Young Beatniks at Eel Pie Island, Twickenham, SW London

Aug. 08, 1967 - a rendezvous for the young-at-heart to act, feel and dress without restriction: A Beatnik mate? a bearded 17 year old youth in knitted olive-green sweater was answering my lead they're very generous. Any one of them will give you the Monkey off their back. With that he guffawed beer and vinegar fumes in my face, snapped his fingers in self appreciation of his repartee and walked over the Eel Pie Island bridge to buy another round of fish n chips. Dressed in a dark suit and wearing a tie I was conspicious in my non-comformity during a visit to this Twickenham-based rendezvous for what those in the know call Ravers'. It is a small island, hardly big enough for the dozen or so houses let alone the hotel. The hotel that was disused for years before the Ravers took it over. The hotel that throbs and bounces to the beat of traditional jazz. The hotel that recently was a focal point for negotiations on Britain's first gambling casino. They pour over the footbridge to pay their twopence toll charge and their five shillings membership fee to the Eel Pie Clan. Already filled to capacity with 7, .000 members and a two-month waiting list. But even beards, sandals, bulky sweaters and hip talk, these youngsters could hardly be called members of the beat generaion as would-be teenage analytics proclaim. Rather, they are young people out for a laugh, something different to spend their increased allowances on to be different from ordinary dance-hall addicts, to joke about what they appear to be. It is because they joke about themselves that these youngsters are transparent in their views and are not doing any harm to anyone or anything except, perhaps, the dance floor they so energetically stomp upon. So all you heavy-lidded females and your bearded tight-jeaned accomplices carry on. Enjoy yourselves and have a good time. Photo shows putting on the style. a couple in traditional dress live it up in sandals while in the background a girl is obviously not interested in the verbal goings-on in her ear

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7000 Accomplices Addicts Allowances Answering Anyone Anything Appear Appreciation Bearded Beards Beatnik Bounces Bulky Capacity Chips Clan Dance-hall Disused Doing Dozen Energetically Enough Except Feel Filled Fingers Focal Footbridge Fumes Generous Hardly Harm Increased Interested Joke Knitted Mate Membership Negotiations Obviously Ordinary Perhaps Pour Proclaim Rather Ravers Rendezvous Restriction Sandals Shillings Snapped Spend Stomp Sweaters Themselves Theyre Toll Transparent Two-month Twopence Verbal Vinegar Walked Would-be Yourselves

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