Often our collections appear in photos to recreate some aspect of history. Sadly, the pics of Nigel's shed looks remarkaby similar to a pic that David Hayward posted of a firebombed factory full of assembled CMP's
. That's taking re-enacting too far for me.
We witnessed similar scenes over here a couple of years ago with bushfires causing untold damage. Vehicles had been stored away from theives and vandals, but also away from rapid response by fire crews. Often the vehicles are also stored side by side with the accoutrements of vehicle restoration: Paints, Solvents, Welding Gases, Fuel, NOS parts in waxed cardboard boxes. (Anyone reading this might take a moment to consider how fireproof your own workshop is right now!) Nigel, while it is probably apparent to you that much of your collection is irretrievably gone, there is still joy to be had from your hobby. I know of an owner here who lost a signifigant collection of vehicles to bushfire. After he got his insurance payout, he was able to build the shed of his dreams and has spent the last couple of years rediscovering the joy of accumulating parts and restoring vehicles again. He hadn't done too much of that prior to the fire because he had his collection to a stage where he felt he didn't need to do any more and it was stagnating. Rebuilding the collection has taken him back to the fun days of seeking out treasures and bringing them back to life. And there was no shortage of friends to help out. While physical assets have a price (hopefully insured), it's those friendships that prove priceless.