I’ve just realised that not only are you trying out my angle you’re using the bowser 😮

Hi-Octain…..see me in my office in the morning……bring a good explanation or a juicy bone to gnaw on!

My brothers best friend was drowned whilst visiting the Mulberry from Thorpe-Bay (near Southend) back in the 1970’s when a bunch of them were taking an afternoon break from their exams at school. They went out at the wrong time and got caught by the incoming tide. There is a trench that is about 1/4 mile inland from it, known locally as “The Gut” and when you go through it at the right time it is a feeble trickle round your ankles, at the wrong time it is a raging torrent up to your waist or higher. They got it wrong and were hurrying to get back to shore, he lost his footing and was gone. He was a poor swimmer so never had a chance. They found his body washed up at East Beach about a week later….not a pretty sight. It was a tragic event and deeply affected the other lads that were there and all who knew him at school. 🙁
When you grow up at the seaside and swim in the sea, you gain a healthy respect for the tides. I used to go out to the Mulberry Harbour (as it is known locally) with my Dad, as a kid and a teenager at least once a year. It is a fascinating place and you could swim in the natural moat that surrounds it, we used to take our Labrador..he loved it! The trick was to follow the tide on the way out by about 1/2 hour, then once out there never to stay too long. I probably haven’t been out there for 25 years now and probably wouldn’t now I’m older and have more to worry about.
On a brighter note if you’d taken that picture angled slightly more to the west you’d have got my Beach-hut in the background! 🙂

Cliff spink may have also flown G-BOML.

Yes he certainly did.

Come on Kigass, you only have to ask! It was indeed registered as N3093K to Kermit A. Weeks/Fantasy of Flight Museum, Polk City. I’ll bring you some Bino’s, a notepad, and a book full of numbers in tomorrow and we’ll make a spotter of you yet! Mind you, you’ll probably be using the Bino’s for spotting more “interesting scenery” passing by the doors of 66! 😀

If it belongs to a national *war* museum and is displayed in its name, then it does matter.

But its all right to dispose of a genuine Me163 that was a war prize of the nation, gifted to IWM but high on someone elses shopping list. Oh yes, we are getting a “genuine” DH9 for DX……….only 99.9999% new structure…..

Granted, but someone hasn’t exactly tried their hardest with this effort, have they? I understand it wasn’t done by IWM or DAS’s teams.

Actually if YOU of all people had bothered to do some asking around YOU would have found out that it was YOUR people who specified the colour scheme because they “like the one on HAC’s Spitfire”. Those that were involved in the painting and prep of this were fully in posession of the details required to do a proper authentic scheme. Your lot didn’t want that. When we do a flying Spitfire paint scheme there doesn’t seem to be too much problem with managing to get it authentic. I guess you must have been involved in the research of a lot of authentic colour schemes in your time to be able to make such statements as “someone hasn’t exactly tried their hardest with this effort, have they? I understand it wasn’t done by IWM or DAS’s teams”. I didn’t see you out there offering your services or your vast knowledge. We know it is a replica of a MkIX and they weren’t painted in brown/green (except for things like The Battle of Britain film), but perhaps you, being such an expert, should have advised the IWM of their erroneous choice before the paint was applied. There was a great deal of effort carried out to make a good job within the requirements of the new owners. 🙁
By the way you don’t seem to have noticed its got the wrong wheels for a MKIX – you’d better get some genning up done

TD248, IAC 161, MH434 and ML407 were all flying out of Duxford today. Only Carolyn’s aeroplane has invasion stripes, but I have a feeling it was just doing local rides today. I may be wrong. Possibly MJ627, PL965 or PS853 all have the stripes if I remember correctly.