The ‘Croydon Rodeo.’ A rally held in memory of the legend that is Marshall ‘Chuckles’ Swonnell and hosted by the London Lambretta Club.
A young Chuckles on board his famous TV 175, a scooter he owned from new and still owned when he passed away in 2020. It was stolen in 2016 but recovered and rebuilt after a tip-off given to SLUK.
What kind of rodeo?
The event promised old-school fun in the form of a gymkhana, slow rides and a concours d’elegance. As soon as the rally was announced, we knew we had to make the effort, not only to honour one of the great characters of the scene but also to support a unique rally on the calendar.
Here’s the Chuckles most of us remember, again with his TV 175…
Hot air cooling
With 250 miles to cover in 35-degree heat, an after-lunch departure on the Friday normally wouldn’t be regarded as ideal on a 60-year-old air-cooled Lambretta. However, that was the hand Lydia and I were dealt, as we had to navigate from Preston to the south London suburb.
Opressive heat
With every vent on our riding gear fully opened, we battled the midday sun as we munched motorway miles. With little shelter or shade on the motorways, and a hot breeze to contend with, the sun often became brutally oppressive, especially in the heavy traffic of the M25.
In a moment of ingenuity, we resorted to packing chilled drinks into our riding jackets for the slightest reprieve from the heat. It does feel ironic to write about the challenges posed by the sun when the usual nemesis of the rider is rain!
Not his first rodeo
After a hard year’s worth of rallying, I think my green Special wanted to get into the ‘rodeo’ spirit by jumping in and out of gear on the final couple of inclines into Croydon – true buckaroo style. Clearly, it’s time for a new gear selector spring, but that’s a worry for another day.
We completed the long distance in around five hours without any other mechanical concerns (for once).
First class
As soon as we entered the Croydon Post Office Social Club (the venue for the weekend), we were greeted by many familiar faces and fine Lambrettas.
Tent up and it was time for the Lambretta themed pub quiz – what more could you want as entertainment? Hosted by Andy Gillard from ScooterNova Magazine, the quiz tested the knowledge of teams from up and down the UK. With a worrying amount of knowledge on display, regarding what is effectively an obscure marque of motor scooter (albeit the world’s finest), we tackled questions that covered prototypes, foreign models, marketing campaigns and Chuckles himself. Who knew Innocenti experimented with reed valve induction on the J-range? Well, I didn’t, but that probably explained why we chalked up a mediocre 15 out of 25.
Concours d’elegance
The next day promised to be the main event. Starting in a gentile fashion with virtually all Lambrettas on the site being mustered for the concours d’elegance centred on the beautiful ‘Rally Control Van’. With around 200 Lambrettas lined up, it certainly made for an impressive sight!
Traditional fun
This was followed by the gymkhana and slow ride hosted by the Modrapheniacs Scooter Club.
The club brought with them old-school grass trackers and traditional gymkhana obstacles; it certainly felt like a fitting tribute to the early days of Lambretta rallies. The gymkhana involved a slalom, see-saw, offset pallet, and limbo pole. With each run precisely timed, it made for a competitive event with plenty of participants. This was followed by the slow ride, proving that not all races have to be fast to be fun! Chuck A.K.A. the ‘Timekeeper’ would certainly have been proud of the precision with which the rides were clocked.
Founder member
Additionally, adding to the nostalgic feel of the weekend, the rally was attended by other Lambretta royalty, with the presence of Bob Wilkinson to name but one. Bob was the founder of the LCGB and instrumental in many of the most famous marketing campaigns. It was a real highlight to see such characters after so many years thoroughly enjoy the scooter games.
Welly wangin’
The scooter games took a back seat for an interlude of some good old ‘welly wangin’ – who’d have thought something so simple could be so entertaining!
You can’t beat a bit of Bully!
The fun games wrapped up with an impromptu game of scooter darts, which involved circling a ladder-mounted dart board and seeing who could get the highest score. However, given the vast majority of shots failed to register on the board, I don’t think any of us will be competing at the Ally Pally any time soon!
A fitting tribute
The long ride home on Sunday was somewhat slower than the way to the rally; however, even despite the distance, the rally had certainly delivered on smiles per mile. Overall, the rally was a fitting tribute to Chuckles, one filled with many fun memories. I sincerely hope the London Lambretta Club put something similar on again in the future!
Words and photos: Jordan
Chuck Swonnell images courtesy of Andy Gillard, ScooterNova
