by
Tim Britton
The rise of the Ace Café,
on London’s North
Circular, has been well
documented since Mark Wilsmore
set about its restoration.
Tim Britton points his Triumph
south and joins the café
society.
Above
left: DJ Glenda –
The Big Bounce. Above
middle: All the way
from Naples in Italy, Antonio
Affinito is proud of his
1969 Norton SS. Above
right: ‘If you
want to get ahead, get a
hat!’ Some Dogs lead
singer ‘Mystic Dog.’
I could see it but I couldn’t
get to it - story of my
travelling life, really
- I’d been so many
times round the Hanger Lane
roundabout that pedestrians
thought I was remote controlled.
Eventually I pulled over
and asked just how to get
there. “Ayce Caff?
You wanna be off d’
ferd exit, ‘en first
left, mate, parst the toya
place.” Ah, right,
I can see the way now.
I’d been wanting to
get to the Ace for long
enough, even to a Northerner
like me the place has a
mystique about it, but it
seemed that every time I
planned to go, something
cropped up. Anyway, I bumped
into Mark and Linda Wilsmore
during the Coupe Moto Legende
at Montlhéry last
May and they said “...stop
dithering and get down for
the Rockers Reunion Run.
It’s a great weekend,
we’ve got bikes, bands,
DJs and then the run to
Brighton on the Sunday.”

Best get me finger out and
get down there, thinks I.
Which is why I’m up
and down the North Circular
on a red hot Saturday morning.
Going in the right direction
at last I joined a queue
of bikes being directed
by event marshalls, to be
told “... ’60s
bikes on the forecourt,
mate, there’s a couple
of spaces left right in
front of the caff.”
As I pulled onto the already
packed forecourt, with the
heady sound of rock ‘n’
Roll blasting out from the
sound system, I thought
‘wow! Is this what
it was like 40 years ago?’
Well the answer is ‘no’
actually, as I was told
by Brian Beasley –
the owner of a very nice
late ’60s Bonnie and
a regular attendee to the
Ace in the ’60s. “It’s
much better now than ever
it was back then. The Ace
was just a transport café
and one of the few places
we could go with our bikes.”

The
Rocker scene is an international
thing, this happy bunch
are from the Road Rocket
Club in Holland.
Transport Café it
may be, but also movie location.
And 2003 is the 40th anniversary
of the Leather Boys film
that centred around the
café in the early
’60s, many Ace regulars
of the time appeared as
extras. To celebrate the
anniversary Gillian Freeman,
who wrote the original book
and screenplay, was invited
along to the reunion. Gillian
was up on stage, being interviewed
by Mark Wilsmore, and joined
by Colin Campbell and Dudley
Sutton, stars of the film,
who entertained the crowd
with anecdotes from the
production. Says Dudley:
“Really it should
have been called ‘The
Plastic Boys’ as the
company wouldn’t pay
for leather jackets.”