Afrophenia 2015

2015-09-20 14.38.14Port Elizabeth to Capetown on Classic Scooters

Jim from the Lambretta club of South Africa sent through some fantastic pics of their 2015 Afrophenia 2015 tour, which took place in September last year.

The route took them from Port Elizabeth to Cape Town, going through Jeffreys Bay,
Knysna, Oudtshoorn, Barrydale, Hermanus, Stellenbosch and finally Cape Town.

In total 11 scooters started the trip, 3 Lambretta’s and 8 Vespa’s plus back
up vehicle and scoot.


The Lambretta’s were:

TV 175 S2 – Green and chrome – owner Jim
TV 175 S2 – light blue – owner Derry
TV200 – blue and white – owner Carlos

Afrophenia 2015 RouteThe distance covered was approximately 700 miles or 1200 km’s, over a ‘leisurely’ 9 days… an epic trip, with awesome scenery, great mates and memories that will last forever. The pictures and video will give you some idea of what they experienced.

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South African Sunday Rideout

sundayAndy from the Lambretta Club of South Africa sent me this pic of their Jo’berg rideout. Nice to se a couple of S1’s. He kindly informed me that it was 33°C… And although it’s not too chilly here in the UK at the moment, I’d trade a few of our Winter days for a day or two of that!

Johannesburg to Durban – Easter Ride 2014

jta Joberg 2 Durban 1Andy from the Lambretta Club of South Africa sent me these fantastic pics from their epic easter rideout from Johannesburg to Durban – check THAT out on a map to see how epic that ride is! jtc jtd jtd1a jtd2 jtd2a jtd3 jtd4 jtd5 jtd6If the scenery doesn’t make you wish you were riding it with them, well there’s something wrong with you! Thanks Andy. Maybe I’ll get out there and join you one year!jtd8

Jo’Berg – Durban Easter Run

DurbanbadgeAndy, my mate from the Lambretta Club of South Africa, sent me a pic of the patch I designed for their Easter run… an impressive ride from Johannesburg to Durban. Check it out on Google maps… it’s a fair old distance. I’ll post some pics up after the event, as he’s promised to send me some.

Andy is keen to swap some LCSA patches for other regional / international Lambretta Club patches… if you’e up for it, let me know and I’ll put you in touch!

 

Sahara D’s

Sahara D'sI had this fantastic sent to me by Carlos from the Lambretta Club of South Africa, (thanks Carlos!) It’s of a couple of French guys (although I think they actually may be from the french speaking part of Switzerland, from the writing on  the ‘topbox’ flag on the laid down Lammie)… on route from Lausanne to “le Cap”. The pic was taken in the Sahara! That’s quite a trip! Carlos reckons it was sometime in the ’50’s. I love their style… baggy trousers, a pair of stout brogues, beatnik beards and a nice tweed sports jacket for when it gets a bit chilly. They bred ’em tough in them days.

Thanks again Carlos, and Andy for forwarding it on. If YOU have any old Lambretta shots, I’d love to see them, and post them up here.

Lambretta Club South Africa

Lambretta Club South AfricaI’m delighted to announce the formation of a new national Lambretta Club… you’ve guessed it, in South Africa. Check out their Facebook page here, I’m sure they’s be chuffed with any likes and shares they get. I’ve already featured one of their outings on the blog, here. If you’re interested in joining, or just want to find out more, leave them a message on the page, or email Andy. Nice badge.

https://www.facebook.com/LambrettaClubSouthAfrica

I’ve updated the Links page, that make 35 Countries with Lambretta Clubs. Wow. If I’ve missed any, please let me know!

Free Nelson Mandela

MandelaI’d never heard of Nelson Mandela, until I heard this song (video below). I don’t think most of my peer group had either. At the time words like ‘terrorist’ were being used about him, although initially he was a follower of the non-violent school of protest, he became a the militant. But who wouldn’t be, against a regime as oppressive as that of the South African one. Anyway, because of Jerry Dammers, and the Special AKA, I read deeper than the stories in the Daily Express, and found another side to the story. On a side note, whenever I walked past South Africa House, in Trafalgar Square, back in the day… (as I did last night too), I was never asked by the demonstrators to sign their petition… I assume because of my close cropped hair, Flight jacket, and polished cherry red DMs. But stop and sign I always did, despite their prejudices.

