I don't wish to turn this into a ruck but..........
By 1971 the average National UK wage ( for men ) was £28 per week.
cobblers, or most of us were underpaid.
Retro comparisions of pre and post decimalistion are not reliable because of the crafty inflation that happened after that con trick; at that event I was feeling safe and happy on my 25 quid and a bit; after, the value of my wage pummeted abnd from being able to cope with a mortgage/baby and so on I found myself deep in the brown stuff.
LOL...it would seem your then PM was the one responsible for the UK food, fuel, and coal...the US Pres pretty much dealt with the US. Sorry it was so bad for ya'll.
Actually it was your man that turned off the war aid and dumped us in the crap,everything had to be paid for in dollars, and we had to export anything we could to get them.
For the first time a lot of food such as bread went on ration, basic petrol ration was abolished for the private person, food,especially meats and fats rations were cut, electric power went on short time, gas pressure was reduced, coal ration reduced, we were getting food parcels from Australia and NZ, and even from private folk in the USA to families here. No new clothes, all rationed , housing shortages due to war action, my old man was demobbed early because he was a bricklayer, so labour shortages as well, Rationing of some things in fact went on into the mid 50s so I for one am glad to hear you are 'sorry for how bad it was for us all'. It bloody well was, but of course you didn't get blitzed or V bombed did you?
I don't subscribe to the "its on the net so it must be true" idea, I get my info from proven reliable academic sources.
So let's not fall put over it?
As for the draft thing, I'm not and never was au fait with the ins and outs of it, but I do remember hearing, while making use of the cubicle in a Zeebrugge lav, circa 1970,two young Americans discussing ways and means to avoid it; and I do not blame them either.
I live in a very army orientated bit of england, between garrison towns. We too get to hear first hand experiences from serving and ex soldiers.
In the mid 70s, after Franco died and Spain started to open up I had a regular van run there supplying vintage and classic British bikes to a well known rich guy there; lots of BMWs mostly belonging to the wealthy or tourists, loads of spanish made small two strokes, Sanglas cop bikes,Werhmacht issue BMW outfits but no jap stuff because it was never imported there under Franco. But thats not to say a Honda Cub would not have been up to the job, I wouldn't want to do it either but several have since. I even did it to Northern Spain on a 1938 500 and before that a 350 AJS. The stupid way, over the Andorra road in snow,sod that.
The Spanish are dead keen on vintage bikes, but for my times there, 1970s 80s, untill the EU stuffed my enterprise there, it was a rich mans past-time.
I never made it across the Med, and indeed did not, nor ever would want to set foot there, I do know every time I got back to Dover with an empty van, the customs gave me the 3rd degree, "are you sure you didn't go to Morocco?" I Never did the wacky baccky thing but it seemed it was assumed all visitors to Spain did.
Anyway you got good memories of the bike and trip, same as I do, so whats to fall out about?
