Scrap to classic

By Kesara Ratnatunga

I was at the home of Yakoob Bin Ahamed, a 24-year-old whose first love is restoring vintage cars and getting them up and running. Locating them is a tough job, explains Yakoob. Most often they are found rusting away in somebody's backyard or garage, sometimes in more pieces than you knew a car had. The intelligence on the existence of these 'old crocks' filters through the grapevine and reaches the enthusiasts by word of mouth. Yakoob laughs as he relates how he went hunting for a car on a tip off, and ended up spending a whole day on a wild goose chase, only to find it at the end of the day when he happened to stop off at a boutique for a drink.

Lorries, 'Boom trucks' and Cranes are all standard requirements when carting off a car rescued from the scrap yard. Rarely is it that one of these jalopies is driven home. "I remember the time we took the Standard 8 home," says Yakoob referring to the first car he acquired when he was 18. "It went home in three Land Rovers." We shared a hearty laugh as he related how when they got the car home, his grandmother was horrified to see a dilapitated car being deposited in her flower bed. The Standard 8 is now a gleaming blue car in perfect running condition, a far cry from what it was before the four years of work Yakoob spent on it.

The 1937 Citroen Light 15 Big, nicknamed the 'Gangster Model' which is his latest project stood sorrowfully in a garage. As long as a pickup truck and probably much heavier, its body work was almost completely rusted over. The engine block could be lifted out of the bonnet and the only things holding the wheels to the car were a frugal number of nuts. The interior, which was originally intended to accomodate seven passengers in plush comfort, now looked like a war zone. The boot was crammed full with parts which were equally rusted that Yakoob had scrounged over the past year. It was beyond me how to even start thinking about restoring such a contraption.

Yakoob explains that the first thing to do is plan out what you are going to do. "Figuring out the mechanisms and what actually needs to be done to get them working is very important," he says. A lot of research is also done to get an idea of how the car worked and how it looked. The Internet has proven to be an invaluable tool in getting the information required to restore the car without having to compromise on its originality. "When we get a car to be restored, we always ask its former owner for any photographs." This is useful in getting the end result just right. Yakoob explains that they also link up with the various vintage car clubs overseas via the Internet to get details and help in obtaining parts.

Hunting for parts is an extremely difficult task. "You can go all around the country hunting for a particular part and return empty handed." Finding the correct part could take a very long time, persistent hunting and a lot of luck. "If we can't find what we need we turn them out at the lathe," says Yakoob. Many parts are modified from near matches and some are machined from scratch. Stories of makeshift engineering and 'baases' who toiled tirelessly to turn out parts to make the cars run just right, abound.

The actual restoration work is where the artistry comes in. Yakoob hand picks his mechanics, tinkers and painters to ensure that the workmanship is of the best possible quality. "I look at the person more than his work," says Yakoob "because it's the attitude that's the most important quality." Paying attention to detail, and giving a lot of thought and time to the work is what brings out the stylish elegance of these vintage cars.

The 1936 Riley sports convertible which Yakoob's uncle had restored was indeed a treat for the eye. When the car was wheeled out and the rag-top folded back, it looked spectacular. On top of its polished chrome radiator grill where a figurehead should be, was a stylised Boyce meter. It was directly connected to the inside of the radiator by a small metal pipe and its dial which indicated the water temperature was visible to the driver through the folding windscreen. 

This car made clear to me, the satisfaction and pride that drives these enthusiasts to spend so much of their time, money and effort in lovingly restoring and maintaining these masterpieces.

Time has taken its toll on the machinery though. Yakoob is full of anecdotes of breakdowns in crisis situations and makeshift unorthodox solutions. "It's all part of the fun and character of these cars," he says with a smile. 

However much attention has been paid to restoration, driving these cars is still an art to be mastered. A far cry from the 'user friendly' automotive engineering of today, these cars require "the driver to have an intimate relationship with them," says Yakoob. The smallest lack of communication between man and machine "will end up in trouble".

Gleaming chrome , shiny paint, wire wheels and leather seats, topped off with styling to kill for, the old hands at car design "really knew how to make a car look good". Keeping the soul of automotive history alive are the enthusiasts of today. Sparing no expense and doting on their 'charges' with an almost maternal love and affection, they are the 'family retainers' of the automotive nobility.

The truth about acne

As well-meaning as they are, however, much of what they say may be completely (or at lease partially) wrong.

Do any of these half-truths and myths sound familiar?

Half Truth - "Stay away from junk food, especially chocolate. It causes acne."

Actually, there is no proof the "junk food", including sweets has anything to do with acne. But your skin depends on nutrients to maintain itself in good condition. So try to stay on a healthy, nutritious diet.

Myth - "Blackheads are dirt."

Blackheads contain little, if any, dirt and their presence has nothing to do with your cleansing habits.

Half Truth - "Acne is strictly a teen disease."

Although acne is primarily a problem of the teen years, it isn't unusual for pre-teens as well as adults to have the condition.

Myth - "Sexual activity has a direct link to acne."

Contrary to the myth, sexual activity doesn't cause or lessen acne. However, sexual awareness and acne are both brought on by hormones.

