UK, London: Sal and Bike, Nov 1973

"Sterndale Road, Nov 73"
Forse Question: where/what is Sterndale Road??

I picked up this bike at the very fancy BMW Concessionaires on Hyde Park corner, just a short time before the above picture. (it's still there and just as fancy). When I bowled into the fancy shop, the guy handed me the key (a weird rod-like push-in near the headlight jobbie), and asked me

"Sir, have you ridden a bike before?".
I'm not sure why he asked me that; something about my shabby clothes; my youthful demeanor?
"Of course I have", I said, "no worries".
Of course I'd ridden a bike: a Honda 50cc step-thru with auto gearchange.
What I'd forgotten in my excitement to mount this lovely red beast, had shaft drive, unlike nearly all other bikes, including my miniscule Honda, which have a chain drive.  A shaft drive means torque.
I hopped on the bike, shoved the key in the headlight, turned on the ignition and gunned the engine.
The bike promptly twisted sharply and fell on its left side with the torque, throwing me to the shining floor of the BMW showroom.  The man helped me up; lifted the bike to its feet and asked again:
"Sir, are you sure you've ridden a bike before?"

"Whipps X. Nov 73" 
Accident & Emergency course, East End

Another Whipps X photo, Sal sent
on 13 September '12

"Hyde Park, Nov 73"

Sal and Teik Hornsey Lane, Nov 73. Sal has written on the back:
"another reason for Alf to take a picture of the bike"

Then again, who needs an excuse to take a pic
of this beautiful machine that I still dream about

Teik and Forse

Sal on the Honda 50 step thru' that I had before the BMW

And here modelling the beauties in Hyde Park

UK, Nov-Dec 1973

"Hornsey Lane.  Taken from Sue's Flat.  a typical row of flats (one of the
nicer areas)".  Nov 73.

"Constable's Mill.  Happy winter's group outside the famous mill.
The alien is the friend of the photographer we railroaded." Nov 73.
'Alien', Teik, Sue, Jenny, Oz, Sal, Forse.

Oz, Jen, Sal, Forse, Padg

"Shotley Gate. Blackberry picking in Ipswich with
the Thames estuary in the background." Nov 73.
Padge, Jenny, Sal, Oz

"Smiling for the camera. December 73, London."

"Carving the Xmas turkey @ 73 Hornsey Lane.
Xmas 73. London."

"Xmas dinner. Xmas 73.  London."
Check out the amount of Purple.  I loved that jumper...

UK, August 1973. Glenfiddich Lodge, Scotland

Proudly wearing my Oxfam duds, bought
for my job as "Butler's Valet" at the
Glenfiddich Lodge, for the grouse shooting
season in Scotland. All August 73.

The road into Glenfiddich Lodge. August 1973.

Here's an iPhone photo from the same place, taken in September 2010.
Though this looks a lot like the photo taken nearly 40 years ago, the
Lodge itself was a wreck, not having been used for 15 years 

The Lodge in the background.  Now a wreck....

Alistair, the Falconer. He took us out a few times hunting
for grouse with his birds and dogs.  Great stuff!

Robert, the Butler, Jason, the other Butler's valet (and fellow fudge-packer),
Alistair, out on the range getting lunch ready for the shooters.

This was a stone carved to commemorate
Queen Victoria having passed by in June 1863.
We tried to find it when were back in 2010,
but everything is overgrown.

There's a few stories about this time in Scotland, one of my more memorable jobs and experiences in the UK, in fact in my life.  One that led me to a meeting with the Begum Aga Khan in Knightsbridge London and then the Aga Khan himself in Paris.  I'll get to that story later.

Italy, May 1973 (Sal)

Northern Italy.  I remember the old man's name was Massimo and his
wife Lola.  This was just after we'd had lunch with Oz and Jen at a place
where we ordered pollo, and Oz was outraged that all he got was
a bit of chicken, no veges or chips..... That's the way it is in Italy: you
order pollo, you get pollo....

