You won't believe the latest bright idea

[NutLoose]

Words fail me, luckily someone has seen sense.

Bassingbourn's 'Memphis Belle' bomber crew memorial fenced off 'to avoid offending Libyans' | Royston News | News Headlines & Events in Royston | Royston Evening News | Cambridge News (http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Royston/Bassingbourns-Memphis-Belle-bomber-crew-memorial-fenced-off-to-avoid-offending-Libyans-20140506130131.htm)


http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2619482/Air-force-memorial-famous-Memphis-Belle-bomber-crew-fenced-avoid-offending-Libyans.html

[500N]

:ugh:


But what I can't understand is why a war memorial would offend the Libyans ?

Any war memorial for that matter.

[air pig]

I do hope the station commander has had the interview without coffee and been appraised of their career future.

[chopper2004]

Foxtrot Foxtrot Sierra.......Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

We drove past the base funnily enough the other day, nice countryside drive from other half's mates birthday in Letchworth Garden City I did some adventure training there as a CCF cadet (fond memories of log run) and then overnight liquified exercise in the Officers mess as an OCdt at uni :) :ok:

I wonder if next the BBMF will be disbanded in case it might offend any one next?

Reading my local rag, I ignore any comments in any article, as regardless right or wrong, tend to be idiotic comments by locals, the academia brainwashed anti this that and the other crowd (who actually are not particularly nice peeps if you see them in the pub) however in the Daily Wail, a reader did point out if anyone asked the first lot of Libyan trainees if they be offended or was it automatically assumed?

What is the input by the base commandant (funnily enough go back 3 decades one of my classmates at prep school's dad was the then base CO).

[Archimedes]

Malcolm Osborn, a member of the Friends of the Eighth and local historian, told the News that he believed the fence to have been erected out of fear of offending the Libyan troops.


David Crowe, chairman of the Friends of the Eighth denied the fence had anything to do with the Libyan troops and instead said the fence was erected for “security reasons.”

The Ministry of Defence has refused to officially say why the fence was put up in first place.

Shame that nobody appears to have asked Mr Crowe for more details about the 'security reasons' (which Mr Crowe is convinced has nothing to do with the Libyans), but I suppose that if there had been a 'actually, temporarily putting a fence up might have been a good idea' angle to the story, this would have really spoiled the Mail's 'It's PC Gone Mad! If Only Maggie were still alive!' sort of story they're rather keen on running these days, without always fully apprising themselves of the facts...

[500N]

"and instead said the fence was erected for “security reasons.”"

Yes, erect a fence with easy access either end so anyone who wants to anything like nick something has a perfect screen to work behind, hidden from view from people :ugh:

[Archimedes]

If there was low-level police int that (say) some of the region's tarmacadam, roofing and scrap metal consultants intended to turn up and rip the prop down with a length of chain and a JCB before high-tailing it to the nearest dodgy scrap metal merchants in a bid to obtain the finances for a spot of caravan refurbishment, then putting up a fence to prevent direct access from the front, but permitting those wishing to visit the memorial to access it from the side might have been a reasonable idea...


My point being that the Mail would be aware, via the local media, of the alternative view put forward by Mr Crowe, but has not pursued it to discover whether or not he's got it wrong, or been fed some nonsense, or whether there was a legitimate reason to screen the memorial, or whether screening the memorial seemed like a good idea at the time but was an over-reaction to the assumed threat to the memorial (whatever that might be and if there was one), and has instead done its usual 'fire up the outrage bus' story.

[Mr C Hinecap]

blahblahblah outrage, down the pan, shame, going to the dogs blah blah

Near the bottom of the story:

'A temporary screen was erected around the US War Memorial at Bassingbourn. This has now been removed

IT HAS BEEN REMOVED.