Pete TrumanWas Corgi in trouble then, or are Hornby just accumulating every well known toy/model manufacturer, or have they bought a succesful company in order to prop up their purchase of Airfix.
I would be interested to see a reprise of the recent ‘Money’ programme that dealt with Hornby’s purchase of Airfix, at the time, they seemed to be putting all their efforts into producing ‘Dr Who’ paraphinalia, I wonder if this worked.
Trouble is, every town used to have a model shop, ours closed just before Christmas, can you beleive it, we now have a large expanding town, population approaching 40,000, and you can’t buy a model kit of any description anywhere. We have a specialist die cast shop, but the people that run it are miserable sods that won’t allow kids in on their own, hardly encouraging youthfull collectors is it, and their attitude is to treat everyone in the shop with suspicion at all times, father in law has already had a row with them and quite frankly, I can’t be bothered to go in there, I don’t know how they make a living.
I went to Chelmsford last week, major local city, but you couldn’t find any type of toy or model shop anywhere, sad isn’t it, we seem to be ruled by out of town ‘Toyz are Us’, our nearest is either Harlow or Ipswich, bit of a trek as far as I’m concerned, but they are pretty naff anyway.
We used to have a good shop chain called ‘Toymaster’, but they’ve gone down the tubes, you could buy anything there from Barbie Dolls to Airfix kits, bloody good shop group, especially the one at Keighley, it was awesome.
Remember Beatties, they only died a few years ago, now they really sold everything from my favourite Solido tanks to computer stuff, but they succombed to whatever reason.
Does anyone have a childhood anymore.
Pete TrumanJust looked on the BBMF website as a result of this thread.
End of May they are going to Berlin.
But not taking the Lancaster
What can they be thinking of? :diablo:
Moggy
I’ve heard that this is a ruse, currently efforts are being made to desperately make Just Jane airworthy and the CWH Lanc is secretly being flown over here for positioning. The plan is for the three of them to over fly the Brandenburg gate at low level firing blanks.
C’mon,would this have been good idea, are the survivors of Berlin going to appreciate this, the past can’t be forgotten with so many survivors and memories from either side, we have to let it go, presumably, it will be simply the BBMF Dak celebrating the Berlin Airlift, lets leave it at that.
Pete TrumanI printed off the Suplementary Planning Documents and asscociated Appendicies yesterday without any problems. Interesting reading. Don’t have the link handy, sorry.
There are no bunkers under the listed main house, only cellars.
Why would Harris be spinning in his grave by the way?
I remember seeing a house connected with Bomber Command for sale recently; he’s proably dizzy already.
Sorry, I’m reading a book about Bomber Command at the moment, I also have two major clients called Harris that I’m working flat out for, my head is full of that name, aargh.
Ok I mean Dowding, is that Ok, don’t you believe that the place isn’t riddled with bunkers, do you think that the developers want us to know that anything historic will interfere with their plans, I’ve seen it all before, I can assure you.
Pete TrumanPete, would you be less concerned if it was being developed as social housing?
Sod that, would you want to pay £450K for a flat and have to keep feeding the ill treated horses from the re-housed pykies in the next block.
Pete TrumanI’ve just literally driven through Debden village, I wish I’d seen this photo first.
By the looks of it it’s within school grounds, typical school chairs of the period, I remember them well. I can’t imagine them taking such a formal picture on a visit to the base. With the number of related buildings scattered around the airfield at Debden, it could have been something erected on or adjacent to, school land and subsequently demolished. It was obviously a place where they needed the light behind the camera and no reflections.
I hope you like our Braintree manufactured Crittall steel windows by the way, every home should have one.
Pete TrumanFirst off, apologies for a slightly bizarre tangent!
This reminded me. On visiting a distant cousin who grew up during WW2, he said to me something about “the house where the Dambuster lived”. Further prying brought out the fact that apparently the “last name on the chalkboard” in the film was the person concerned.
Whether there is any basis in fact or not, I don’t know, or whether it was just an impressionable lad getting carried away. I just wonder, though, whether anyone knows where David Maltby’s family lived, as I know there was a family of that name in the village at the time. I know he’s buried at Wickhambreux, Kent, but don’t know whether that’s where he’d lived re-war or not.
Any assistance you can offer in proving or disproving this would be greatly appreciated!
Adrian
If you chase up Moggy’s website and click on the crews, then click on David Maltby, there’s a fair bit in there, where did your distant cousin live, presumably no-where near Sampford!!
I thought you might get your hiking boots out and meet us at Strines, more chance of getting a better pint up there than our last effort in the Fox!!
Pete TrumanWell, I did attempt to view the plans via the Harrow Council website, but it is the worst planning site I’ve ever seen and got nowhere.
Unfortunately, I can’t therefore comment on the proposals, but it sounds ominous to me. I’m assuming that the house is listed which could hopefully complicate things for the developers. This may at least prevent them from pouring concrete down the historic bunkers, I can assure you that this is the sort of thing that they are likely to do, I’ve personally seen it happen, even to listed buildings with historic cellars.
