OVC, Covent Garden, to Europe, February-April 65

OVC, visit to Covent Garden, heading off to Europe, February-April 1965

After some time as a dishwasher at the OVC, I had saved up enough to buy an old baker's van (for £30), which took us - George, Mick, Errol & Dennis Zimmer (USA) (only as far as Barcelona) - on a trip through Europe.

During a party at Jean's - Room 3, Springbok House - on the evening of 26 February - we decided to take the van on a first outing to the Covent Garden flower market (the film My Fair Lady had just come out)

The following 24 pics were taken in the early evening and late at night of 26 February and into the next morning

Dennis (16601)

Errol, rolling a fag (16602)

Rosalie Dodds (Kbly) (16603)

Rosalie (16604)

Eric Muller (Pta) and Alistair Thomas (SA?) (16605)

Jean, looking great (16606)

Sam (NZ) (16608)

Dennis (16609)

Jean, striking(16610)

 Tony (Aust?), Errol, Marilyn (UK), George, Dennis (16611)

Tony, Errol, Marilyn, George (16612)

Dennis, the evening wore on(16614)

Covent Garden flower market, 3 a.m. to 5 a.m.

Jean and Errol (16615)

George, Jean, Dennis - an early morning in February can be pretty cold (16616)

A coffee wagon provides just the medicine for a cold morning - 2 girls we met and Jean, Dennis, George(16617)

Jean, George, Dennis (16619)

Getting pretty late now - Dennis with a flower in his mouth, Jean having been presented with a bunch of flowers, perhaps by the stall owner in the white coat, and George (16620)

Back in the van, returning to Earls Court - Jean, George, Errol (16621)

Now back in Jean's flat early in the morning, after a night of boozing all fairly alert (except for Dennis, that is,) and getting ready for the day's work(16622)

Dennis, definite signs of a long night (16624)

Jean arranging her flowers and looking as fresh as one, after the long night. The rest of us were feeling quite fragile; but not her. How does she manage to look so fresh after such a long night? (16625)

Errol, starting the day with lots of fluids (16626)

At the OVC - Dennis, still with the Covent Garden flower, and Emil ?  (16627)

Errol (16628)

Vivienne (Rhodesia) (16632)

The van outside 10 Nevern Road (16702)

OVC, Nevern Place entrance (16703)

Paul and Sylvia on motorbike showed us the route out of London when we left for Europe(16704)

We left London on 1 March 1965. After a loop through Europe, we arrived in Amsterdam, from where George and Mick returned to England. I stayed in Amsterdam, worked there for 6 months, moved to Iceland to work there for 6 months, before returning to the OVC in May 1966. The pictures from this time will  hopefully be added here later, but just a few of the life of the faithful old baker's van

Mick and George in the snow in France, on the road between Limoges and Brive, 3 March 1965 (16708)

At La Ciotat, French Riviera, 19 March 1965 (16926)

The well-daubed van (courtesy of our self-appointed signwriter, George M. Schofield), finally the end of the line, getting a well-deserved rest, sold to a scrap metal dealer in Amsterdam for the equivalent of £10, with Andre Erasmus (from Benoni), 19 April 1965 (17112)