Meet the 19-year-old who loves living in the 1940s: Teenager drives Austin car, rides old Raleigh bicycle, refuses to own a mobile phone and counts Vera Lynn and Ginger Rogers among his favourite stars

For most teenagers, social media, smartphones and keeping up with the latest trends are a vital part of modern life.

But Callum Grubb has turned his back on technology and lives as if he grew up in the 1940s.

The 19-year-old doesn’t have a mobile phone, counts Vera Lynn and Ginger Rogers as his favorite stars and has just bought a 1938 Austin 10 Cambridge as his first car.

He also has an extensive collection of vintage clothing and collectibles purchased from antique shops, including a mug commemorating the planned coronation of King Edward VIII and a photograph of Winston Churchill.

The teenager, who lives with his grandmother in Kirkcaldy, Fife, said: “I joke to my friend that this is beyond obsession.

“I’m as old-fashioned as they come.

“I’m not good with technology.

“I had to have a laptop for college and I hated it.

“If you asked me, I couldn’t name you a contemporary singer.”

Callum’s fascination with the 1940s began when he fell in love with history after starting high school.

He also studied the diaries of his great-grandfather, who was a prisoner of war, and shared a love of steam locomotives with his late grandfather John.

His mother Claire, a nursery worker at Fife Council, said: “Callum went on a school trip when he was about 12 and came back wearing an old-fashioned hat.

“I thought it was funny and just asked him, ‘Where did you find that?’

“He said, ‘This is how I want to dress, that’s going to be me.’

“From then on it was just Callum.”

At 13, Callum began saving his pocket money and salary from a part-time job so he could buy a classic car when he passed his driving test.

He fell in love with his Austin Cambridge, which he named Poppy, after meeting its owner while visiting the Black Country Living Museum in the West Midlands.

The owner was initially reluctant to sell it, but later advertised it in a classic car magazine after he had to give up driving, and Callum bought it for £7,000.

He has an initial invoice which states the car costs £215 (equivalent to £18,000) new and spends his free time tinkering with it or driving it around.

It has a top speed of around 50mph and is legal to drive, even though it has no seat belts and no taxes or MOTs required.

“It doesn’t have a seat belt, but I really like it,” Callum told the BBC.

“It’s like going back in time, especially when you get onto the old country roads.

“The car survived the Blitz in London, but it can only go 50mph and even that strains it.

“It’s nice to drive a car; there’s always a clear road ahead, but there’s a sea of ​​cars behind.

“But people are not inclined to object.”

“A lot of these cars are in museums and never used, but that’s not what they’re designed for, they’re meant to be used. That’s what I’m doing.

“It’s nice to see the reaction, I always walk by and honk.

“People of all ages wave to the car, both old and young.

“My friend Lynsey and I love to run along the coast in an old car.

“I usually stop at antique shops along the way because it can be hard to get some of my clothes.

“My grandmother is afraid of me coming home because she knows I will end up bringing something with me.

– I’m very busy, I assure you.

Callum, who works in a kennel, has lived with his grandmother Ann Walker since he was 12, and at 75, she is 10 years younger than his car.

Unlike her grandson, she also has a mobile phone, whereas he uses a traditional rotary phone.

Mrs Walker said: “I learned more about history from Callum than I ever knew.

“We always watch old movies together, he’s in love with Ginger Rogers.”

Callum is also a Frank Sinatra fan and, when he’s not driving, uses a 1952 Raleigh bicycle.

But there is one aspect of post-war life that Callum has not accepted.

He said: “We don’t ration. I love my food too much for that.”