Coniston Bye laws/Ruskin

[El Lole]

Having read the Coniston bye laws it seems to me that there will have to be an enormous effort to get the show on the road again and that it will have to somehow attract sufficient funds and for everyone to work in a harmonious atmosphere that is why I sincerely hope that mitigation can be achieved.Whatever, it could take an awfully long time before anything happens but I really hope and pray that it may come to pass sooner rather than later. There is one thing that intrigues me, who is the ‘qualcast kid’ who is attempting to get their hands on K7 as it appears that there is something going on behind the scenes that I don’t know about? I am and always will be passionate about Bluebird and wish you all the very best.

El Lole

[Renegadenemo]

Having read the Coniston bye laws it seems to me that there will have to be an enormous effort to get the show on the road again and that it will have to somehow attract sufficient funds and for everyone to work in a harmonious atmosphere that is why I sincerely hope that mitigation can be achieved.Whatever, it could take an awfully long time before anything happens but I really hope and pray that it may come to pass sooner rather than later. There is one thing that intrigues me, who is the ‘qualcast kid’ who is attempting to get their hands on K7 as it appears that there is something going on behind the scenes that I don’t know about? I am and always will be passionate about Bluebird and wish you all the very best.

El Lole

It's true it would take a bit of effort to get the show on the road but we could be back up to speed and back on the tools in fairly short order. Of course we'd have to ramp up gradually and see who in industry is still in a position to support us post-Covid but we'd get there. We reckon about 12 months to get back to full speed. There's things we just don't have - a canopy being a good example so that project within a project would have to be begun from scratch as well as doing the work to be 100% certain that we've solved the problem that caused us to lose a canopy last time. There's a lot of work still to do on the boat. We never fully sorted the hydraulics, jetpipe cooling, engine fuel drains, ASI and most of the paintwork was simply thrown on to get us on the water in Bute and has to be done again. The engine cover was installed for the first time since we took it off in 2001 on the night before we left for Bute and it was a disastrously bad fit so that needs to be totally rebuilt and then put down with the correct fasteners. Donald would turn in his grave if he saw M8 Rivnuts in his boat - they're all back out now. So we know where we are and what's to be done but after returning from Bute the museum tried to go back on the deal with us regarding future running so until that's sorted out we're not going to ask our supporters for anything for the simple reason that we must be 100% certain of what we're giving in return. We thought we knew as it was all agreed but it needs to be agreed again before we crack on.
Then there's the question of the museum organising an event such that we can run on Coniston - if that's what they want. There's other places we can run if they don't but we're more than happy to muck in and help them if they do but it's not our call.

As for the Qualcast Kid - well he's the real villain of the piece, or at least he would be if he wasn't fundamentally stupid and easy to see coming from a long way back.
There's a long history of him trying to have the boat for his 'own ends' (Gina's words) whilst dressing it up as something else. His latest disaster was to take a high-falutin lawyer up to Coniston, convince the museum that he could get the donation agreement for the wreckage altered to cut out the Bluebird Project (having blamed Gina for getting the original one wrong in the first place - got to dress it up as something it isn't, you see) then the lawyer would issue a letter of claim asking for the boat to be handed over. Once that was done a grateful museum would allow The Kid to take K7 down to Beaulieu to display alongside CN7 this summer. It was a variation on exactly the same trick tried in 2014 for exactly the same reason only that time, Gina demanded that the boat go into the museum at once because we were taking too long but it had nothing to do with that. Another time The Kid attempted to have a line buried in a load of flowery waffle then inserted into the donation agreement that said 'Bluebird should remain in Coniston as long as public interest demands'. And just how long would it be before the argument was made that public interest no longer demanded it? That attempt crashed an burned too but, sadly, this time the museum bought into it and The Kid Left the very expensive London Lawyer running up costs for the poor little village museum while he watched from afar.
The museum had long since accepted that, due to the way in which they wanted us to carry out the work - at no cost to them - that we would end up as joint owners and that would have to be settled later - that formed part of the agreement we made in 2013 - so the whole plan fall flat on its face because,
a. The museum didn't tell the Qualcast Kid and,
b, He paid so little attention over the years that he seemingly didn't know.
The result being that he cost the museum tens of thousands in legal fees in his effort to grab K7 to take to Beaulieu this year then ran away when the ploy failed leaving the museum to pick up the bill. And somehow it all became our fault!
That's what is going on behind the scenes and is only a tiny glimpse of one aspect of it. There's lots to tell.

As if we'd devote 15 years of our lives to this project then let some numpty walk it into the sunset. Take a look at the column for professional fees and you'll see the scale of the disaster. And we're supposedly the bad guys! https://beta.charitycommission.gov.uk/c ... 34&subid=0

[El Lole]

Thank you very much for the kind reply and all the information, which is much appreciated, it is certainly involved. Everything is much clearer now. Best wishes hoping for an amicable solution. El Lole.

[badger3990]

Nice one alias billy lol

[Renegadenemo]

El Lole,

Please would you be kind enough to explain to Badger here that you are most definitely not me. Every once in a while someone such as yourself pops up with similar questions, which I always take the time to answer but Badger, better known as Brian (Gina's sycophantic boyfriend) or 'Nob-Head' in the powerboat racing fraternity, just cannot believe that it's not me asking myself questions, which it isn't.

