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The Tweed Run
As I’ve mentioned before, back in the Victorian age, the ‘ordinary’ bicycle, or penny-farthing, was the state of the art in cycle technology – and the height of fashion for brave men and women: Lady...
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Take off, take your bike, and take the train
Last time, I talked about early cycling, and today’s attempts to recreate the glamour of the past. Most of the time, though, cycling is just a practical, cheap and straightforward way to get around....
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Momentous motoring meeting in Manchester
It was on this day in 1904 that two men met at the Midland Hotel, Manchester, sparking a revolution in motoring. Charles Rolls met Henry Royce. Charles Rolls (Science Museum / Science & Society)...
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Britain’s greatest machines?
Did anyone catch ‘Britain’s Greatest Machines’ on Five last Thursday? Chris Barrie is presenting a series looking at the evolution of engineering in Britain, directed by science documentarist Martin...
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Going for broker
Many seventeen-year-olds become very familiar with the world of insurance as they pick up the keys for their first hot hatch… VW Golf, 1975 (David Rooney) Few of us think about the system that sits...
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Bank Holiday Mondays
What would you do on your perfect bank holiday Monday? Well I don’t know about you guys, but as a kid I always dreamt about owning a Lotus and going for drive in the country. Lotus Elan (Wikipedia) The...
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FM: No Static At All
Our car is still fitted with a cassette player. Albums from long ago (Steely Dan and Beatles are current favourites) provide regular entertainment on journeys and are also enjoyed by the younger...
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Taxi driver
I was working at our large-object store at Wroughton the other day, looking at some of the vehicles in our transport collection. One of them is a really lovely Renault taxi from 1910: Renault taxi,...
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A tale of two brothers
Following the release of The King’s Speech with Colin Firth, it inspired me to look into the two brothers of the film, Edward VIII and George VI using the Science Museum’s collections as my pool of...
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The man behind the motor – William Morris and the iron lung
March marks the 100th anniversary of the first cars made by William Morris (1877-1963). The first was a Morris-Oxford Light Car. William Morris began making and repairing bicycles in his work and...
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