UK Vintage Radio Repair and Restoration Discussion Forum - View Single Post - MEET

Lucien Nunes · 5th Dec 2022, 7:03 pm

Thank you, Jeremy and Nick, for the kind words.

I would like to write more on the philosophy and reasoning behind my conviction that education is the single best use of all the vintage hardware we love, but it runs the risk of over-complicating something that is fundamentally very simple.

It probably all started with my dad. He had a general all-round knowledge of science and engineering and was good with people. When I was a child, when we made things or visited museums or took part in activities, he would always encourage me to jump in with both feet and not just look on passively. A conversation would take place and I would be snuck in under the rope and given a tour behind the scenes. I can well remember even at age seven or eight, Ivan Fear at Kew Bridge Steam Museum (as it was then) teaching me unofficially after hours how to drive a Cornish engine. I would be round the back of fair organs asking to operate the keyframe or dragging home a length of underground power cable given to me by the electricity board jointers afer spending an hour sitting on the edge of a hole in the road learning how to make a resin joint. Everything was an adventure and as a youngster I could get attention because that was novel and people did not want to disappoint.

As I entered my teens, I started to get more serious with projects and had some excellent mentors who rapidly boosted my skillset. I was not always the most appreciative and could be quite abrasive and awkward, but that's part of being a teenager and eventually as I grew out of that, I realised how generous and helpful so many people had been and what a privilege it was to have those opportunities. But it was yet a long time after that, two decades at least, before I realised that many people, especially young people, with an interest in engineering, might never get the chance to get stuck in the way I had, because the circumstances of their life were not conducive to it. And then to realise that there were probably as many or more people who didn't realise how interesting engineering could be, because they hadn't been exposed to it at all. And then finally the idea started to crystallise, with various incidents like the lift controller reveal that I mentioned in the video.

Fun old machines + welcoming environment = success engaging public with engineering
Public engagement + educational resource = return on social and financial investment
Investment + enthusiasts = opportunities to save fun old machines.

5th Dec 2022, 7:03 pm	#4
Lucien Nunes Rest in Peace Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: London, UK. Posts: 2,508	Re: MEET - call to arms! Can you help? Thank you, Jeremy and Nick, for the kind words. I would like to write more on the philosophy and reasoning behind my conviction that education is the single best use of all the vintage hardware we love, but it runs the risk of over-complicating something that is fundamentally very simple. It probably all started with my dad. He had a general all-round knowledge of science and engineering and was good with people. When I was a child, when we made things or visited museums or took part in activities, he would always encourage me to jump in with both feet and not just look on passively. A conversation would take place and I would be snuck in under the rope and given a tour behind the scenes. I can well remember even at age seven or eight, Ivan Fear at Kew Bridge Steam Museum (as it was then) teaching me unofficially after hours how to drive a Cornish engine. I would be round the back of fair organs asking to operate the keyframe or dragging home a length of underground power cable given to me by the electricity board jointers afer spending an hour sitting on the edge of a hole in the road learning how to make a resin joint. Everything was an adventure and as a youngster I could get attention because that was novel and people did not want to disappoint. As I entered my teens, I started to get more serious with projects and had some excellent mentors who rapidly boosted my skillset. I was not always the most appreciative and could be quite abrasive and awkward, but that's part of being a teenager and eventually as I grew out of that, I realised how generous and helpful so many people had been and what a privilege it was to have those opportunities. But it was yet a long time after that, two decades at least, before I realised that many people, especially young people, with an interest in engineering, might never get the chance to get stuck in the way I had, because the circumstances of their life were not conducive to it. And then to realise that there were probably as many or more people who didn't realise how interesting engineering could be, because they hadn't been exposed to it at all. And then finally the idea started to crystallise, with various incidents like the lift controller reveal that I mentioned in the video. Fun old machines + welcoming environment = success engaging public with engineering Public engagement + educational resource = return on social and financial investment Investment + enthusiasts = opportunities to save fun old machines.