Peter and St Peter's

Oz recreates La Pieta....

... and Forse does David.

Boobies at Villa D'Este, Tivoly, May '73

Villa D'Este.  My head is on the statue at the left.  There's something written
on the back that says something like "wrote to you under the tree at the
back"... but can't see exactly what you wrote, as it's torn...

Villa D'Este, May '73

"Camping area in Florence". (Sal).  I remember this
tent so well. We bought it at discount in Suisse and
used it on the bike as well as the VW car below.
I also remember this camping ground well.  Jenny was
reading "The Agony and the Ecstasy".  It overlooked
the whole of Florence, a terrific camp ground

We had this VW for only a little while.  I think it worked ok, as I recall...
Do you remember the time in Suisse when we camped with this car
and this tent, in a forest, and came back to find a rat in our milk?...

Italy, May 1973 (Forse)

"The Italian family we met on a farm near one of our camping sites
who invited us in for wine - the old guy near Jenny was so cute.
Italy, May 73"

 I recall that we had a lunch around here somewhere, and Oz had ordered "pollo", which came as just a piece of chicken. He wasn't used to the Italian way of ordering all the sides, veges, etc, as separate item. I remember he was really upset at being "ripped off" by just a simple bit of grilled chicken on the plate....  I recall these guys above as well.  I chatted to them in Italian, but they had a pretty local dialect....

"Unfortunately the only colour photo of our tent - taken at the camping
area with the rats on the River Po.  Italy, May 3"

 Talking of rats -- remember a time camping with this tent in a forest -- not a camping site -- somewhere in Switzerland, I think it might have been Berne, maybe not.... Anyway, we went out, came back, lit the camping Gaz for a cuppa tea, and when I went to pour the milk from the carton, it wouldn't come out.  I looked at the spout... it was blocked with the head of a rat that had climbed in somehow and drowned in the milk.  Aaargh, I tossed it away in horror!  Remember that?

"Alfie with Del Salute in the background on one of the cobbled
backstreets of Venice, beside a canal. Italy, May 73"

Oz, Jen, Forse, Venice, May 73

That pipe again

"Having lunch under the fountain in the Piazza in Bologna.
Italy, May 73"

"Rowing on the lake in the park in Bologna. Italy May 73"

"A field of bright red poppies outside Villa Adreana near Rome. These
fields of poppies were all over Italy during spring. Italy, May 73"

Switzerland, April 1973, a busy month...

"Looking across the lake & up at the Autobahn which curves around the
mountain - from our campsite @ Montreux.  Suisse, April 73"

"We thought we toned in beautifully with the tulips @ Montreux.
Suisse, April 73"

"The Esplanade @ Montreux. Note magnolia
tree in background hanging heavy with
massive magnolia -- all over Montreux.
Suisse, April 73"

"Skiing at Col des Mosses the day we got so sunburnt and people
were skiing in singlets.  Suisse, April 73"

"Down at Zermatt village looking @ the
Matterhorn with Katie's pack on.
Suisse, April 73"

"An old castle outside Morges where we had lunch on one of our
Sunday drives. Suisse, April 73"

Switzerland, 1973

"Alf's 23rd birthday. 12 Jan 73. Lenk

"Goofy, Oz, Jen & I, Lenk, Jan 73".  

"Musical evening @ Multengutstrasse. Suisse, Feb '73"
Oz, Anne, Jim, Mutti

"Jim (Anne's friend) and I, Multengutstrasse, Suisse, Feb '73"

"The de Goemoens house in Morges. Suisse, April '73"
Question: who are the de Goemoens? That VW was the one and only
non-Beetle car that I (we?) ever owned. It was a bit bland, but ok.

"The Fellay's flat in Preveranges.  Our window was at the back of

the house.  Suisse, April '73"

"Sally and Peter outisde their house at Preverenge.
Suisse, April '73".
Note: this caption is in someone else's writing, presumably
the person who took the photo.  Who?