The news that the Jodrell Bank telescope may soon be no more sent me back to a piece by Jonathan Meades:
Concorde was seen in the sky over West London for the first time in late June 1969. Less than a month later Neil Armstrong stepped from Apollo 11 onto the moon. The future had arrived. It was tangible, it was thrilling, it was now. We came to believe that we were all part of an adventure without end. This was just the beginning, the new beginning.
What we didn’t realise was that this was it. A peak had been achieved. The only way was down.
And from there I went to this television film of his on the same theme.
I don't agree with all he says here, but then what Meades offers in his work is not so much a set of beliefs as an attitude. And it's that attitude we love him for.
Those of us who read Dan Dare in the Eagle in the 1950s are bitterly disappointed to have reached the second quarter of the 21st century and not only are there no space liners to Mars, interplanetary test matches or World Parliament, but monorails and hovercars are still a rarity.
ReplyDeleteThanks for that link. Much appreciated.
ReplyDelete