At 16 years of age you were allowed to get your drivers license, just a matter of answering 10 questions and pay a pound (2 dollars ) and hey presto you could drive anything at all legally.
Actually it was my boss who paid the fee and gave me time off to get the license as he wanted me driving the delivery van to his other shops , as a 2nd year apprentice butcher I thought it was great , get me out of some shop work , never gave it a thought of what I would have to lift and carry inside when deliveries were made .
About this time Marlon Brando made the movie the Wild One riding a Triumph motor cycle naturally enough seeing I had a license and the money to buy a motorcycle , I put the idea to my mother , your not having one of those your uncle calls them a coffin on wheels, but mum I protested brother Ray had one, yes she said but he was a lot older than you when he bought it .
Ray was the eldest of my two brothers and was married by this time, Ron was flash he had a car , so it looked like me being stuck with the faithful old push-bike, like most if not all teenage kids I came up with devious methods to get the ok from mum.
First get Ray on side to approach mum, and keep pestering for a motorcycle , eventually she might give in , the first crack was her saying a little one might be okay , yeah I thought, its a start, and let matters rest for awhile , then told her of a nice little bike at Hubbard’s in town would she like to have a look at it with me.
The following Saturday morning we went into the city and around to to Hubbard's , now this firm were agents for large Ariel bikes as well a James two stroke smaller ones which mum started looking at , me, my mind was set on the twin cylinder Ariel , ok it wasn't a Triumph but it would do , so I then had mum in a corner, she was looking at the small one and boy did I do some fast talking and finally won her around and got the ok for the twin job.
After paying for it I now had to ride it home with mum on the pillion seat , it was her first time ever and at the first corner we nearly came off, instead of leaning with the bike mum had sat up straight , luckily I managed to pull up ok and gave her the instructions on how she must lean with the motorcycle , once she got used to the bike we often went out shopping together , more so when I put a sidecar on.
I didn't win too many arguments with mum but this one was the best