Cancelled Sub

[Guest PHIL ZERA]

Just read comments on my cancelled sub. Ads keep cover price down? Methinks the policy is more probably - cram in more ads to make more profit, print long, extremely boring letters to fill space, take no risks, be consensual etc. Take out the ads and what you're left with is a very slim, overpriced, badly written newsletter. Unfortunately,this criticism also applies to all the other motorhome mags. Is it a reflection on the type of person that motorhoming attracts?

[Guest Derek Uzzell]

You've been too quick off the mark. As a result of earlier criticisms I understand that Warners have already commissioned Gordon Ramsay to do a series of articles in his inimitable style called "Forking around France in a Frankia". Other celebs will also be contributing (eg. Julian Clary - a well known camper). Watch this space for more hot, Hot, HOT news about the new-look MMM.

[Guest martin]

Another double take - I nearly fell for it ... nice one Derek!

[Guest Dave Newell]

Well Phil, thanks for the vote of confidence "....badly written newsletter. Unfortunately,this criticism also applies to all the other motorhome mags.". You have every right to vote with your wallet as you are doing but why slag off genuinely hard working writer's efforts? Have you ever had anything published? If you thiink it's all so terrible why not put forward your suggestions for improving the content? The "extremely boring" letters are written by genuine motorhome users and whilst not all of them are Poet Laureats, they are just giving their views and opinions on things. By all means cancel your sub to this and any other mag you might have taken but there's no need for personal attacks on the writers. Dave Newell.

[Guest Mel B]

Totally Agree with Dave Newell. The magazine and forum aren't the only benefit of buying MMM. I've had invaluble help from members of the MMM team, especially "Interchange George" when we had problems with our camper's clutch shortly after we bought it and more latterly with the fire we had in it last year. On both occasions he rang me up to offer advice and help, what a lovely chap. What I've gleamed both off the forum and in the mag has been invaluable and the amount of info that is available for what is really a small fee is, I feel, very much worthwhile. Where could you could find out about some of the bits and pieces that appear in the mag and on the forum ... then think of the amount of time you would have to spend finding this info out elsewhere. Phil, if you don't like the mag or forum that's fine but please bear in mind that for some of us it gives us access to a lot of information on a variety of areas to do with motorhoming, that we couldn't easily access anywhere else. If you've ever tried writing a piece for a magazine, newsletter or whatever, you'll know just how much time and research it can take to do even a small article so please don't belittled the efforts of others, some of us need all the help we can get!

[Guest Brian Kirby]

Like all the knockers and moaners, he's long on spin and short on substance. What, specifically, is it you don't like Phil? Tell us. We may even agree! Generalised gripes amount to no more than "I don't like that". No help to anyone, editors, contributors or readers. I didn't buy MMM expecting to read literature (sorry Guys and Gals!) just reasonably factual account of the motorhomes and their problems and uses. That, more or less, I get. OK, some write better than others, but that's part of the charm. What comes through is the person writing, not always a sophisticated, worldly wise intellectual - but really, would that be appropriate in a piece about motorhomes? Sartre would doubtless have trashed the whole notion! The letters amaze me - sometimes they leave me wondering why, but they do get printed - huge great wandering monologues, that go precisely nowhere included, sometime extending to a full page. If you start editing those out, you'll loose so much more to the "style police", who are presently so refreshingly absent. I'm sure some are censored, but you don't have to read the really boring ones and without them there wouldn't be the same sense that the letters, at least, are written by real people, warts and all, rather than advertising copywriters. It ain't perfect, but one person's vision of perfection isn't the same as the next person's. Don't believe me - look in a mirror! Regards :-) Brian

[Guest Patrick Wiinks]

Hi, I have been a motorcaravanner for 30yrs on and off and I have bought MMM since 1985 though only been a subscriber for 4yrs. Yes it does have a lot of ads now especially from two or three big dealers but I still fret if it doesn´t arrive on time and I learn a lot from every issue.When I return after the winter in the south I have four or five "back" issues to catch up on, pure joy. Some articles are more like a travel brochure and one or two writers leave me seeking the whisky bottle but even in these catergories I still learn something. As for the standard of English I am buying a motorcaravan magazine not a grammar book and I don´t like editing such for the sake of correctness, the writer has used his words to convey his meaning and as long as it is passable and not abusive thats fine by me. MMM is still the best by a long chalk, long may it continue.

[Guest Peter Sharpe]

If anyone thinks they can take up the challenge of reviewing used caravans and motorhomes, then please get in touch with me via peters@warnersgroup.co.uk I specifically require people to visit dealers in the Devon and Cornwall region for Caravan, Motorhome & Camping Mart. As has been hinted at elsewhere, you can hardly expect to walk into a dealership and then proceed to vent your personal grievances against their stock. You have to get round this by selecting caravans or motorhomes that have at least a few appealing features, about which you are able to present a largely positive report. Known design faults can be pointed out, as can your own suggestions for improvement. There are a few absolute stinkers out there (although luckily, not really all that many), but they have to be condemned by omission in this kind of writing. I know that it would be enormously satisfying to rip certain products to shreds, but there are commercial restraints, not to mention possible legal repercussions. If you are lucky enough to be in a position to review brand new products (as in MMM and Which Motorcaravan) you can afford to be more critical, but even then, you will be expected to provide positive suggestions for improvement. Most manufacturers will welcome such criticism, as the review models are often prototypes and subject to further modification before going into production. It would have to be an almost uniquely terrible motorhome to be condemned outright and the editorial stance would tend to be one of suggesting to the manufacturer that it would be in their interests if their product simply did not appear in the magazine. Jeremy Clarkson seems to be able to get away with it, but only within the pages of national newspapers whose wealth, power and influence allow them to be fearless of the consequences.

[Guest Richard S]

I enjoy reading MMM and get cross if it is delayed. I have been taking it on and off since about 1989.I think the standard of English is pretty good, much better than the sloppy solecisms you find on many websites, and I really appreciate dimensions being given in imperial as well as metric units. Without the ads the mag would probably cost upwards of £10, so keep up the good work!

[Guest Mel B]

As far as I can tell, MMM is the most "accurate" of all the motorhome mags out there in terms of quality of presentation and text. Yes, occasionally you may get an odd word spelt wrong or the wrong photo but not like a lot of the competition. I must admit that finding spelling errors in mags is a real annoyance, one of the motorhome mags is always doing it, to the extent that I no longer subscribe to it. If they can't be bothered to runs a spell-checker through their articles to pick up what are usually daft spellings, then I'm not going to try to work out what is being said. The exception is Andy Stothert's usually very wry articles (and his wonderful photos) where I'm sure he invents some words but they are usually a very good depiction of what he means!