It's not quite the end of the season, nearly though. We've just had the last VVC rally of the year at Bamburgh earlier this month and the club's October 19th Annual General Meeting will bring the curtain down on 2019. Commuting to work on my scoot; I feel a strong connection to the passing seasons and seeing the crops harvested and bailed fills me with more than a pang of sadness that my year's Vespa riding is nearing an end..
I annoy myself, and no doubt others, with my ongoing habit of having to continually photograph my Motovespa! I try to refrain but occasionally I'm inspired by something or my head is turned and I get to thinking about how my scoot would look in that scene.. Its seventies orange colour and white stripes reminds me of those late '60s/early '70s ads when Piaggio adopted a more liberal approach to paint colours; a departure from the up until then dove grey, white, silver, metallic blues and greens etc. Along with bright primary reds, blues and yellows, oranges and greens became the fashion with the factory adverts portraying young beautiful models and their colourful Vespas on beaches and college campuses etc..
We've had yet another amazing summer of consistent warm sunny days, or at least we have in the southeast of England. The lowering sun and long shadows is great for photography, allowing for shots dripping in colour and lens flares…
As well as referencing Piaggio adverts with these latest photos, Simon & Garfunkel's haunting song 'April Come She Will' came to mind; often playing over in the confines of my helmet. Written in 1964 the song tells of the passing months, April through to September, emoting the hope of Spring to the melancholy of Autumn and the inevitable end of the season. It also features on the soundtrack of one my favourite films, The Graduate..
April, come she will
When streams are ripe and swelled with rain
May, she will stay
Resting in my arms again...
August, die she must
The autumn winds blow chilly and cold
September, I remember
A love once new has now grown old
Let’s hope the Indian Summer we’re having continues for a while longer yet…
Until next year.
Paul Hart.