The Skylon at the Festival of Britain 1951
The Skylon was "a Vertical Feature in steel and aluminium" by Powell and Moya, according to the official catalogue of the South Bank Exhibition. The Exhibition was held in London on the South Bank of the River Thames upstream from Waterloo Bridge. The only part of the exhibition noticably still on the site is the Royal Festival Hall. However there are plans to "Re-Build the Skylon", click here to see more http://www.voteforskylon.com/
The Skylon was about 300 ft tall and suspended on steel wires. One comment made about it at the time was "A tall thin structure with no visible means of support, rather like the British economy". When it was erected it represented leading edge technology in the use of materials. It did however, still use boring old technology where it was appropriate. We cannot do without the basic nuts and bolts!
Now more than fifty years on the British economy has improved but high tec still needs the basic nuts and bolts. It still needs people who understand how they fit together and how to fix them when they break. I fill this role mostly for retired people in my locality.
