Dear Colleagues,
I happened to be Paris last week and
was kindly taken by my host to see a really splendid exhibition at
the Town Hall (Hotel de Ville) on Gustave Eiffel ‘ La Magicien du
Fer’. (Actually I thought he mainly used steel but that’s
a detail!). Whatever one may think of the Tower which rears its head
in the centre of Paris he was a much wider ranging engineer than
many would realise. The exhibition includes large drawings, photos and paintings
(some very beautiful) of Eiffel’s bridges etc in France and its
colonies; he was later implicated in the Panama Canal scandal. There is
also material on his early efforts on aviation and ballooning including
what must be a very early wind tunnel for testing things like propeller
blades. Altogether a really fascinating show and the best possible excuse
for a trip on Eurostar ! Admission is free and the exhibition is open
until 29 August.
PDH