If they are planning to build flats, they will no doubt want to make them pretty exclusive and expensive in that area in order to make the highest return. It’s unlikely that the market that they will aim at will want to encourage a museum with visitors, it will be all security gates and coded exclusive entry, no doubt about it.
Harris must be spinning in his grave.
Pete TrumanVery interesting to see that one has survived, I presume that the author has it in his possesion, lets hope that one day it will be donated to Hendon so that everyone can see it.
Who’s up for the 65th Dambusters anniversary flypast over the Ladybower Reservoir and dam on May 16th.
By all accounts the Lanc will do 3 passes, the BBMF will be out in force with Spits, Hurricanes and Dakota and 617 will do a flypast with Tornadoes.
Warning, you will need a permit to access the area, look on the BBMF website on the Latest News section and all will be clear.
My brother has a cunning plan to hike over the moors from Strines and look down on the dam, I’m putting dubbin on my my boots already, it could be an early morning start though.
Pete TrumanGallipoli
Peter Weir’s depiction of comradeship and despair in the First World War as the Australians attempt to over-run the Turkish trenches during the horrific Battle of Gallipoli.
Was this not Mel Gibsons first major film, disregarding Mad Max, in which he did a very good job of portraying the innocence of youth in such an appalling situation, the ending had me in tears as he tried to desperately deliver the message in the face of adversity, I reckon it was one of the best films that the Australian film industry have produced, apart from one of my all time favourite films ever made, ‘Muriels Wedding’, now that is a stroke of genius, ‘What a coincidence’.
Pete TrumanGallipoli
Peter Weir’s depiction of comradeship and despair in the First World War as the Australians attempt to over-run the Turkish trenches during the horrific Battle of Gallipoli.
Was this not Mel Gibsons first major film, disregarding Mad Max, in which he did a very good job of portraying the innocence of youth in such an appalling situation, the ending had me in tears as he tried to desperately deliver the message in the face of adversity, I reckon it was one of the best films that the Australian film industry have produced, apart from one of my all time favourite films ever made, ‘Muriels Wedding’, now that is a stroke of genius, ‘What a coincidence’.
Pete TrumanYou probably think I’m sad, but I’ve lived in Essex for 32 years and never been to the Southend Airshow. Up until a few years ago it always clashed with Mildenhall Air Fete, no contest there, and I was always involved with the Finchingfield Village Fete over the same weekend too, we even managed to get a very impressive double flyby by the BBMF one year returning from Southend.
The Polish sausage breakfast is badly missed, but stuffing down a few of those awesome cockles at Leigh on Sea instead sounds a good alternative. Are the events very visible from there or do you have to get nearer to the pier, which I presume is the aiming point.
Incidentally, when the new CO took over at the Hall last year, she hinted at the return of Air Fete, has anyone heard any more, those sectioned oil drums must be getting very rusty now, and the Buds will be out of date, along with those freezers full of Polish Sausage, sigh. I’m sure that if Osama Bin Laden had visited Air Fete, peace would prevail in the world, he would have liked the Dragon Slide for a start, those robes would have protected him from the friction burns, no trouble.
Pete TrumanAre my eyes playing up or did I read De Havilland written on the parachute, it’s hard to pause it and read it properly
Pete TrumanI went there with a friend in March 1985 or so and asked if we could have a look round for the usual financial consideration. It was closed at the time (out of season) but some people were respraying the Whirlwind.
A young lady came back with the news that Mr Fordyce wasn’t happy about people seeing the collection in its present state so wasn’t prepared to allow us to have a look.
Never did get back to it. We went to look at the trains at Torbay Station instead 🙂
Do you mean the steam trains at Paignton.
Following my trip to the museum in August 1973 and the subsequent thunderstorm at the campsite, we walked down to the steam railway at Paignton and found ‘Flying Scotsman’ running trips on the line to Kingswear, Woo hoo, we were issued with special certificates to cover this momentous event, one of lifes great moments, to travel down that very scenic route behind FS but to be able to accomplish it in the bar in the GWR Directors saloon with all the glasses clinking away in the shelves, unforgettable.
Pete Trumanhttp://homepage.ntlworld.com/markansell/bpa/preserved/preserved.html
Thank you very much, very comprehensive, I’m just about to specify some Jenweld windows, I’d love to put put that on the list, but it wouldn’t be appreciated unfortunately.
Pete TrumanI’m not one for this sort of stuff, personally it gives me the creeps seeing all this weaponary displayed in triumph, but I can’t talk, I have de-activated weapons of my own, us humans tread a fine line of what is acceptable or not in that respect, we are basically hunters after all, thats how the human race has survived.
Quite frankly, we have a problem with drug dealers down here, I would be quite happy to shoot one of these scumbags through the head with one of those weapons, I had a meeting with the police yesterday and they are p###ing in the wind, they are keen and trying their best, I have the greatest respect for their efforts, but the legal system makes it hard for them to deal with it, I suggested that a few rounds would sort the problem out, they agreed with me, but……….they you go, it’s not going to happen is it.
Sign In
