My Best Life : Gap Yah! @StopAtHome: Swinging 60s

They say that if you can remember the 60s, then you weren't there ... I do remember the 60s, as a young child at the beginning of the most dynamic decade known to Baby Boomers and, probably, everyone else reading this.

Loving the 60s, still, I recall ...

Paul McCartney, John Lennon, George Harrison and Ringo Star - The Beatles, Yeah, Yeah, Yeah !
Beatlemania, 8pm, 13th October 1963. I was there! She Loves You;
Sir Alex Issigonis 'Mini' car - one of the most iconic objects of the era - I have owned four;

Mini 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5? Audioboo.fm

groovy Lambretta Scooters - my father owned one;

Lava lamps, another 60s classic - I still have one;

psychedelic flower power, love beads, free love - the latter for adults only, not myself;

The 1966 World cup Victory MIGHTY ENGLAND - 'I was there' say, my father and three brothers;

Mods & Rockers, gang rivalry at Brighton Beach - as seen, in colour, on tv. Scooters & Motorbikes roaring along the coast road ... as

economc migrants poured into the UK ahead of the crackdown on immigration just in time for the freezing winter of 62/63;

Cheap air travel made holidays abroad accessible for everyone - never mind the Cuban Missile Crisis, the assasinations of President Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the Profumo Affair or Dr Beeching's shake-up of our railways, the Moon Landing - The Mediterranean awaited. It was FAB;

Reminiscing, brings back romantic images and experiences - Carnaby Street, mini-skirts, hot pants, love beads, London led the way. Biba, where I worked on Saturdays;

Enormous social change took place, 'The Pill' was taken by single women; The Abortion Act became law; Lord Chamberlain's powers of censorship were abolished and all kinds of taboos were broken - as in the 1968 West End Production of 'Hair', thrillingly anarchic whilst totally embarrassing. For me;

Top of The Pops was THE place to be go, see and be seen - if not, then compulsory 'tele' viewing;

Radio Caroline pirate DJ, Tony Blackburn became BBC Radio 1's most famous DJ - teenagers listened on their transistor radios for the weekly Top 20 selling records played on their record players - Roy Orbison's Pretty Woman. It was FAB;

Wimpy Bars appeared on the High Streets and 'Wimpy & Chips' was eaten by young children who also enjoyed, for the first time, toys made from durable plastics such as Barbie Dolls;

The Rolling Stones' Hyde Park concert was the epitomy of Flower Power - butterflies were released to celebrate the life of Brian Jones who had died of a drug overdose - sunshine, music and love, love, love ... ...