tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post3645110360827197878..comments2024-03-26T23:41:10.319+00:00Comments on Authors Electric: Built to last: Ali Bacon feels intimations of mortality in recent eventsKatherine Robertshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17196712319655603442noreply@blogger.comBlogger9125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-78191479665833276972015-12-16T19:45:21.372+00:002015-12-16T19:45:21.372+00:00Hi Lydia - it's just too depressing to think t...Hi Lydia - it's just too depressing to think they would build in obsolescence to a bridge!!! I think I'll go with a lack of forethought/research and a dash of hubris. A.AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-27628828706040690852015-12-16T19:42:31.048+00:002015-12-16T19:42:31.048+00:00Thank you Enid - do hope you enjoy it. I'm nev...Thank you Enid - do hope you enjoy it. I'm never sure if it belongs in Adult or YA so let me know what you think :)AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-65519350484113547972015-12-16T19:31:24.928+00:002015-12-16T19:31:24.928+00:00Hi Ali, trains and now bridges, both beautiful and...Hi Ali, trains and now bridges, both beautiful and useful! The Victorians and previous generations did build to last and also to be as attractive as possible. You just have to look at how they used 'new' materials like cast iron and made it look carved, or the decorative brickwork on utility buildings, or the level of finish in simple terraced Edwardian 'Tyneside flats' with their lack of bathrooms but fabulous fireplaces, architraves, doors, and plasterwork ceiling roses and hall details. I've no doubt the obsolescence is built in to modern stuff so they can get paid all over again to rebuild. Grasping as victorian business moguls may have been in some ways, I think people actually were proud of building something to outlast themselves, vanity or not. Lydia Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09328239009863878547noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-23580152583100498532015-12-16T19:24:50.691+00:002015-12-16T19:24:50.691+00:00I've never seen the Erskine Bridge, Catherine,...I've never seen the Erskine Bridge, Catherine, but I know the Severn Bridge opened soon after the Forth Road Bridge claimed to use superior (and funnily enough cheaper) technology but has had its share of problems - so we already have a Second Severn Crossing! AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-69334838017839376482015-12-16T19:05:49.999+00:002015-12-16T19:05:49.999+00:00Very interesting post, Ali. Lots of issues to pond...Very interesting post, Ali. Lots of issues to ponder - bit sad about such a beautiful structure but politicians of all colours and creeds do seem to have a habit of ignoring the science and engineering (and I find myself wondering about the equally beautiful Erskine Bridge now!) Catherine Czerkawskahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14554969254207924049noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-74543754938506427862015-12-16T17:19:27.199+00:002015-12-16T17:19:27.199+00:00Just bought your Y/A book. Know it'll be good ...Just bought your Y/A book. Know it'll be good because you're an Electrical, like me, and we fuse.Enid Richemonthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17218197995089241666noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-1834802131044179202015-12-16T13:21:16.109+00:002015-12-16T13:21:16.109+00:00Thanks Dennis and Bill. This post actually went up...Thanks Dennis and Bill. This post actually went up ahead of time (my mistake!) so I'll be making some edits, but glad you found it interesting when I was thinking it might not mean much to anyone but me! <br />A.AliBhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09611113709872287863noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-9711391500226144182015-12-16T11:57:34.164+00:002015-12-16T11:57:34.164+00:00Great read, Ali, and food for lots of associated t...Great read, Ali, and food for lots of associated thoughts about impermanence, hubris and questionable values.Bill Kirtonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16345949773423764808noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2429560125838989988.post-16623316941262679372015-12-16T04:54:43.789+00:002015-12-16T04:54:43.789+00:00Lovely post, Ali, and the sight of the two bridges...Lovely post, Ali, and the sight of the two bridges together is nicely ironic. It chimes in weĺl with the two preceding railway posts and their celebration of permanence. Dunfermline forgotten? But we all know that the king sat there getting drunk before sending Sir Patrick Spens to his death.Dennis Hamleyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08003209263201885118noreply@blogger.com