A scooter legacy
SOME people think The Mod only came to town in 2008 – but there have been mods in Falkirk for years... and punks, and skinheads and scooterboys, rudeboys, rockabillys and psychobillys.
If one thing has linked all these self-styled tribes together, it is their long-standing love affair with the shapely Vespa and Lambretta scooters – an affair that stretches right back to 1959 and the Falkirk Vespa Club.
Like classic guitars – be they Stratocasters or Les Pauls – the look of the scooters is dated yet strangely timeless. It's hard not to cast long, admiring glances at the colourful collection when you see them lined up outside the Graeme Hotel in Grahams Road every second Thursday.
The Falkirk Scooter Club, which meets at the hotel twice a month, are well aware of the history of their vehicles and their close ties with fashion and music.
Ian Simpson, one of the club's founders, said: "We started off with four or five people and it just kept growing. It's all about the fun of doing rallies in places like Southport and the Isle of Wight.
"I mean there are tens of thousands of scooters at the Isle of Wight rally."
Their rally "season" runs from March to the end of October and sees the club clock up thousands of miles ever year. Members just enjoyed the last official rally of 2008 in Bridlington.
"I might not have seen someone for years," said Chris Walker. "Then I'll see them on a rally and it's like you've never been away. I've got friends all over England now and I've only been in the club for two years. It's not a hobby, it's a way of life."
David Williams, originally from Wales, said: "The club is at its strongest now, it really is. We have a lot of social events, especially at this time of year. In the better weather there is always something going on – nearly every weekend there is a scooter rally going on somewhere in Britain."
The 30-strong club, which includes members from Glasgow and Edinburgh, has been running for four years and the age range stretches from club legend Mick "The Mod" in his late 50s to 10-year-old Chelsea Polson – complete with her smart pink scooter – and even younger.
Chelsea's dad Scott said: "We go on Sunday runs and raise money for charities as well. We do the Easter Egg run to Bolton every year to help sick kids – and we take our children and families on runs with us most of the time."
Ian's 15-year-old son Jamie said: "I went to my first rally when I was four and I've been doing it ever since."
The club encourages safe road use, giving the proper training and knowledge to younger members so they are ready to hit the road when they turn 17.
Scooter culture, celebrated in the 1979 film Quadrophenia, has come a long way since the early days and the relationship between scooter enthusiasts and bikers has certainly improved.
"We get on with bikers and go on runs with them," said Ian. "It wasn't like that in the old days though. But in the end we've both got two wheels and we all want to keep them on the right road."
Ian and the club have started looking to the past to uncover more about the old Falkirk Vespa Club.
"We're trying to find members from that club," said Ian. "It would be great if someone from the club could come along and tell us about it."
Ian's research has turned up old Falkirk Herald articles which mention the Vespa Club's first meeting in 1959 and the fact Falkirk once had a Vespa dealer in the High Street.
For more information on The Falkirk Scooter Club visit www.bebo.com/falkirksc or, if you have any information on the Vespa Club, call Ian on 07511 830854.
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Weather for Falkirk
Thursday 24 May 2012
Today
Sunny
Temperature: 14 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 6 mph
Wind direction: North east
Tomorrow
Sunny
Temperature: 12 C to 24 C
Wind Speed: 17 mph
Wind direction: East
