In a message dated 3/9/03 2:05:36 PM Pacific Standard Time, bob.reid2@virgin.net writes:
> > There's an old saying: "Give a piece of metal to an Englishman and he'll
> make
> > something (possibly cobby and) functional. Give a piece of metal to a
> German,
> > and he'll make something efficient. Give a piece of metal to an Italian
> and
> > he'll make something beautiful". As sayings go, it's not all
> encompassing,
> > but there you have it.
>
> It bears little resemblance to fact.
>
Perhaps I should have left the "cobby" reference out. I read it in relation
to the British motorcycle industry (probably in a magazine article) many
years ago, and I think the guy was referring to some funny looking scrambles
bikes. The other side of that is that builders such as the Rickman Brothers,
not to mention classic factories like Matchless/AJS and Norton turned out
truly beautiful racing bikes. I have old Nortons and Bass and there is a
beauty in the way all the individual pieces are made, are limitlessly
rebuildable and highly functional in relation to the engineering standards of
the day. Further, no one can fault the aesthetics of the British when it
comes to fine rifles and shot guns. No one culture has a monopoly on beauty,
they just express it differently (sometimes).
The quotation made some sense within a narrow context of that guy's article
many years ago. I apologize for any offense, I'm also an Anglophile at heart
(as you'd see if you looked in my garage).
Stevan Thomas
Alameda, CA