[ScorpiusWireless]

As advocates for the hobby we are at our best when we support each others’ genuine endeavours, and maintain respect to others through honesty.

[KensRedZed]

As advocates for the hobby we are at our best when we support each others’ genuine endeavours, and maintain respect to others through honesty.

I saw the post that you deleted. I hope this wasn't brought on by my teasing you about your Mustang? I was only kidding.

[Dr_C]

As advocates for the hobby we are at our best when we support each others’ genuine endeavours, and maintain respect to others through honesty.

Well said!

[ScorpiusWireless]

or polishing the Stang.

Pics, or it doesn't exist. 

3” headers, 3” full race exhaust with Lund tune.
508HP

Very nice!

This was my ride before the old Camaro I'm driving now.

Very nice! What was in it? 
No I wasn’t offended even slightly. I love a good laugh.
And the old Camaro is a mint z28?
Pics or it didn’t happen.

[KensRedZed]

It was just a 4.6L GT = 300hp. It cornered well on those 19" inch Shelby wheels/tires/suspension.

The Camaro is a '96 SS/Z-28. Only 320hp (more than fast enough to get a speeding ticket). Cold air induction. Rare "two out the left" stainless steel exhaust system. One of 600 SS Camaro's in bright red with a glass T-roof.

   
   

[Henk]

Seeing pictures of these fast and beautiful cars is not exactly good for my mental health 

[woodcote]

Kevan’s post is a powerful reminder of just how tough life can be and how a hobby can be so important to keep us connected to those good feelings we have about ourselves. I know how important playing with toy cars is for my own mental health - and for many adults and young people I’ve met over the years.

Given all the positives to our mental health and self-esteem, why on earth do a small minority of people use the hobby to mock, bully and attack fellow hobbyists? It’s a crazy situation when the evidence is out there that people use these pastimes to escape from conflict and create a safe, creative space. Be kind.

If you want to dig deeper than the Hornby article, there has been a huge amount of research done in recent years looking at the importance of play for adults - and this is a good summary: https://nifplay.org/play-note/adult-play/

Much as I enjoy admiring people’s real-life wheels, I think Dr Freud would be most amused that a thread about mental health and self-esteem has turned into a sharing of muscle car pics 

However, here’s my Italian stallion for comparison…

   

[KensRedZed]

My humble apologies. I started this by saying "pics, or it doesn't exist". Scorpius merely complied. Nice Mustang!

Nice Alfa too!

What can I say? Cool cars of any scale brings out the kid in me. 

[Kevan]

I forgot to mention the 3 decades of living with Epilepsy, diagnosed when I was 21...released from a life sentence 34 years later after a visit to a Neuro specialist and what felt like viewing the world through a goldfish bowl for over 12 months as my brain recovered from all those years of daily medication.
Your brain changes as it ages, the Neuro specialist said I could have grown out of it 20 years ago!

I still had my hobby to eagerly look forward to every week but I can't say that part of my life was 'normal'.

I feel 'normal' now so can appreciate other folks mental heath problems, ones you can't see can sometimes be the most debilitating.

[JasonB]

Interesting topic.

I've never suffered from mental health problems myself, the nearest I came was when I was eleven, when my sister was knocked down and died in a car accident, and I knocked both of my front teeth out against the corner of a brick wall. I guess, moving into my teenage years, both of those events affected me deeply, but I think that was just natural sadness, anger, and a certain amount of embarassment at badly fitting false teeth when I was trying to talk to a girl.

I did work for five or six years in a care home for people with long standing, probably permanent problems. I only worked in the office, but it was a small care home, so I met everybody there, grew very fond of some of them, and I quickly realised that the problems they faced, had totally destroyed their lives.

Epilepsy must also be rough, we had a cat that had it. The first time it happened, I thought she'd been taken by the devil, her body was convulsing, her legs were stuck out at unfeasible angles, and she was bleeding from her mouth.

I learned to recognise the signs of an incoming episode, but all I could do was hold her and keep her out of danger whilst she pissed all over me.