Half Truth - "Just ignore it. It'll go away on it's own."

It's true that acne, over time, will most likely go away with or without treatment by the late teens or early twenties.But it may continue or even worsen into the adult years. And even if the condition itself disappears at age nineteen, it may leave scars that last a lifetime.

Early treatment can prevent or at least minimize both physical and emotional scarring.

Win super prizes from the Neutrogena range, by filling in the coupon and mailing it to reach us on or before August 14 , on a postcard to:

Neutrogena Quiz
C/o Mirror Magazine
P.O. Box 1136
Colombo

Winners are kindly requested to collect their prize from: The Neutrogena Shop

Crescat Shopping Complex
75, Galle Rd
Colombo 3

They are requested to first telephone 075 522238 before calling over at the office.

Our lucky Neutrogena winner is: 

Mrs. Beatrice De Silva
19A, Siri SubhadraramaMawatha,
Makuluwa,
Galle

Neutrogena's new product

The Neutrogena Fine Fairness Essence is an advanced skin treatment that helps improve fairness and clarity of the skin.

Containing Retinol which is Vitamin A in its purest form, the cream is billed as helping those with uneven skin tone by lightening dark spots and refining the appearance of large pores and rough skin. 

It also contains sunscreen to minimise the effects of too much exposure to the sun. Like all Neutrogena products it is fragrance free, hypo allergic and dermatologist tested.

Dr. Luxman Rana-singhe also spoke at the launch.

Living through goodbyes

By Chatura Randeniya

Leaving school is when even the toughest kid breaks down, because few of us are strong enough to hold back the tears when we part from the people we've shared so much with.

The first place where we form bonds at is our home, the first people, our parents. As time goes on, we meet new people to form ties with- at school, university, the workplace, and these usually have a shorter life span. Bonding this way comes very easily to us. Sociologists will tell you that's because Man is a social creature. We feel the need to be part of a group, we need to hang around people whom we can tolerate, and who in turn can tolerate us. 

As Malinda (19) says, "You feel a sense of belonging and acceptance for who you are when you're with friends." So at a very basic level, it is a matter of survival.

Scientific explanations apart, people, especially friends, are a big part of our lives. Ask any school-leaver about their college days, and the first reference will be to friends, teachers and even the minor staff. The same is true of the young adults who have recently changed jobs.

It's not just people either. The place, its atmosphere and even its furniture are all things we get attached to. Forming ties is necessary and even fun. But with it comes the inevitable pain of parting. 

"I was devastated when I left school. I felt very insecure about myself afterwards," says Malik, who left school two years ago. Since then, he has started university; "Then I realised it wasn't the end of the world and there are other people out there whom you can relate to." 

Malik's story is very common, simply because that's the way things are. Even though we convince ourselves that we'll never fit in anywhere else or meet people like the ones we left behind, we find ourselves adjusting to the new environment pretty well.

Some of us, however, form such close ties, that moving on is too great a risk and we choose not take the next great opportunity, perhaps a better job, for fear of losing our friends. The fear that we will never find others who are quite like the ones we knew, and that we will not be able to fit into another environment worries even the most mature young adults. Let's admit it, we will never meet people exactly the same. But the world's a big place. Who's to say that we won't meet others who come close to them or even make better friends? 

As for taking risks, that's a big part of something we do everyday - it's called living. In fact, the biggest mistake maybe not moving on. 

Chandima (21) sums up the danger of this reluctance. "It would be great to stay in the same place and be with your friends forever. But it would mean that you would lose so many opportunities and experiences."

Some people are forced to move on, but remain in a state of denial about the changes that have taken place. They avoid new people who may try to make friends and retreat into memories of their former environment. It could be that they are too heartbroken over losing their links, or they have got so accustomed to a small group that they find it difficult to start anew. 

Either way, this is likely to be misinterpreted as arrogance or plain unfriendliness by others. Unless they resolve the issue within themselves soon, they will be caught in no-man's land. If we are to avoid this happening to us, we've got to be optimistic and start building new relationships.

There are still others who are so scared of breaking ties that they dare not have any, let alone making new ones. This is probably one of the worst things we could do to ourselves. Somebody once said, " 'tis better to have loved and lost, than never to have loved at all", which in this case would be " tis better to have bonded and broken off, than never to have bonded at all." A clumsy adaptation, perhaps, but hopefully one that we can take note of.

We need to come to terms with the fact that people change, our friends as well as ourselves. If you count the number of friends you have left from your kindergarten days, you'll see what I'm getting at. It's not just clothes we grow out of, it happens with people too. However, this does not mean that you should shy away from making friends or discard the ones you have. It's just one of the painful realities of change, and breaking ties is essentially about change.

Ananda (22) says " sometimes the best thing is to let time heal the wounds."

Like it or not, we've got to move on at some time or other. Even if we don't, our friends may have to. Sometimes our friends have resigned themselves to the fact, but we have not, and our sadness may well infect our friends. So for their sake as well as ours, we should try to accept change and move on. Nobody's saying that it's going to be easy. But take heart; you never really lose those special ones.

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