2021 – Against All Odds, It Was Still Great

Despite everything, 2021 has been a pretty good year for getting out and about and seeing all manner of wonderful classics. And I think, after a particularly bleak 2020, it was what we needed. 2021 might not have been subject to the sort of free movement we were once used to in a pre-covid world, but it opened up enough to be able to get out there, to see cars, friends and places and as such, it was a welcome shot in the arm. Which is fitting in a year of everyone getting shots in the arm for other things. I know for a fact that I needed it, I needed to get out there and see the world a little bit. I needed to top up my enthusiasm for old cars by spending time in the company of them and their owners.

The first outing I went to was the rather brilliant Festival of the Unexceptional, an event I had never been to before. I had seen show reports from earlier events, but I was taken aback by the event in person. I took my side project, a 1996 Citroën ZX Volcane, and rocked up to the impossibly fancy venue of Grimsthorpe Castle and then promptly spent the day not looking at it. Why? Because I was distracted by the cars. This show does something no other does; it celebrates and welcomes the underdog. It is a place where the most lowly, unappreciated of cars can be in the spotlight. And because these long forgotten cars are the focus of everyone’s attention, the whole event becomes a welcome trip down memory lane. This event is full of cars your neighbours had, cars that used to litter streets but that have since disappeared, cars your dad’s mate, John, had. Cars that were woven into the fabric of our lives. These cars, because of that, carry far more clout than a show full of E Types and Healeys.

The other brilliant thing about FOTU is the way it welcomes younger enthusiasts. They can bring their £750 cars along and be a legitimate part of the show. They can mingle and make friends with other young enthusiasts, and as such, they feel empowered and motivated. There is no exclusion here, just celebration. For young people navigating the world of classic cars, this is a powerful event. The cars might not be high end or worth more than four quid, but that’s not the point. If you’re still unsure, just go along in 2022. You’ll soon see what I’m talking about. And I promise you, you will have a brilliant day.

I also made it to Retro Rides Gathering 2021 at Shelsley Walsh. This is a show I have been going to since 2007 and I love it. But this year was special, as I managed to take my beloved Rover 800 Vitesse. It was, in four years, the furthest I had driven it. For me, the event was great not just because of the people and the cars, but because the car I had built managed to get there without, you know, exploding. But don’t worry, you don’t need to have a Rover 800 in order to enjoy it. Retro Rides celebrates the modified, the classic, the custom and the racy. The show is full of everything, from ratty Renaults to powerful Porsches. It’s all things to all enthusiasts, and with a hill climb and time attack to enjoy, there was plenty of action, too.

Finally, we have the 2021 NEC Classic Motor Show. This is an event we as a group had missed dearly. The NEC show is one a great many of us commit to our diaries in ink. Thousands of cars, a live stage, auctions, trade and parts stalls, it has it all. And this year, back after a Covid-enforced break, it was better than ever. I was there with my 800, by then freshly painted, and I was blown away by the show. It had a new, refreshed energy, it was more ‘alive’ than it had been years before. It seems the year away had been good for it. It was also, on a personal level, a wonderful weekend for me. I look at my car, as I’m sure you do with yours, as a list of stuff I need to do. I never sit back and look at how far it has come, or how nice it is now. In fact, I don’t consider it nice at all. It’s still a project in my head. However, after the NEC, and after endless positive comments about it, I felt renewed. I felt motivated and inspired to do more with it, to make it better, to drive it more and to actually enjoy it. That’s the power of getting out to events, other people who share in your passion can motivate you.

What I’m saying with all this is that while 2021 was a difficult year, still reeling and still reacting to an unprecedented global pandemic, it was good to capitalise on the opportunities that did poke through the mire of cancelled events and restrictions. Not for showing off, not for ego, but for validation and motivation. I, and I’m sure many of you, needed that. Tinkering on your classic at home is fine, but it can become a lonely affair without events or even local meets. And in that loneliness, we can find exasperation and frustration that can ultimately lead to us losing our passion. And we don’t want that. So, what I’m saying is that while the world is still a very strange, frustratingly restrictive place at the moment, make the time for you and your classic if you can. Get to a show, see people, drive your car. It’s good for you, it’s food for the soul. And we all need a bit of that right now.

I’ll see you in 2022.