Philip Duerden
Philip Duerden's Page
Page for Philip Duerden
| Nickname | None |
|---|---|
| Status | Full Member |
| duerden@hotmail.com | |
| Residence | I lived in the heyday of the club in Ruislip I now live in Colyford, East Devon |
| Family | Married to Mandy (not Mandy Bell!), 4 kids. |
| Bike I would be remembered for - | Honda SS 125, my only ever bike sadly.... |
| Favourite bike? Worst bike? | Best: Honda SS125 |
| What do I ride/drive now? | Presently have a Jaguar X-Type and my only bike is an electric (push) bike. |
| My memories of the club | The bike club to me was a conglomeration of small groups of school friends with a common interest in bikes, gathered together from different schools in West London (Hayes, Ruislip, Eastcote, Hillingdon) . So there were various small “groups” and these all mixed together. However, the members were all around the same age and thus brought up, more or less, with the same background. So, we all had several things in common, and such things, when put under the “bike club” umbrella we quite unusual. In the main we all had good manners, and good diction. This meant we could all string a sentence together, and were generally polite. One associate was so posh if asked I am sure he would have spelt *uck with a Ph. Now add to good manners and reasonable diction a background of, in general Monty Python type humour and suddenly you have a group of people who really did not, to all intents and purposes fit the “genre” of a rough tough bike club. So we were not! I really do not remember any fights, forcible ejections form pubs or visits from rival clubs looking for “sport”. I do remember listening to “The Portsmouth Symphonia” (who performed classical music out of tune) whilst sat outside the Cricket in Beesands while the “general public” looked on with incredulous expressions on their faces. More so when this was changed to the speeches of Hitler, and a group of “rough bikers” could all be seen rolling about with laughter. It was never for me a bike club, more a society trying to push back the extremes of what could, by means of laughter, shock those outside. Who can forget Polly riding all the way to Brighton from London with a fingerette on the end of his nose and “Hortense” the plastic giraffe on his handlebars? I remember my days with the club as a period when my face ached with laughter…… |
| Summary of my life to date | Born 1958 in Bradford, moved to Ruislip when 4. Seriously injured in bike accident at 18, never rode again. Worked in Banking, Retail, Timeshare and Stationary, now self employed as a music promoter. Lived for 8 years on a narrow boat. Married 4 kids, now all adults....(two have bikes) |
| My hobbies today are | Live music and writing web sites (including this one). I have a live music venue where I put on bands every Friday - http://www.tropicatruislip.co.uk |
| At my funeral please arrange to have the following played | 1) Future Days - Can 2) Who knows where the time goes - Sandy Denny 3) Jollity Farm - Bonzo Dog Do Dah Band |
| Final Comments | Please scatter my ashes at Cropredy in to the canal, so they will be with with to my two loves, music and the waterways. |
The Freedom Riders MCC of Hayes and Ruislip
This is the Freedom Riders MCC web site. The Freedom Riders MCC has long been disbanded, however the camaraderie and humour lives on, hopefully this web site will reunite former members and help keep those still "in the fold" keep in touch.
The site is just a bit of stupid fun really, rather like being in the club was........a bit of stupid fun.
Feel free to also contribute any "views" yourself by e-mailing me.
The site is just a bit of stupid fun really, rather like being in the club was........a bit of stupid fun.
Feel free to also contribute any "views" yourself by e-mailing me.