The Scootographer

Scootographer SXI’ve written about a scooter photographer before, Paul Hart, at Vespamore. His blog constantly features beautiful scooter imagery, a lot of it of V#spa’s though… oh well, you can’t have everything. Paul has recently published a book of his photography, which you can get hold of here. And of course, the other side of the channel is that talented frenchman Laurent Callot, whose work I’ve featured a couple of times.

Back in blighty, there’s a new kid on the block, and he’s giving Paul a run for his money. Domonic Hindle is a 17 year old student, with a penchant for scooters. Well, the whole mod lifestyle, the clothes and the music really, but mainly the scooters. And boy, can he take a decent snap. I reckon he’s got the eye of a scooterist too… focusing on what you really want to see, and bringing out things you’ve missed. As well as featuring on many blogs, Domonic’s work has featured on the Fred Perry and Rimini Lambretta websites.

If you’re a regular reader, you might recognise the rather lovely Series 1 in the top pick. It’s a scoot I featured in a post called ” Lovely Series 1” funnily enough.Scootographer Screen shot 2013-06-07 at 14.20.00 Screen shot 2013-06-07 at 14.20.24 Screen shot 2013-06-07 at 14.21.24 Screen shot 2013-06-07 at 14.23.25 Screen shot 2013-06-07 at 14.24.16If you like the images I’ve posted, and if you read this blog, why wouldn’t you… you can order prints. Some of these shots would look fantastic on your wall, I bet!

Or why not book Dominic to take some classy shots of your pride and joy. If you’ve spent a fortune restoring a scoot, aren’t some quality images worth spending a few quid on?

For details, availability and prices, contact Domonic by email on: domh@sky.com

His website is here: http://cargocollective.com/Scootographer

EuroLambretta 2013 – England Win on turnout!

3LionsSeries3Figures in from Avignon…
These are the registered attendees at EuroLambretta 2013
ENGLAND…339
FRANCE …140
ITALY …95
SPAIN …74
GERMANY…48
BELGIUM…47
AUSTRIA… 37
NETHERLANDS …28
SCOTLAND …17
POLAND …17
PORTUGAL …15
USA…11
IRELAND …8
AUSTRALIA …8
SWEDEN …7
SWITZERLAND …28
NORTHERN IRELAND/ULSTER …6
SOUTH AFRICA …1

Total from UK; (England, Wales, Scotland & Northern Ireland): 360!
Incidentally, I bet there are some Welsh boys there. Let me know!

Total from the British Isles… as above, plus Ireland… 368!

Good turnout.

Serious well done for anyone that rode there. And bear in mind some countries are smaller than others, and some are further away… big respect for the Yanks and the Aussies, and Chris from South Africa.






Back from the dead…

Very few people would consider restoring a Lammie as badly corroded as this…rustoration - before 004After getting this cheap (it would have to be!!) off of eBay, Jon thought he’d have a go.

Luckily he had access to a good welder – strike that – a miracle worker, (Paul at Atoms in Maidstone, and his dad) who not only  made good, but fabricated whole new elements – of the sidepanels for example.

008 009 0034 0044After priming, and sorting out a seized engine, Jon put it all back together… and while he’s not going to have a show winner – he’s got a great looking, road going Lammie. One that many Lambretta experts would have consigned to the skip. I love it, and can’t wait to see what the next chapter in this scooters history holds. Big respect, Jon!

108_zpsdfe19a54 109_zps120e8cf5110_zpsda0bdcc8

Laurent Callot Photographies, part deux

I’ve posted this chaps work before, but that was way back, and he is clearly a gentleman of great taste! Here’s some more shots I’ve found on his Facebook page.

