It's a real shame today that we must chalk another event up to the sad yet unavoidable pile of cancellations that 2020 has left in its wake - and this time it's a lot closer to home for us here at Service Dealer.

You might have already read owner, Duncan Murray-Clarke's piece, explaining the postponement of the Service Dealer Conference & Awards that was scheduled for November. It's so disappointing because, as Duncan says, these events have been gathering such momentum, offering the dealer attendees greater benefits year on year.

I feel I am allowed to do a bit of trumpet blowing here in praise of the event, because I am not involved in its organisation. Like the rest of the attendees, I enjoy turning up at the Oxford Belfry to experience these expertly crafted packages of speakers and workshops - the success of which is purely down to Duncan's amazing team at TAP. They have upped the ante for the conferences each time out, never failing to produce something which educates, enlightens and entertains.

I feel the day has built a real head of steam these past few editions, culminating in 2019's which I've heard many people remark upon as being the best yet - which I cannot disagree with.

Being privy to the plans for this November's conference, I must say it was looking superb and ever so timely - addressing how we might all find ways of working smarter in these extraordinary circumstances. The team had taken the elements which had worked so well previously and had added to them. Again, it's such a shame that is has had to be put on hold.

Agreeing with Duncan, I do believe there's something not quite right about the thought of taking the conference and awards purely online this year. Sure, there's a place for that element to be combined with a live event - but internet only? Well, it's not for me.

No disrespect to those events who have this year been forced make their offerings entirely virtual. I genuinely hope those shows can find their audience and meet their needs. But from knowing how different I personally find Zoom-type activity compared to a live scenario, my worry is the level of engagement could suffer significantly.

It is so different knowing you are going to be in a room with like-minded individuals, to listen and interact with an expert speaker and each other, compared to being sat alone at your desk in your place of work or at home, in front of a laptop. Planning to spend a day away at an event as opposed to asking people to log on to the internet at a particular time, when they are most likely going to be incredibly busy at work, don't match up. Valuable content is likely to get overlooked.

It's prudent for the Service Dealer Conference & Awards to be held over this year. The package can be put on ice and of course added to and updated when we get to November '21. In the meantime I'm sure we'll all miss that end-of-term feeling which the event never fails to create.

But for one year, this quite exceptional year, we will have to put all that on hold.

(shakes fist at 2020 again!)