Tougher than the rest
Memories can be notoriously tricky. Sitting in a rain-soaked June, those of us of a certain age are still likely to recall childhood summer holidays on sandy south coast beaches as a blissful symphony of warm sunshine, the sound of seagulls and gently lapping waves, and the taste of strawberry ice cream cones.
The vehicles along the front would have been Morris Minors and Austin A35s, as well as family sidecar outfits released after fuming for hours on the Exeter bypass, and the motorbikes of youngsters or courting couples, often the big 350cc singles on which the lads commuted to work – and since Small Heath still claimed that: “One in four is a BSA ” many of those bikes, both sidecar and solo, would have been M-Series or B-Series BSAs.
The Isle of Wight is now 30 or 40 years back in the rear-view mirror, with narrow two-lane roads, cliffs and wooded countryside, full English breakfasts at competitive prices, and people messing about in boats. And this early day in June it delivered, by the south coast beach at Freshwater, that perfect day of memory – and a vehicle that encapsulated the 1950s holiday.
Tougher than the rest
Russell Knight
