Jolly Good minigun by Tigger

John has sent in photos of his extensive collection which included this Jolly Good minigun made by Tigger Newling and inscribed to his brother in foreign script. I thought the board was interesting enough to bring tigger in on it and see what he remembered about the board - which is usually a good idea as he's always keen to see his old shapes. The board is 7 ft x 18 3/4 and most likely to be a travel board judging by the inscription - 'pour mon frere pour les cylindricos da kine juice minigun' which is a right old mixture of Tigger speak. I think this is only the second Jolly Good we've had on the blog, they're pretty scarce as were only made for a year, between Tigger's return from Hawaii in 1975 where he worked at Lightning Bolt , and his emigration to Australia in 1977 where he's remained since.

Heres what Tigger said on seeing the photos-


'That is a really nice looking board. In good condition by the look of it with the exception of a bit of damage around the fin. I vaguely remember making it but not whether it was for Mike Newling, but could just possibly be for an unrelated 'brother'. Actually that would be one of the last boards I made in the UK. I wrapped up the board business about the end of 1976 I think and headed for Australia in January 1977. Mike actually left earlier - late 1976 - but obviously did not take this board with him.
The rather dumb french/spanish/hawaiian inscription means:
For my brother a minigun for tubes/ juicy waves.
Technical Advice: Owl means I am acknowledging some Design inspiration from an Owl Chapman/Dick Brewer Hawaiian minigun I liked.


I was interested to see the Jolly Good and Tig decals on the same board. I thought I must have started re-using the Tig decal during the jolly good period (which are much later boards) and this board proves it by having both on the same board. I may have scratched out the shaper and glasser details on the jolly good sticker because it was not glassed at Tris Surfboards but finished completely by me, not just shaped. The Jolly Good concept was that I shaped and John Manetta and the guys at Tris Surfboards laminated and finished. That arrangement may have finished by September 1976, or this was a one-off special for my brother, keeping costs down, by finishing it myself. Great that it has survived, represents the best work I did. '

So although Tigger is stoked to see the board again, its not definite that it was made for his younger brother Mike, who also ripped and became a top club surfer on moving to Oz.

Then Jon came back with some new info on where he'd got the board - it came from an old mate of Tigger's, Mark Rees who apparently was given it by Mike Newling and he surfed it alot in France and Spain. Mark had kept it until two years ago, and the board has spent its life within a few miles of where it was made, St Merryn in Cornwall.
On hearing the name Mark Rees it helped Tigger place the board a bit more accurately-
'I certainly remember Mark Rees very well, the Rees family were neighbours at Treyarnon Bay and close surfing buddies and friends of Mike and I.
It certainly sounds like I made the board for Mike for a trip to France and Spain. We used to go down to compete in the European Championships at Hossegor, and surfed Mundaca etc. That's a perfect board for Mundaca!'

And even better than that, by luck Tigger pulled the photo below out of his old photos box. It shows a beautiful array of Jolly Goods and in the middle is the Mike Newling minigun !

'The shot is of the Reese family cottage at Treyarnon Farm and shows all their boards laid out in the front garden. It certainly confirms that Mark Rees owned the board at this time.
All the boards were made by me and many have those beautiful Nancy Dinmore spray designs. - the three Reese Brothers were some of my best customers!
The shot is a bit of a time capsule: Love the Ford Anglia, dead steamer and battered logger on the rubbish bin. Really captures Cornwall 1976. '

Thanks to Jon and Tigger for helping put all this together

Owl Chapman minigun, mid 70s courtesy of Surfboardline.com

Tigger 1976 Watergate bay open

Mike Newling mid 70s. Photos Alex Williams