insured

Me, I prefer the odd pint (or ten) of Mr
Artois’ finest beverage, er… wife beater.
James Bond, on the other hand, is
perhaps the human embodiment of the
Martini – the famous catchphrase ‘shaken
and not stirred’ is of course famous the
world over. In ‘Casino Royale’ (for
example), Bond tells the double agent
Vesper Lynd about his special Martini
made with gin and vodka, and with a dash
of sudden inspiration he names the drink
after her – ‘The Vesper’ (nothing to do
with scooters of course but an
interest aside, well I thought anyway).
So who originally invented the
Martini then? Well that’s a fact
that may never be known... One
theory is that a certain Professor
Jerry Thomas invented a drink called
the ‘Martinez’. His concoction later
appeared in a reprint of Thomas’ own
Bartending Book in 1887. Another
theory is that the drink originated at
John Richelieu’s saloon bar in Martinez,
California in 1870. There are other
theories about where the drink
originated, too many to mention here,
wrong magazine anyway.
COCK TALE
So what’s all this waffle got to do with
scooters? Well the Runner pictured here
belongs to Ramsden, Paul Ramsden, a
part-time mechanic from London. As you
can see he’s gone for the Martini race rep
theme. I first set eyes on Paul’s Runner at
London Scooters in South London, or
rather, I heard it coming. You can hear PM
pipes and the like a mile off, especially in
cities as the sound resonates through the
streets. I suppose this is one way of
making your presence known to other
road users (and startled
pedestrians). So there he
was, Paul on his ’kin
loud Runner, on one
wheel, police sirens
in the background.
It’s OK the cops
were after
someone else, this
time...
With a striking livery in
white, Day-Glo red and blue, Paul’s
scoot can be seen and heard. The
paint job is the work of the ubiquitous
Dream Machine, who seem to be
churning out the painted panels these
days. Paul bought the Runner about a
year ago, at which time it had (would
you believe) PM Equinox Runner replica
panels. After a crash on a road in
Beckton, the Equinox-style panels took
a beating – the PM clone was no
more... Shaken and not stirred
(had to get that line in
somewhere!), Paul was soon
back on two wheels. But his
scoot now had a change of
colour which came by way
of the Martini-themed
panels. London Scooters
had just received them
from Dream Machine. “I
was there that day,” says
Paul, “and thought, that’s me.”
From ol’ blue eyes Frank Sinatra
himself, to Franklin D Roosevelt,
to Bond, James Bond, the Martini
has seemingly been THE drink
for the rich and famous.
SHAKEN AND
NOT STIRRED
Words Words and and photos photos by by Paul Paul Robinson Robinson
70 NOVEMBER 05