[WWI] "Lying on the Floor..."

[jmikl2957 at comcast.net]

    I've never taken pictures at Hendon while lying on the floor, but I did have a laughable photo experience there.  In planning for a trip to the Cross and Cockade Annual General Meeting I arranged ahead of time to photograph the interiors of the OT aircraft, which required being able to cross the rope lines.  So I wrote to (then curator) Mike Tagg and he graciously said, "Sure!  Just be sure to get a photoger's badge."

    I showed up on the appropriate day and got a yellow pin-on badge.  While shooting my photos I began to hear this mumbling and grumbling behind me and found that the Brits didn't appreciate the "ugly American" who was violating the rope lines to shoot photos.  So I loudly and apologetically showed them the badge and explained what I was doing.

    I got smiles and mumbles of "Well, OK then..."  But the crowd, assuming I knew what I was doing, historically speaking, quickly enlisted my help as a docent and I found myself leading the group through the place, explaining to them the history of their own museum!

    Talk about role reversal!  (And not a single sod offered to buy me a beer!)

                                        Mike


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