Coniston Bye laws/Ruskin

[polo]

Regarding your support of the Museum to get K7 on display.
K7 crashed on 4th January 1967, why didn’t you or Don try to raise her from the depths? You had plenty of opportunity but have jumped onboard with Bill and the BBP who had the balls to bring her from the depths and return her to working condition. Given time she will be in as near perfect order as possible and ready to show the world ‘I’m Back!’
I have watched several recordings of the speech you made on 4th January. Clearly no one had been briefed re the content as the look of horror and astonishment on the faces of the persons present was obvious and the applause was muted or nil.
I am sure most people want K7 to go to the Ruskin museum at some point, but I have to point out once the boat is in there, she ‘dies’ a second time, this time a long and lingering death into obscurity unless arrangement are made to allow her to run and proudly rest in the museum until her next outing.
K7 was designed and built to do one thing: GO FAST ON WATER!
Seeing her in a museum does not show her to her true being. K7 should be able to go onto her correct medium, WATER, then do what she is meant to do, roar, and go fast. To keep her in a museum is akin to putting a race car in a museum mounted on railway lines or a train on tarmac, totally out of context. Look at the Air museums and the Merlin engine, this engine saved the world but no Merlins on display anywhere I know are in working order. They are dead lumps of metal, not the pride of British engineering which they definitely are. It is simply wrong.
Allowing the boat to get onto the water ENHANCES the Campbell legend and will get new fans and supporters, bringing money in to keep her maintained and keep the legend alive and not forgotten, not covered in dust and dented in a museum. Once they see this machine fire up and start to move, the hairs on the back of their necks will go up, the boat will pick up speed and there will be quite a few people wiping their eyes in pride at seeing this spectacle[including me!]
You only have to look at the spectators when a Spitfire takes to the skies with the music of the Merlin engine being heard, you personally saw grown men with tears in their eyes as K7 fired up and flew along Loch Fad. K7 is a British icon !
Until there is a cast iron guarantee [written in blood if necessary] that no one will oppose her, for any reason, from being maintained in full running order, going onto the water and running as she should she should NEVER be put into the museum.
K7 is still not fully restored yet, time should be given for this to be completed and for her to be fully tested and run, with a triumphant return for a run on Coniston before being allowed to ‘rest’ in the museum on show [and protected from damage and theft] with arrangements for her to ‘show herself off’ on Coniston Water[ a yearly event?] or elsewhere by mutual arrangements by all concerned. K7 MUST be allowed to run on water at speed in the full eyes of the public and let her legend live on forever. NOT rot in the corner of a museum with children asking what’s that!
I want, one day, to be able to take my 3 Grandchildren to see K7 run at speed and tell them about a brave man who died proving British engineering is the best. I don’t want to take them to a museum and tell them about a daughter and Nephew who shafted the brave man and his supporters and left his legacy to rot in the corner of a museum.
Gina, I ask you to facilitate talks between the BBP, the museum, Don and yourself to these ends. As I have said earlier, these disagreements are damaging the Legend and if they continue, may damage it beyond repair, as in my case it already has.

[polo]

To Don Wales
Don, we are well acquainted, and I consider us as friends. I am unable to fathom why you have decided to try and get K7 put in a museum and left there as a dead exhibit! Putting a boat in a car museum??
Doesn’t DC’s will state that if there is a crash the boat and the driver are to stay together? DC is buried in Coniston, K7 is inexorably linked with Coniston, K7 should stay in Coniston after the correct agreements and guarantees are put in place. Then K7 can display her awesome skills in live runs on Coniston and maybe even travel and spread the gospel.
Yes, I agree, I would love to see CN7 alongside K7, like a brother and sister reunited again, but only at an organised event. K7 is still alive and able to run, she should be given her life back after being reborn. She is made to go fast on water, not sit and rot in a corner of a museum where the uninformed walk past making uninformed comments and asking stupid questions. CN7 is dead! Bent frame, knackered engine and no boots to speak of. Has the engine been maintained/repaired in all the years she has been in the museum? I doubt it!
I went to see the Railton Mobil special in Birmingham where I heard some uninformed loon with his child, he called her Bluebird, despite the RMS being silver. The mouthful I gave the parent was something to behold! Is that want you want for K7?
I made a complaint to the museum re the RMS and they replied calling her the Railton MOBILE Special! That says it all about museums and what they care about their exhibits.
I suggest you swallow your pride and get involved in meaningful discussion on the future of K7 as I said to Gina above.

[polo]

To the Ruskin Museum.
Sort out and sign a cast iron agreement with the BBP as soon as possible and make arrangements for a triumphant return of the old girl to Coniston, allow her to show her prowess and during breaks from arranged runs/exhibits etc allow her to rest on display in the custom she should expect as a British Icon.

To Bill and the BBP
Even though I was originally against the raising of K7, you have done a fantastic job. So, finish the project!
Stick to your guns and don’t let K7 out of your safe hands until you have cast iron guarantees she will be allowed to run and her maintenance and future be unhindered by anybody in any way.
To Everyone
K7 is alive and well!!! Please don’t let her be killed off!

Polo
Geoff Holme

[Malcolm Ops]

For Geoff Holme,

Whilst our paths cross at times, I was the person who could rely on Geoff in the late nineties to answer the call to assist at Land Speed Record attempts, particularly those for Primetime LSR.

