A SNAPSHOT IN TIME: VESPA NEWS FEBRUARY 1963

“A shocking state of affairs” proclaimed Bill Bond in his editorial. A reference to the creeping subversion of the satire boom? An anticipation of the Beatlemania that was about to engulf the nation? Or possibly he had some inkling of the forthcoming Profumo scandal that would undermine respect for the establishment for ever? No, it was none of these. Something far more pressing was worrying the VCB President. Nobody was writing articles for Vespa News!

After giving the membership a general telling off for being so slack, Bill proceeded to outline the types of articles and the writing style he wanted. The latter included quite stringent criteria. “I” and “we” were frowned upon, and when referring to people “Christian names only are bad, nicknames unforgivable.” He wouldn’t have liked this article then! It’s difficult to avoid the conclusion that this insistence on formality was a bit self -defeating when it came to generating copy.

So what was there to read in this issue? “Charmaine” had her regular “Fashion Notes”, waterproof coats being featured in this instance. Music was dealt with in ”Katz Column”- a slightly dated nomenclature for 1963. The music discussed seems curiously unadventurous for the times too- Alma Cogan, Norman Newell, the Bossa Nova. This was, after all, the very month in which “Please Please Me” was leaping up the charts. Actually, we have here a graphic illustration of the problem facing scooter clubs in general. “Katz” probably accurately reflected the musical tastes of the bulk of club members who were by now in their mid-twenties and almost ready to switch to four wheels. What was to be done to entice more teenagers into the world of Vespa clubs?

Some of the reported activities of individual branches did not give great cause for hope. While the Foresters were planning a trip to France, their schedule also included a Beetle Drive and Jumble Sale. And in this age of James Bond , South Essex was holding film nights featuring Charlie Chaplin, Buster Keaton and Fatty Arbuckle. Only a few clubs had bothered to send in details of their activities. Had more done so it might have been discovered that Thames Valley were holding “Conker” evenings!

The back page consists mostly of a list of VCB branches - a quite healthy total of 116. In comparison, the Lambretta Club was down to 70 or so at this point. But it’s easy to be misled. Many of the VCB branches were on their last legs, and within eighteen months or so Luton VC, the Moonrakers VC, Surrey Downs VC - and a host of others - would become history.

This issue of Vespa News is well laid out and expensively produced for its time. There’s a slightly wistful air of a club just past its prime, but it still makes for an interesting read thirty eight years on.

A Lenton

(Originally published in the Veteran Vespa Club Journal No 7)