Posted by PeterH on November 17, 2006 at 22:55:55 from 86.130.136.183 user Peter_H.
In Reply to: Windermere Steamboat Museum and Lurking posted by Gordon on November 17, 2006 at 19:14:40:
Thanks for the link, Gordon, but with respect, the LAT are also dodging any comment about the practical likelihood of a 'Steamboat Museum' ever opening up again. Amid all the breezy talk about 'grants being obtained' and 'new jobs created', there are one or two give-aways. One is:
The grant from the NHMF is offered subject to a number of legal, financial and conservation conditions being met, and will probably not come into effect until March 2007
I wonder exactly what those conditions are, and whether they can be met, and when? March 2007 sounds a bit optimistic to me. I have been told it will 'take years' sorting the legal problems out.
As the restoration nears completion, further funds will be needed for a series of new buildings, on what is one of the most beautiful and spectacular lakeside sites in Britain.
What is wrong with the existing buildings? If they have become too run down to house the steamboat collection, then why? Through lack of visitor support? If so, how would a new Museum attract more visitors in the numbers required? Fund-granting organisations will want to know this.
I suspect there is a lot more in this than meets the eye, and I also suspect that the Lakes locals know more about this than they are letting on. No, Gordon, we are not to be fobbed off with a PR-filled website.