Things have been a little fraught for me recently and I'm aware that I've been neglecting my blogs, so in an effort to start catching up with life again here's an entry...
Great Britains
It's not often I find myself agreeing wholeheartedly with Jeremy Clarkson and I guess this is another of those occasions where I agree with only part of what he has to say. I’m referring to Jeremy’s insistence that Isambard Kingdom Brunel really was the Greatest Britain, despite being voted into second place behind Winston Churchill.
I agree with Clarkson’s assessment of Brunel as Britain’s greatest engineer though, at least as far as innovative transport was concerned. Brunel’s bridges, canal ways, railways and ships were nothing short of stunning, especially when you stop to consider the technology available to him at the time.
Clifton Suspension Bridge
In 1828 Brunel entered a design competition and prepared designs for a suspension bridge over the Avon Gorge at Clifton. The competition judge, the noted Scottish engineer Thomas Telford, rejected Brunel's designs in favour of his own however.
After many battles, a second contest was held and one of Brunel's designs was accepted, although, owing to lack of funds, the bridge was not completed until after Brunel's death. I wonder what he'd have thought about the number of people who travel half way around the world to visit it now?
Some may argue that another Great Britain and early engineer worthy of mention was Hengist Pod, inventor of the square wheel. Why square? Well, to stop it rolling away, obviously!
For more information about the great Hengist, check IMDB under Carry On movies.
lizdavies
I'm with IKB, if only for the brilliant name! Did you know that his dad, Marc, made the first tunnel under the Thames? It had stairs for pedestrians and a circular ramp for horse drawn vehicles. It's still in use as one of the tunnels on the Northern Line tube.