Mods and Rockers in the 60s: Sex, Drugs, Rock and Roll and street battles - Right? Eeer, not quite; not as I remember them. Sex was something you had to careful about, I mean if you got a girl pregnant you married her, so, unless drunk, you only did it with someone you would be happy to spend the rest of your life with. Drugs belonged mainly to the very late 60s and the 70s. The Mods indulged to a degree, but for the Rockers adrenaline from hard riding a motorcycle was the drug, though God alone knows what strange substances lurked in the foul muck that came out of the tea urns of the transport cafes we inhabited. Rock and Roll was the music, sure, but for the Rockers it was 50s stuff with Merseybeat thrown in. The Mods shared the Merseybeat, but flavoured it with Rhythm and Blues. However, tastes varied, and several of my mates, were Traditional Jazz fans. There were also big band and classical music lovers amongst us. The Bank Holiday street battles did happen. Mostly they consisted of a lot of shouting and posturing with physical contact usually coming about by accident. My own crowd tried to time and plan jaunts that avoided potential trouble spots! Yes there was trouble, and yes they were dangerous and exciting times, but mostly they were just fun, and both Mods and Rockers a load of youngsters out to enjoy themselves with the Rockers doing it by racing their motorcycles through the streets of London and on the near-bye bypasses. G'day,At the age of seven I asked my mother about King Richard the Lion Heart. Her response was to give me an historical text book she was reading on the subject and tell him to find out for myself! From then on I have been addicted to English history. After leaving school, where the history topics I studied were dictated by my need to pass exams, I concentrated my efforts on the 17th century, with especial interest in the Civil War and Cromwell's Protectorate. However, in the mid '90's I changed direction and began studying Anglo-Saxon history. Since then the Hundred Years War, in particular the events in the reigns of Edward III and Richard II have caught my interest. As a result of this I am now involved with the SCA Canton of Cluain, Barony of Ildhafn, Kingdom of Lochac. I have more than one persona, but my usual one is that of a yeoman archer in the retinue of Sir Allan de Buxhall, KG, Constable of the Tower of London. I run my own Household within the Barony - The Wulfings.Until Government cut backs I regularly acted as a guest lecturer for the Waikato University covering English history topics from the coming of the English to the Restoration.Whilst I spent most of my early career in telecommunications, I later joined the University of Waikato running an experimental 'virtual' unit providing education in technology management and innovation. After leaving the University I worked on various technology related contracts but am now retired.I am active Christian and attend the Te Awamutu Bible Chapel. For many years I have been involved in youth work for the church.Born in England, my wife and I moved to New Zealand in 1969. We have three sons and five grandchildren. We live on a large section with lots of trees and flowers and spend a lot of our time working in the garden. Naturally, as an archer, I have an archery butt at the bottom of the grounds.
