A brief review of how man and goods have been transported across our tiny island over the years.
I marvel at what Britain has achieved. A small island by comparison, and life was hard, but they ‘put their shoulder to the wheel’ when Britain was ‘Great’ and the Kingdom ‘United’.
The third poem in my trilogy – THIS TINY ISLAND, which is in BOOK ONE of POEMS BY AN OLD CODGER, briefly reflects on the consequences of the development of transport technology and how transportation may be in the future.
Yet again, solving one problem but creating two or more is clear here. Every new design or development of technology is fraught with such an outcome.
THIS TINY ISLAND – 3
In years gone by
Before man could fly,
Unmade lanes and bridle ways
Let man and beast go on their way.
Dust on clothing and on chest,
Watering holes and Inns to rest.
Pace was slow and fraught with fear,
Time stood still for many a year.
Then iron tracks and harnessed steam,
Cobbled roads and boats of narrow beam
Moved man and goods around the land,
Technology had arrived to give a helping hand.
Then two strokes, four strokes, pneumatic tyres,
Flick a switch and the engine fires.
Wider roads and tarmacadam,
Encouraged speed and many a jam.
Petrol, diesel all from oil
Polluting air, and sea, and soil.
Wider, longer cars to buy,
Faster than our Guardian Angel can fly.
SUVs, MPVs, AEB and Cruise Control,
Sliding doors, Crossover things and Hybrids roll,
Our tiny island is under strain,
With overcrowded roads and trains.
Forget the car for urban travel,
Technology will soon unravel
Flying taxis, and city airbus in the sky,
Your VTOL pickup will be standing nearby!
(VTOL – Vertical Take Off and Landing)
Copyright 2023 Neil Davies
Earlier, I spoke of the situation when solving one problem creates two or more new problems. Wars are classic examples.
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POEMS BY AN OLD CODGER from AMAZON BOOKS.
See end of this blog.
Thank you.
Stay Safe,
Neil.