Welcome
As I write this in early February, amid the snow and freezing weather, I can’t help but wish that spring would hurry up and appear. In between snowfalls, I’d started to notice the flowering snowdrops and the green shoots of bulbs emerging in the garden. Those early signals of the approaching spring always bring a sense of hope.
That’s a word that has been on everyone’s lips over the past year and, while certain aspects of the hobby and craft industry have been booming during the pandemic, there are other areas that have definitely suffered. Exhibitions are an obvious casualty, but model railway clubs have also faced huge challenges.
With members unable to meet in person and club rooms shut (but rents and utility bills still to pay), committee members have had to adapt quickly to the situation. Like the adoption of virtual exhibitions, it has been interesting to see how clubs have managed to keep their existing members engaged and, in some cases, even attract new faces.
Free trial memberships and online journals, plus Zoom courses and seminars, are just some of the tools being employed by enterprising societies such as the Manchester and Twickenham & District clubs, to name just a few. Indeed, I’m looking forward to attending a few of these online talks myself in the coming weeks.
That’s one of the things I love about this hobby, the fact that innovation isn’t limited to the big model brands who have large marketing budgets and the latest manufacturing technology at their disposal.
Rather, innovation goes on all the time at grassroots – and the individual – level. It takes a lot to stop us modelling!