Laurent Callot Photographies 485889_453194054693748_1587683262_n 547798_454767857869701_669365149_n 556753_454767321203088_20508215_n 562400_454767981203022_1732940817_n 581176_454771527869334_1631416685_n 599677_454768057869681_113119063_n 600973_454766911203129_1671419200_nMore Laurent Callot 598653_454771647869322_452110872_n 599197_454771861202634_1535381924_n

EuroLambretta 2014 – Davos, Switzerland

EuroLambretta 2014 FlyerIf you couldn’t make it to EuroLambretta 2013, which is about to kick off any minute now, or youron your way / already there and you are already thinking about next years, it’s in Davos, Switzerland. Now the only two things I know about Davos, are 1) They hold financial summits for the G8 countries there, and 2) It sounds a bit like Davros… leader of the Daleks. So I won’t be much help. But maybe this Wikipedia article will.

The dates are 27th– 29th June, and more details will be forthcoming, once the current Euro is over, from the Lambretta Club Swiss.

It’s actually only 2 miles further than Avignon, according to a quick bit of ‘research’ on Google Maps, but I have heard that Switzerland is quite “hilly”.
I expect this rally will run like clockwork.

Cliff Richard, Three’s up…

Cliff Richard on a LambrettaThere’s a title I never thought I’d be posting on this blog. Don’t know who the other fellas are… Shadows? Is it me, or has the bloke perched on the back rack got a very small head?

Oh, for my readers abroad, Cliff Richard was our (Britain’s) equivalent of Elvis. Sort of. He had hits in the 50’s, 60’s, 70’s and 80’s. And probably the 90’s too. Thankfully, I think he’s more or less stopped making records now, except at Christmas.  Staying true to one of his earlier songs, he remains a Bachelor Boy to this day.

Israeli Police S1 and sidecar

969082_561771227208786_825931715_nFound this great shot of an Israeli Police scooter with sidecar. I’m digging through my archive shots, as I think I have a line up of Israel Police on TV 2’s… without sidecars… somewhere. If any Lambretta enthusiasts over in the holy land can help me out with any more information or pics, I’d appreciate it.

Look out Avignon, here come the Banshees…

431849_623167377696188_1441332082_n 602312_596000517085212_1441114386_n 942987_532267426809546_54462707_n 972346_532269443476011_1324697292_n ULC SXThe Banshees ScootersThe boys from the Ulster Lambretta Club (otherwise known as the Banshees) are well on there way to Avignon. Have a great trip fella’s…

I’m posting this, because when I finally decided I needed to get a scooter again, I nearly bought a V#spa from Dave O’Hare from The ULC. If I had, this blog would probably never have existed, but it does, because I bought a Series 2 Lammie instead. Dave send me some bits and bobs from the 4 nations rally anyway…  including a ULC keyring, what a gent. One day, I will get to buy him a pint!

Build your own scooter trailer

ImageI’ve been seeing a lot of fully laden lammies getting ready for Avignon. It’s pretty amazing how much luggage you can carry on a standard Lambretta with a bit of ingenuity! Now, I’ve seen a few classic scooter trailers over the years, but if they come up for sale, they’re not cheap. So when I saw this article on building your own trailer over at instructables.com, I thought it may be of interest. There is a certain amount of fabrication skill needed, but not so much it would be beyond many Lambrettisti. You would need a scoot with a bit of power… but if you are doing any long distance touring, you’ve probably got one of those. And it would look better behind a Lambretta!

UPDATE: If you fancy tackling something a little more ambitious than a trailer, why not go for a full blown “teardrop”?

Here the link again.

Via Scooterfile.

Image

Euro Lambretta 2013 – Avignon

EuroLambretta 2013 AvignonI should have posted more about this ages ago… but as I’m not going, (I’ve never done a “Euro”. One day, one day.), I’m  just too envious of all you Lambrettisti who are making their final preparations, or are even on their way.

If anyone wants me to post any pictures, tales of the journey or the event itself, I’ll be more than happy to.

Euro Lambretta Avignon CampsiteLooks like the weather is going to be good too. This picture was taken from the official campsite, yesterday.

Keep an eye on the Facebook page; here.

Good luck guys (and girls), have fun, ride safe.