@Remus1956 Too late I'm scarred for life. Seriously though: Stoves with interesting known history. I'm sure we can trust each other not to tell stories. Less seriously: I have the very Hestia oven in which King Alfred burnt the cakes.
@Blackdog funny thing is that mine are true...I did have a radius 43 that was periwinkle blue....rusted ...not working...left in a barn...bird shit...haha...I have to laugh but it was like that... Even the guy who sold it to me on Tradera warned me haha But if you're interested...I have the Sir Ernest Shackleton's 2nd cousins Primus no1 gently used and still greased in seal fat
@Remus1956 Damn fine idea if you ask me…even if you wrote the definitive book on the subject… Pharael.
How's about a theme of "First Primus stove", or "First Optimus stove, or, "First Radius stove". et.al., etc.? That might be fun! - Doc
I would avoid exotic, whimsical, or overly rare categories. A review of the themes of the first couple years of the contest will yield good ideas, many of which might well bear repeating after this long interval.
Common budget stoves. To celebrate popular models used and enjoyed by the masses outdoors. An antidote to rare stuff which never caught on and was doomed to a collector's shelf other than being taken down every few years to be photographed in a still life setup with the background in soft focus.
@IRM I agree @Blackdog yeahhhh....it would be nice as its now more of the rare type which is cool to look at, but I don't have anything classified as "rare". I am definitely not alone there.
I always saw this "competition" as a way to draw out stoves not already in the gallery, to be added to the gallery.
Agreed. I stopped entering when the themes were dropped, although there have been plenty of exceptions there has been a bit of a chequebook element. Don't get me wrong- It's great that serious collectors share their rare pieces. And in a situation like this you can't please everbody. I prefer tatty stoves with an interesting history and am not particularly iterested in cosmetic restorations. Others are fond of the unfired, the pristine, the rare and different. It all has a place. I just miss the monthly procession of variety on a theme, and am glad the subject has come up- I've been meaning to raise it myself for months, but firstly it's more work for Ross, and secondly I don't want to come across as a bad loser/whining git!
That was the aim, but it became counterproductive due to the stove having to be a new entry to the reference gallery that month- people were sitting on stoves waiting to enter them at an appropriate time, rather than getting on and adding to the gallery. It would make sense though in this respect if we went back to the requirement of the stove featuring in the reference gallery, but no requirement for it to have been a new entry that month.
