APRIL 2024 AFTERMARKET 61 www.aftermarketonline.net pandemic began to wind down. The pandemic itself obviously had a huge impact on the sector, and on what I was doing with Aftermarket. Being a remote-working shut-in with two small children, for me the lockdowns essentially felt like a never-ending half-term. I just closed my door to block out the noise from my family like always and ploughed on. For a moment though, it was unclear whether garages could stay open. When it was clarified that they could continue to operate, I felt it was important for garages in the sector to tell their stories, to explain how they were dealing with the situation, including the impact of the MOT exemption, which was felt for years afterwards. At the time, I also upped the rate of news I was posting on the website, and arguably shifted Aftermarket from being a print-first title to one with an online priority. With all the rule changes, it was important that the sector was kept informed and up-to-date. After a few months of trying to compete, at least in my head, with the BBC and major news networks, I did have to ease back a bit on that. Fortunately, by that time they were letting us out, and we were able to travel again, meaning that work on the mag could get back to normal. I didn’t go back to working how I did before entirely however. In the midst of all the madness I found new efficiencies that I was able to apply to the production of the magazine that I could keep rolling in the longer term. In many ways, my tenure on Aftermarket can be divided into the pre-pandemic era, and the post-pandemic epoch. Challenges That division is more about my approach than it is the issues though. While the market is evolving, and has changed in the last seven years, we are still facing the same challenges. Another good example of this would be the industry getting together to put up a united front against Government moves to change the MOT from the traditional 3-1-1 pattern and shifting it to a 4-1-1 or 4-2-2 form. Those of you that have been paying attention will be nodding and saying: “Yes Alex – you wrote about this last month, in the March issue when you covered the MOT consultation response.” True, but that isn’t the MOT 3-1-1 Vs 4-1-1/4-2-2 fight I was referring to. I was talking about 20172018, when we were having exactly the same conversation. It’s not all been arguments with Government though. Top Technician and Top Garage have also played a big part in my time on the magazine, and through these competitions I have been able to meet some of the most switched-on techs and businesses in the sector. Many of those who have won or taken part went on to write articles for the magazine, covering either technical or business issues, and I am glad to have helped so many nascent writers get published. I have also worked with a host of regular and semi-regular contributors. This chorus of sector voices has helped Aftermarket to truly represent the industry, its concerns and its ambitions. I won’t say who is my favourite, but I think I’ll miss Arthur Parkit from Teabreak the most. As for me, I’m heading off into the netherworld of industry PR. I’ll miss being the old dog in the Wolf Pack of mag editors covering the sector, but I’ll still be here. The only difference is I’ll be on the other side of the mirror. Thanks for reading and I wish my successor John Shepherd all the best.
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