All this reminds me of a good old Bristol word 'tempry' - first applied IIRC▸ to the wonderfully dreadful Meccano flyover that once linked Redcliff(e) Way with Temple Way
Like most Bristolians, I come from somewhere else, but have spent more than half my life here - over 35 years, I realise to my astonishment. I wouldn't be here if I didn't like the place, but it is certainly frustrating at times. A niece working on opening a new furniture place some years ago (I'm not saying which, but you get the Ikea) asked me to do a guided tour to introduce her colleagues from elsewhere to the city. I thoroughly enjoyed it. My research, though, showed that the history of Bristol from the time the Romans left Sea Mills has been a saga of having an idea, trying to do it on the cheap, then having to pay nasally to have someone clever put it right. Bristol is truly a brave and resourceful city, but it has been value-engineered by everyone in charge since Julius Caesar.
Look at the docks - William Jessop proposed, designed, and built it, before trying his hand unsuccessfully at flogging cameras. His wasn't the best plan, but it was cheaper than the others. Cumberland Basin was built, and the New Cut was dug (by two gentlemen of the Irish persuasion). It cost a fair bit more than the estimate, so the port had to charge more. making it less attractive as an alternative to Liverpool. At the same time, Pattersons Yard was opened, and built the SS Great Western, and then the Great Britain for Brunel - the latter being built without measuring the width of the lock gates first. So the SSGB spent over a year alongside, until the locks could be widened, before going on to prove that ships too big to get up the Avon were a worthwhile project, so sowing the seeds of the harbour's demise. Jessop's design, though, didn't give a reasonable flow of water through the docks, leading to silting problems, and not helping when cholera broke out. Enter
IKB▸ , with his brilliant, but expensive, Underfall Yard. If only they had asked him or his dad first.
"Tempry" also describes the prefabs, built after the Luftwaffe had finished their attempt at urban renewal. By the time anyone got around to replacing them, some people had lived in them for over 30 years, and had lavished money on them. Well, papered and painted. That is why, almost 70 years after the
RAF▸ in Bristol last heard a shout of "Bunch of monkeys on the ceiling, Sir, grab your egg and fours, let's get the bacon delivered!", there are still people living in "tempry" prefabs. Thank goodness for Amy Winehouse -"They tried to put me in a prefab, I said no, no, no!".
It is typical of Bristol that there have been calls made to replace that "tempry" flyover. I recall visiting the Grosvenor Hotel as part of my job, and having the disconcerting experience of watching a lorry pass the third floor window, with that scraping noise doing little to calm the nerves.
With Bust Rabid Transit, we see a value-engineered substitute for a decent transport system. A large part of the problem with public transport in the Greater Bristol area is the lack of a sensible transport hub covering all modes, and long bus routes going through the congested central area. The solution,
BRT▸ , is a long bus route running through the congested central area. Only a fool would repeat the same mistakes over and over again, in the hope of success.
So with Portishead, the biggest mistake would be to abandon the original station site in the hope of saving a few quid. We would run the very real risk of seeing the first reopening of a closed railway line to prove unsuccessful. 10 years later, someone would say "If only we had stuck to the original plan, we could have extended the line into the town, and run tram-trains on it".
Manchester, when Alistair Graham cancelled the government's contribution to the Metrolink extension on cost grounds in 2004, reacted by starting a northern version of the cold war. A big pair of boxing gloves appeared on the balcony of the city hall, and on the masthead of Manchester Evening Post. All of the area's
MPs▸ , of all parties including labour, mobilised. No government minister came to Manchester for any reason without spending the first half of his visit being lobbied about Metrolink, interviewed by the MEN first about Metrolink, and being given the guided tour of Metrolink, including long stops to show where the new routes would have been. Not even Alistair Darling could stand being given the cold shoulder for long, and he relented. Given similar treatment, our local councils' attitude has been "What a pity. Can we have something cheaper instead, please?" Don't do this with Portishead, for heaven's sake!
The dates and names are accurate. I may have changed some of the facts to protect the guilty.
