Donald Campbell's restored Bluebird in museum home row

[Richie]

Now that you’ve said that, they will down tools, miss the deadline, then blame us for the failure.

The excuse will be “you didn’t agree on paper to the dates”

Even though you have said the dates will work and they need to get the plan signed off before we will commit our funds to it........

We will get blamed.

[Richie]

Furthermore, it seems that despite the groundswell of opinion from the British public, ourselves and Gina that K7 should live on to inspire and shouldn’t be decommissioned and left to rot, they are still adamant that is exactly what they want.

I am really disappointed in Robbie, I thought he was better than this.

793C1988-9ED5-4C08-BDFC-F014C7A0913C.jpeg

Here is the link to their press release with Westmorland Gazette.

https://www.thewestmorlandgazette.co.uk ... ds-return/

[Richie]

And to that end, I am somewhat frustrated, it’s always us that are made out to be the bad guys, 9 years I have worked solidly on the boat, not a penny in my pocket, I didn’t do it for anything other than the challenge and the want to see a tragedy turned into a triumph

[fibo74]

Hey @richie - please try not to feel like that. The effort that you and the team have put into restoring BB and the running the team did at Loch Fad in August are appreciated by so many, for many reasons. The politics of the situation are draining and divisive but your collective focus on what’s best for BB will always be appreciated by those who love her for what she truly is.

[mark-f]

I have been watching this thread develop since I posted my original question & to be honest, it has been a pretty depressing experience.

I don't doubt for one moment that those closely involved with the Bluebird Project have done what they have with the very best intentions, however I also sincerely believe that most of those really closely involved seem to have developed some sort of collective paranoia. The main symptom of which is believing that anyone with an alternative view to their own is "out to get them". This mindset appears to stop the BBP from engaging constructively with important third parties like The Coniston Bluebird Committee & the National Parks Authority. A similar attitude was very publicly displayed during the BBP's failed negotiations with the Heritage Lottery Fund. "Negotiations" that are conducted by megaphone & mainly seem to involve insults & derision are in my experience rarely if ever successful.

The BBP should appreciate that any "homecoming" will inevitably involve a great deal of inconvenience for the residents of Coniston, something that possibly the majority of whom aren't particularly keen on. That running K7 on Coniston is nothing like running her on a small patch of water on a remote island in Scotland, and to ensure a successful event a lot of egos need smoothing & bridges need to be built. Something that the BBP has consistently proven pretty much incapable of doing. The tawdry "Christmas light episode" this week was typical of the sniping & bullying carried out by members of the BBP. We all knew someone at school who would whack another kid round the head with a ruler & then tell you they were only joking!

The unholy row about K7's "Spiritual Home", which was started by Bill Smith only adds fuel to what is already a very intense fire.

The controlling members of the BBP need to decide whether the boat they rebuilt is (as most followers of the project believed was the case) going to run for proving trials on Coniston & then for most of its life, be resident in the specially built wing of the Ruskin Museum on public exhibition, or as now appears to be the case live in solitary isolation in the North East occasionally becoming a travelling curiosity made to perform at carnivals & exhibitions to the highest bidder wherever they may be, like an elderly but impressive performing elephant.

Personally I think there should be opportunities to run K7 other than on Coniston in the future, but to try & rewrite history & claim that K7 & Coniston are not eternally linked is simply deluded.

I have tried not to be overly negative in my comments above, but know that I am not the only person who feels that this needed saying.

[Richie]

Collective paranoia


Interesting comment from someone who is not in possession of the full facts of what is going on between parties involved.

Lots said there Mark, appreciate your opinion, best let the “others” speak for themselves though.

[conistoncollie]

Well said Sir.
That Christmas Light nonsense was most undignified

[Richie]

Lights etc Were boxed up and shipped over to Coniston.

Hopefully they will help.

[Malcolm Ops]

Being deluded has prevented me from presenting answers to quotes as clearly as I would have liked.

