Danny Hopkins says keep supporting our specialists
By anyone’s measure, we live in truly extraordinary times. But as the world goes into lockdown and our lives are put on hold I am more thankful than ever for what I have, what we have. A passion for older cars and an interest in fixing them. When he founded Practical Classics in 1980, Paul Skilleter had no idea the impact the magazine would have. He did know, however, that there were plenty of people like him out there. There still are.
But here’s a heartfelt plea from me. When this nightmare is over, and it will pass, and we are all back out there and enjoying our classics again, let’s make sure we still have that army of specialists to keep us going. How do we ensure that happens? Don’t stop working on your cars while the lockdown is in place and DO keep ordering parts and tools. If you have the funds, it makes perfect sense to do those jobs you have been putting off right now.
None of us are going anywhere for a bit – and even when we aren’t part of an international emergency, selfisolation and social distancing are absolutely part of the remit when you lock yourself away with your classic. Frankly, our hobby is designed for this kind of crisis, so lets all keep on doing it. By keeping the supply lines up and running, we can ensure that the specialists we all use (and need) are still there when this is all over. Now is a really good time to get stuff ordered up. Next day deliveries are currently still available, too.
Our hobby is served by a huge interconnected business network. The economies supplied by the scale of that network makes what we do viable and way cheaper than it would otherwise be. So, let’s support it if we can, so it will still be supporting us in a year’s time.