Talk Morgan Forums Community The Malvern Arms Excuse to drive during lockdown

I had to go to the local chemist for a prescription yesterday and took out the morgan which had sat for two weeks.
It made me think what is - and is not - a legitimate reason for taking out a morgan in these circumstances. Has anyone else been struggling with this problem?

Whoops just seen the ‘essential morgan trips’ which asks the same question ‘essentially’.

I look at it as “What if”. By all means use the Morgan to go shopping but I totally disagree with people who take a long route there and back to do it. What if you have an accident? Just how many of our NHS and emergency services would that tie up? A bit selfish maybe?

Exactly I now do the direct route.

I use our 1962 Plus 4 as often as I can and in all weathers. They’re ‘built to last until the roads wear out’. When I joined the Morgan Car Club here in Auckland, New Zealand, someone advised me that they only put their soft tops up if the storm has a name ... like Cyclone Bella, or something. We pretty much follow that ‘ruling’. My YouTube footage in the Movie Forum under Morgan Plus 4 NZ has a clip headed RAIN for example. We all get older too quickly and one day may not even have the inclination to go for a drive in the Morgan parked up in the garage and gathering dust. Live for the moment I say. Stay safe and keep washing your hands (an overly repeated message down in these parts to counter the likelihood of contracting the Covid 19 virus ... which for us NZ’ers,, seems to be working).
Brian

At the moment, to keep me sane, I'm working on my chop in the garden. I'm using grinders, drills, welder etc. Should I stop as I could have an accident which would tie up emergency services?

Every 90 seconds someone injures themselves on the stairs in the UK, involving up to 250,000 trips to A&E a year - should we also stop using the stairs as well? Should I stop using my heating/hotwater in case my boiler breaks and I need to call out a repair man?

Trying to reduce the strain on the NHS is important, and to be honest, I want to be as far away from a hospital as possible at the moment, but we can't stay motionless on the sofa 'Just in case'.

Remember the 'don't travel unless essential' came from the Government, based in London, where I imagine 80% of travel is done either on crowded tubes, trains or buses. Perfect breeding grounds for the virus. I don't think there's much chance of a single occupant in a car catching/spreading the virus, and the amount of traffic on the roads is dramatically reduced so one could argue that there's never been a safer time to be out..

Clearly if a trip is genuinely essential and it needs to be done in a car, then objectively it makes no difference if the car used is a Morgan or anything else.

But this is about perception in the eyes of others. Regardless of the facts of the particular situation, driving a Morgan in times like this carries the risk of being interpreted as 'some rich bloke ignoring the rules out for a jolly' by some people - especially when they see reports of people being stopped for doing a 250-mile trip ostensibly to get some bread.

Personally, I wouldn't want to be responsible for such, so the Morgan stays at home. It's only once a week to the nearest shop for essential supplies, so it's a very short trip anyway so it's not like I'm missing much.

When the Morgan is my only car i have no choice

Or of course they might be thinking 'good idea to let the old girl stretch her legs on an essential shopping trip'.

There are those that will smile and wave, and those that think 'posh twat' whenever you go out driving in something perceived as a luxury car, even before the virus hit us. I don't let the 'possible' opinions of strangers dictate my actions.

(saying that, I've not been out the house for two weeks now, as I haven't had to make any essential journeys. However i am looking forward to my shift at work on the 20th when I can do a 50mile round trip)