I like the quote attributed to James A Michener (previous link):
To get on in Australia, you must make two observations. Say, "You have the most beautiful bridge in the world" and "They tell me you trounced England again in the cricket." The first statement will be a lie. Sydney Bridge [sic] is big, utilitarian and the symbol of Australia, like the Statue of Liberty or the Eiffel Tower. But it is very ugly. No Australian will admit this.
Photo by Diliff, Wikipedia. Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.5 license.
I was gazing upon it from a nice pub at South Queensferry two days ago called the "Two Bridges" cos of its siutaion between the two bridges: fish and chips much recommended.
Still, my understanding is that once they've put a new long-life coating on it, the Forth Bridge won't require the continuous and Sisyphean painting it has always had... "Any economic unit can emit money. The serious problem is to get it accepted" Hyman Minsky
... though it would be prettier still without the modern necessity of keeping the cars from driving off either side with those ugly guard rails. I've been accused of being a Marxist, yet while Harpo's my favourite, it's Groucho I'm always quoting. Odd, that.
