Three weeks ago I was on a cruise around Norway. On one of the days at sea I gave a talk in the boats lecture theatre;
'The life and times of Donald Campbell and his Bluebird boat' I felt it a fitting tribute given the significance of the year and indeed the month. I half expected half a dozen or so to turn up. The place was packed and they would not let me go well past the time I was due to finish. Much interest in the project and I was surprised how much people knew of what is going on.
One interesting point, one of the spectators used to drive the Gondala on Coniston and he questioned the info I gave re Billy Butlin putting up 5 grand each year etc, you know what I mean. Anyway this chap said for years they had been telling passengers on Gondala that it was €1000. I am sure I am right but it's got me thinking.
I have done this talk quite a lot now and it's very rewarding to find the interest is still out there. Of course there was the odd one or two passengers on the boat who asked 'who is Donald Campbell' that's life I guess times move on very quickly.
It does take me some time to get over the stress of doing these talks but it's something I feel I need to do and my ever loving wife says I come across very well, well she would say that!
Hope I have not offended anyone posting this message, just felt the need to.
There's more interest than we think
-
quicksilver-wsr
- Posts: 1099
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:29 pm
Re: There's more interest than we think
I quite agree with Ernie on this - the interest is definitely still there - and the awareness is there, even among many of the young.
Documentary programmes on TV and so on have kept Donald's name to the fore, and his tragic accident in '67 is of course often held up as a defining moment in history - witness the endless repackaging of Pathé News and other such media output.
The restoration and eventual display of K7 further bolster public awareness - its rediscovery and recovery from the depths of Coniston Water having already had a major influence.
The flame burns on.
Nigel
Documentary programmes on TV and so on have kept Donald's name to the fore, and his tragic accident in '67 is of course often held up as a defining moment in history - witness the endless repackaging of Pathé News and other such media output.
The restoration and eventual display of K7 further bolster public awareness - its rediscovery and recovery from the depths of Coniston Water having already had a major influence.
The flame burns on.
Nigel
Re: There's more interest than we think
Sorry, doubled up!
Last edited by f1steveuk on Tue Aug 05, 2014 2:25 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Steve Holter, UK and France, and sometimes reality....................
Re: There's more interest than we think
All I can say is, well done Ernie! I'm glad someone is still doing this sort of thing.
I say that because I stopped doing talks on the history some time ago, after a three hour extravaganza for London Transport, and a bit of a chiding by Richard Noble, who, although he realises, without the history, there would be no present, gets (well used to) a bit fed up with Campbell's, Segrave and Cobb et al. "Why always look back, let's promote the future".
I can sort of see his point, and last time I was asked to talk at Brooklands, I arrived, with a loaded laptop, only to change the talk as I stood up, and forgot Malcolm and Donald, but instead winged it on the subject of the "supporting cast", Leo, Bert Denley, Railton, Norris Bros, Villiers, Ackers and Ayers, Apathy, Fink etc etc, the back room boys, some hardly, if ever, mentioned, which as Ernie says, can add to the stress, the stress of, "have I been going on", "is the talk long enough", "do the audience care/understand", plus the classic, "have I done ALL the research on this, dare I risk a q&a at the end!!"?
So I applaud Ernie for keeping the flag flying, especially as we aren't all born to stand in front of crowds, and put ourselves in the firing line, well done sir!
I say that because I stopped doing talks on the history some time ago, after a three hour extravaganza for London Transport, and a bit of a chiding by Richard Noble, who, although he realises, without the history, there would be no present, gets (well used to) a bit fed up with Campbell's, Segrave and Cobb et al. "Why always look back, let's promote the future".
I can sort of see his point, and last time I was asked to talk at Brooklands, I arrived, with a loaded laptop, only to change the talk as I stood up, and forgot Malcolm and Donald, but instead winged it on the subject of the "supporting cast", Leo, Bert Denley, Railton, Norris Bros, Villiers, Ackers and Ayers, Apathy, Fink etc etc, the back room boys, some hardly, if ever, mentioned, which as Ernie says, can add to the stress, the stress of, "have I been going on", "is the talk long enough", "do the audience care/understand", plus the classic, "have I done ALL the research on this, dare I risk a q&a at the end!!"?
So I applaud Ernie for keeping the flag flying, especially as we aren't all born to stand in front of crowds, and put ourselves in the firing line, well done sir!
Steve Holter, UK and France, and sometimes reality....................
-
quicksilver-wsr
- Posts: 1099
- Joined: Thu Nov 26, 2009 10:29 pm
Re: There's more interest than we think
Following on from what you have said, Steve, I still do lots of talks - and I'd like to say I do it for all the money I earn, but the usual going rate for most of them is £50-a-gig, and my petrol and other costs have got to come out of that.
I always feature Malcolm and Donald, as "the Campbells and their Bluebirds" is one theme that almost any audience can immediately relate to and it grips their attention.
You're right that Richard likes to look forward and not back. To each his own, I say. That's Richard's approach and it works for him. He's a push-ahead kind of guy. History, though, can have its place. It depends on the speaker - and the audience.
I throw in the surprise names that folks don't expect to hear in terms of speed on the water. Alexander Graham Bell and "Lawrence of Arabia", for example. The inclusion of these names makes it plain to an audience that great men of vision have been moved to advance the science of speed - it's not just been the predictable petrolheads doing so.
Talks still have their place in the scheme of things - even in this age, where electronic communication is less the practical tool it started off as and more an unhealthy obsession. "Lectures", as the organisers like to call them, are a powerful way to get a message across. Eye to eye with your audience, with no other distractions, a connection can be made in a few moments that those people will never forget.
Nigel
I always feature Malcolm and Donald, as "the Campbells and their Bluebirds" is one theme that almost any audience can immediately relate to and it grips their attention.
You're right that Richard likes to look forward and not back. To each his own, I say. That's Richard's approach and it works for him. He's a push-ahead kind of guy. History, though, can have its place. It depends on the speaker - and the audience.
I throw in the surprise names that folks don't expect to hear in terms of speed on the water. Alexander Graham Bell and "Lawrence of Arabia", for example. The inclusion of these names makes it plain to an audience that great men of vision have been moved to advance the science of speed - it's not just been the predictable petrolheads doing so.
Talks still have their place in the scheme of things - even in this age, where electronic communication is less the practical tool it started off as and more an unhealthy obsession. "Lectures", as the organisers like to call them, are a powerful way to get a message across. Eye to eye with your audience, with no other distractions, a connection can be made in a few moments that those people will never forget.
Nigel