As promised to
Luan, here is my pink scooter. As you can see, it definitely looks like it would belong to a 4 year old and indeed it did. My niece actually. But luckily, she had about 3 that my sister had got on Freecycle or something like that, so I asked if I could nab it.
But before you think I have jumped on the kiddie-band-wagon at this late juncture, getting down with the kids, oh no, I am a veteran micro-scooter rider! Cast your mind back to the year 2000, a new craze had hit the city in London. Suited and booted business people were to be seen everywhere about London, getting around on these silver-coloured aluminium micro-scooters as a way to get around. As a then non-bike rider, I thought this was a marvellous idea as it would save time and make you a bit more speedy. They were, however, quite expensive- I think people were paying about £100 for them. Anyway, that summer, I got a job at the Barbican hotel and arranged to sublet my friend's room in Dalston over the summer at a reduced rate as I would be working 3.30-midnight shifts, so didn't really want to be going home to Essex on the train. But then I had a fairly hefty walk to Dalston as buses would have stopped by then and then I'd be spending money on travel. So then, I decided to buy a micro-scooter.
Four days into my new job, and a little tired of the walk, I found a bike-shop in Hoxton who were selling them for £60 and bought one as an investment for saving on travel costs. And so it began. The first day I bought it, I was sitting there in the switchboard office, trying to work out how to went up between phone calls. That was the day I met the General Manager of the Hotel of course! He was mightily intrigued by it and was very nice and didn't tell me off for doing this during my shift. (I got 100% in the mystery guest that month don'tcha know!)
Every evening at ten past midnight, I would zoom off down Central street and scoot my way home to Dalston, meeting very few people. On De Beavour Road (the posh bit of Dalston) I would ride in the middle of the road as it was so deserted and so smooth and down-hill. Only realised when there was a solitary kind driver who stopped and very politely told me I wasn't very visible and perhaps I should ride on the pavement, that I realised that I couldn't really be seen so had to be a bit more careful.
And so it went on for weeks and weeks as I earned lots of money to pay off my £500 credit card bill (I have never used a credit card to this day) which I had accrued from paying for train fares to London and a few other clothing treats over the first year and had forgotten to pay. I didn't take out much student loan that first year and then I only ever used it to buy my flute and an alto flute and a B-foot for my flute. I was so grateful for that full-time job, for my friend's kind subletting for what I could actually pay. I enjoyed exploring Dalston's market and shops and it seems I even bought a pair of early Irregular Choice shoes, I've recently discovered! The turquoise top I last wore with this skirt for Visible Monday was also bought then.
It was all going so well for over a month and a half until I started to get a pain in my right ankle that progressively got worse and I found I couldn't scoot and had to walk/hobble. I had somehow got RSI from my scooting in my ankle. I had to abandon the scooter for a while and then it laid dormant in the loft of my old house, slightly broken as it was missing a screw. I only discovered it in January when we were clearing out the loft. My sister claimed in in exchange for the pink one which I somehow kept.
I may look silly but it does help save 5 precious minutes on the way to work if I am running late and haven't got 20mins to reach the station and get the train. On the way home, it saves about 8 minutes as it is largely down-hill and it halves the time from the station to school at the other end.
More proof of being down with the kids. If you have kids or teens, you can't have failed to notice the craze that is taking over Britain- the Loomon- children have these looms and bright coloured rubberbands which they weave into amazing bracelets. One of my children at school watched a tutorial and made me a special fruit-smelling, rainbow Treble Clef charm which I strung onto my Alice in Wonderland necklace. It seemed to go well with the rainbow skirt.
The rest of this outfit consists of M&S vintagey Madras-check dress (charity shop), black vest (Primark), bird-brooch, (not sure),silver belt (charity shop), turquoise silk hair-tie (left-over Balinese silk from our men's wedding handkerchiefs), shoes (Toms)
The make of my scooter is Razor (to be said with manly growly voice)- so masculine for this Penelope Pitstop transport. Made less hard-sounding by the wheels which say 'Daisy' on them.
Hope all is well with you. Forgive me but have a really busy week this week, rehearsals and concerts on 4 evenings and then a concert in the Black mountains near Wales in a ruined abbey! Stay tuned for more
boring reminiscences of my youngerlife exciting adventures.
xxx
Linking up to
Visible Monday with the fabulous Patti.
