A VERY dissapointing evening

My email to the Showcase, Coventry if anyone wants to see how my evening went –

Dear Sir/Madam,
My partner and I were unfortunate enough to be among the audience at Showcase Coventry last night (17th May) expecting to ‘take part’ in the commemoration marking the 75th anniversary of the RAF’s raid on the German dams by No. 617 Squadron. I do not really need to tell you that all the expectant audience got was a showing of “The Dam Busters” film. This I could have sat comfortably at home and watched it (as I have it on DVD).
The following melee with angry scenes by what had been an enthusiastic audience was to be expected (I didn’t hear anyone shouting). Your ‘Manager’ who, we were told, was the highest level of manager present (and thus in overall charge?) seemed ill-equipped to deal with the crowd of very disappointed customers and was, at one time, in tears.
I was not alone in being aware that you screen a whole series of live events – giving you absolutely no excuse for the ****-up we were the victims of last night. Last night should have been recognised by Showcase as being different from the broadcasts you screen of a live opera or ballet or West End drama or musical. I was expecting that there might be someone to give us (at Coventry) a brief introduction to the proceedings and that a Manager was on hand to check things were going right.
It was a one-off event – the film we can see again but not so the proceedings at the Royal Albert Hall with the orchestra, historians and people who were attached to the raid or members of No. 617 Squadron. The atmosphere created within the RAH must have been wonderful and I believe the audience at Coventry Showcase (and other cinemas around the country) wanted to capture/experience a little of that. However the time has gone, the opportunity lost.
Most of the audience were upset. One lady, who has a close relative who was ex 617 Squadron, couldn’t get a ticket to the actual event at the RAH so booked at Showcase Coventry – mistake! A gentleman I spoke to have traveled to Coventry from Newark and booked accommodation in an hotel – mistake! My partner had traveled up from work in London and, because time was tight, we had to go and eat at a restaurant beforehand – mistake!
We were given our money back and tickets for a future showing of an event (should we want to risk it) but is that considered adequate recompense for travelling, food, the hopes for a wonderful evening dashed?
I await your response at your earliest convenience,

an angry Roger Smith.

Can anyone get me in for a look?
Roger Smith.

….I trust that this drawing segment will be of interest. It shows a cross-section of the wing rib perimeter structure. This will give many a sense of how complex this aircraft was to build. No simple channel, but a complex rolling exercise only .4″ wide and 0.387″ high.

Regards John

and, presumably, there would be curvature along the rib as well ??

Roger Smith.

Hope I’m not teaching too many grannies to suck eggs…:D

The Richard Ormonde Shuttleworth Rememberance Trust is a registered charity (No. 307534).

All UK registered charities are required to submit an annual report (including full details of financial activities) to the Charities Comissioners each year and, once approved (by the CC), these are put into the public domain. This should be reassuring but I have had personal experience that impropriety by a museum charity’s trustees (and this is nothing to do with Shuttleworth) can escape the notice of the Charities Comissioners and even be ignored by them!

Rant over (temporarily) and back to Shuttleworth. The most recent annual report available for the ROSRT is the year up to the end of October, 2014 (go to: http://apps.charitycommission.gov.uk/Accounts/Ends34/0000307534_AC_20141031_E_C.pdf ) it’s 32 pages long and it shows there are several organisations – Charities and Limited Companies – not unusual or suprising considering the age of the original trust and the size and complexity of what we know as “Old Warden”. I would guess many of the UK’s aviation museums are both a registered charity and a company limited by guarantee and the same people are both Trustees of the charity and Directors of the company.

Again, any UK Limited Company has to submit an annual report to Companies House which, like charities (but with the same caveat as in my earlier ‘rant’), are ‘approved’ then put in the public domain and are available to view on their website.

It’s complicated but I would side with those that say the business of a registered charity is, to some extent, public business.

Roger Smith.

…….The word celebrity used to carry notions of respect or admiration. Now it seems to mean someone who has managed to accrue wealth despite having no saving graces nor personality……..

Someone had to bring politics into it (you are referring to Mr Trump ??!!) 😀 😀 – although is his aeroplane (not plane or airplane!) an historic Boeing 727?

…….The substitution of the word Shed for Hangar in reference to early British aviation is, as has already been mentioned is quite correct, because that’s exactly what they were……..

I wonder why the word ‘hangar’ was chosen and came into regular use in the aviation world anyway in preference to the word ‘garage’? Looking up on a site for entymology ( http://etymonline.com/index.php?allowed_in_frame=0&search=hangar ) both are of French origin and were around and in common use in the early part of the twentieth century (although ‘hangar’ had Dutch and German influencies going back further).

Roger Smith.

Ken,

The Midland Air Museum has the Brabazon main wheel set because they were designed and built by Dunlop in Coventry. It was part of a substantial collection of Dunlop display material passed over to the MAM 30 – 35 years ago. When I went on a visit to Dunlop Aero Tyres’ factory at Fort Dunlop, Birmingham a few years ago I saw ago that they, too, have another set – although on display outside.

Roger Smith.

sorry for thread drift.