R.I.P Tony Curtis

Another fine Hollywood actor with a dark side has gone. Elvis copied his hairstyle. 'The Defiant Ones' is one of the best films ever made. You couldn't want much more out of life...

Wet Wet Wet

I should have realised that the fact that the local radio station on the small island just off the Spanish coast we were 'holidaying' on kept playing that annoying "I feel it in my fingers" song by drab Scots popsters Wet Wet Wet held some more sinister significance when after two days the sun turned to cloud, and a few days after that, the cloud gave over to torrential rain. So on my return from a frankly mostly miserable and wet 12 days on Menorca to frankly an even more wet and miserable Great Britain, we're feeling all rained out.

No worries - I'll look at shots of bikes glinting in the sun or photos of summers past and look forward to next year, or maybe a miraculous Indian summer if we get one over here (is it too late for that??).

Apologies for any delayed or cocked-up mag deliveries but normal service will be resumed asap. More nicely shot pics of Vespas in the rain here

Issue Two is on its way to you, and we're on our way outta here for a rest

If you're a subscriber you will have Issue Two winging its way to you through the world's various postal services as we type - we very pleased with Issue Two and reckon it's good, damn good, so hope you enjoy it too. 

We're off away for a break for a while - no problem to order mags in the meantime using the links on the right or directly at www.italianmotormagazine.com - but they may take a little longer to turn round than the usual rapid time.

Back soon.

Musical interlude

Blogs are personal after all, and my scratched-up dog-ear-sleeved with one of the best record covers ever designed vinyl 45 of this song means so, so much to me..

Art of Racing

Italian graphic design has always been innovative, stylish and influential, so when you mix it with the imagery and design required for brochures, posters and print for racing motorcycles and cars, the results were usually fantastic. This is an original, and no doubt highly collectible, participant's programme for the 1952 Milano Taranto, and is typical of what was being designed.

More images of this stuff in Issue Two, out next week!!

Benelli Banter

Steven Salemi is hardcore Benelli barmy, and luckily for us he's also an excellent, quirky writer.

Read his great piece on the Benelli Volcano (what the hell's that, you might be asking?) in Issue Two of the magazine, which is having its coloured ink laid on the paper as we type, and read more about Benellis at Steve's great website of Benelli resources (and much humour) here: http://www.mybenellis.com and his blog here: http://askthebiker.wordpress.com

Italian Car and Bike show - and ferret racing - and local ale - and cream teas

I was down selling the mag at a great little show yesterday - Italian Bike and Car Day, attached to a country show, near Tonbridge Wells in Kent - and the odd mix worked, really well. The amount of stuff that turned out was impressive (better than some other 'bigger' events I've been too, and it was well organised and friendly. I enjoyed the Italian motors, the local ale and yakking to people generally, and my wife and daughter enjoyed the ferret racing (yes, an olde English pastime), cream teas, birds of prey, ducks, sheep dogs, geese herding etc. etc.; we all went home happy. We'll definitely be there next year. 

Here's some pics of what was there...(sorry, none of the ferrets)