wowee, another month, look you see. and why not start it off with one of the greatest, to be sure, tourist attractions and modern marvels of the engineering world. yes, but of course, i speak of the transporter bridge.
if for some reason you don't know what the transporter bridge is, well, my Dad would be the best person to have speaks with. he thinks it is great, and is highly knowledgeable on the subject. in short, right, it is a bridge what transports stuff. where? across the Tees, which runs through the heart of Middlesbrough, Teesside's petrochemical wonderland.
no, i didn't set out to use the bridge of transport just for this blog. as it happens, i programmed a journey. on that trip, i noticed a most peculiar sign on the Sat Nav that i had not seen before. also, i noticed i was getting quite close to the bridge. very close, in fact, for i turned one corner and found myself in the queue of cars waiting to cross the Tees via it.
yes, that is the view i had from my vehicle, or if you like wheels, as i embarked on the journey across the Tees via the magic of the transporter bridge. well, not magic, engineering, but same thing really, when you think about it for a while. for those wondering about the legality of such an image being taken, well, i was parked, not on a road (which i would have thought was totes obvious), and the engine was off. or the ignition was off, or how you say it. so, as far as i am aware, that was all above board.
how long does the journey across the Tees take via the transporter bridge? well, do you include queuing and waiting and all that? the actual business end is not so long, 5 or 10 minutes maybe. as far as i could work out there would not have been enough time for me to get out and have a fag as i crossed, but everything about the approach of the staff and my fellow motorists suggested that getting out of your car whilst the transporter did its thing was frowned upon and a no no.
for those of you who cannot, or more likely just plain will not, ever come to Middlesbrough in this life or the next, yes, but of course i have some video for you of the transporter bridge in action.
whilst i am not 100% sure exactly how all the technology and that works, maybe you could feed this video into one of them "virtual reality" things and get the full experience. or, you know, ten or so seconds of it.
but what of the cost of using the bridge of transporter over the Tees? a not entirely unreasonable £1.30, as you can see in the below image, edited for security reasons for i was on a top secret mission. also, you get to keep the receipt as a sort of impromptu souvenir, i suppose.
indeed it was quite fortunate that i had the money on me, since i had no idea that i would be crossing the Tees this way or how much it would be. and yes, the nice man what sells you the ticket and that does give change, although if i were you i would not try to pay with currency north of a £5 note. should you try with a £50 note, and London types this is directed at you, i suspect that both you and your vehicle will be able to survey the temperature and pollution levels of the Tees. cash only, so far as i can recall.
and that would be all of that, i think. most of you have probably stopped reading this anyway, instead setting about making the requisite plans so that you may experience the bridge of transport for yourself. good, i say, jolly good. they, we, are a (mostly) friendly bunch up there, in particular to those who do not suggest things such as a "west cleveland" accent exists. even then, all (mostly) welcome.
be excellent to each other!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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