AMY SHORE

LIFE LESSONS With Amy Shore / Photographer / Business Owner

Learning things as a grown up is usually far more enjoyable than being forced to retain algebra rules whilst sat in the back of widely feared Mrs Wilcox’s class in school. Yes, we learn crucial life skills when we are young such as the ability to use a spoon (thanks, Mum) but some of the more defining lessons are often not taken until we forget that we’re still learning at all. The biggest differences are that we now have grown-up-money and more of an idea of what we enjoy in life.

So you enjoyed driving fast in your pedal car as a kid? Well now you can practice driving big, grown up cars on big, grown up race tracks. You enjoyed riding your bike up and down your grandma’s street in the summer? Well now you can ride an 1800cc BMW R18 to visit her. The Victoria sponge cake is just as good, but I can’t deny the motorbike doesn’t help the waistline like the bicycle used to.

Then it comes to things that you didn’t expect to learn. These things can either be good or bad, or both. These things are often the most valuable of lessons as they

are forced upon us. We either have to put on our Superman socks and figure them out, or curl up onto our side in a foetal position, drinking wine through a straw. Just imagine how that would actually work for a moment as it is both sad yet amusing.

Well, one thing I certainly didn’t expect to ever be learning whilst I was panicking that Mrs Wilcox was going to see that I didn’t have a clue if the answer was 2y=c or 4c=24, was how to run a classic Jaguar workshop. I’m a freelance photographer, not a manager of employees and cars worth eye-watering amounts. Or at least until August last year that was the case. I used to simply worry about when my next flight was and if I’d packed enough pants. Now I worry about whether I can fit a full E-Type floor into the boot of my X-Type estate (I can) or if I can find

additional mechanics to hire (I can’t). Then there are the bigger lessons to learn, such as how to keep our existing staff safe and happy. How do I manage my time between two full time businesses and still have time to rest. I’m still working on the second one. I’m sure Dave is happy to continue welding just with his eyes shut.

Opening this workshop has been, by far, one of the scariest things I have ever done in my life. More than wing walking atop a biplane, more than stalling mid-air in mid loop in an aerobatic plane, more than nose diving whilst spinning towards the ground in a helicopter - maybe I should just avoid things that involve flying from now on.

The day that my partner, William, and I decided we were going to take the plunge, our only working vehicle was a 1974 MGB GT, Will had just £400 in his bank account and a single tool. We hadn’t been an item for even a year at this point and due to the pandemic, we hadn’t even been to the cinema together. But here we were, about to pool resources of knowledge and finances, and start a Jaguar restoration and servicing workshop. Bloody bonkers. But hey, we knew it would be a very valuable lesson, whichever way the success went.

Upon writing this, we are now 296 days in and In that time, we have got a couple more of our cars working, went to the cinema together for the first time and have created a workshop which currently houses 18 vehicles, 12 of which are Jaguar E-Types, three of those OBLs. Every day is still scary as we chase invoices and hunt for parts, and we are certainly both still learning. I imagine we will have some very harsh lessons still to learn, but also plenty of positive lessons, too.

Before we started, we agreed jointly that even if it all goes wrong, we will still be glad that we have given it a go. It’s funny really - whether a decision is bravery or stupidity is usually dependant on the outcome of the act. I’m going to give it a little while longer before I conclude on which this particular lesson is. So far, it’s my favourite lesson yet.