SAD SAM

 

I have nothing at all against hobbies after all I have one or two of my own.

For some people hobbies are sports based like Golf, Angling or Sailing and with others it’s to do with numbers i.e. train spotters or Plane enthusiasts.

There are other forms of collecting such as Stamps, Coins or even insects.

Some people like model train sets or remote controlled vehicles or even kite flying.

Hobbies come in all types and forms and hobbyists come in all shapes and sizes most are harmless if a little boring and a few are obsessive but by and large they do no harm.

However there is always an exception that proves the rule, Car enthusiasts those feeble minded individuals suffering from a syndrome science hasn’t named yet.

These people have become, for reasons best known to themselves, fixated on a particular make of car like Morris Minor’s, Triumph Herald’s or the worst of all the Ford Capri.

Quite why they chose a particular make and model car is the big mystery although personally I think it’s probably something to do with their first or only sexual experience.

Now your typical enthusiast will buy a reasonably conditioned and priced specimen and fix it up with the more halfhearted collector using replica parts to do the job.

But the really obsessed, those beyond hope, have to use original parts for which they are prepared to pay through the nose.

Then when the vehicle has been painstakingly restored they put it in the garage and cover it with blankets only taking it out 3 or 4 times a year to admire it.

Once a year they might actually drive the thing to a rally in order to show it off to other like-minded Sad Sam’s.

When they are not at work restoring or stood back admiring their prized possessions they are indoors pawing over back issues of “What Car” or “Auto Trader” while abusing themselves.