Total MX-5 – July 2019

Summer 2019 | TOTAL MX-5 |^3

FIRST WORDS

Editor

Brett Fraser

07941 367823

[email protected]

Art Editor

Alison Buckland

Managing Editor

Steve Bennett

[email protected]

North American Correspondent

Matt Stone

mattstonerama.gmail.com

Contributors

Michael Cleverley, Peter Nunn, Tim

Blackwood, Jonathan Glen, Dan

Sherwood, Dave Smith, Simon Fox,

Louis Yio, Jr Sang, Takeshi Tsutsuki,

and our splendid readers

Special thanks to

Vince Bickers at Cleverley Repaired

Cars, Iain Fleming of the MX5OC,

Sharron Livingston, Peter Simpson,

Paul Ellis of the David Manners Group

Advertising Sales

Peri Smith

01233 228753

[email protected]

Production

Liz Smith

[email protected]

CHPublications Ltd

PO Box 75, Tadworth, Surrey KT20 7XF

Tel: 01883 731150

Email: [email protected]

Administration

Sandra Househam

Accounts: Bev Brown

Subscriptions

Tel: 01778 392026, Email:

[email protected]

Website: totalmx-5.com

Managing Director

Clive Househam

Worldwide Stockists

To find your nearest stockist

UK: seymour.co.uk/storefinder

N America:

magfinder.magnetdata.net

RoW: [email protected]

For single copies and subscriptions:

totalmx-5.com

Digital copies and subscriptions:

pocketmags.com

Total MX-5 is distributed worldwide

by Seymour Distribution Ltd. Tel: 020

7429 4000, [email protected]

Printed in England by

Walstead Roche Ltd

(^) Total MX-5 is entirely independent of Mazda
Motor Corporation, Mazda Motors UK Ltd and
its dealers, and of any club or association.
© CHPublications Ltd, 2019. ISSN: 2398-
While all due care is taken in compiling
Total MX-5, the publisher, staff and
contributors cannot be held responsible for any
effects arising therefrom
MX 555
TOTAL
NO 12 SUMMER 2019
I
n the forums recently I saw an
interesting thread about the value
of an MX-5 for your wellbeing. You
can’t help but have noticed that
wellbeing is a ‘thing’ these days, and
quite a big thing, with manifold paths
to achieving it. Normally these paths
will lead you to a therapist, or a spa,
healthy food perhaps, or a cuddle with
a dog or a cat or a horse.
But I’m enamoured of the notion that
for people like you and me,
petrolheads and MX-5 fans, meddling
with our cars and taking them out for a
blast on an empty winding road is a
means to our own personal inner
fulfilment. Non-car folk simply aren’t
going to get that, so if the same
thought has crossed your mind, be
careful of who you share it with. But to
me it makes perfect sense.
Example. This issue of Total MX-
was in serious danger of not making it
to the printer. A software glitch had
plagued my computer all week and
resisted all attempts to resolve it.
When I should have been writing
stories and taking
pictures, instead I was
waiting for my Mac to
reboot for the umpteenth
time, with little prospect
that it had cured the
problem. Eventually we
cracked it, but not until
4.00pm on a Friday.
Frustrated by this
ridiculous delay to the
magazine’s production, I jumped into
my mk1 for half an hour to change the
scenery. I went for less than a mile to
snatch some pictures of it and do you
know what? By the time I stepped out
with the camera, a calm had
descended upon me. I was smiling.
I looked back towards the car and just
felt so pleased that I own it.
The annoyances of the previous five
days faded to a distant memory. It was
great. I guess you could buy a few
therapy sessions for what my MX-
has cost me to buy and run, but I
reckon I get a far greater sense of
wellbeing sitting behind the steering
wheel at 60mph, than I would from
lying on a couch talking about my
childhood to a stranger...
We try our best in Total MX-5 to
bring you the best quality
photography that we can, and I’ve
noticed in recent times that some
cracking pictures are cropping up on
the forums and Facebook groups, too.
We’re biased, of course, but we reckon
that a photograph is best when you
see it in print. So we want
to encourage all you
budding snappers to send
us your most creative shot
of an MX-5, and we’ll print
our favourite each issue in
the back of the mag. Look
at our new Photobooth slot
on page 82 for inspiration:
you’ll also see how to
submit your pictures.
Brett Fraser, editor
[email protected]