Posted By : John Davies,
04-Jun-2006, 06:29pm
Gosh,
Consider me told off!
Not only am I upbraded for excessive bureaucratic zeal in insisting that a VIN (and a PIN, Jonathan) is just that, and that "number" is
redundant.
At least I think I am.
Which part of - "Still, when did departments become organisations become directives r." And when dead diagnostic text take our I?" - did I not
understand? All of it.
Then, apparently Ian comes to my defence, or to someones' defence, as who has been put down? Me, but I called myself a pedant and am happpy to
be one. Anyway, we can all be happy pedants together.
But then, Ian, you fly off at another angle all together, and accuse me of making unreasonable demands of a museum.
Ian, museums are not mere repositories of artefacts, they are centres of historical research, academic places that should, IMHO be concerned
with finding out what really happened in the past and not what someone in authority says happened. I have evidence, in artefacts, photographs
and witnesses that cars other than Gaydon's 'Last Spitfire' were the last down the production line. Principle in this are two cars from those
with the 50 highest VINs, one in the UK, one in France that were marked inside the doors as 'Last' by the production line workers. If the
Gaydon car had been in that batch, it is likely that its door panels bear similar salutations.
But Gaydon merely point to the car's VIN (there I go again), which is indisputably the highest, and the factory build docket for the car, on
which someone has written "The End - Fin". Not exactly grade one evidence that it was the last to leave. If they were concerned for the truth
they would look inside the doors.
I'm no conspiracist - I don't think they are 'covering something up'. It's just human nature, plus a lack of interest in historical accuracy,
tinged perhaps with a 'not invented here' attitude that is very human, but not very professional for a museum.
John
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Posted By : Phil Grimble,
04-Jun-2006, 11:32pm
Blimey, one good handbagging later...