News from our desk

19th December	Seasons Greetings	2005
They say as you get older that time speeds up and it certainly seems to be the case here at the Oldnautibits H.Q. It has been action packed year for us and we have particularly enjoyed celebrating the 60th anniversary of V.E. Day, Trafalgar and welcoming back Dame Ellen MacArthur after her record breaking voyage. We have also had a busy time on the road and it has been a pleasure to meet so many of our existing and new customers face to face, rather than "down the wire." We are now finalising the events we will attend in 2006 and a full list will be published on the site in the early new year. We have been restocking aviation and marine items (included buying a pub load of nautical antiques) and to enable us to refresh our listings, we will be offering sale prices on a variety of the current stock on our return from the Christmas holiday, so keep watching the site! On behalf of the team at Oldnautibits, can we pass on our very best seasonal wishes for the festive season and we look forward to the challenges of 2006.
21st October	England expects!	2005
The entire team at Oldnautibits are celebrating the 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. We have loaned a selection of naval ensigns and signal flags to our local hostelry so that we can commemorate this event in style. The summer seems to have rushed by and the autumn winds are fast taking the remaining leaves from the trees. The air show season is now more or less behind us, but at least the insurance situation concerning B-17 Sally B was resolved and hopefully a lasting solution can be found for the new season in 2006. We were concerned to hear that the British Ministry of Defence are considering selling Bentley Priory, home of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain, and may be put up for sale for possible re-development. It is hoped that the powers that be will be influenced by all interested parties to ensure this part of our national heritage is preserved. Christmas will soon be upon us and we are currently working to refresh our web site listings, to make sure there is plenty of choice for that special "nautibit" under the festive tree.
19th August	A Summer of Celebrations	2005
It seems the summer of 2005 brings another anniversary to celebrate with each passing week. The VE Day anniversary was celebrated in May, with a superb flypast of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight over London and who can forget the images of the Lancaster dropping poppies over Buckingham Palace? This week we are remembering the conclusion of WWII and VJ Day. It was good to see our own B-17 'Sally B' honouring the occasion and let us hope that an ongoing solution can be found to the insurance issues, so that she continues to grace such events in the years to come - as long as this does not mean she has to fly in the livery of Virgin Atlantic! On the sea, we have been commemorating Nelson's victory at Trafalgar throughout the summer with great aplomb. On a more modest level, we were delighted to see Dame Ellen MacArthur and Giles Chichester sail into Cowes on the Isle of Wight in the newly restored Gypsy Moth IV, which has been restored from a near rotting hulk at Greenwich to her former glory. The event was marked by a simultaneous fly past of a Gypsy Moth biplane exactly as was done after Chichester's return from his epic round the world voyage in 1967. The team at Oldnautibits, while enjoying the celebrations, have now returned from their holiday (somewhat rusty and windswept!), and it is very much work as normal. We were delighted to welcome existing and new customers to our stand at Popham on 14th August, although with the number of other events on the same day, visitor numbers were down. We did, however, pick up some interesting new stock which we will be posting shortly on the site. If you don't see what you are after, please ask, as if we don't have one, we may know where to find it. All we now need, to round off a memorable summer, is for the English Cricket team to defeat the Australians in the Ashes series!
22nd July	Gone Sailing!	2005
It was a pleasure to meet so many of our customers at the Bath & West Antiques Fair over the weekend of the 15-17th July, although it seems the glorious weather encouraged some of our regulars to go to the beach in preference to the attractions of our stand! We were fortunate in having some interesting new stock brought in to us, including a small but beautifully formed collection of flying headgear, which we will be listing early August. We have decided, seeing August is nearly upon us, that it is time for the Oldnautibits team to take a short break. The office will not be manned from Saturday, 23rd July until Monday, 1st August. We will be reopening on Tuesday, 2nd and will then respond as quickly as possible to any enquiries received in our absence.
6th July	England Expects!	2005
The team at Oldnautibits enjoyed some welcome R & R last week viewing the marine spectacle organised to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar. In these politically correct times, it seems we are no longer able to mention our French and Spanish adversaries and instead the media had to refer to them as "reds and blues"!! We have one or two items associated with the Victory and we will shortly be updating our marine stock to incorporate these titbits together with other "nautibits" we have recently acquired. Following our last epistle, it seems the authorities read our piece and acted accordingly! Our very own B-17 Sally B is again taking to the air and will be joining the B of B Memorial Flight to celebrate VE and VJ Days, which for some unexplainable reason the Government has decided will be over the weekend of the 9/10th July. This is a short term fix for this occasion and we hope that the Nelson "blind eye" approach over the European insurance legislation can be resolved permanently.
