bridges 21 August 2009
It has been a day of bridges…I had a fine old time in Belfast narrating a series for the BBC, then popped on the train to Dublin (usually a lovely service) BUT we had to get a bus link from Drockeda (sic), a place we Southies pronounce Droheada, as the bridge we were about to pass over on in Malahide had partly collapsed. Of course, at the time of the announcement, none of us gave a shite that we might have been hurt had we been in the train on said bridge when it fell apart, all we could do was piss and moan. And in a way we were right cos it took an age for the coaches to arrive and it all added an hour onto the journey (though not death or injury so I GUESS it was a fair enough swap). Anyhow, as we drove through ‘Drockeda’ I saw Richard’s favourite suspension bridge in the distance and I must admit it is a beauty. And when we hit Dublin we passed very close by the new Samuel Beckett Bridge across the river Liffey (unlike Godot, this is turning up) and it turns out that it is also a suspension bridge of much beauty (though smaller than its ‘Drockedan’ cousin). Struck me all over again that it must be a total thrill for an architect not only to design a bridge but also to see it built and rare too. Bridges are magical, no?
