War and peace shows

[BeestonBoy]

Evening all!!

OK I admit it....i'm kinda sad. One of my passions is WW2 and especialy the hardware of the period. And as much as I love reading about the tanks and what not,I have seen very little of them in the flesh.

Then the other day I was invited to one of these events



Now part of me really wants to go. But another part of me is thinking that this is all just a little odd and slightly anoraky.

Has any one ever been to one? Am I missing out on some thing? Should I pop along?

Cheers

BB

[Sam Slater]

If you wanna go, then go, Beeston!

You only be left regretting it if you don't go, just because you thought it was a little nerdy.

Remember: He who dares....

[Shelley Louise]

One of my favourite subjects at school was WW2 we did it in history and I had the piss taken out of me then as I was so into it.

My 82 year old great aunt was a land girl and has promised me that she will tell me all about it in great detail when I see her next.

Go to the show mate

[tommy dickfingers]

yes you should go and enjoy it its a piece of recent history. did you see the programme about hms illustrious on tonight,the ship had to return to port basically because of old age and an ever shrinking defence budget.thats why this week there is a big decision to be made as the government will say yes or no to building two new carriers this week and hopefully yes will be the answer because old equipment needs replacing all across the military,look at afghanistan and iraq either not enough or too old gear. even though some people question the need for these ships at the moment they are going to have a service life of about 30 years and who knows what lies ahead,we are an island who rely on a lot of shipping from around the world and who could have prodicted the falklands war,the argies probably wouldn't have invaded if the old ark royal wasn't scrapped with its long range fighters,the fact you have a efficient and modern military means you command respect.

[Mysteryman]

There's nothing nerdy about having a genuine interest.

Back in the 1940s and 1950s trainspotting was encouraged as a way to keep young lads out of trouble. Many learned a great deal about the geography of the country, about history and engineering from their hobby as well as gaining friendships and having a pleasant, harmless way of spending their leisure time around some impressive machinery.

Now of course, the media just mock and point to Roy Cropper.

For my own part, I moved swiftly from trains to airliners and have had a 52 year hobby. I stopped collecting registrations years ago but still spend hours photographing aircraft. I'm an acknowledged aviation historian and spent many years owning and running a very profitable business providing aviation conferences for airlines, airports, airframe and equipment manufacturers and governments. I was approached by many of the world's leading aviation bodies to design and run speaker programmes because of my expertise.

Without the knowledge gained from the hobby, I would never have gone into that side of the conference business which took me around the world, gave me access to flight decks when flying over oceans, ice caps and cities at night (the view from up front is so much more than from a window seat)and which gave me contact with many people in the industry and in governments who are/were household names.

The hobby led to many friendships which have lasted decades with people in many countries. One outstanding part of the hobby is the total trust aircraft enthusiasts have in their fellows.

I've lost count of the times I've asked someone to look after hundreds of pounds worth of optical and camera equipment, books and radios to save packing stuff away when needing a toilet break or a trip for a drink or food at an airport viewing area. I've often been asked to look after other's equipment myself. In all the time in the hobby I can't recall anyone ever having had equipment stolen in such a situation.

So don't worry about being nerdy. Enjoy your interest an get out of it whatever enjoyment there is to be had.

[randyandy]

Nothing sad about it at all.

Go and do what you want BB.

I went on a battlefield tour round Normandy last year and it was incredibly interesting.

If your into that sort of thing I'd also recommend a visit to the Imperial War Museum.

[BeestonBoy]

Sam Slater wrote:


> Remember: He who dares....


!laugh! Indeed!!

[BeestonBoy]

Shelley Louise wrote:


> My 82 year old great aunt was a land girl and has promised me
> that she will tell me all about it in great detail when I see
> her next.


Hey SL

Your so lucky to still be able to get first hand accounts from members of your family. The only member of my family who was old enough to serve,was me Grandad. He was in the 7th armoured from the beginging. He fought at El Alamein. Saw action in Italy. Landed in the first wave at D-day and fought at Caen. Helped liberate Holland and Belguim and I believe crossed the Rhine.

Unfortunately,he seems to have used these war stories to impress and shag as many women as possible!! So pretty much all the kids had fallen out with him by the time I was old enough too appreciate this.

When he died a few years ago out of all the Kid and Grand children my Gran chose me to have his medals. So I may never have got the stories,but I will allways have that link to my family history.

Sorry bit of a ramble there....hope you well hun xxx

[BeestonBoy]

Evening td

No sorry missed the prog but it is a series aint it? Will do me best to catch it next week chap....ta!!

[BeestonBoy]

A pleasure as allways Mm

Been meaning to ask you for a little while now....

Knowing that your a bit of an Avro nut,and now knowing the things you have put above. Have you ever managed to get up close and personal with either the Lancaster or the Vulcan?

Be very carefull how you word your reply to this. This description of your work and hobbie as posted above made me green with envy!!

Cheers chap

BB