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have just glanced back over this thread and have to admit - haven't read all the posts - s0 feel free to shoot me down -- but - regards the 'in bloom' thing- it cannot be denigrated -- in this 'modern' world we live in - folk come out of the house get into a car and go to work - come home and into house - the in bloom is more than 'tartifying' the area - its about actually getting folk to engage and talk to each other!! I was astounded after working on the 'in bloom 'thing for several years how much difference it made to folk actually talking to other folk on the street - it generates a structure of belonging and a feeling of ownership and responsibility through all ages and backgrounds and can only be a good thing - we only dropped out because we had peaked and needed to consolidate on what we had - otherwise it becomes a competition.

No flying yesterday! Boring!! Anyhow, having got tons of work out the way yesterday I returned to the museum with a view to finding someone 'in charge' and trying to get a look at their archives. Having explained the Tumby Lawn connection I was duly introduced to a nice lady by the name of Marie, who led me to a locked shed (no, not one from 50 Sheds of Grey). What she wanted to show me was a large ledger, a book for you uneducated oiks, that listed the many houses locally that, during WW2, had been requisitioned by the government as billets for local airmen and military officials. I'd always suspected that this house was among them, given it's prime location in the middle of at least six or seven bomber fields including Woodhall Spa, East Kirkby, Coningsby, Spilsby, Scampton (take note of the last) etc, and there it was: Tumby Lawn, home to servicemen across late 1942 until the end of the war. Now, the ledger directed us to a register, specific to the house, which listed the men who stayed in the house across the years: goose bumps. One name stood out, having lived there for seven months up to the first week of July, 1943: none other than Wing Commander Guy Gibson. The significance of the date is not lost on me either- it covers the infamous Operation Chastise - the Dambusters Raid. As someone who is extremely interested in aviation history this was of immense excitement to me. Gibson, and the crews of 617 squadron, stayed in this house. The fact that bomber command personnel were billeted at the Petwood Hotel for most of the war, just down the road at Woodhall Spa and where Bomber Harris and Barnes Wallis both stayed regularly, probably means Gibson and other officers spent the months other than at Tumby there. I will do more digging and find out. The upshot is this: this house is intrinsically linked with WW2, Bomber Command and one of the most famous (or infamous) airborne raids in UK history. The sobering thought is, how many of the 53 who did not return were living at Tumby? Interesting, too, that Gibson, a Wing Commander, stayed where his men were staying for at least some of the time, rather than at the Petwood, where I would have expected him to be. Did Harris or Barnes Wallis ever visit this house? Did any other notables? Are there, underneath the paintwork, scrawled signatures and messages from the men who stayed here? I have actually been tremendously moved by the experience, and it has brought me closer to understanding what these men had to do. I couldn't spend long there yesterday as I had to be home for the kids coming back from school, but I have express permission to return as and when I wish to peruse the archives further. It's an arduous task, but I would like to compile a list of the men who stayed here, and find out more about each, what they did, who they were, and whether they survived the war. For the record, I've attached pictures of the house itself, and of the Bluebell Inn, in Tattershall Thorpe, which I visited yesterday,and was the favourite watering hole of the men from 617 and 627 squadron. A tradition exists to this day for visiting airmen to sign the ceiling - if you're ever in the region it's a great little place with a rich history dating back to 1257 or something, serves excellent ale and good food, and the staff are welcoming and very friendly.