3rd June	Bluebirds over the white cliffs of Dover	2005
They say as you get older time flies (unlike Sally B - see below), and we would certainly endorse the theory! The 60th Anniversary of VE Day has been and gone, although for some strange reason, the British Government has told us to celebrate on a completely different date, which seems to have no bearing on the actual event. This being said, there were lots of unofficial celebrations to mark the occasion and to honour all those who took part and many who did not return. The Oldnautibits team awarded themselves a well deserved holiday over the weekend of 7/8th May and attended "Operation Spanhoe" held on Spanhoe Airfield which was home to the 315th USAAF troop carrier group flying C-47's to Arnhem, D Day and the Rhine Crossing. We were able to meet with some of the Veterans who returned, went flying and generally had a superb time. We intend to publish a feature on the site in due course. It is sad to report our own B-17 Sally B has not been able to take part in any of the celebrations due to new European insurance regulations which classify her in the same insurance category as a 110 seat passenger jet! This has temporarily grounded her despite the French owned example continuing to fly with the authorities on the other side of the channel taking a distinctly Gallic view on their own legislation. It must be hoped a sensible solution can be found so that Sally B can continue to act as a flying memorial to the 79,000 USAAF airmen who paid the final sacrifice in WWII. Many apologies for our delay in adding new stock to the site. This will be redressed very shortly but as ever, if you have a specific requirement, please ask as we may have one waiting to be listed.
27th April	Spring has Sprung!	2005
While Spring has been and gone in the UK, the view through the flight deck window here at Oldnautibits is somewhat bleak with leaden skies and torrential rain, but hopefully Summer will arrive next week! We have had an extremely busy month which has kept us more than occupied, with increased demand on our nautical bits and pieces. We have also received a number of interesting approaches from people wishing to sell items, so keep watching our new stock listings for more unusual nautibits. Don't forget if you can't find what you are looking for, please ask as if we don't have one, we may know where to find it. We're experiencing increased demand for WWII related uniforms, both to wear and to display at events celebrating the 60th anniversary of VE day and the end of hostilities in Europe. Our next outing is to the Popham Aerojumble and Fly-In which also incorporates a classic car meet and autojumble. This is one of our favourite venues (weather allowing!), so if you are planning to attend, please come and say hello. We will hopefully be in our normal spot in the marquee and we will have a variety of aviation and marine collectables on display.
2nd March	Batten down the hatches!	2005
While the UK is experiencing the first real taste of winter, the crew of Oldnautibits are counting their blessings that they are posted in South West England where they have avoided all the current snow. We have also managed to source some interesting new stock which we are now posting on the site, so keep watching! Our message reminding visitors that we buy as well as sell, has also resulted in some interesting leads which we are following up. Those of you who have read the Irvin story on the site may be interested that we have been approached by the family of the late John Bristow with a view to recovering his wartime Irvin. While this is in my personal collection, I am delighted to report that it will shortly be returned to them together with his service paybook and relating ephemera, so after many years, it will finally be going home!
11th February	Flight Deck Update	2005
Firstly congratulations to Ellen MacArthur on her fantastic achievement of beating the single handed round-the-world non-stop sailing record! Like so many others, we have been glued to her website (in between running the business) and were cheering her on as she crossed the finishing line. Never has her sponsor's strapline "You can do it if you B&Q it" proved so apt! What happened to January?! It was great to see so many old friends and a number of new at the January Shepton Mallet Antique Fair. The press visited our stall and we were featured in the local paper last week. Quality stock is continuing to prove hard to source and this last weekend underlines the current market conditions. We visited an Antiques Fair on Saturday and a Militaria and Boat Jumble on Sunday which resulted in a very small selection of new items which hardly justified the time spent and distance covered. If you are considering moving on any interesting items from your collection, remember we buy as well as sell! The recent cold snap has resulted in a flood of Irvin orders and our limited stocks are somewhat depleted, but still happy to add your requirement to our "Wish List" file. We do, however, have a number of USAAF B-3 Flight Jackets, so if you don't see what you're after, please ask. We have some interesting ship's clocks currently being cleaned and serviced by "Timewatch" with whom we have signed a contract. At last we have discovered reliable and skilled clock experts who provide a first class service in a realistic time scale. One of our business maxims here at Oldnautibits is to have fun in everything we do. Last night we attended a folk concert by "Show of Hands". Phil Beer and Steve Knightley performed a number of their own compositions interspersed by amusing anecdotes. The concert was in aid of our local Hospice, so as well as having a great evening, we also supported a very worthwhile cause. We bought the CD and we now have a new album to enjoy while we are polishing all those Nautibits! Finally, we have just confirmed our pitch at the Popham Aerojumble to be held on Monday, 2nd May and we are praying this year for a dry day! Full details to follow.
17th January	News from the Bridge!	2005
With the holiday season now well behind us, there is a buzz of activity in the Oldnautibits office and workshop. We are rushing around preparing stock for the Shepton Mallet Fair at the Bath & West Showground this weekend and we hope to welcome existing and new customers in Mendip Hall 2, stand no. 5. Following the Christmas rush, we are at last posting some fresh stock to the site but if you don't see what you are after, please ask. We may just have one tucked away or if not, know where to find it! Geoff has already been out buying and has just returned having purchased a small collection of WWII flying kit which has remained hidden in an attic for the last 60 years. Last Wednesday we attended a Service of Thanksgiving for the life of our good friend John Bristow who sadly died on 30th December. Geoff decided to wear John's Irvin Flying Jacket and scarf as a tribute to him and the gesture was much appreciated by all his family. His memory lives on through the features published on the site.