and whistles on it...great photograph and so reminiscent of the time.

[Mike Costigan]

Lovely photo.

[bystander]

I notice the photo is credited to Ian Moorcraft, he of the Bristol Austin 7 club, so probably a connection there.

[Martin Prior]

OW2310 is still with us. Listed on the register as an RP body on an RN chassis.

I love the "Hong Kong taxi" epithet. We have an utterly derelict RN body that had clearly once had every conceivable bit of 'fifties boy-racer bling fitted to it. One of my (too many) projects is, one day, to restore it to its full, tacky, tasteless glory, fully loaded with shiny things and fuse-blowing accessories. This picture inspires me!

Offers of any unwanted period accessories will be gratefully received - the cheaper, nastier and flashier the better!

[Bob Culver]

Would members less than 65 have identified the beehive?
Pity about the red.
Maybe car was an early 12v conversion.
I wonder if the radio could be heard underway.
The mudguard braces were quite common on many makes.
The strange quivering oncoming headlights so often seen in the 50s are but a memory.
Would the experience be better with a fancy modern in a designated car park ringed around by other cars?
With or without one external mirror, driving the Seven I was always more aware of surrounding and following traffic than I have ever been in anything since.
How did they heat the billy?
Do they still make girls satisfied by a cuppa on the grass?
If I was an AA serviceman I would look forward to a callout. But would dread with moderns.

[Rick F]

Kettles were almost invariably boiled over a "Primus" contained in an open-sided biscuit tin. I still have my father's somewhere in the garage. I last used it in the 70s, camping on the banks of the Thames.

[andrew34ruby]

Would members less than 65 have identified the beehive?

My wife is a youthful 62.  I showed her the photo, without title and asked her what the hairstyle was. She replied 'beehive'.

[Bruce Nicholls]

My parents used a meths burner in its own container which formed the kettle stand. We had boil ups everywhere we went.

[Reckless Rat]

Same here. My Dad always had a biscuit tin in the boot with a meths burner, ally kettle with a folding handle and screw-on cap on the spout so it was capable of storing the water, some tea bags, sugar cubes and some condensed milk in a tube. My Mum had to have a brew, it was her life blood. I could have started an album of photos entitled "piles of gravel I have pic-nic'ed next to".