I find in my spheres of interest that there appears to be a generational shift and that us 45 years old plus chaps are not in that shift.
Classic cars, classic yacht racing and yep, classic SxS guns are all followed by the older age group. There are, of course, exceptions and some younger fellows who have developed a keenness for our passions, usually passed down by their father or other relative.
Alongside this though, we have noticed that the younger generations are less likely to belong to clubs and sadly less likely to volunteer. It appears that they find in social media what we found from being members of a club. The human element of camaraderie, friendship and fellowship is less important to that younger generation than it is to ours. We have seen decreasing memberships in classic car clubs, sailing clubs, tennis clubs, golf clubs as well as in younger folk willing to step forward to help in the running of them.
The best we can hope for, I suspect, is that as the generations age they will appreciate what we do now. Thus I hope there will be a continuing interest in 'our' guns, that people will come forward who cherish, admire and maintain them.
Tim
