I’ve got a bit of a thing for old pics like this… clearly an old publicity shot for BP, but it tells you so much more than it appears to at first glance.

Firstly, and most obviously, is the forecourt service. I vaguely remember people coming to fill my dads car up with petrol… and they still do that at at least one garage the Isle of Wight! Secondly, BP had a pre-mixed “Petroil” product called BP Zoom… a mix of their petrol and Energoil branded 2-stroke. There were a lot more 2 strokes about then, I suppose… but did they all run the same mix? Or could you vary the mix at the pump? Anyone know? Thirdly, and I never knew this, petrol was sold bu the PINT! Remember gallons, obviously… but not pints! Fourthly; (I’m going to give up numbering everything, it’s getting boring) The unit that dispensed the petroil, could be wheeled out… it wasn’t a fixed part of the forecourt. I expect they filled it with petrol from the pumps, and then mixed in the 2 Stroke.

Another shot of a similar vintage shows another young lady filling at a”scooter bay” at a National filling station, their brand of premix named “Hi-Fli”. Thislooks altogether more modern, although the scooter is obviously a Series 1. Anybody got any more shots like this?