BOLT / End of Summer Party
On the 19th of September we had a lot of things to celebrate, and one thing to commiserate - the end of the summer. We had finished the film we made of our road trip to South Bohemia the month before so we were excited to screen this. We were also excited to announce the new clothing collaboration between Bolt and Edie Ashley as well as the launch of the new Barber shop upstairs Cut and Run.
Two Ford f100 pick ups were parked back to back in the yard, one from the 50’s and another from the 70’s which together made a surround for the film screen. We also had Curiosity Mark bring his new hotrod down to the yard. We knew it was going to be busy so we had to push bike parking out on to the street, it didn’t take long for a row of bikes to extend all the way up to the high street. Radical Edwards manned the coals as usual and cooked up chicken wings in home made tamarind sauce.
Within half an hour of kicking off the yard was full, another half hour and the crowds were spilling out over the road and by the time the film was shown the crowd had swelled to around 400. We had beer from Budvar on tap as well as cans and Vivian Savage and Bertie were on hand to keep it all flowing. Edie Ashley Kicked things off dropping a heavy dub set, lots of classic and some rarities thrown in. Once the sun had gone down we dragged the PA outside and projected the film against the old stable walls. It was incredible to see such a large crowd fall silent as the film played, it was a good sign it was well received.
After the film played we had our old friend Brad Hall take to the turntables. As well as heading up the New Original Scooter Club, Brad has played at every Bolt party since we started. By this point the shop was jumping with people dancing in any space they could find. It felt like one of our early parties in the old store which we often saw through till the sun up. At that time we would close for an hour, speed clean the shop and then open up for the next days trade.
I took to the decks but as soon as i’d put a record on I realised I had only brought down a random hand full of vinyl earlier to check the system was working. Sometimes things just work out and they all ran together bringing back some forgotten classics. We had gotten through all 500 pints and were down to the last of 900 cans. We called it night and the last few left and still we had not received one complaint. It was only on the day after when the neighbour opposite called me, she was moving out and needed some help with moving her pot plants, that I realised we had gotten away with things. I want to thank those of you who had the thought to roll your bikes to the high street. I hadn’t asked for this but it was really appreciated, if we can find a balance with residence we can continue to have good times in the cobbled yard.
It was a really great crowd and this resinated with those that came, most of us have an interest in motorcycles, but more so it was a shared appreciation of a good time. With this in mind we thought we might launch a regular event in a local venue where we can put on bands and keep things going later. We might not be able to deliver an endless supply of free beer next time, but we will try. Thanks to all that came, see you next time.