REPORT: Wicksteed

Scootering legend Kev Walsh hosted another legendary parts fair at Wicksteed Park. It was a fantastic day for customers, dealers, traders and jumblers alike…

Stu Smith gets up close and personal with scooter legend Kev Walsh at his parts fair.

TIMING

Kev’s October Wicksteed Parts Fair is one of the most popular on his parts fairs calendar. It’s timed nicely to address those nagging scooter needs which may have developed over the course of the season, and also sits comfortably with scooterists who are wanting to get parts ready for winter projects and rebuilds over the quieter winter months.

The Wicksteed Parts Fair is held at Wicksteed Park, which is just outside Kettering and this particular fair is split up into two main sections. The main jumblers’ area is situated outside and the main dealers’ and traders’ area, with a spattering of jumblers included, is situated inside the main pavilion building.

As we know, owning a scooter is a labour of love and searching out the right parts at the right prices is one of the ‘tricks of the trade’ for the savvy scooterist. Kev’s parts fairs are events, which help support an individual with that mission.

LEGEND

As the dealers, traders and jumblers were setting up I managed to grab a few moments with Kev and asked him where his idea to start the parts fairs had come from. Kev said: “It all started in 1997; I’d retired and I was selling a few parts at a fair in Wigan on behalf of a friend of mine, the late Eric Tudor of ESP Scooters. Things developed from there really; and in 2005 I started the current series of parts fairs, which I run. There’s bargains for everyone and there’s something to suit everyone’s pocket.” With time moving on Kev quickly gave me a guided tour through the pavilion and the jumblers’ area. As we walked round the pavilion Kev introduced me to Julie and Stacey Tudor, who are part of Kev’s team and he exchanged banter with some of the dealers and traders. We then walked up to the main entrance where a long queue of patiently waiting customers had started to form. With everyone in place John, Helen, Kev, Julie and Stacey began allowing customers through.

GATES OPEN

The customers soon began circulating, looking through the bargains, and money started changing hands.

I spoke with Paul Marks, an independent ‘jumbler’ who was situated close to the pavilion entrance. Paul was offering a variety of used parts at bargain prices. He said: “This particular fair is the biggest, its timing is perfect. At the beginning of the season it tends to be mainly chrome and accessories, and towards the end of the season it’s mainly restoration parts.”

I moved inside the pavilion and there I spoke with Peter Beamish (Square & Compass SC/Wigan SC) and Tony Gaskell (Wigan SC) who were grabbing a quick coffee before browsing the stands. Peter was looking for a stator plate, P200 layshaft gears, a 24/24 Vespa Dellorto carb and various nuts and bolts. Tony explained he’d come for a look round with Peter and was hoping to pick up a speedo for his P200.

Near to where Peter and Tony sat were Mick and Teresa of M&T’s personalised gifts. Mick said: “It’s our first fair and we’re selling scooter scene personalised items. Basically, we can put any image you want on to any item you want. So if you want your scooter on your clock we can do it!”

Further into the pavilion were jumblers Gary Dickinson, Jonny Thomas and Mick Braithwaite who were selling a selection of northern soul, Tamla, 2-Tone and punk records along with a useful variety of scooter jumble parts. Gary, Jonny and Mick explained that they’d been pals since the 80s. They were members of Melton Mowbray SC, they all ride scooters and they’d been selling at the Wicksteed Parts Fair for around 10 years.

Further inside was Neil Durrant of Kettering Scooters who was offering a selection of used scooter parts and accessories. Keith Todd and Mandi Faulder of Red Dog Lambretta were just round the corner and close to their table was Keith Sprague of Quality Chrome who was being supported by his business partner’s son, Liam Russell. Keith said: “We offer high quality chrome spares, accessories and parts, which are from a variety of sources, and are chromed by us to our very own high standards. We were one of the first early traders with Kev and we’ve never looked back since.”

It all started in 1997; I’d retired and I was selling a few parts at a fair in Wigan on behalf of a friend of mine, the late Eric Tudor of ESP Scooters

HUGE ACTIVITY

I returned outdoors to the jumblers’ area and spoke with Adrian Moore and his daughter, Hannah. Adrian was selling a selection of mainly Spanish Lambretta and Vespa parts, all at reasonable and negotiable prices. Adrian explained that he currently lives in Alicante, and he’d been trading at Kev’s parts fairs for the last three years. Adrian said: “The crossing from Spain usually takes around 26 hours to Portsmouth. I then drive up to Birmingham to see my dad and then make my way over to Kev’s fair. Adrian added: “These fairs are great, and I get to catch up with old friends who are all trying to buy everything off me for £1! It’s all good fun, there’s plenty of banter and it’s a good laugh.”

At the far side of the jumblers’ area were Ricki Davis, Paul Hammond (aka ‘Binky’) and Matthew Moore of RPM Scooters who were being helped by David Still and Connor Mason, Matthew’s son. The RPM Scooters area was particularly busy with customers searching through the boxes of items they had for sale, but Ricki managed to spare a moment to chat. Ricki said: “We try to offer the widest range of scooter parts at the best possible prices, and we’re also trying to set up RPM depots all over the country. Hopefully, when all the RPM depots are set up they will be easily accessible and within 20 miles of any scooterist.”

FINAL CIRCUIT

I walked back through the main jumble area and spoke with independent jumblers Martin Pashley and Chris Bingham from Chesterfield who were busy engaging with customers. Martin said: “We do all Kev’s parts fairs, we’ve been doing them since they started, there’s bargains for everyone everywhere.”

As I took one last visit inside the pavilion Scootopia were busy selling a wide selection new scooter parts and accessories and nearby was Saby Singh and Satnam Singh of Willenhall Scooters. Saby said: “We’ve been doing Kev’s parts fairs for the last four years, they’re among the best.”

At around 2pm things started drawing to a close and with their purchases, which included everything from full scooters to tiny nuts and bolts, attendees started leaving the fair. No matter what motivation takes you to one of Kev’s parts fairs I’m sure you won’t be disappointed and with scooter parts prices constantly increasing they are a must for anyone’s diary.

Entry into Kev’s parts fairs is £5 for adults. Children under 15 are free, a family ticket costs £9 and there is a £1 discount for VCB, YSA, VMSC, LCGB and EMSA membership card holders. Car parking is free and hot and cold refreshments are available inside the pavilion.

Words & Photographs: Stu Smith