paulob1

the site is up and running but yes not complete and now we are looking at redoing it with the new name it likely wont change much until we do...but since I own thecoldwarmuseum.com i will be keeping it until I have enough time to bother to fight the trademark issue.

yes you have it...

i never knew it was going to be so difficult to pick an opening day...so its back to the 3/44. Wife had booked a weekend away for the 11/12 July...its not easy but it has to be done...so opening day is now confirmed as the 3/4 july...

hmm the 432's are mega reliable but there are some serious things you need to know about it...very vey very top of the list is the oil in the governor, check this everytime you drive it...if there is no oil in the governor she can and will run away and will self destruct...if you have a leak in the governor, which you shouldn't, fix it... oils and lubricants are as essential as in every other vehicle. track tension is vey important as you will lose a track if its not kept within spec... but as andy says get the service and operators manual and learn a bit about them. they are not that difficult but they do need some love now and again...we have had one of ours for some 15 years, been 100 percent reliable, even our solenoid has not failed, but then we use it regularly love it regularly and maintain it regularly...

and our DAF drops has been taken for a movie project...that is good income for the museum...we are slowly building a nice petty cash balance...

got our first of two camp bastion tents up these will be for simple indoor displays...no idea what we will display just yet as we have so much so maybe something historical chronology wise a few pictures soldiers in uniforms and such like...we also have a nice container cabin, we will use it for something needing desks and stuff...we are going to hopefully get a few more machines before opening day which is going to be the 11th July, or may slip into the week after just got a few things to tie up for this week and then we go firm...loads of volunteers helping but no one yet who has much mechanical skills...hoping that as we open and people hear about us more of the ex reme chaps around here will show up..Brad is massively capable at fixing almost every thing and will even tackle complex electrical faults but usually passes the manuals onto me to read them through and identify things to make sure we are on the right track...I hate vehicle electrics..but if you have time go check our the facebook page @theironcurtainmuseum

So its the 3/4th July..tickets go on sale on the 1st May. you have to buy tickets from partyace.com they are 11 pounds each for an adult, free for kids under 17, but you still need to get a ticket...it helps me with the admin and management. I currently have no idea how to run this so I am using every trick I can to manage it properly and efficiently...so tickets sold mean I can plan on numbers which helps me plan so much else.. So bear with me...I am hoping to have a few surprises by then but thats for the day...not now...its going to be fairly low key to start with but we will get better at it and get more organised. We will have coffee and tea and cakes and biscuits and maybe some hot food, we will likely ask a burger bar to attend for hot food...i have no idea how many will come hence the ticket sales but I don't expect to get more than 200 on the first weekend...but my limit is going to be 1000...so we should be okay...i cannot see 1000 people coming for a very long time..maybe when we get our TU95 bear in...we will have a small shop selling some smaller memorabilia and stuff and a load more besides but this is the start we have had covid and now I have to try and recover financially and work wise so its going to be much less than planned but it going to open...

So we have our filming day tomorrow. Big Narstie is coming to drive a few toys and then he is taking a zil away for a few weeks to have a play with it...will hopefully put the museum on the map a bit. Will be a lot of fun too. i have to show him how to drive a zil a kraz a 432 a ferret if he can get in it and a ural...maybe I am not letting him drive the OT90 the MTLB the Saracen or any of the other toys...it will be on the TV in June or july...will let you know when.....Gave the mig a bit of a spruce up for the first time today, she need s a damn good clean, as do a lot of the toys..its coming...we will be open this year of that I am now sure, we have coffee and canteen arrangements coming along staff ready, tents and canopys ready, access nearly sorted and the place is nearly tidied...we are getting there...

explain...

the flags are East Germany flying with the Soviet Flag, the British flag flying with lest we forget flag, i know wrong era but it has to be flown...then American French West German and Italian Flags. I am about to erect a Nato Flag a Russian Flag and a Polish flag. There is not Warsaw pact Flag. I am also flying an NHS flag...on the campus I also have English Irish, Welsh and Scottish flags flying.

yes they have been there for a while...and more coming...

and the FH77 move..

you guys know I will never give up...we had the Frog 7 Missile launcher in this week for work check out

More missed dates but covid has been a bit of an exceptional event. So we are still slowly working towards a partial opening this year but no idea when...the plan is to tidy the site once the rains stop, we will get the area fenced off this next few months to keep the cows out and we are going to lay down a couple of concrete pads and tidy up the road way...the concrete pads will hold the aircraft..for now and we will have a few marquees for use too...vehicles are getting done and many are ready for the displays...but its a lot of work and our volunteers are not allowed just yet...soon though very soon...

yes have been in contact and they can offer zero help...the Hampshire group have hidden away in their buildings some very special vehicles of the period all hidden away for no one to see...i could put these vehicles in the museum, but i have to get through planning first...

it seems to be the catch all that stops us from doing anything, I suspect the council think a museum would need council funds. I think but they seem to be so unhelpful...its ludicrous...

I had a heart to heart with the council and asked why they are fighting me. they genuinely, I felt, came back and said its not a fight its about policy and i have to give them enough evidence to go outside of policy...this is where of course it becomes the fight, what they want and what I can give they know is impossible, so whilst he is right its stacked in their favour not mine and they make the decisions.

that is very true....

YES there would be...

I read with joy of the museum in America opening up and then thought about my own collection, we have well over 100 vehicles, mostly singles some doubles and a few more than that as spares. but along with all the other items I have close to 500 artefacts that will be on display...and that is not all of it...we want to start documenting it all...Debs our new admin lady is about to start...

good luck indeed, but with 140,000 square feet of covered space at least he has the room..

so we have very limited scope for the 28 day opening so it will have to be a private ticket only event..watch this space we are getting something even if its getting less and less by the minute...this country is screwed up, has no respect for history and is run by idiots with no vision, totally prejudiced and would not hold up a job in the real world for more than five minutes...planning is a made up world of complexities with the sole purpose of extracting more and more money out of individuals to feed the ever growing pension burden of the council staff...

the bods in the council will just have to lump it now...I am going to open...I am just getting a planning officer to make sure it is all legal and we will be away... Paul

thinking about it is not a bad choice, it will give me chance to learn how to run a museum, it will give me experience of running a public event and facility, it will teach me how and what people want from the museum, it will give me time to get it right, or at least improve it...the first pass will be a bit of a learning curve so in the beginning it may be the best idea...I may actually hate doing the museum...who knows...so this was I save myself a bit of money, get something i want partially and then if it goes to plan something even better later...