Thanks in advance,

Bill

[El Lole]

Dear Badger, just to confirm it is not Bill that is asking himself questions, I am someone new who has joined the forum quite recently.
Sincerely

El Lole

[Renegadenemo]

In the interests of keeping the record straight, Mr. Badger-Head posted again but due to my failings as a forum admin I managed to lose his post whilst trying to approve it but it was basically a huffy swipe at El Lole for having been a member since 2018 yet only ever asking two questions of the evil overlord.

Well, Mr. Head - in the first instance there are forum members of far greater vintage who have never posted so that observation is meaningless and the second problem with your accusation is that those questions were asked of the forum and not me individually.

Now had they pertained to how to best glue the sponsons onto some model kit or another I'd have stayed well out of it as I haven't a clue but as they related to the greed-driven, two-faced background politics that are thrust upon a staunchly altruistic project from time to time I felt this was my field and gave truthful answers as I will to anyone else who may care to ask - long term lurker or otherwise.

[El Lole]

I am now getting on in years and I thought that I had better explain that El Lole was one of many racing drivers I admired, his name was Carlos Reutemann and along with Donald Campbell was one of my heroes.
I would like to add that I have been saddened and dismayed by the people that are hiding behind social media trying to cause trouble for Bill and the team. Clearly there is more going on in the background that the general public are unaware of.
I would think that common sense is needed.

El Lole

[Renegadenemo]

I am now getting on in years and I thought that I had better explain that El Lole was one of many racing drivers I admired, his name was Carlos Reutemann and along with Donald Campbell was one of my heroes.

Ah, both of them just a little before my time, though I was a huge Nigel Mansell fan and willed him on with Murray Walker on BBC2 on a Sunday afternoon until he finally won the championship. Was never fussed about Senna's brilliance or The Professor's clinical approach and why does everyone think Ferarri is so wonderful? Nope, the slightly beleaguered brummie did it for me. I liked Damon and Jenson and there's no denying Lewis's brilliance - but Nige remains my all time favourite.

As for those who hide behind social media making mischief - I view them as a bit of sport, to be honest. I mean, lets get right to basics - anyone who flaps their lips without the balls or backbone to do it under their real name just rendered themselves as pathetic and meaningless as whatever they just said. And our BBP following Internet sleuths, hackers and troll-hunters always find out who they are anyway so we out one now and again just for savage amusement - don't we, Mr. Head.
I'm a happy, family guy. I collect butterflies, breed chickens, make metal flowers and have successful business interests and the very best friends - I'm happy in my own skin and as far from the evil overlord as it's possible to imagine but if these morons want to cast me in that role I'll relish playing it for them because we all get a laugh out of it. It's all water off a duck's back and a giggle at the same time.

Regarding common sense - we have plenty of it or we'd not have brought the project as far as we have. Donald had all but sunk into obscurity in the 34 years following his death yet we dragged him back from the brink along with his boat in a 15 year labour of love that eventually saw his name and boat on pretty much every TV in the land on prime-time, One Show BBC splendour for the first time since 1967 and even then it was for all the wrong reasons.
We'd built the whole Bluebird / Campbell thing back up to fever pitch but what happened next? did the museum fall over itself to keep up the momentum by moving Heaven and Earth to make sure we capitalised on the extremely successful 2018 crew training exercise in getting us onto Coniston Water in 2019?
Did Gina lend her influence to the effort to open doors and make it happen?

Nope - the museum dropped the ball then fell for the Qualcast Kid's money making scam and all but bust themselves whilst Gina, aided and abetted by Mr. Head committed her dreadful act of treachery on 4th January - of all the inappropriate days to do such a thing too - and in so doing cast a terrible black stain over her father's lovingly rebuilt legacy not to mention flabbergasting and losing the respect of pretty much everyone who witnessed it. What boggled my brain most of all was trying to understand the thinking. I mean, did anyone imagine for one living second that when Mr. Whoppit came flying out of the pram that anyone in the BBP would even contemplate taking their eye off the ball? We built K7 to run into the futre because she's too young to sit in a crusty old museum - now who was it who said that? Incidentally, The Kid took grave exception to that remark because he was already smarming up to the museum with his Beaulieu scheme and it didn't do him any good at all but I digress.

Now where were we? Ah, yes, common sense.

Let's just suppose that common sense was to prevail all of a sudden. Job-one would be for everyone to draw a line in the sand, step over it and never look back - we can do that. For all my battles with the HLF back in the day I still keep in touch with, and have a friendly relationship with, the head honcho who turned our bid down, it isn't difficult. Next, the museum would pick up the phone to discuss just how we are all going to work together going forward because there's no reason why everyone can't win. Then Gina would acknowledge that she made a massive misstep and start building bridges quick as you like with the help of Mr. Head who ought to realise that his contribution to the tarnish and delays is also considerable by now.

Oh, and return Novie's number plates and beg his forgiveness for treating him like dirt on her shoe after his quarter-century of unwavering devotion - but that's a story for another day.

Trouble is, common sense grows at the speed of dark so while we wait we'll just enjoy one another's company in the workshop and very soon on the little support boat for a few trips out to sea and just keep on keeping on until we can pick up the threads of the big tin boat job once again.

Happy days.

[Healey nut]

Problem being Bill that common sense ain’t to common these days .