Giving up a speed passion as strong as it was has thrown me somewhat and I haven't the words to help here.

Should you need to make contact this forum does allow users to pass private messages one to another. Geoff if you need to make contact do use this method.

You will see that I am registered as 'Malcolm Ops'.

Best regards to you and the family, Malcolm Pittwood.

[Renegadenemo]

Hi Geoff,

As you say, we've not always seen eye to eye but I'm with you 100% on this.

Novie's treatment went beyond disgusting, Wales should be tarred and feathered for what he did to the museum and they don't usually garner much sympathy from me these days and Gina has single-handedly destroyed the Campbell legend in one fell swoop but at least it has done much to hasten a process that began some time ago.

A steam enthusiast was trying to get me equally enthused the other day about the record breaking exploits of old Alf Tonks or someone like that, fireman on the Flying Mallard who shovelled coal with his teeth and threw his thermos and sandwiches overboard to lighten the load as his shirt burned off in a shower of sparks seconds after he and his driver broke a record.
But I'd never heard of Alf and didn't care but his steam train sounded like it might be interesting.
Of course now I know he existed I might buy a book about him but this time last week I didn't and as Donald Campbell begins the inexorable slide from living memory there's an equal and opposite increase in the number of people who see K7 first and wonder what it's all about later. We see a lot of that with the youngsters, especially on Bute and that's why Gina's 4th January debacle was so damaging.
The public loves K7 and respects the BBP for bringing the old boat back to life but they didn't like the foot stamping and teddy bear throwing so much so that was only ever going to cause damage to both Gina and the museum (yes, I tried to warn them both of the shifting sands a long time ago) and now we see that damage done.

So, Geoff, I too have seen how much effort and enthusiasm you've put into your passion for record breaking and can see exactly why you are so dismayed but every cloud, and all that, so next time K7 goes out you'll just have to come and do that instead.

Bill

[polo]

Malcolm, Bill
Many thanks for your kind words.
I must explain that whilst totally shattered' by all the shenanigans regarding K7 which prompted the sale of my books, I have not given up hope.
I still have all my collection of photos, both personally taken, Geoff Halliwell photos given and bought and other photos 'collected'. I still have all my press cuttings and whatnot which includes all the original cuttings for the crash of K7 and of Crusader[given to me by a collector]. All will be 'sold off' at a later stage.
If [sorry WHEN!] K7 runs again, unless the dates clash with my very old, 'new' venture, come hell and high water, Army and Navy trying to stop me [RAF and special ops will be on my side! ] I will be there watching K7 run. [Still got my dive gear Bill!]
If the F2 team still competes, I will be there helping out, probably with Novie.
I will be at records week when it starts up again. I am staying a member of the SRC.

I just want to be involved with a really fast boat before I finally bow out [unless someone offers me a go with a 'special project' that piques my interest].

Cheers

Polo

[Malcolm Ops]

The consultation has ended and the new Bye Laws for Coniston Water have been accepted (16/12), confirmed and come in to use in January 2021.

The onus then falls on to the village to organise their homecoming festival for Bluebird K7 and with it agree to the team to conduct the Proving Trial of the boat on Coniston Water.

The 'outgoing' Bye Law gave the dimensions of the course that the craft will travel on Coniston Water, which has not altered. If the whole process were straightforward, a crew training could be held this year in readiness for the Proving Trial of the completed craft (in the condition she was in on the morning of January 4th) at some appropriate time (between May to August) in 2022.

[Richie]

Great work Malcolm to you and all those behind the scenes that made it happen in the first place. Coniston should be pleased now that records week can return bringing with it revenue and friendly faces no doubt.

[Malcolm Ops]

Thanks Richie. Just some background for the readership.

The 'outgoing' 2010 Bye Laws were my introduction to working with the BBP.

This introduction came about when a Mr. Bill Smith was quoted in print as saying "the craft Bluebird K7 will be rebuilt to the condition as on the morning of 4th January and she will return to run on Coniston Water". This was in 2005/2006. This was the only time that I told the boss "you can't just do that". By 2010 the Bye Laws contained paragraphs about the operation of Bluebird K7 legally on Coniston - the officers and the Committee of the LDNPA got to know me!

Ever since I have maintained a watch on the LDNPA and the Coniston Water Bye Laws.

With the demise of the RYA as the governing body of British National powerboating the Bye Law revision, which has now become the 2020 version, was initiated by others to ensure that the Speed Record Event could continue. I joined in the consultation process, on behalf of the BBP, to ensure that whilst the paperwork is 'future proofed', it did not alter the opportunity for Bluebird K7 to be operated on the lake.

It will be good if the Bluebird K7 Proving Trial does take place in 2022.

[Renegadenemo]

The 'outgoing' Bye Law gave the dimensions of the course that the craft will travel on Coniston Water, which has not altered. If the whole process were straightforward, a crew training could be held this year in readiness for the Proving Trial of the completed craft (in the condition she was in on the morning of January 4th) at some appropriate time (between May to August) in 2022.

Do you know something we don't, Malcolm? Do we need to start dusting off our tools and boxes of rivets come January?