International Bomber Command Centre
I have had two previous visits to the IBCC Memorial Spire, but this was the first time I had access to the centre. A hard hat area. A guided tour courtesy of the contractors and the director.
The building is complete, or almost complete on the outside, but a lot of work to do on the inside.
All materials wherever possible have been sourced locally.
A number of separate and distinct areas.
Videos where airmen in their own words will tell their stories. This will be very much like what can be found at the Victorian Prison in Lincoln Castle.
A large screen. This will tell the story of the airmen, but also what it was like on the ground.
An area for school projects.
A restaurant and coffee shop.
These days too many are opening coffee shops and serving awful coffee.
Stokes will supply the coffee, hopefully better coffee than their undrinkable house blend.
Stokes will provide training, but training does not make a barista. Only working with a skilled barista.
I have qualms re the use as a corporate venue.
Too many places are now being hijacked as corporate venues.
Were business to pay its fair share of tax, were corporate tax dodging to be dealt with, there would be more than sufficient public funding for culture.
What was lacking, or at least not mentioned, an archive and artefacts.
We then had a wander to the Spire and the Memorial Wall.
The names of the airman who died serving in Bomber Command during WWII are laser cut into the panels.