In case anyone has forgotten why operating the boat on Coniston Water is an important opportunity for Coniston and the National Park area as a whole, then please review the granting of the Bye Law. This was the 'correct' way to have the boat shown to the Country and the World that it had been restored to the condition she was in at sunrise on the 4th January '67. The Proving Trial was not supported unanimously (in the LDNPA it was 14 in favour to 2 against), but was confirmed as a good thing by the overwhelming majority during the lengthy consultation that took place. We have now moved on 7 or eight years. I have put comments amongst the paragraphs of the previous writer (MBP)

"This mindset appears to stop the BBP from engaging constructively with important third parties like The Coniston Bluebird Committee & the National Parks Authority. A similar attitude was very publicly displayed during the BBP's failed negotiations with the Heritage Lottery Fund. "Negotiations" that are conducted by megaphone & mainly seem to involve insults & derision are in my experience rarely if ever successful".

I was not involved with any HLF discussions but I would suggest that these were joint approaches from the Ruskin Museum representatives, representatives from the village and others from the BBP. What has never stopped is my constructive engagement on behalf of the BBP with the Bluebird Event Working Group, the Coniston Parish Council (CPC), the LDNPA and now Coniston Bluebird Heritage Limited. Yes, there was a necessary hiatus between March and September 2018, as matters with the Isle of Bute took precedence and I stood down from the attending any working group meetings, but my contact details were known to all parties. I was invited to attend the 7th November meeting.(MBP)

"The BBP should appreciate that any "homecoming" will inevitably involve a great deal of inconvenience for the residents of Coniston, something that possibly the majority of whom aren't particularly keen on. That running K7 on Coniston is nothing like running her on a small patch of water on a remote island in Scotland, and to ensure a successful event a lot of egos need smoothing & bridges need to be built. Something that the BBP has consistently proven pretty much incapable of doing".

I would suggest that it was the BBP that facilitated the possibility of a World Class homecoming of Bluebird K7 by formatting what the Proving Trial should be. I think the BBP did/does have some understanding of what might arise. What the BBP cannot do is 'take over' matters relating to the way in which the village plans need to be organised. The minutes of the CPC meeting in December 2015 will show all who wish to re-read them that planning if not thought about in 2011 started then.(MBP)

"The unholy row about K7's "Spiritual Home" …"

Yes the craft and her pioneering speed pilot set four World Records on Coniston Water, out of seven, so there are three other locations to consider (but realistically only two Countries). There may have been many more locations if the water conditions had been good. As to "why Coniston", read the books written about DMC and Bluebird K7.(MBP)

"The controlling members of the BBP need to decide whether the boat they rebuilt is (as most followers of the project believed was the case) going to run for proving trials on Coniston & then for most of its life, be resident in the specially built wing of the Ruskin Museum on public exhibition, or as now appears to be the case live in solitary isolation in the North East occasionally becoming a travelling curiosity made to perform at carnivals & exhibitions to the highest bidder wherever they may be, like an elderly but impressive performing elephant".

As I am not known as a ringmaster this whole paragraph is thankfully just one persons interpretation. How did we get in to 'bidding'? May I offer up the speed record car BABS as an example of how a restored speed vehicles life could be managed.(MBP)

"Personally I think there should be opportunities to run K7 other than on Coniston in the future, but to try & rewrite history & claim that K7 & Coniston are not eternally linked is simply deluded".

Four out of seven World records and a very public crash is the history with Coniston. Attempts on many other waters around the world did take place. I suppose deluded is probably the best insult I have received, for which as it is mental and I can plead old age affects me! (MBP)

"I have tried not to be overly negative in my comments .."

Negative comments can often be useful if they bring about changes, but when backed up by incorrect statements presented as being factual then that leads us all nowhere. Yes, even the BBC can get things wrong.(MBP)

Malcolm Pittwood, Bluebird Project Operations.

[Scots Pine]

"....remote Scottish Island..." really? REALLY?!!! Within a couple of hours you be in that quint old village that is Glasgow city centre, a little over 90 mins would get you to that tiny provincial airport that is Glasgow INTL.

Sorry for zeroing in on one comment, but if there's one thing that hacks me off it's unresearched bulls**t. Go to Shetland, Outer Hebrides or St Kilda mate. That's where remote resides.