The 60's was a time of the Beatles, Rolling Stones and the Who. So much happened in that decade, from building a passenger aircraft that flew faster than a rifle bullet, to placing a man on the moon, but in the middle of that decade, something just as significant in many ways was taking place as young people suddenly had the ability to be who they wanted, go where they wanted and to have their own identity.
The most obvious indication of this was the rise of the 'Mods & Rockers'. Quite opposed, the 2 groups never got together, as you were one, or the other!
The Mods were 'cool' and in Great Yarmouth the home of the Mods was the Chalet Coffee Bar in Gorleston and no one was 'cooler' than the Mods from the Chalet.
Well, last Friday, over 50 years later, a reunion of the guys who were Great Yarmouth's Mods took place at The Chalet and it was great to see over 40 people there, some who had travelled from as far as Cyprus, Sweden and even Australia.
Okay, time being what it is, the teenagers of the 60's are now themselves in their 60's or older, but the spirit wasn't dampened and quickly, we had gone back to 1966 (at least in our minds), especially as some of the guys still had scooters and rode in on them.
That said, everyone looked a little different and it must have seemed strange for Anne, who owns the Chalet, to be serving people she knew as teenagers in the 60's, as old men in 2018.
It was a great day and one that will always be remembered by the guys that were able to make it.
If you want to know more about the event and Great Yarmouth Mods in general, you can check out its Facebook pages by looking for: GY 65 CLUB - Scooters & Mods!
Some of the attendees were:
Greg Long, Bryan Durrant, Bernie Shepherd, Henry Manguzi, Chris Baker-Pretty, Alan Virgin, Mac Powsey, Shih-fu 'Lucky' Symonds, Peter Allard, John Nockolds, Alan Dye, Graham Dallimore, David Robinson, Arthur Collins, Graham Hales, John Driver, Richard Stewart, Richard Leavold, Denis Tuck, Malcolm Mccroft, PeeWee Rouse, Martin Slack, Pat Weller, plus more.
Chris Baker-Pretty
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