One of the more unusual attractions at this year’s Offshore Europe is a vintage Ministry of Technology mobile cinema that Parker Hannifin has managed to procure for the event.
And it’s proving to be box-office gold for the company as OE visitors queue round the block for a chance to watch the company’s presentations, complete with complementary carton of popcorn.
The 48-year-old Bedford vehicle was saved from the scrapheap and is reprising its original purpose of promoting British industry.
Originally built by Harold Wilson’s Labour Government, ‘Audrey’ – the last remaining one of seven custom mobile cinema units championed by Tony Benn in his capacity as Minister of Technology – is hosting engineering training lectures and launching information on new products to the UK market.
The Bedford vehicles were used to brief engineers across the UK in the late 1960s and early 1970s.
In 1974 the Government sold the mobile cinemas. Audrey – registration KJU 267E – was bought and subsequently donated to the Transport Trust, then sold to a new owner in 1990, where it remained off-road for almost 13 years.
After being rescued from a field in 2003 and restored to her original condition, she gained a new lease of life as a vintage mobile cinema. In 2015 the vehicle went up for auction on eBay, where she was snapped up for £110,000 and moved to her new home in Oxfordshire.
She’s also a star of the small screen, having appeared in numerous television programmes, including The One Show, George Clarke’s Amazing Spaces and The Reel History of Britain.
Although vintage on the outside, it’s been fully updated inside with plush seats that wouldn’t be out of place in the local multiplex.
Parker Hannifin – which specialises in motion and control technologies and systems – is hosting a series of specialist oil and gas training presentations from the vehicle each day of the conference.
The focus is firmly on modern topics, including metallurgy and corrosion resistance, the latest approaches to condition monitoring and compliance with overboard water regulations.
Parker’s Kerry James said Audrey has proved to be a surprise blockbuster.
“We’ve had people queuing to get in. Some of the engineers have been saying they remember the mobile cinema first time round.”