8 ‘til 8
My mate Mickey’s first motor was a beat-up two-tone chocolate brown 1970s Marina & we had to stuff the headlights with loft insulation as they splayed out at weird angles so the road ahead wasn't lit up too well but you could see what was in the hedgerows alongside just fine so we pull up outside a Rave December 1992 cold fresh moonlit night with frost on the road industrial south east Northumberland slag heaps & pit wheels gone replaced with Japanese electrical components factories when a lass in silver hot pants & roller boots & glitter eye shadow dishing out flyers taps on the passenger window to hand me one & I have to shrug and hold out my hands as I can't roll the window down as we’d had to wedge it up in place with old clothes pegs jammed in the bottom we certainly knew how to travel in style wearing black leather coats & jeans & designer T-shirts with rubber sleeves & black pants with silver pocket zips & boots for stomping 12 hours straight with sweat pouring the dull throb of the basslines vibrating through the car above the purring engine face flushing red coming up on E & the anticipation that this could be the greatest night of your life.
* Jon Tait is a former sportswriter and was the press officer at now defunct Gretna FC in the Scottish League.
Ah, the greatest nights of my life…I remember them well…well…bits of them.
Sounds like the way to arrive at a rave, lights shining sidewards at the hedgerows and rubber sleeves flapping. Nice vivid piece.
my first car was also a Morris Marina 1.3 super if ever 'super' was a misnomer this was it. It too was two tone (Lime green/black) I knew no better than to love it and even now for nostalgia I'd love to have it back (well for a couple of days,then scrap it!) Great story by the way!
Man, those were the days! Gets me all pink mist nostalgic. Thanks for the memories
The thing about those Marina's was that they came in such vile 1970s era colours – the lime green was actually called Lamborghini Lime, then there was that burnt orange colour and a kacky brown. But its these little details that make this piece so accessible.
Thanks for the kind comments, guys. Much appreciated. Jon T