'Memories of scooting along on 1950s Lancashire roads'

This advert caught my eye in the Lancashire Evening Post, back in December 1959.

A few weeks earlier, I had passed my bike test (on a moped).

I was keen to find out more.

Would the scooters include a Vespa or maybe a Lambretta? These two makes were the market leaders at that time.

Back in 1959 and 1960, sales of two-wheeled machines, ie mopeds, scooters and motorcycles, enjoyed record sales in Britain.

Scooters were being made in large numbers in Italy, Germany, Austria and France. Britain was a bit behind in joining this boom time.

Very soon the major motorcycle manufacturers had scooters on their lists.

Makers such a Triumph, BSA, James and Sun were producing scooters.

Preston’s own Sharps Commercials, the makers of the well-known Bond-Mini car, had a Bond scooter in production, powered by the well-known Villiers two-stroke engines.

A 150cc machine or a 200cc machine was available, with or without an electric starter.

Anyway, back to the plot, time to ‘suss’ out the hirer’s address.

Located a stone’s throw from Preston’s old Labour Exchange, I chose a Sunday for hiring.

The terms were 25 shillings per day (£1.25) plus £5 deposit (refundable if no damage to the scooter occurred).

Oh yes, the scooters turned out not to be Vespas or Lambrettas, but a Zündapp Bella, a well made German make – 150cc, no kickstart, an electric starter as standard.

The chap asked had I been riding for 12 months?

“Not quite” I answered truthfully.

December is not conducive to scooter riding, and not wishing to lose a sale, he let me take one out.

First impression of the Zündapp Bella was its weight.

My N50 moped weighed just over 100lbs.

The Zündapp came in at over 300lbs.

A run from Preston to Leyland soon had me feeling confident with the machine.

A 4-speed gearbox was operated by two pedals on the floor.

In the afternoon, I had a run to Blackpool and it had started to rain.

A coffee bar in Blackpool centre was a good place to thaw out. I can remember Neil Sedaka on the jukebox singing “Oh Carol”.

The scooter was returned intact.

It had been an interesting day!

E H Simister

Bamber Bridge

christmas

Everyone can celebrate

Blessed are the non-judgemental, Scott Andrews (LP Letters, December 31). I’m an atheist and I love Christmas, regardless of whether it celebrates the birth of the Messiah. I don’t doubt Jesus of Nazareth existed. But there it ends. For me. It doesn’t stop me calling December 25 Christmas rather than Yule.

You put the question “why do non-Christians bother celebrating at all?”

Why the hell – and I don’t believe in that either – shouldn’t we? I have friends of other faiths – and non-faiths – who celebrate what you, and indeed most of them, still acknowledge as Christmas in some form or other.

It’s not just because we enjoy a good party or because the lines of so many faiths and non-faiths cross and occasionally converge at key calendar points. We do so because the greatest gift of Christmas is goodwill to all.

It’s about love, giving and sharing, a truce of sorts in these troubled times, as powerful a message as Silent Night or a game of footie on the frontline in no-man’s-land. And that seems to have passed you by, given your claim that “non-Christians” “now worship the new God – consumerism” etc.

Believe it or not, many of us don’t.

We’ll even pick our Christmas cards in order to support specified charities.

I won’t recoil in horror at a religious element because I still love the art, architecture, archaeology and ethos inspired by Christianity.

On a good day this secularist believes in believers too because - excluding fundamentalist elements - they are a force for good. In God’s name. Regardless of who their god may be. I’ve seen that at food banks run by Christians locally. I respect those beliefs, sometimes I even wish I shared their faith in a divinity. But lack of faith doesn’t preclude me from attempting to do good in my own right in this life – with no hope of an afterlife or desire for such.

And all of this has no bearing on what sort of cards I buy or hope to receive. I don’t give, nor would I expect to receive, cards showing pagans celebrating the winter solstice. At the risk of sounding holier than thou, I count myself lucky to receive any cards at all. Some might even say I count my – blessings.

Jacqui Morley

via email

travel

Safety is vital

This year rail travel in the north has been plagued by continuous guard/no guard strikes. The answer is simple - vulnerable adults and children travel on these trains.

Health and safety guards are obviously needed for two reasons - vulnerable travellers and, secondly, I do not want the driver distracted.

So where is the Powerhouse of the North? Where are the politicians we elected to care for us? The answer is simple - run our trains with utmost safety or pass the job on to someone else better. Travel in the north needs to return to a degree of normality. Is it really that complicated?

William Gilson

Leyland

space travel

Bring light to China, too

I congratulate the Chinese for bringing ‘light’ to the ‘dark side of the

moon’.

It’s a pity that the country’s policy of suppressing free thought isn’t as enlightened.

Nathan Skelly

Address supplied