Why is it that in this country nearly every major building project either fails to be ready on time or cannot function properly when it does open.
The latest cock-up is of course Terminal 5 at Heathrow Airport. I won’t go into detail as you will all have already read plenty about it over the past couple of days.
In recent years we have seen a number of fiascos including Wembley Stadium, The Dome, The British Library etc. etc. … which makes me wonder …
Was it always so ? …
“Don’t worry your Druidship. The henge is only a couple of stones short, and there’s always next year’s solstice to look forward to”… or …
“Sorry Hadrian, old cock, but you’ll have to put up with all those blue painted buggers crossing the border for a bit longer as the gates for the wall don’t quite fit”… or …
“I know that the tower is not exactly white William, but those stupid Saxons won’t notice anyway ?” … or …
“So we are running a bit late bishop, but then it’s a long way to Canterbury and we’ve only got one horse and cart”… or …
“Tis true, Mr Shakespeare, that we hath forgotten to finish ye thatched roof on ye theatre , so let us pray that it doth not pissith down on ye opening night”… or …
“What’s that Albert ? … There is plenty of glass, but they’ve run out of putty. We are not amused”.
It’s now four years until London hosts the multi-billion pound 2012 Olympic Games, so Seb Coe and his mates have plenty of time to pocket their hard earned cash and ensure that all will be ready on time, but don’t be surprised if you see some bloke in a hard hat standing in the middle of a muddy field and hear those familiar words …
… “Opening when ? … No chance guv ! … Where do you think you are ? …
… bleeding Beijing ?”
bigjohn 
