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  • Serial_Apologist
    Full Member
    • Dec 2010
    • 37588

    Didn't the ancient Romans use bricks? I ask in shameful ignorance, but at least it's genuine.

    Comment

    • cloughie
      Full Member
      • Dec 2011
      • 22114

      Originally posted by Pianorak View Post
      When visiting Albi and its Cathedral many years ago I was surprised to learn that it was begun in 1282, took 200 years to complete and is the largest brick building in the world.
      A thoroughly impressive building in its sheer solidity. Gives the impression it will survive anything that is thrown at it.

      Comment

      • jean
        Late member
        • Nov 2010
        • 7100

        Originally posted by Serial_Apologist View Post
        Didn't the ancient Romans use bricks?
        They did. Roman bricks were thinner (not the right word, I mean from top to bottom) than modern ones.

        Comment

        • Bryn
          Banned
          • Mar 2007
          • 24688

          Fired brick go back to around 3,000 BC in the Indus Valley. I was not surprised to find the Chinese had them even earlier.

          Comment

          • P. G. Tipps
            Full Member
            • Jun 2014
            • 2978

            Originally posted by Bryn View Post
            Fired brick go back to around 3,000 BC in the Indus Valley. I was not surprised to find the Chinese had them even earlier.
            Yes, but there are bricks and bricks ... and the Chinese are arguably worse than the Scots when it comes to claiming they got there first with every discovery and invention.

            The bricks in that photograph of the crypt look relatively modern but maybe "looks" are a little deceptive in this instance ... and, of course, the walls may have been repaired somewhat following the initial discovery.

            I admit I don't know very much about bricks, only that the English once loved using bricks for their joined-up little dwellings. When I used to travel regularly down the East Coast on business in the 1970s I rarely failed to be struck at how the buildings suddenly changed from stone to brick as soon as one crossed the Tweed at Berwick.

            However, I had no idea Anglo brick-enthusiasm started as far back as it appears to have done, and I certainly think those clearly expert ancient bricklayers responsible for building the walls of that crypt deserve a very special mention for the results of their most impressively-enduring brickwork !

            Comment

            • greenilex
              Full Member
              • Nov 2010
              • 1626

              When does a brick become a tile?

              Ans: when you wear it on your head?

              Comment

              • cloughie
                Full Member
                • Dec 2011
                • 22114

                Originally posted by greenilex View Post
                When does a brick become a tile?
                Is this similar to the Jaffa cake or biscuit argument?

                Comment

                • BBMmk2
                  Late Member
                  • Nov 2010
                  • 20908

                  Originally posted by cloughie View Post
                  Is this similar to the Jaffa cake or biscuit argument?
                  Perhaps! :)
                  Don’t cry for me
                  I go where music was born

                  J S Bach 1685-1750

                  Comment

                  • vinteuil
                    Full Member
                    • Nov 2010
                    • 12782

                    Originally posted by Pianorak View Post
                    When visiting Albi and its Cathedral many years ago I was surprised to learn that it was begun in 1282, took 200 years to complete and is the largest brick building in the world.
                    ... tho' if you were to count the number of bricks in the Palazzo Ducale in Urbino you might find that you had to go back to Albi and count all over again -

                    Comment

                    • Ferretfancy
                      Full Member
                      • Nov 2010
                      • 3487

                      My visit to Albi was a very long time ago. It is of course famous as the birthplace of Toulouse Lautrec, and I remember a rather splendid museum which featured the art of lithography with examples of his work. I hope it's still there!

                      Comment

                      • cloughie
                        Full Member
                        • Dec 2011
                        • 22114

                        Originally posted by Ferretfancy View Post
                        My visit to Albi was a very long time ago. It is of course famous as the birthplace of Toulouse Lautrec, and I remember a rather splendid museum which featured the art of lithography with examples of his work. I hope it's still there!
                        The T-L museum is indeed excellent.

                        Comment

                        • Pianorak
                          Full Member
                          • Nov 2010
                          • 3127

                          Originally posted by Ferretfancy View Post
                          My visit to Albi was a very long time ago. It is of course famous as the birthplace of Toulouse Lautrec, and I remember a rather splendid museum which featured the art of lithography with examples of his work. I hope it's still there!
                          I must have been there in 2007/08 specifically to visit the Lautrec museum - only vaguely aware of the magnificent Cathedral's existence. Two for the price of one?
                          My life, each morning when I dress, is four and twenty hours less. (J Richardson)

                          Comment

                          • teamsaint
                            Full Member
                            • Nov 2010
                            • 25193

                            Well, my music loving chums, I find myself strangely compelled to share on this thread, since it seems to include peoples health news, that I am at home recovering from hernia surgery. It seems to have gone well, despite being a somewhat complex operation, as I had already had one earlier repair.

                            My treatment seems to encapsulate all the best, and some of the less desirable elements of the NHS. Sadly, hernia repair is your genuine postcode lottery. Ten years ago when I first developed two hernias, ( and was self employed with all the income implications) I was more or less refused surgery, despite being in a pretty incapacitated and very uncomfortable state . Consequently, I had to pay for private surgery, which although it was with a highly reputable surgeon, didn't go entirely to plan.

                            Last year I started getting some more symptoms, and this time, with the help of a highly sympathetic GP, ( who had recently been on a course specialising in these conditions) and a specialist NHS surgeon, I went from scan and diagnosis to having the surgery in four months. I really can't imagine how surgeons do their job,incredible skill and no little bravery.
                            Hopefully this time he has nailed it.

                            One thing almost everybody in this country agrees on, whatever their political views, is that we should cherish and properly fund the NHS. Quite how a few politicians and lobby groups can thwart what the vast majority want, is beyond me.

                            ( On the postcode lottery thing, I have a colleague whose partner has two hernias, and has been refused treatment for both. Another colleague's partner, living in the same area, had his done in a matter of weeks.)
                            I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed or numbered. My life is my own.

                            I am not a number, I am a free man.

                            Comment

                            • Beef Oven!
                              Ex-member
                              • Sep 2013
                              • 18147

                              Originally posted by teamsaint View Post
                              Well, my music loving chums, I find myself strangely compelled to share on this thread, since it seems to include peoples health news, that I am at home recovering from hernia surgery. It seems to have gone well, despite being a somewhat complex operation, as I had already had one earlier repair.

                              My treatment seems to encapsulate all the best, and some of the less desirable elements of the NHS. Sadly, hernia repair is your genuine postcode lottery. Ten years ago when I first developed two hernias, ( and was self employed with all the income implications) I was more or less refused surgery, despite being in a pretty incapacitated and very uncomfortable state . Consequently, I had to pay for private surgery, which although it was with a highly reputable surgeon, didn't go entirely to plan.

                              Last year I started getting some more symptoms, and this time, with the help of a highly sympathetic GP, ( who had recently been on a course specialising in these conditions) and a specialist NHS surgeon, I went from scan and diagnosis to having the surgery in four months. I really can't imagine how surgeons do their job,incredible skill and no little bravery.
                              Hopefully this time he has nailed it.

                              One thing almost everybody in this country agrees on, whatever their political views, is that we should cherish and properly fund the NHS. Quite how a few politicians and lobby groups can thwart what the vast majority want, is beyond me.

                              ( On the postcode lottery thing, I have a colleague whose partner has two hernias, and has been refused treatment for both. Another colleague's partner, living in the same area, had his done in a matter of weeks.)
                              Very best wishes for your recovery, ts. Hope evrything is sorted and you can put this behind you.

                              Comment

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