Why, I do my fair share of volunteering? I’m just not afraid to speak as I find.
There’s an attitude which prevails in too many places which goes along the lines of it’s better to do something than nothing, and because they’re volunteers, they can’t be criticised, even if the work is c**p. Why..?–is my question.
In the last year, I’ve seen railway wagons ruined, valuable (historically) vehicles completely altered with modern running gear, I’ve heard horror stories about valuable railway engines bodged, and we could go on listing. The common thread being well meaning volunteers.
if you think putting out a load of rubbish is good advert for preservation in this country (or anywhere) then i’d ask what you’re doing it for.
of course, I expect to be vilified–but I don’t care.

And going back to the subject of this thread. It seems to me that because someone can have a jolly good time digging this P-38 up, then it must be done, even though it doesn’t actually need doing.

I am a tad disappointed in some of the postings here. If it was a spit, it would no longer be lying there. Andy-In-Beds I know you are not keen in ‘old scrap’ and not your bag. But this is history. There is a lot of interest in this sort of thing. Yes we all know what a P38 looks like – by that thinking you might as well scrap all aircraft and replace them with airfix kits or slides projected on a wall?!

Again, I reiterate, what are you expecting to learn..?
Again, I state, the real interest is from trinket hunters.
And going on the state of preservation at a lot of places, you’d be better off replacing a lot of slowly decaying wreckage with a slide show–at least it’d look tidy. That goes for a lot of vehicle restoration too. What’s the point of ‘restoring’ stuff to a static condition using materials which look like they were purchased from B&Q. I saw some bl**dy awful examples of this recently.

To those of you that say don’t do, it or it can’t be done, draw a parallel with the medical profession, they still try to save limbs and lives,(sometimes in the knowledge that it is futile) because from everyone you try to save you learn a bit more; the P-38 is going to rot away anyway, isn’t it?

Well personally I think it’s a bit ‘out there’ to compare digging up a pile of corroded Ali pieces that have been buried on a beach for seventy years to a surgeon trying to save a life and pushing the known boundaries to do it.
This does not warrant either the effort or comparison.
Everything is known about the P-38, that needs to be known, and I’m tired off the argument about youngsters being involved. I’ve heard it that many times I’m past listening.
If it’s dug up, it’ll be dug up for the same old reasons as always, that someone thinks he can, because he wants to and because he thinks something will look like nice in his collection of Ali scrap. Then when he dies, his widow will sell it all for thirty Bob to a passing scrappy. There’s no thought to real historical gain here or preservation, just the same old, same old.
if you want to get kids interested in aviation, show them aeroplanes (the ones which make noise, fly and stuff), not scrap metal.

I look forward to the first little f*cker trying it on me. Ten seconds later he’ll have brain damage after I hit him with an iron drift bar. I hate kids.

Thanks–wonderful stuff.

More than you might think makes me smile. Suz took the Mutt for walk while I prepared boiled eggs for her return–and i don’t even like boiled eggs..!

Well Jim. I could write a load more, but this is/was a thread about something joyous, the VCC Emancipation Run to Brighton, not the parlous state of my mental health.

Well Jim, by his own admission he was a Cocaine user for fifteen years. Then he makes a programme about depression–f*ck me, I’m surprised he’s got a brain left to be depressed with. My old Doctor (Dr Shah–who was brilliant) told me to lay off alcohol, tobacco and of course illegal drugs. Fortunately, I’ve never felt the need to use them. I’ve never been much of a drinker either, although I did use to enjoy a cigarette. I just think that he’s rather devalued a terrible situation for so many people. A point not missed by the reptiles who write the Daily Mail. By deduction therefore–all depressives must be ex-druggies–I’m not…!!!!