Steve Hayes quotes Betjeman;
... then goes on to say:
Steve then mentions Chessalee, who writes of:
This blog does not accept that the passing of iconic things which shaped the image of the nation. There was every reason, in a similar way to that of the Americans trying to preserve the Diner for cultural/historic reasons, that we should also have preserved the most iconic things - routemaster buses, red pillar boxes, the nighmail and so on.
There is not even a justification, in terms of tourism for this. It is known that tourists like to see things still existing "as they were" and for the residents, the inconvenience of these things is nowhere near as pronounced as the "progress at all costs" supporters make out. Does a red pillar box inconvenience you in posting a letter?
The argument is made that it all costs so much and that progress demands more and more efficiency. Yes, in the bulk of our lives, fair enough. But in the iconic matters - a resounding no. It reminds me of the railways and the argument that it must pay its way, must make money, to justify the huge salaries of the company heads.
Rubbish.
Public tranport is there to serve the citizenry in the cheapest way possible and in some sort of comfort. This sort of woolly-headed thinking has even crossed the water into Russia, where the iconic trams, which still give a cheap, simple ride for the less wealthy and romantic, are being phased out in the interests of efficiencyand deals with China.
Don't get me wrong - technology is going to make all our lives better, I'm convinced of that. But that is a far cry from hacking out the very things which exist in people's minds as images collectively creating the image of the nation.
Let's say goodbye to hedges And roads with grassy edges And winding country lanes Let all things travel faster Where motor-car is master Till only Speed remains.
... then goes on to say:
About 25 years ago the mailships between Britain and South Africa were phased out in the name of "progress". Containerisation had killed them and made then uneconomic, we were told.
Steve then mentions Chessalee, who writes of:
The 'Night Mail', the train that W H Auden and T S Eliot made famous in rhyme, and the 1963 Great Train Robbers made famous in crime, is being replaced by a much less romantic means of getting letters from one end of the country to the other: lorries.
This blog does not accept that the passing of iconic things which shaped the image of the nation. There was every reason, in a similar way to that of the Americans trying to preserve the Diner for cultural/historic reasons, that we should also have preserved the most iconic things - routemaster buses, red pillar boxes, the nighmail and so on.
There is not even a justification, in terms of tourism for this. It is known that tourists like to see things still existing "as they were" and for the residents, the inconvenience of these things is nowhere near as pronounced as the "progress at all costs" supporters make out. Does a red pillar box inconvenience you in posting a letter?
The argument is made that it all costs so much and that progress demands more and more efficiency. Yes, in the bulk of our lives, fair enough. But in the iconic matters - a resounding no. It reminds me of the railways and the argument that it must pay its way, must make money, to justify the huge salaries of the company heads.
Rubbish.
Public tranport is there to serve the citizenry in the cheapest way possible and in some sort of comfort. This sort of woolly-headed thinking has even crossed the water into Russia, where the iconic trams, which still give a cheap, simple ride for the less wealthy and romantic, are being phased out in the interests of efficiencyand deals with China.
Don't get me wrong - technology is going to make all our lives better, I'm convinced of that. But that is a far cry from hacking out the very things which exist in people's minds as images collectively creating the image of the nation.
I think that progress for progress's sake isn't really progress at all.
ReplyDeleteEveryone is so quick to rush through their lives. No one is even really willing to wait the extra few days for a letter to be hand written and delivered.
A slower simpler pace of life is what's needed I think.
It might slow down when the feudalism comes.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, I'm one of those people who would like to preserve what is part of a nation's culture. :)I don't see it as mindless.
ReplyDelete