As some people will know, the Mid Thames MBC is being ejected from Beale Park by March 2020 after nearly 40 years and being told to 'clear their stuff away'. The new Trustees don't want to be associated with model boating in any form and Richard Howard's unique collection of models is being put into 'storage'. I believe some have already been sold. I was told a while back that a number of these models were in fact on loan.
https://www.inyourarea.co.uk/news/model-boat-club-at-beale-park-forced-to-find-new-home/
Colin
It is a shame that model boating is going to cease at Beale Park. It has been a great venue for events in the past, but places priorities change and groups have to adapt. We have been moved on from our home of nineteen years at Eastney Pumping Station, to a temporary (15 month ) home at the ex-Royal Marines Museum, to a waterfront site at Explosion Museum in Gosport ( 11 months ), to another more permanent building at the same site, we feel your pain! It is, however, a good opportunity to thin out some of the tat that has been accumulating over the years. I think we managed about fifteen car loads of 'tip run' tat over the various moves. It does concentrate the mind!
On the subject of the model boat collection and the pavilion. Following the sad passing of Richard Howard a few years ago, it was obvious that the model boats were on borrowed time. The pavilion has a most interesting history, and to have just been a model boat display for the last twenty years has, on reflection, detracted from that history. I am not saying that the collection was a bad idea, but as stated in the article, it was a very niche display. I always enjoyed a wander round it, ideas for fresh projects often came from what was displayed inside. However, it was never really part of the sites appeal to the wider public.
Very sad that the door would appear to now be firmly closed on any more model boating at Beale.
