Memories of my sisters part2

Back in the early 70's life in the Knott household was a bit of a crowded affair. Mum, Dad and four kids in our three bed semi. Janet and Erika shared the second bedroom whilst my brother Harvey and I had bunk beds in the small third room. We never felt cramped or hemmed in though. In fact it was fun to be honest. I always wanted the top bunk as I loved to climb everything when I was younger. That included trees and walls, the garage, anything that looked like it could be climbed. Funny really as I am a bit nervous of heights now. Janet loved to climb things too. We had a very large crabapple tree in the back garden that we were always climbing. If truth be known Janet was actually better at climbing than me. She was always at or near the top, with the branches swaying violently under her weight. She was completely fearless. I think Erika was more of a girly girl and didn't like to get her hands dirty. She would be stood at the bottom with her arms folded like a little bossy madam telling us to get down or she would tell Mum. Happy days.

A large crabapple tree - not ours (cos it hasn't got kids climbing all over it)

I don't remember having any holidays until the day Dad bought a camper van. Not just any camper van but a pale blue VW camper van with panoramic screen. I was big buddies with Beric, a lad from next door but one. His Uncle was the owner of the (famous amongst enthusiasts now) Danbury camper conversions in Cheltenham. They had a second hand camper van for sale and we became the lucky owners. We were all so excited when Dad bought it. It must have been a stretch for my parents but it got more than its fair share of use over the years. I absolutely loved that campervan. It could sleep 6 with a bit of ingenuity. Mum and Dad slept in the main bed, Janet and I in the two bunks,where the roof extended up. Erika in the back section and Harvey over the front seats (Dad made a very clever bunk bed that slotted across the front seats) We used to go everywhere in that van. Cornwall, the Lakes, Scotland all over the country. It has left me with a lifelong love for VW campers. I would have one tomorrow if The Boss would let me (sorry dear).

left to right - Harvey, Erika and me with the V Dub. Isn't she a beauty. I still remember the reg..PPU 189K I wonder where she is now? - Janet took this picture on a box brownie camera

Recently Chris Evans has been playing the Black Beauty TV series theme tune on radio two in the morning. I think he plays it every day for some reason or other. Anyway it brought back memories of Janet as she adored horses and Black Beauty was her favourite. One memory in particular!  Dad used to take Harvey and I to Oulton Park race circuit to see the Transatlantic trophy series. This was a series of motorcycle races between GB and the USA. It had the very best riders from both sides of the Atlantic and we used to love going. I saw heroes of mine Barry Sheene, Kenny Roberts, Randy Mamola and later the likes of Kevin Schwantz and Wayne Rainey (ok non-bikers are probably yawning - sorry)

'King' Kenny Roberts at Oulton Park

So where was I ? Oh yes Oulton Park. The circuit used to put on some entertainment for the whole family to enjoy and one of the very first years we went they had advertised that the real Black Beauty would be on show. Well that's what they said - it was probably just a black horse with a white spot painted on its forehead. As soon as Janet heard this she was coming along, which in turn meant Erika was coming too. I don't think Dad was expecting to take all of us but we all set off very early on the Saturday morning (Mum stayed at home for some well earned peace and quiet). It was an expensive do getting into the circuit back then (as it is now) and Dad was a bit shocked at the child admission prices displayed on the board as we drove down the long road to the entrance. I am probably going to get in trouble off Dad for this next bit but lets just say that VW campers have a large storage space under each of the rear bench seats. Enough to fit a child or maybe two in. So moving swiftly on....

Black Beauty and cast - Gosh this picture brings back some memories
I remember the cast like it was yesterday.

Well sure enough Black Beauty was there with one or two of the actors from the series. Apparently so was Fred Dibnah with a traction engine that he'd driven there all the way from Bolton. I bet the traffic behind loved him?

 So whilst Dad, Harvey and I watched the bikes, Janet and Erika went to see the horse. The racing that year was absolutely classic. Great Britain got hammered by the new stars from the USA. A whole new style of racing was born that year with Kenny Roberts showing us all rear wheel steering and Randy Mamola spending most of the time seemingly stunt riding his way round the track....sorry again, I'll get back to the story. We didn't see Janet all day (those were far more innocent days back then). We occasionally saw Erika who came back to the van every hour or so to tell us that Janet was still with Black Beauty. To be honest I think Erika was a bit bored with Black Beauty. She was an angelic little girl but had an impish streak and was quite happy watching the bikes.  It turned out Janet had made friends with all the actors that were there and had been allowed to pet him (Black Beauty, not the actor) She was totally made up and had a smile on her face from ear to ear.
Remembering back to that day and Janet's smile, I realise that there was a time when life with my sisters was really good. Things were to turn very different, but my memory of those early days are very happy ones and will stay with me forever.