Anyway. Enough of that. This is about Mr Mandela… and how he helped transform South Africa from a racist, aparteid regime into a rainbow nation. Without the “bloodbath” that was not only predicted, but seemed to be a forgone conclusion. Are things perfect in South Africa? Probably not. But they are certainly better that what the majority of the world thought was going to happen. How much of this was down to Jerry Dammers and the Specials? I suspect more that we think. After this song everybody knew the name Nelson Mandela in the UK, and the UK played a huge role in leading world opinion. The song went on to be known and sung around the world. Can ‘pop music’ change the world? Not very often. But sometimes, sometimes it can. RIP Mr Mandela, thank you Mr Dammers.JerryDammers

If you’ve just found the Lambrettista blog, this is a far from typical post. Normal service will be resumed ASAP

Iconic new Lambretta chair

Iconic Design LI-150-chairThis is a must have for the modern Lambrettista equipping the world coolest office… or home. I’ve seen something similar based upon *cough “another scooter” …but it didn’t have half the cachet of these iconic pieces.

Although you might want to simply display these chairs as a piece of art,  you’ll be glad to know they do work as fully functioning chairs.

Each chair is hand built and can be fully customised to your requirements… the model from an LI Series 1 to a GP/DL… the colour, either traditional Lambretta colours or custom colours, and the chrome badges… even the colour of the leather and how it’s stitched. You can even add your own company branding.

They are the brainchild of Jim Piester, founder of Johannesburg (South Africa) based Iconic Design. Jim, who is behind the whole idea, is a Lambretta rider himself (his is the candy orange GP you can glimpse behind the chair, or better in this post), and has been since the age of 16. His background in manufacturing engineering, including a 9 year stint at Rolls Royce and Bentley, have paid off in his attention to detail in the finishing of the final chair.

iRN9MVCOIZ9rYeYs2SKY_rB0Bua4aV86Rqp9ihIMkVk LVs8YSuu7Sly8YY91ou8twyrbh4Xkj4Obwvw9yn0_1g l-1gOhkrNQAvXR021xD2AEMSuaqdmZo_z_5YqU6ABTo Iconic Design LI-150-chair

Jim has other products already in the pipeline, including a Lambretta inspired sofa, armchair and bar stools. There is also a Series One version, including a working headlight… how cool is THAT?

The pricing seems remarkably reasonable too…

£951 +postage for a GP chair (DL/GP or electronic)

£1,035 + postage for a Series Two chair (Li or TV)

£1,100 + postage for a Series One with working headlight (Li or TV)

£1,079 + postage for a Series Three chair (SX, Special and TV)

Compare what you’d pay for the V*spa version… (Google it, I’m not linking to it) and you’ll see how favourably these compare pricewise. Designwise, there’s NO comparison.

Update: Here’s a rather lovely GP200 Electronic version Jim’s currently working on…gp200_12 electronic_1

For further details check out the Iconic Design website here.

Classic Motorcycle Club of Johannesburg – Scooter Day

My pal Andy in SA sent me these pics of a good turn out of Lammies at the Classic Motorcycle Club of Jo’Burg’s annual Scooter Day. Looks like a good turn out, some nice scoots, enjoying the spring sunshine (lucky buggers) and I’m loving the Lambretta Club of South Africa embroidered patches… 6_zps77b980fd 5_zps690731c5 10_zpsd7f7587b 3_zps468fe2f4 9_zpsca1d8efe 2_zpsa8abfd80 4_zpsa33ea588

Lambrettas in South Africa

Lambrettas in JohannesburgThere’s barely a corner of the world without a Lambretta these days, if you look hard enough. Andy sent me this picture of this lovely little group of Lammies outside Café Sofia, in Greenside, Johannesburg, South Africa.They meet up there on a Sunday, for coffee and breakfast, which sounds very civilised! There’s some nice machines in that line-up too… a Series 3 TV 200 (I initially thought this was a150 Special – sorry Carlos), a TV2, Serveta (Jet 200?), and a couple of DL’s. All a long way from home, but looking good!

If you’ve got a Lambretta scene in your neck of the woods, send me a pic and let me know what’s going on, I’ll stick it on the blog.