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Talk:Somerset Space Walk

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Venus inscription

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From Parrett People reference):

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Message re Somerset Space Walk

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This message was originally posted at User talk:EdJogg, but really belongs here:

Hi Ed (AKA Pete) Sorry to post this message here, as I realise it's off topic and I don't mean to block up your pages- unfortunately I'm the only person in my generation who's computer illiterate! I found your piece on the Somerset Space Walk the other day and was really pleased so I sent it on to my Mum, who would like me to send you the following message;

"Hello Ed. I'm Pip's wife. I was thrilled when my daughter emailed me about your Wikipedia article and I know Pip would have been too, so thank you.
To fill in a few blanks:
Pip was born Philip Robert Vassar Youngman in Hunstanton, Norfolk, on 26th August 1924 and died in Taunton, Somerset on 23rd May 2007.
The concrete for the planet plinths was provided by ReadyMix Concrete, the plinths were formed by Pip using fibreglass moulds which he had also made and the steel for the planets was provided by Avimo, a local defence contractor. (They were lovely about it - much of what the company designed and made was obsolete before it was ever put into use, and they were genuinely pleased to be involved in a project where their efforts would last for decades.) The model Sun was transported on a flat-bed truck (not a barge - sorry! It's a lovely idea, though) and craned into position on a very windy, rain-sodden day not more than a week before the opening. The day of the opening, 9th August 1997, was warm and sunny and beautiful, the one fine day in what was otherwise a fortnight of cold, dreich, miserable weather, which Pip took as something of a sign.
Funding came from COPUS (Committee on the Public Understanding of Science), the initial leaflet was paid for by PPARC (Particle Physics and Astronomy Research Council) and there was also a small grant from Sustrans, who fund art installations along cyclepaths, to deal with maintenance requirements in the years before Somerset County Council took on that responsibility. In order to apply for the COPUS funding he needed two 'sponsors', so he wrote to Arthur C Clarke (a local boy himself, then living in Sri Lanka) and Patrick Moore, who both wrote warm letters in support. The Taunton Solar Model Group consisted of Pip, Trevor Hill and David Applegate who, during his time as Mayor of Taunton, had expressed a wish to see some kind of science initiative in the area. When Pip came up with the idea for the SpaceWalk it seemed logical to approach David for help.
To my great shame, I do not have a record of all the planet descriptions. Printed versions have disappeared, and the text was stored on disks pertaining to our last antediluvian computer system, which was incompatible with our present antediluvian computer system. This is something that I should remedy, and probably means that I now have to go out and take pictures and/or write them all down. Thanks. Do you know how long that thing is? Oh, yes! Of course you do.
My computer grinds exceeding slow and took ages to load your article. I was unsuccessful in creating an account and my daughter has posted this on my behalf. If you would like any further information you can get in touch via her account - or you could always give me a ring. You've got the number!
Pip was an amazing man, very bright, innovative and imaginative. He initiated lots of projects, some more successful than others, and never lost his passion and enthusiasm. He wrote poetry. He left behind many people who still love and miss him. He was a real star."

I also extend my thanks- I think my Dad would really love the article, and I think it really helps to generate interest. Feel free to get back to me anytime!

Sticky mess (talk) 10:26, 5 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you so much for getting in touch. It is rather overwhelming, actually, to hear from a source so close to the subject -- especially since your message was very nearly lost in a Wikipedia housekeeping procedure.
I have as much information as I can realistically expect to get now (in the short term) and it is very remiss of me to not complete the last 5% of the article and make it go 'live'.
Spare time is in short supply at present, but I will see what I can do soon (and I will almost certainly give you a ring too!)
(PS - if you still have the disks from your "antediluvian computer system", I'm sure it would be possible to find someone with the equipment to read them...)
EdJogg (talk) 12:42, 5 May 2009 (UTC)[reply]
And to Suzy Youngman, and the rest of Pip's family, my sincere and deepest apologies for taking soooooooooooooo long to actually publish my article.
But it is, at last, live!
EdJogg (talk) 12:14, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Possible DYK Candidate?

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Would be an interesting inclusion in Did You Know... , if only we can think of a suitable hook!

How about these?: Did you know...

Is this the best we can do?? Don't forget to submit the picture of the Sun model!

EdJogg (talk) 13:00, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

How about
Anyway, where did your measurements come from; they're not the ones in the article? Pluto to Sun = 11km is what it says; therefore Pluto to Pluto 22km. It certainly didn't feel like 22.6 miles when I walked it! Geof Sheppard (talk) 13:16, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Seems a sensible alternative, although I'd like a link to the canal too -- whatever, I'd be happy to present both for selection and let the DYK team choose.
Incidentally, to anyone else reading this, Geof is referring to the original text found in my sandbox where I had inadvertently swapped the units over - hence 11 miles. Once I noticed this I changed it! :o)
EdJogg (talk) 14:26, 20 September 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Refurb?

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Why did the Space Walk need a refurb after only 10 year?! Maury Markowitz (talk) 11:35, 25 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]

If you look at the various pictures, you will see that the paint has degraded over time. Also, the Sun model was not originally painted yellow. The most recent pictures suggest another repaint is due. EdJogg (talk) 12:22, 25 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
Hmmm, I should give them the paint on my bricks. Someone painted my house decades ago and the damb stuff won't come off! Maury Markowitz (talk) 11:08, 26 October 2010 (UTC)[reply]
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