MMM's arrived!

[Tony Jones]

My April copy dropped on the mat with a "clunk" yesterday - includes a whole bundle of promotional stuff from clubs, gadget suppliers ... and Timberland. When I find the actual mag I'll tell you what's in it!

[fred grant]

broke freds toe my luvvers. wood it be better weekly?

 

f

[colin]

This month WMC has the articles which may interest me *-)

[Hopesy]

Tony Jones - 2009-03-27 12:19 PM

 

My April copy dropped on the mat with a "clunk" yesterday - includes a whole bundle of promotional stuff from clubs, gadget suppliers ... and Timberland. When I find the actual mag I'll tell you what's in it!

 

going to save mine for Easter week when we're away in sunny Wales. :D

[Randonneur]

Tony Jones - 2009-03-27 1:19 PM

 

My April copy dropped on the mat with a "clunk" yesterday - includes a whole bundle of promotional stuff from clubs, gadget suppliers ... and Timberland. When I find the actual mag I'll tell you what's in it!

 

Ours has been arriving about the 15th of the following month but if there is that lot in April's edition then we might not get it until May's edition comes out. It used to arrive about 6/7th of the month so what is going on, we don't know.

[Guest Tracker]

Hopesy - 2009-03-28 9:37 AM

going to save mine for Easter week when we're away in sunny Wales. :D

 

Sunny Wales indeed - Oh I do so like an OPTIMIST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Guest Tracker]

Very informative booklet from Road Pro with this month's MMM - all the other advertising crap went straight in the bin as always.

 

I agree that this magazine is very samey every month and it needs a revamp with a lot more humour and a lot less 'look at what I've done and where I've been' from various regular and one off contributors.

 

A sites feature on where to stay for a fiver a night (or less) would be interesting too and make a refreshing change from the over priced sites designed for towers that continually get featured every month.

 

I do have to wonder whether it is still worth the subscription?

[rupert123]

Just back from skiing and quick look at my wifes MMM. Once again, as I said last month, only thing worth reading are Andy,s articles. Rest is same old boring re-hash, as had been said new thinking needed to liven it up a bit.

[Brian Kirby]

So, what would you discontents suggest - apart from a magazine tailored to your own particular tastes?  :-)

I like the travel bits, and I have generally found the various writers attempts at humour toe curlingly awful, so Tracker and I aren't going to find much in common there.  I like Andy's pictures, but do wonder just a bit why he wandered so far round Europe without (apparently) having worked out why he was going beforehand.  Now I'm for it!! :-)

I should value more critical insight into the various vans reviewed, but guess too much honesty might be commercial suicide.  (Against that, the only other magazine I regularly read, Le Monde du Camping-Car, hardly even makes even the mildest criticism of vans reviewed, even commenting favourably on 4 berth vans with 350Kg payloads - without even a hint that users might find 350Kg just a bit on the thin side, and they have never, so far as I can remember, made even the slightest comment on X250 reversing judder.)

I think the main problem is that it is a magazine that is about motorhomes, and what people do with them.  Motorhomes, by and large, don't change that much year on year, and what people do with them rather less.  Given the subject matter, after a few years, the content seems almost bound to become a little repetitive and predictable. 

However, when we were contemplating buying our first van I started reading MMM and, between reviews, Interchange, and the reader's letters, learned more than I had ever imagined possible from its pages.  It educated my selection, and helped me avoid many potentially expensive pitfalls along the way.  In that respect, I would suggest it is still about as good as it gets, and if that is all it achieves, its editors and contributors well deserve a pat or two on the back.  After all, we all have to start from somewhere, and whereas most of us will have been captivated by the idea of this tardis like mobile hotel suite, I would suggest few of us had any idea, initially, just what complexities might lie beneath that seductively simple concept.

After a few years experience, I agree, one can pretty much size up an unfamiliar motorhome, and spot its strengths weaknesses, but as a beginner?

[rupert123]

Brian, personally I am not discontented, after all I do not buy the thing, just making a comment. Even my wife and I disagree on the magazine, she does have a subscription so must find something in it. I sneak a quick browse and always read Andy's articles as his wanderings seem to be the similar to ours, I love the humor and gentle self mockery. He told me once he was a photographer not a journalist but although his pictures are ok,

it is his articles that stand out. As to what I would like to see, well I am not a writer and figure it is up to the contributors to come up with the right mix that entertains and informs. For example I read a recent article on the Orkneys, where we went last year. The article said nothing new just same old major few things to see, how about a few things not so well known. The writer gave no real hard facts on campsite prices or best ferry fares available to the islands or inter-island, very poor. Most travel articles in MMM are like this, no humour, few helpful facts, poor research just a boring monologue on writers journey.

[Brock]

I cancelled my subscription to Practical Motorhome two montha ago. I explained to the editor that the magazine had become boring. The quality of writing had reduced significantly, the content of some articles was as dull as ditchwater, and there was nothing to inspire me anymore. The editor did respond and we exchanged a number of emails which showed he understood the points I was making.

 

Compared to PM, MMM's a breath of fresh air.

 

Journalism is a profession. It is something at which Jeremy Clarkson is very proficient (appearing on Top Gear is not journalism and something he does that no longer interests me) if you read his full range of articles. Good quality journalists cost money and I doubt the market place for motorhomes will ever justify that spend. There are probably three or four really good motorhome journalists.

 

To keep costs down, we seem to rely on happy amateurs. The problem with that is unless we know them, or they hit on a topic that persoanlly interests us, they are not going to stimulate us.

 

People like Jeremy and Andy have worked hard over many years honing their journalism skills. It shows. People who write adhoc articles have not. And that shows.

 

To me, MMM manages to include a small number of really good, well written articles, many articles from fellow motorhomers that may or may not be interesting but bulk the pages, and enough advertisements to keep the cost bearable.

 

 

[colinfrier]

I tend to agree with most of Brian's points except any critisicm of Andy of course (cough cough)

I do wish we could get more honest test data and information on tests I had to have an X250 once I read the testers reports could have had same van on Renult for little more???.

I also think the letters page is the best source of info why dont they double the content its the first thing I look at and it cost them nout.

 

[Brian Kirby]

Well, it was only my opinion!  :-)

I first read Andy's jottings several years back, when he was writing for a photographic magazine that I think was called Practical Photography or similar.  Whether it is writing for a living that makes a person a journalist, or having some formal "qualification" in journalism, is a bit of a moot point. 

I can only say that those of the MMM contributors/staffers I have been (ahem) privileged to meet, all protested that they are not journalists but motorhome enthusiasts (anoraks, nuts, you choose) who happen to have let their passion get the better of their natural literary reticence.  In fact, when I mentioned journalism, just for a minute, I felt a lynching was imminent.  :-)

It can never hope to please everyone - were that possible we should only have one daily national newspaper (Pravda? ;-)), but we don't, we have about a dozen. 

We only have one MMM, so it has to try to please us all.  That, I think, explains why some find one thing interesting, which others think boring, some like the humour, which others find excruciating, some accept the writing as refreshingly unprofessional , which others find irritatingly ditto etc. etc.  But hey folks, it is an organ of great value to those of us stupid enough to think trailing round various countries in a tin box is a fitting pursuit for (mostly) grown adults!  Roll on No 519!